Joel Plaskett is on his way to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival for the first time since 2009. “This is the farthest west we’re coming,” he says, noting that most of his other shows this summer will be in the Maritimes and in Ontario.
He’ll perform with his band, Joel Plaskett Emergency, which consists of Plaskett on vocals and guitar, Dave Marsh on drums, and Chris Pennell on bass.
“The nice thing about festivals,” he says, “is they tend to have a wide demographic. It’s not a 19+ club, so that’s fun. Our catalogue works well with that.”
It’s a big catalogue, and one that led to a wonderful gift for Plaskett in 2025. As his 50th birthday approached, his longtime manager, Sheri Jones, invited friends in the Canadian music community to record their own heartfelt tributes for Songs From The Gang, a deluxe covers album of 22 of Plaskett’s own tunes.
Artists on the album include Rose Cousins, Julian Taylor, Jill Barber & Matthew Barber, Matt Andersen, Alan Doyle, David Myles…the list goes on.
It was all a huge surprise for Plaskett, and now, a year later, he still finds it difficult to express how much the album means to him. “I had no idea. It was a total surprise.”
It took Sheri Jones a year to get the tracks together and produce the album. Recording, production, and artwork were all put together in secret. Plasykett says, “It blew my mind, and it still does. I was really moved by the whole thing. It was such a trip to hear all these friends, such great singers, doing the tunes. It’s a dream come true, and such a gift. I’m still moved to tears when I hear it.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Plaskett now has a new single, “Fill in the Blanks.” It’s a nod to media theorist Marshall McLuhan. Plaskett was taking a class on McLuhan, exploring “hot and cold media,” and the idea that our senses are engaged differently with different art forms. Marshall’s book, Understanding Media, suggests that with “cooler” media, we use our imagination to fill in the blanks. “It’s a rock song with weird media theory behind it,” says Plaskett, “and it’s a fun track. The Emergency turned it into something rollicking and fun.”
Our last question for Plaskett is about being on a CKUA billboard. That one makes him laugh. “I haven’t seen it yet” he says, “but I love CKUA. It’s been such a supporter of mine. It’s such a cool community radio station.”
“I’ve always loved regional radio. I grew up in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia,” he says, “and there was a station called CKBW. I won a copy of Van Halen’s 1984 because I called in and could name the first three songs on the album. Radio is still a magical medium, and CKUA embodies that.”
He notes that even though CKUA’s reach is now national and international, “It still has a sense of place and purpose. So I was honoured to get the invite.”
Joel Plaskett Emergency will play Edmonton Folk Music Festival, which takes place August 6 – 9.
“Fill in the Blanks” was released as a single on May 1, 2026.
