The Halifax Urban Folk Festival is excited to welcome two time 2024 Juno winner Aysanabee (with the Halifax All Star band) to The Carleton for a show that includes an opening songwriters’ circle featuring Rhett Miller, DeeDee Austin and Brett Matthews on Friday, October 3rd. Live music gets underway at 8 PM and tickets (worth every penny) are $72.50 + HST.
Aysanabee is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer songwriter currently based in Toronto. He is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of the Sandy Lake First Nation a remote fly-in community in the far reaches of Northwestern Ontario.
Solemn and soaring, backed by a swirling blend of indie, soul and electronic soundscapes, mournful saxophone and pulse-quickening finger-picking, Aysanabee’s striking sound is equal parts hypnotic and melodic and has been compared to works by Bon Iver, Matt Corby, Don Ross, Kim Churchill, Kings of Leon and Sam Smith.
On Mar 23, 2024, Aysanabee made history as the first ever Indigenous Artist to win the JUNO Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and the coveted Songwriter of the year, for Here and Now. He followed up the wins with a memorable performance on the awards broadcast with a tribute to Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot alongside Allison Russell, William Prince, Julian Taylor, Shawnee Kish, Logan Staats, and the Rainbow Coalition.
Aysanabee has performed more than 300 shows on major stages and festivals and venues across Canada and globally including Ottawa Bluesfest, Osheaga, Montréal Jazzfest, Tönder Music Festival, AmericanaFest UK, Wake the Giant , The Great Escape, Reeperbahan and more. The Here And Now EP tour included cross Canada tours with Dan Mangan and Allison Russell.
He has shared stages with such notable acts as The National, Digging Roots, Amanda Rheaume, Sam Roberts Band, Our Lady Peace, DJ Shub, Julian Taylor, Jeremy Dutcher, Dan Mangan, Mavis Staples, July Talk, Half Moon Run, Tokyo Police Club, and Aqua.
The Songwriters Circle
Rhett Miller is the lead singer of the alternative country rock band Old 97’s. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Weirdly enough, he also plays Bzermikitokolok in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
DeeDee Austin is a 19 year old Indigenous Pop powerhouse and member of the Abegweit First Nation on PEI. You could call her a hybrid artist who embraces the contemporary and traditional Indigenous music, which she creates and injects into each one of her infectious high energy performances.
Brett Matthews (originally hailing from Cape Breton) brings a refreshing take to the americana genre by combining an eclectic list of influences from RnB, Pop to Country and Folk, to create a unique expression that is melancholic, nostalgic and beautifully musical.