Biography

Canyon Records recording artist Anthony Wakeman (of the Gunlake Band of Pottawatomi/Oglala Lakota) has been playing the flute for fifteen years.  Originally from Missoula, Montana, Anthony moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1994 and began an apprenticeship making the Native American flute with his uncle David A. Montour aka That Dam Artist.  At his uncle’s urging, Anthony began playing the flute and quickly began performing live, making his first appearance at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. 

In his fifteen years of performing, Anthony has also collaborated with other musicians including Aaron White and Ed Michaels, both of the Blue Stone Project, Eli Secody, and Clan/Destine.  Anthony has appeared as a guest artist on the albums of Louie Gonnie, Jay Begaye, Alex E. Smith and Cheevers Toppah, and Randy Paskemin.  He has also been a featured performer at corporate events at local resorts as well as the Heard and Pueblo Grande Museums.  Currently, Anthony performs at the Expressions in Bronze Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona and has appeared for the past three years at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, during their annual Gourd Festival and Native American Recognition Days and Luminarias.

In 2005, Anthony released his first album with Canyon Records entitled Butterfly Dreams.  Inspired by the playfulness of his four-year old daughter dancing about, this album contains songs that inspire, tell a story, and illustrate the beauty of the solo flute.  The album was a finalist for the Indian Summer Music Award in the Flute category and was a finalist for New Age Retailer’s 2005 Narcissus Award. 

In 2007, Anthony released his second album with Canyon Records entitled Points of Origin. This album features the haunting tones of the native american cedar flute melded with mesmerizing sample-based textures, minimalist guitars and drifting atmospheres to evoke ambient landscapes of breathtaking grandeur. This album was a finalist for Best New Age award at the Native American Music Awards in 2008.