John Wort Hannam with Leanne Lightfoot

The Nick is thrilled to welcome back long-time favourite, John Wort Hannam. John has been on his folk and roots-fueled troubadour journey for two decades, spinning songwriting gold from the chaff of the lives he has encountered and those within his fertile imagination. Twenty-two years in, he shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, he’s gaining both momentum and a wider audience, winning two 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Solo Artist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year. Add to this a Juno Award nomination, a Kerrville New Folk Win, a previous Canadian Folk Music Award, and it’s easy to see why audiences and critics alike hear something special in his narrative and lyrically driven songs. Effortlessly mixing rich and clear timbered vocals with lyrics that tug at the heart, his sound is both unique and familiar. John Wort Hannam has been named Alberta’s Artist-In-Residence and Arts Ambassador!
Ten years after releasing her Redtail Flyer album, Leanne Lightfoot has released Still Knowing, bringing her smoke laced vocals, and timeless writing to the forefront. Chanelled through her raw and honest vocals, Leanne Lightfoot’s songwriting reveals the joys and sorrows of life-lessons, and the emotions she knows intimately: matters of the heart, the call of land, and the bonds that bind one to another. Adeptly and gently she leads listeners on emotional journeys with her song-stories, some from her life, some from other’s lives. With upbeat banter and back-story, upright bass player, Jamie Newsom, and guitarist, Jim McLennan, add depth and texture to the nuanced collection of songs, where past and present intertwine and where heartache and hope coexist long after the music fades.