Steve Bell is a much beloved Winnipeg singer/songwriter. Steve sings songs of Christian faith, but with an authenticity that makes him accessible to fans well beyond the Christian fold. “You are singing your story, you aren’t telling me my story,” says one of Steve’s regular atheist concert attendees. We were delighted to sit down with Steve to hear his thoughts on the vocation of the artist, the story of how he learned to play guitar from inmates in the Drumheller prison chapel, and to learn about Steve’s recent forays into advocacy for Indigenous rights.

Most recently Steve has been active in advocating for Bill C-262, which would see the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passed into law in Canada. Two conservative Senators have been filibustering to effectively kill the passing of this bill. Steve takes them on in this detailed open letter. 

You can check out Steve’s music and upcoming shows at stevebell.com. You can google “Shoal Lake 40 Freedom Road” to learn more about the campaign discussed in this episode, or check out Steve’s synopsis of the situation.

The title of this episode comes from Steve’s description of the gift/flaw of the artist: the state of being completely porous to the pains and sorrows of the world. This is Steve Bell on The Ferment, Completely Porous.