Saskatoon Jazz Festival

When

  • August 7, 2021
  • August 8, 2021
  • August 9, 2021
  • August 10, 2021

Tickets available online HERE

For ten days each summer, the city of Saskatoon bursts into song as the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival plays host to hundreds of world class artists. Over 75,000 hungry music fans devour the sounds of jazz, blues, funk, pop, and world music each year, with a program that spans as many genres as it does continents.

The first festival took place in Saskatoon during the summer of 1987. Today it has become the second largest festival of its kind in Western Canada, and since 2009 has been named Best Festival in Planet S Magazine Best of Saskatoon reader’s poll.

 

Aug 7th

Wide Mouth Mason

It’s hard to believe that it has been over 20 years since Saskatoon’s Wide Mouth Mason has played the festival, but what better way to shake off the dust and kick the 34th annual festival off in high gear.

When one thinks of the epitome of a ‘blues band’, the first thing that comes to mind is not a couple of Canadian kids coming of age in the 1980s. This is not your typical, run of the mill 12-bar blues about lost lovers, whiskey, church and sinnin’.

The two-time Juno Award winner has become one of the country’s most popular blues-based rock bands over their 25 year history! They’ve performed at the esteemed Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland as well as extensive tours with AC/DC, ZZ Top and The Rolling Stones. Not too shabby for a couple of Canadian kids on the Prairies.

Fast forward to 2019, where we find Wide Mouth Mason as a duo with original members Shaun Verreault on vocals, guitars, and Safwan Javed on percussions and vocals. Their 8th release, I Wanna Go With You, was released on indie label We Are Busy Bodies on October 25, 2019.

It is Wide Mouth Mason reinvented and unapologetically blues.

 

Sheepdogs

Saskatoon’s fave furry sons returning with their classic rock influenced sound. The rich harmonies and rounded guitar tones they’re known for are further refined, and “Like an experienced chef, the band keeps honing their recipes, constantly creating more complex yet subtle flavours,” lead singer and main songwriter Ewan Currie explains.

Performing the bands classic signature sound this will be the opening night of opening nights to kick off the best party of the summer!

Like always, the guitars are so big and woolly that they just might clog your drain, and going with the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” creedo, all that’s left to do is to get your ticket for that rock and roll voyage.

 

Aug 8th

The Washboard Union

The Washboard Union secure their status as one of Canada’s preeminent country after earning the trio’s their first JUNO Award for Breakthrough Group Of The Year in 2018.

The impeccable three-part harmony and top-notch musicianship once again displayed by Aaron Grain, Chris Duncombe and David Roberts is only one aspect of The Washboard Union’s appeal.  It’s all part of the unique relationship The Washboard Union shares with their audience that has evolved from playing the western Canadian bar circuit in the early 2010s to performing in front of over 200,000 people in North America and Europe before the pandemic.

They are 7-time CCMA Award winners which includes being the 2-year-reigning Group of the Year bringing their career music award total to an awe-inspiring 28 wins.  It’s a story not just about how three guys managed to make great music together and become one of Canada’s most successful and beloved country bands, but that they’ve done it through the genuine friendship they share.

Although they will still be called country, The Washboard Union will always sound exactly like who they are.

 

Karli June

Making her Jazz Festival debut, Listowel, Ontario’s Karli June fell in love with music as a child, singing in her church’s choir and local fairs and singing competitions. During her teens she began writing songs in earnest, studied piano, taught herself guitar, and took every opportunity she had to perform live during school concerts, in musical theatre productions and at the local pub.

With an anthemic chorus and evocative vocals, singles such as “Heart Drunk”, “Home Team”, and ‘Say Too Much’ displays a refreshingly forthright take on country-pop that’s optimistic, thoughtful, and hooky as all get out. 

Karli has a clear vision of what she wants to say and how she wants to say it. Writing candidly and honestly is a hallmark of her songwriting past and present.

Her debut EP will be released in early 2022 and there is no doubt the best is yet to come.

 

Aug 9th 

Whitehorse 

Since their debut, Whitehorse has traveled from magnetic folk duo to full-blown rock band and beyond. In truth Whitehorse is never fully either one or the other, but an ever-evolving creative partnership that challenges both artists, Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, to explore new instrumental and lyrical terrain with each record. Steamy, swampy and squalling in equal measure, Whitehorse’s signature sound is guitar-heavy, harmony-abundant and lyrically deft.

Now, the JUNO Award winners return with Strike Me Down, a collection of disco-twirling, hard riffing tales from the brink. Strike Me Down showcases Whitehorse’s masterful, fantastical storytelling and melodic pop sensibilities, with plenty of space made for guitar shredding, epic basslines and spaced-out vocal layering. High-impact production and prismatic visuals contribute to Strike Me Down‘s high-stakes, epic vibe. Key single “Why So Cruel” synthesizes decades of dance-ready nightclub noir, from Blondie and ABBA to Kacey Musgraves.

 

Aug 10th 

SASKATOON JAZZ ORCHESTRA PRESENTS KEYED TO LIFE: THE MUSIC OF STEVIE WONDER

Keyed to Life! 100 million albums sold world-wide, 22 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award (Best Original Song), Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, R&B Hall of Fame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, are but a few of the accolades honouring the spectacular musical career of the one and only Stevie Wonder.

The universality of Stevie Wonder and his music served is the inspiration behind this Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra show which marks the SJO’s return to live performance after a 1.5 year hiatus due to the global pandemic. This SJO performance will feature guest artists Heidi Munro (vocals), Todd Martin (vocals & harmonica), and Mark DeJong (sax).

The music will feature a blend of classic and reimagined renditions of Stevie Wonder’s incredibly joy-filled music, presented though the ‘lens’ of Saskatoon’s premiere the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra.

Todd Martin – Special Guest

An accomplished singer and harmonica player, Todd has been fronting the Winnipeg based group Dirty Catfish Brass Band for the past 9 years, as well as performing regularly with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, and The Ron Paley Big Band.

Adding to his list of accomplishments, he has performed on 2 Juno Award winning albums, most recently for The Bros Landreth album Let It Lie, which features both his horn and harmonica playing.

Heidi Munro – Special Guest

Whether it’s R&B/Jazz, Blues, Rock ’n’ Roll or country, powerhouse vocalist Heidi Munro ​​pours passion and energy into every performance.

Mark DeJong

Saxophonist Mark DeJong has over 20 years of professional experience as a musician, educator, director, composer, bandleader, promoter, contractor, presenter and sideman. Mark is equally at home in jazz, blues, pop, folk, and gospel settings, Marks abilities have garnered recognition regionally, across Canada, and beyond the border.

 

Funkjoint

This dynamic Saskatoon group revels in tight funk and improvisation, drawing from collective decades teaching music and playing in bands spanning jazz to metal and everywhere in between.  With the 2020 release of their debut EP ‘Many Worlds’, FunkJoint is solidifying their sound and look to continue delivering energetic live performances and bring jazz to more ears in 2021.

FunkJoint

Sauvelm McClean – keys/key-bass/vocals, Graham Templeman – drums/vocals, Steven Maier – guitar, 

Adam Streisel – trumpet, Nathan Degenhart – sax

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