Here are the dates and confirmed headliners for our 2023 – 2024 Season.
September 30: Lizzy Hoyt with openers Flint and Feather
A nationally recognized Celtic songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist (fiddle, guitar, harp), Lizzy Hoyt has released five independent albums, two music videos, and given countless concert tours across Canada. Known for bringing history to life with her songs like Vimy Ridge, New Lady on the Prairie, and White Feather, she was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada for her outstanding contribution to commemorating Canadian veterans and history through music. Her fifth album, The Parting Glass, is a collection of her favourite traditional songs and features Lizzy’s sublime vocals and poignant arranging. It received the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Award for Traditional Singer of the Year. Lizzy’s also a rising star in the Canadian classical music scene, praised by Opera Canada for both her dramatic depth and keen comedic gifts.
Here’s a live concert video of Lizzy singing Star of the County Down.
Flint & Feather is the musical project of Joal and Lauren Kamps. Joal, who served as Alberta’s Artist in Residence and Arts Ambassador from 2020-2021, and Lauren draw upon Western Canadian history, Rocky Mountain folklore, and their own colourful life journeys for inspiration, the result being original songs that convey stories with an uncommon charm.
Here’s a video of Flint and Feather singing The Very Thing I Fear.
October 28: James Gordon with Katherine Wheatley with openers Ryan and Corynn Sande
James Gordon has been there. He’s done that. As a solo singer-songwriter and with the ground-breaking trio Tamarack, he’s recorded 40 albums and toured relentlessly around the world. He’s written for symphony orchestras, musical theatre and dance works, scored films, and for more than ten years was heard on CBC radio as songwriter-in-residence for the Basic Black and Ontario Morning programs. Between tours, James is a record producer, playwright, community activist, theatre director and recently retired from a part-time “side hustle” as a Guelph City Councillor. These days he’s perhaps known as the composer of the viral internet hit Crybabies Caravan, about the so-called Freedom Convoy in Ottawa. His last album on Borealis Records, The Heritage Hall Sessions charted internationally in the roots, singer-songwriter and Americana categories. He has a new album out called When I Stayed Home, as well as a “musical novel”, The Ark Of The Oven Mitt, which includes a downloadable recording of 36 original songs.
Hear James Gordon’s This Canoe Runs on Water.
Acoustic roots with catchy melodies, arresting vocals, great guitar playing, lyrics that get you and that you get – these are all things that have been written over and over again about Katherine Wheatley’s music. She sings truth, bravely, and in detail. Like Shawn Colvin, Edie Brickell and Joni Mitchell, Wheatley mines heartache and produces lyrical and melodic gold. And like one of her earliest influences, Gordon Lightfoot, she invokes nature to reflect the emotional intent of her songs. In addition to touring across Canada, the U.S. and Europe as a solo singer/songwriter, Katherine is a member of the Toronto super group Betty and The Bobs, plays in the duo Wendell and Wheat, and tours in the trio Boreal. She also works as a singer and zodiac driver on board the ship The MS Expedition as it plies the seas of Antarctica and the Norwegian Arctic.
Watch Katherine Wheatley’s official video of her song Water Moves Me.
Husband and wife duo Ryan and Corynn Sande have a unique harmony-filled full band sound. They’ve opened for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and shared the stage with James Keelahan and Fred Eaglesmith. Ryan, who is also a member of the Alberta-based band Common Ruin, plays a one-man-band setup with guitar, vocals, and drums at his feet. Corynn plays the piano and contributing vocals.
November 25: Mariel Buckley with opener Chris Goodchild
Unapologetically genuine, wry, and soft-hearted — Mariel Buckley has planted her flag firmly as a songwriter who’s in it for the long haul. She aims to find herself squarely on the fringes and exactly where she belongs: singing and writing songs for the underdog. Her candor and magnetic live show have been charming listeners across North America since her debut LP in 2018, Driving In The Dark. Now with thousands of miles under her belt, Buckley looks to turn country/folk music on its head, with her 2022 follow-up album, Everywhere I Used To Be. Anchored by the haunting whine of the pedal steel, rounded out by heavy synth pads and produced by Marcus Paquin (The Weather Station, The Barr Brothers, Arcade Fire, The National), the resulting collection is a driving, swooning, toe-tapping catharsis; sealed and delivered by Buckley’s signature crooning brand of angst-ridden alt-folk. Mariel’s album was just long listed for this year’s Polaris Music Prize!
Watch Mariel Buckley’s official video of her song Neon Blue.
Chris’ musical path has crossed many genres, modern folk, indie rock and electronic music. He has used his musical education and skills as a guitarist to create an outlet for his emotions and self expression. Moments that can’t simply be put into words, come more easily to him through his music. Chris has improved his techniques as a performer and producer, as a solo artist and as a bassist and guitarist in numerous Vancouver bands. His debut EP, Episode 1, was released in April of 2023.
January 27: Stephen Fearing with opener Mike Stack
Born in Vancouver, B.C., Stephen Fearing spent most of his boyhood and teenage years in Dublin, Ireland. There, he picked up the guitar and traces of the Irish and English musical traditions that have informed his music ever since. Mixing powerful lyrics, creative arrangements and brilliant guitar playing, he has built an international audience for his music, performing at intimate venues and on the concert stages of festivals and theatres across Canada, the US, the UK, and Europe. His 2007 recording, Yellowjacket, won the Juno Award for Solo Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. His latest album, called Vejpoesi, featuring Stephen Fearing & The Sentimentals on one side, and a solo acoustic performance on the other, is a return to his intimate roots-based style. Stephen is also a founding member of the Juno-award-winning group, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, and he records and tours with Andy White.
Watch Stephen Fearing & The Sentimentals perform Gold On The River, from the album Vejpoesi.
As a member of Calgary bands The Burners and The Grift, Mike opened shows for Blue Rodeo, Tragically Hip and Jeff Healy. With songs and a voice that consistently drip with lilting guttural emotion, the music of Mike Stack can take you to a craggy Maritime rock with a desperate Irish father or have you kicking up dust in a Texas honky-tonk along with two young Mexican lovers. Inspired by his songwriting heroes and the people he meets along the way in this journey of life, Stack abashedly says, “music, it’s my life, my heart, my soul, my passion.”
February 24: Abigail Lapell with opener tba
With just three albums under her belt, Toronto songwriter Abigail Lapell has some pretty impressive credentials: she’s won three Canadian Folk Music Awards (English Songwriter of the Year in 2020 and 2023 and Contemporary Album of the Year in 2017), hit number one on Canadian folk radio and accrued a staggering 20 million+ Spotify streams. Her latest album, Stolen Time, feels unhurried, psychedelic and otherworldly in the vein of Gillian Welch or Karen Dalton. A theme of recovery runs through the album, with songs about becoming sober, or a partner’s sudden illness, exploring the cycle of rehabilitation and relapse. An eclectic cast of musicians underscores the power of Lapell’s vocals on live-off-the-floor, 70s folk rock arrangements featuring bass, drums, horns, strings and steel. But many of Stolen Time’s standout tracks are solo guitar or piano songs, backed by little more than ghostly accordion or harmonica.
Check out Abigail Lapell’s official video for her song Old Flames.
March 23: Big Little Lions with opener tba
The Big Little Lions, consisting of Paul Otten and Helen Austin, was born out of a collaboration that won the duo a Juno Award in 2014. Since then they have been cranking out infectious folk pop songs that are jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies that sound like the product of two people working side-by-side instead of living in different countries. In their live shows, Paul plays the drums, bass and keyboard, all while singing lead vocals. Helen, sings, plays guitar and foot percussion. They use every limb, and then some, to make two people sound like a full band. The Big Little Lions have released six albums to date, which have garnered them awards and nominations including the Canadian Folk Music Award’s Ensemble of the Year. Their critically-acclaimed music has appeared on the CBC’s Top 20 and featured on shows including q and Vinyl Cafe.
Watch the official video of their song I Know, I Know.
April 20: Lynn Miles with opener tba
Lynn Miles is an award-winning singer-songwriter, record producer, teacher, writer, and public speaker — and a long-time favourite of Nick audiences. Lynn has 15 albums to her credit and she estimates she’s written about 900 songs. She has produced five albums for other artists including two critically acclaimed albums by Lynne Hanson, who joins Lynn Miles as a duo side project called The LYNNeS. Lynn won a Juno award in 2003 for Roots Traditional Album of the year, and went on to be nominated in the same categories in 2006 and 2011. She is also the recipient of six Canadian Folk Music Awards. In 2016, Americana artist Clair Lynch recorded Lynn’s song Black Flowers on her Grammy nominated album North By South. Lynn Miles’s latest album, called TumbleweedyWorld, has just been released on True North Records. Lynn will be accompanied by exceptional guitarist, Keith Glass.
Watch Lynn’s live performance, with Keith Glass, of her song She Drinks.
2023-2024 Season Tickets On Sale Now!
Advance Tickets at Showpass
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