International and award-winning country music artist, Amy Nelson is set to perform and speak at this year’s Mayor’s Luncheon, hosted by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). 

From Regina, Nelson is a rising star on the country music scene, she has earned a total of 46 Saskatchewan Country Music nominations and earned Entertainer of the Year in 2018. Nelson's music reaches beyond the Canadian border where she earned two top 10 singles on Australia's KIX Country Radio Network. Her song Trippin’ peaked at #52 on Canadian Country Radio. 

Nelson’s drive extends beyond her professional music career, she also completed an education degree, she then combined these two disciplines to create a multi-discipline music school that has trained over 3000 children in singing, piano, and the ukulele.  

Despite her success, Nelson has had her own struggles with mental health, and it was only recently that she decided to share publicly. In January, she made a post on her social media account sharing part of her journey. 

“It’s a very new experience for me, so as somebody who has dealt with mental health for many, many years, I've never spoken openly about it before until very, very recently. I just kind of out of the blue decided to put up a post on Bell Let's Talk Day and talk a little bit about some of the treatments I've had recently. " 

Nelson shared she didn’t think too much about her post, however, the feedback proved to be positive, and several people began reaching out to her including some media outlets. 

“From there I was talking to CBC radio about it, and I even did an interview with a journalist in the UK that saw the post, like it's just gone crazy. And then, someone from Weyburn heard the interview on CBC and asked me if I would want to come out and be a part of this event, so it'll be my first time talking publicly at any sort of public event about mental health, which is new for me, but I think it's time, I think I'm ready.” 

Photo courtesy of Amy NelsonAmy as she prepares for ECT (photo courtesy of Amy Nelson)

 

As the guest speaker, Nelson will be sharing her experience with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a protocol she says was very beneficial for her and was ultimately life-changing. She will also be performing some of her music, which includes her very successful single, Trippin’.