Dan Mangan is a familiar name on the Canadian music scene. He started out as a 20-year old in 2003, and enjoyed break-out success with his 2009 album Nice, Nice, Very Nice which was short-listed for the Polaris Prize. His next album Oh Fortune was released in 2011, and garnered him five Juno nominations and two actual awards for New Artist of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year.
Dan Mangan + Blacksmith presents him in a slightly different context. But it’s not a big departure, as it just provides some formal recognition for his backing band which is composed of Kenton Loewen, Gordon Grdina and John Walsh — along with other occasional players Jesse Zubot, JP Carter and Tyson Naylor.
Earlier this year Dan Mangan + Blacksmith released the album Club Meds on Arts & Crafts, and on Saturday March 7 they’ll be in town to play a show at Darke Hall presented by Regina Folk Festival as part of its concert series. Hayden is the first back-up act. He’s set to release a new album on March 24 called Hey Love, so he’ll have some new tunes to peform too. Also on the bill is the psychedelic folk of Calgary’s Astral Swans.
The concert is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. You can find out more on the RFF website, and to give you a sense of what Dan Mangan + Blacksmith have come up with, here’s the video for the first single off Club Meds called “Vessel”:
