Ottawa singer-songwriter Hannah Judge, who performs under the name fanclubwallet, knows what it feels like to watch the world discover your music while you're stuck at home — and she also knows how complicated it gets when that world finally opens back up.
During the pandemic lockdowns, Judge's indie pop songs spread organically across social media, building her a devoted following at a time when live music was on pause. For someone managing Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition, the timing was both a blessing and a challenge in disguise.
A Different Kind of Stage Fright
Touring is physically demanding for any musician. The late nights, irregular meals, long drives, and constant change of environment are hard on a healthy body. For someone living with Crohn's, those same conditions can trigger serious flare-ups that make getting on stage nearly impossible.
In a short documentary produced with CBC Ottawa's Creator Network, Judge speaks candidly about how she navigated her rising career during lockdown — when she could control her environment, her diet, and her rest — versus the unpredictability of life on tour.
"When the world opened up, managing her health became a whole new dynamic," the CBC Ottawa piece notes. And Judge isn't alone.
Musicians Getting Honest About Chronic Illness
For the documentary, Judge connected with other musicians who also live and work with chronic conditions. Their conversations reveal an industry that rarely makes space to talk about invisible illness — one where the expectation is to push through, perform, and smile regardless of what's happening in your body.
The result is a rare, honest look at what it actually takes to sustain a music career when your body doesn't always cooperate. It's a conversation that's long overdue in Canadian music circles.
fanclubwallet's Ottawa Roots
Judge's sound — dreamy, lo-fi, emotionally raw — has always felt rooted in a very specific kind of quiet introspection. Growing up in Ottawa gave her music a certain understated quality that resonated with listeners stuck at home and looking for something real.
Her story is also a reminder of how Ottawa continues to produce artists who punch well above their weight nationally and internationally. The city's music scene may not always get the same spotlight as Toronto or Montreal, but fanclubwallet's viral moment proved that Ottawa artists can break through — on their own terms.
What This Means for the Music Industry
Judge's documentary isn't just a personal story — it's a push for the music industry to do better. Artists with chronic illness often have to choose between their health and their career, without adequate support systems or understanding from labels, venues, or promoters.
By speaking publicly, Judge and the musicians she spoke with are helping shift that conversation. More visibility around chronic illness in music means more artists can ask for what they need — whether that's accessible touring schedules, better rider accommodations, or simply the freedom to cancel a show without career consequences.
The short documentary is available now through CBC Ottawa's Creator Network and is well worth a watch — both as a profile of one of Ottawa's most compelling emerging artists, and as an important conversation about health, creativity, and resilience.
Source: CBC Ottawa / CBC Ottawa Creator Network
