Jed and the Valentine is the musical collaboration between Jonah Morris and Maria Khaner. When they met in 2020, Morris was living in Bragg Creek and Khaner was living in Edmonton.
‘We were long distance for a little while,” says Khaner, “and then somehow I convinced him to leave the beautiful Kananaskis / Bragg Creek area.”
Morris says, “We started dating before we made any music together.” However, it didn’t take them long to explore their shared love of acoustic and folk music. Morris says, “We just started jamming, and writing the odd song together. It wasn’t until we played a song for my family, just for fun, at a backyard gathering, that we realized, with their encouragement, that we should try to give it a go as musicians.”
From that point, open mics, jam sessions, and more songwriting were part of their life together. Morris had some recording equipment from having studied music production and composition at Selkirk College in BC. “I had some hand-me-down gear, and my laptop,” he laughs, “and we started recording some songs together at home.”
He sings and plays guitar, ukelele and piano. “I guess technically I play the kick-drum and the foot tambourine, too, just to add a little bit of a pulse to it!”
Khaner plays guitar and banjo and sings, but says, “I don’t do the whole one-man-band thing that Jonah has going on.”
The recording process became more intentional after festival appearances in 2023. Every year, the School of Song, organized by CJSR radio host Rhea March, brings emerging musical acts to summer festival stages such as the Edmonton Folk Music Festival and the Canmore Folk Music Festival. The duo’s festival experiences led to more creative and recording work, and their album Awake! was released in 2024.
Now Jed and the Valentine are working on a second album that will be released this summer.
“We’re really pouring everything that we’ve got into our music right now,” says Khaner. “People have been wonderful to us, so we’ve been able to support ourselves through it.”
They are quick to include CKUA among their supporters, too.
Morris says, “CKUA and the community have meant everything to us. The kindness that our community has shown us, and that CKUA has shown us, is incredible. CKUA was the first radio station—ever—to play our music! That was a huge milestone for us. The fact that CKUA was kind enough to take a chance on us, and continues to support our music and play our music is massive. I truly think that Alberta and Canada’s music scene would not be the same without CKUA. You guys mean the world to us.”
Thank you, Jonah and Maria! We appreciate the kind words about the role CKUA has played in your success.
We invite all CKUA listeners who value programming that celebrates emerging and local artists to donate during our Spring Fundraiser. It’s easy to do, and every donation helps! Go to ckua.com/donate
Jed and the Valentine will be fundraiser guests on CKUA, during Thoroughfare on Tuesday, April 29. Don’t miss their conversation with host Tony King!
You can also find information about their upcoming live shows at jedandthevalentine.com
