Aengus Finnan – Feb 27 2010

“Disarmingly Artful”
- The Toronto Star

“Critic’s Pick”
- The Nashville Scene

“A Traveling Archivist”
- Saturday Night

“A Maverick Balladeer”
- The Echo

Aengus Finnan is “a maverick balladeer” whose story-style songs and dramatic performances have enthralled audiences across Canada, the Arctic, Australia, Japan, and America including The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and the Yukon International Storytelling festival.

His songs and interpretations reveal the stories of real people and familiar places with an honesty that won him the prestigious New Folk Songwriters’ Award at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas; an honour shared by the likes of Lyle Lovette & Guy Clark.

Aengus released two albums to critical acclaim including his debut Fool’s Gold and a sophomore release entitled North Wind. His timeless love song “Lately” has been recorded by several artists while his “O’Shaughnessy’s Lament,” written in the graveyard of the silver-mining town of Cobalt, has been recorded by renowned Irish-American tenor Shamus Kennedy.

Aengus returns to performing after an extended hiatus during which time he founded Art Beat (an OCFF community outreach program), founded the Shelter Valley Folk Festival (where he continues to volunteer as Artistic Director), served as Board President of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, co-founded The Way We Feel (a touring Gordon Lightfoot celebration) and helped co-found the Arts Council of Northumberland and the Park Theatre Foundation.

Aengus has been twice nominated for the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, and was awarded a Canadian National Decoration for his humanitarian and cultural work in Canada.