Born in a Tent, Bound for the World: Diyet & The Love Soldiers Announce Seeds of Dreaming Tour and Album
She was born in a tent and raised on the ancestral lands of the Kluane First Nation, surrounded by the wild beauty of the Yukon’s mountains and stories older than the map itself. Now, with her fourth album, Seeds of Dreaming on the horizon (dropping September 19, 2025), Diyet & The Love Soldiers are packing up the bass, the pedal steel, and a thousand ancestral harmonies for their biggest tour yet.
But let’s rewind. Before the festivals, before the awards, before she sang on national television and performed at Expo Osaka, Diyet van Lieshout was just a shy kid with a mind full of melodies.
“I found music before I found my voice,” Diyet recalls. “And when I found the words, they came out singing.”
Raised on ancestor stories and fed by Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Japanese, and Scottish roots, she wandered through cities and back again — graduating from UVic with a degree in music performance before heading home to Kluane, where her real songs began.
It was in Burwash Landing, Yukon, that Diyet found her creative compass. Teaming up with her husband and drummer Robert van Lieshout and Juno-winning producer Bob Hamilton, Diyet formed The Love Soldiers. Their sound? A genre-fluid mix of alt-country, folk-rock, and roots with a traditional Tutchone soul. Think Emmylou Harris jamming with Norah Jones on a mountaintop.
Her new album Seeds of Dreaming is the kind of record that could only be written by someone who’s walked in many worlds — modern and ancestral, loud and quiet, hopeful and haunted. The single “Give Me A Reason” sets the tone with a call for compassion in chaotic times.
“There is a tension and a giddy rage that is barely contained,” Diyet shares. “How can we help each other to stand up, speak with good intentions, show compassion and build a wave so strong that we turn the tides?”
On ‘Old Mother,’ Diyet sings with awe and intimacy: ‘It was as if earth and sky were having an intimate conversation and I was its quiet observer.’ Her songs are diaries, declarations, and dreamscapes — like if Joni Mitchell wrote under the northern lights.
The song ‘Grandfather’s Country’ honors her Kluane heritage with the phrase Ásì Keyi — ‘My Grandfather’s Country.’
“This land is our family,” Diyet explains. “The story is etched into the trails, in the water that feeds the forest, and in the blood of the animals that feed us.”
The track is a sonic pilgrimage, blending pedal steel and organ with ancestral memory.
The title track, ‘Seeds of Dreaming,’ plants a vision for Indigenous healing and global balance.
“I’ve been told by Elders that we will play a key role in finding balance in the world again,’ Diyet shares. ‘But first, we must heal and balance ourselves.”
It’s not just a song. It’s a roadmap.
Recent years have seen the trio travel extensively across Canada, Alaska, the UK, Europe and most recently, Japan for Expo Osaka. From main stage festival slots to intimate folk clubs, Diyet & The Love Soldiers have proven they can fill a field or hush a room. Their performances shimmer with sincerity, grit, and heart.
In celebration of ‘Seeds of Dreaming’, Diyet & The Love Soldiers are hitting the road in fall 2025 with tour dates across Canada and the UK, including appearances at the Manchester Folk Festival and more to be announced.
Diyet isn’t chasing trends — she’s channeling truths. ‘I’ve always believed that music is
Hi, Diyet! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
I’m Diyet from Lhù’ààn Mân Keyi or the Kluane region in the Yukon, Canada. I’m from the Kluane First Nation. My family has been here for countless generations. We are Dhâl Tuch’an (Mountain People). It’s home for me and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I continue to find endless sources of inspiration here for my songwriting. I’ve always been a fan of melody and story and that is the centre point from which my songs are written. I’m passionate about our environment and the drama of the natural world which informs so much of who I am. I’m always searching for meaningful and honest connections. I’m terrible at small talk! Diyet and the Love Soldiers music is a collaboration between my songs and the musical sensibilities of Robert and Bob. Our trio pays homage to our understanding of Northern sounds – a little bit country, rock, folk and traditional indigenous. It’s a real reflection of us personally. When people come to a show, we often hear that people feel like they know us afterwards, which tells us that we must be doing something right!
You’ve said “I found music before I found my voice.” How did that journey of self-expression lead you from Burwash Landing to the world stage?
For a shy kid from a village of a 100 people, I would have thought it impossible to be able to have the life of a performing artist. But music, especially the human voice, has touched the deepest part of my core since I can remember. I’ve always been moved by melody and words to the point where it begins to shape your own identity. At some point you start to believe that you can do this too. In all honesty, the concept of being a singer or a songwriter was probably so far from my reality that I didn’t bother to listen to any negative thoughts or self doubts and followed one breadcrumb after the other, which has led me to this path. Some days I still ponder how I’ve come to be here.
The title track speaks about Indigenous healing and balance. What role do you believe music can play in that process globally and personally?
My worldview comes from what I know, where I live, what I’ve seen and experienced. It starts like a seed from within and extends outwards to community, nation and world. Music is medicine for all humans because it allows up to safely accept truths and examine pain and in turn allows us to safely express grief, anger, understanding that eventually transforms into radiating joy and healing. As a collective humanity we are distracted from really digging in and listening to music and so we are moving further away from the practice and the healing. We long to connect, but our habits move us further away from trusting our instincts. Music is a vehicle to reconnect to the art of listening and feeling deeply.
“Grandfather’s Country” is rooted in Ásì Keyi. How does performing that song on international stages feel, knowing it carries your homeland with it?
It may sound weird, but there is a vibration or a frequency that I connect with when I’m at home. I can be moved to tears just breathing in the morning air. I’m drawn to the frequency of the mountains and the water, frozen or flowing. So when I go somewhere new, I still have that internal vibration. When I sing about Ásì Keyi, I feel it and I hope others can feel it too.
The album was created with Robert van Lieshout and Bob Hamilton. What kind of healing do you hope Seeds of Dreaming offers listeners and what’s unique about the chemistry of The Love Soldiers?
My hope for Seeds of Dreaming is that it strikes a cord and offers a thread to hold onto that we and many others are also holding onto. I hope that it offers a sense of togetherness because that was the spirit in which it was created. The Love Soldiers have been creating music together for 15 years. There is an ease and joy when we play together that has developed. Robert is my life partner and so our connection has grown over 27 years and Bob is one of our best friends and is family. Knowing each other so well allows us to trust that no matter what we find our way through it together. As Bob likes to say, “We do it all for our few minutes in the purple bubble.”
Upcoming Shows:
September 10, 2025 – Skagway Arts Council, Skagway, AK, United States
September 12, 2025 – Chilkat Center, Haines, AK, United States
September 16, 2025 – Wright Auditorium, Petersburg, AK, United States
September 18, 2025 – The Nolan Center, Wrangell, AK, United States
October 16-17, 2025 – Folk Music Ontario, Ottawa, ON
November 18 – 21, 2025 – Mundial Montreal, Montreal, QC
November 25-26, 2025 – Come Together, Toronto, ON
Connect with Diyet & The Love Soldiers:
Website
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram