Here are the dates and headliners for our 44th anniversary, 2024 – 2025 Season. This season will once again feature seven concerts instead of the usual twelve.
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September 28, 2024: Lynne Hanson with opener Erin Ross
Headlining our first concert of the 2024-25 season will be acclaimed Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson. Lynne’s hard living music has garnered her the nickname “Canada’s Queen of Americana.” While her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart. She’s known for her high-energy, roots-guitar-driven live performances, whether playing solo or with her band the Good Intentions. She has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming. Winner of two Canadian Folk Music Awards, she has released nine studio albums along with two books of poetry, and has toured extensively across North America, Europe and the UK. Lynne will release her tenth studio album Just A Poet in the spring of 2024.
Watch Lynne Hanson’s official video of her song Light in Me.
Calgary singer-songwriter Erin Ross has been playing a confident mix of roots music for many years. Earlier this year she released her first full-length album, The Wind Will Lead Me Home, an assured, nine song collection that shows her command of the bedrock strains of roots, including blues, folk, rock and roll and jazz. Recorded in Nashville with Canadian studio veteran Steve Dawson and long-time drummer Lorne Petersen, The Wind Will Lead Me Home features session work by John Prine bassist Dave Jacques, Sheryl Crow keyboardist Jen Gunderman, multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin, and percussionist Justin Amaral. The nine tracks ruminate on home and belonging while showcasing some of Music City’s magic and polish. The Wind Will Lead Me Home won this year’s Blues Recording of the Year at the YYC Music Awards.
Listen to Erin’s first single from the album, the bluesy Whiskey and Woodsmoke.
October 26, 2024: The Maria Dunn Trio with opener Magnolia Buckskin
Edmonton’s Maria Dunn draws deeply on the folk tradition of storytelling through song. Melding North American roots music with her Scottish-Irish heritage, she sings about the resilience and grace of “ordinary” people, past and present. She won the Juno in 2022 for Traditional Roots Album of the Year for Joyful Banner Blazing, a recording which celebrates resilience, grace, gratitude, solidarity, joy and the love that fires our actions to make the world a better place. Her 2017 album, Gathering, which was also nominated for a Juno, highlights positive stories of courage and activism, both local and global. In addition to her music, Maria has also developed and toured four multimedia people’s history shows. At the Nick, Maria will be accompanied by Shannon Johnson (violin, harmonies) and Jeremiah McDade (saxophone, whistle, flute, guitar, harmonies). They’ll be performing Maria’s thought-provoking, hope-mongering songs in rich and varied arrangements with superb vocals and musicianship for a compelling concert experience.
Watch the Maria Dunn Trio’s official video of the song Love Carries Me.
Magnolia Buckskin bring their years of friendship, humour and love of music to the stage, telling stories that evoke a panorama of human experiences. Kathy Cook, Natasha Sayer and Corry Ulan draw upon their prairie roots, delivering a blend of indie bluegrass, folk, and acoustic pop music on guitar, banjo, mandolin, accordion and bass. The three songwriters back each other up with arrangements that are both refreshing and poignant. The title of their 2024 recording, In the Round, is a nod to folk festival workshops (aka songwriters’ rounds), where musicians take turns presenting their songs. The Calgary Herald said the album “has a warm, sitting-around-the-campfire feel that seems appropriate for the act’s folksy musings on topics that are both fun and weighty.”
Check out their sampler video to hear their beautiful three-part harmonies on full display.
November 23, 2024: AV & the Inner City with opener Mark Perry
If you were fortunate enough to catch AV & the Inner City’s performance at last year’s Calgary Folk Music Festival, you know this all-female soul/roots ensemble is something special. The group is made up of band leader and multi award-winning singer-songwriter AV (Ann Vriend), along with Debbie Houle, Johanna Alleyne, Crystal Eyo, Alenka Lundell, and Jenn Dahlen. They came together during the COVID shutdown, when AV hosted and performed nearly 60 free concerts on her front porch in her inner-city Edmonton neighbourhood. In June of 2021, AV asked the group of singers that had been singing so often alongside her if they would be interested in forming an actual official, rehearsed act. They responded with an emphatic “YES!” – and AV & the Inner City was born. Since then they’ve been invited to perform at venues and festivals across the country, including the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, where they were awarded an Emerging Artist Award. They released their first single, Low & Lowly in February 2024.
Watch AV & The Inner City’s official video for their song Nobody Is You.
The Prince George Citizen newspaper puts Smithers, B.C.-based Mark Perry in some pretty impressive company: “New Jersey has Springsteen, New York has Billy Joel, northern BC has Mark Perry. These are the storytellers of their times and places.” Mark has been writing, recording and performing since the mid-1990s, when he made his first album with Roy Forbes and toured with Connie Kaldor. With over 200 songs recorded, he has a huge repertoire of contemplative and lively tunes to suit his audience, from dirt road ballads to river-rising frolics. He takes us into rural Canada, the spirit of its people, the power of its landscapes and the impacts of some unique historic events. He draws us in to reflect and to laugh at ourselves, connecting us from coast to coast. Mark will be making his fifth appearance at the Nick.
Check out his song Northbound in his studio session sampler.
January 25, 2025: Cara Luft with opener Emily Triggs
Juno-award-winning singer-songwriter-musician Cara Luft is that rare artist steeped in folk and traditional roots music almost from birth, yet willing to alter the fabric, stretch the boundaries and fearlessly bend genres and styles. A founding member of Canadian folk super-group The Wailin’ Jennys and the brainchild behind Winnipeg’s acclaimed powerhouse duo The Small Glories, Luft deserves her solid reputation as one of Canada’s finest live performers, armed with amazing tenacity, vision, energy and a contagious hilarity. Cara has a spirit that drives her to connect with people. Reviewers of her live shows talk about her compelling vocals, superb musicianship, humorous anecdotes, accomplished songwriting, ability to switch between styles and the charm of her stage presence. Cara’s the real deal, there’s nothing pretentious about her. And that sense of honesty, integrity, personality and spontaneity permeates both her music and her live shows.
A live performance of Cara singing Sweet Child of Mine.
A regular performer at family gatherings and parties since she was small enough to fit inside a guitar case, Nick favourite Emily Triggs honed her natural talent in Hemmingford, Quebec. Now based in Calgary, she pushes the boundaries of folk music, bringing in influences that have shaped her life. Those influences include the Deep South with the likes of Lead Belly, Texas blues, strains from the Appalachian Mountains, and of course, her early years in Quebec. With a pure and true vocal, complementing a solid base of undeniably roots music composition, Emily engages the listener. Her music grips the heart and elevates the soul, and her songs are double edged and unapologetic. Before embarking on a solo career, Emily was a member of a number of Calgary-based bands including The House Doctors and Magnolia Buckskin.
Listen to Emily sing Summer in Nevada from her 2024 album The Great Escape.
February 22, 2025: Kinjo & Young with opener Linden Conroy and Ben Tizzard.
For decades, Calgary’s own Jory Kinjo and Aaron Young have wowed audiences around the world. Now they’re uniting their talents into one project, the aptly named Kinjo & Young. Jory Kinjo brings a unique history to his music and draws from his experiences playing and performing soul, ska, reggae and rhythm & blues all over the world. He’s played with bands including the Mocking Shadows and Planet Smashers, and he’s appeared with a wide array of artists from UB40 to South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela to Ziggy Marley. Aaron Young, by the time he was just 23 years old, had already produced, arranged and performed on over 15 albums. In the last 30 years he’s produced and/or played on over 180 albums and played on over 7,500 live stage performances spanning across the globe. Don’t miss this chance to see two legends together on one stage!
Check out Kinjo & Young’s eclectic talents on their Classic Covers Mashup.
Calgary-based guitarists and songwriters Linden Conroy and Ben Tizzard have been fixtures of the local music scene for many years. Individually, Linden and Ben are well-rounded freelance musicians with their own unique experiences, accolades and musical styles. Among their many accomplishments, Linden has performed with The Marcus Trummer Band since he was 14 years old, while Ben was a finalist in the Stampede Talent Show and performed as the guitarist in the country musical May We All. However, when they come together as a duo, their musical relationship is seamless. Ben’s jazz and folk background lends itself to intricate fingerpicking and delicate nuances, while Linden’s experience in country and blues adds depth and soul to their sound. Both artists are committed to their craft, always striving to push the boundaries of what is possible with the guitar.
Listen to Linden and Ben’s song Lochness Monster, from their 2024 recording Just Out of Sight:
March 22, 2025 – Andrew Collins Trio with opener Backyard Betties.
Andrew Collins does it all. He plays the mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola and mandocello. He composes, produces, arranges, writes and teaches across multiple genres, including a popular collision of folk, jazz, bluegrass, celtic, and classical. He co-founded the Creaking Tree String Quartet, the Foggy Hogtown Boys and, more recently, his namesake Trio. He and his various ensembles have had five Juno nominations and seven Canadian Folk Music Awards. His Trio-mates are fellow string guru Mike Mezzatesta, whose versatility shines through on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and mandola, and James McEleney, who holds it down on bass, mandocello and vocals. Showcasing a dizzying number of styles and instruments on stage, the Trio appear to live by the old adage, “idle hands are the devil’s workshop”, likely keeping them just ahead of his grasp. Bending and blending genres, these musical shape shifters land somewhere between the re-imagined worlds of Béla Fleck and Newgrass invader, David Grisman.
Watch the Andrew Collins perform their official video I Don’t Know (But I Like It).
Calgary’s Backyard Betties offer an authentic folk/americana style performance. The band engages audiences with Nancy Laberge’s witty banter and heartfelt original songs, the high-energy background vocals of Pip Hazell, the vocal-harmony and driving beats of Sarah Nielsen, and the captivating lead guitar of Mark Cassano. Together, they skillfully communicate personal experiences of love, life, and loss through their music, creating a genuine and relatable connection with their listeners. In addition to their musical endeavors, Nancy and Pip actively support aspiring songwriters through Write On! The Songwriting Experience, the volunteer-driven program that showcased some of its talented performers last year at the Nick.
Listen to Backyard Betties perform their song The High, which won the 2024 YYC Music Folk Recording of the Year.
April 26, 2025: Suzie Vinnick with opener Ollee Owens.
The Nick will be closing off our 2024/25 season with Suzie Vinnick, a Canadian blues legend who is equally at ease in the folk and roots worlds, not to mention gospel and rockabilly. A Saskatoon native transplanted to the Niagara Region of Ontario, Suzie is the proud owner of a gorgeous voice, prodigious guitar and bass chops, and an engagingly candid performance style. Her career has seen triumph after triumph. She’s has won 12 Maple Blues Awards (she has been nominated for 21 so far!), won the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Vocalist of the Year and is a three-time Juno nominee. Suzie achieved finalist status in the Solo/Duo Category at the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN; received the 2012 CBC Saturday Night Blues Great Canadian Blues Award and the 2012 Sirius XM Canada Blues Artist of the Year. Suzie has toured nationally with Downchild, Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Café and the John McDermott Band, and performed for Canadian Peacekeepers in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf.
Watch Suzie Vinnick’s live performance of her song Happy As Hell.
Calgary-based Ollee Owens has been described as a musical force of nature: she has a lyrical mastery that speaks on all of life’s moments, and a dynamic voice that reveals a well-travelled soul. Ollee combines burning intensity with elegant grace and skilled composure, wrapped in an electrifying blues-rock veneer. Her performance is an emotionally charged musical experience that creates a lasting connection. Ollee has played stages across Alberta and has performed with the likes of Hello Darlins, Matt Anderson and Dawn Tyler Watson. In October 2024, she released Nowhere to Hide, recorded in Nashville with help from a who’s who of acclaimed Nashville session musicians, including Muscle Shoals all-star guitarist Will McFarlane. The album teems with stylish, sophisticated jewels mined from blues, rock, and soul.
Watch the official video of Some Days from Ollee’s album Nowhere to Hide.