Aysanabee (Ace-in-abbey), a two-time JUNO award-winning alternative indie artist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter will be gracing the Musicfest Stage July 3^rd, treating Peterborough to a swirling mix of indie, soul, electronic sounds, and the pulse-quickening fingerpicking that earned him the first JUNO award by any indigenous artist. He is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of Sandy Lake First Nation, a remote fly-in community in the far reaches of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, now calling Toronto home.

His debut album, Watin (Nov 2022), named after his grandfather, includes ten tracks and nine interludes featuring the voice of his grandfather that combines music and journalism with artistry and expression. The success of the album earned Aysanabee acclaim as a uniquely talented artist, proving that he is here to stay and will continue to be a major force in the Canadian music scene.

His music has garnered an extensive list of accolades and support. The single  “Nomads” charted on Billboard Canada, reached #1 on CBC Music, and #1 on the Alternative Radio Chart (March 2023). “We Were Here” charted on the Indigenous Music Countdown, was featured on an episode of Station 19 (ABC/CTV), and was performed live at the 2023 JUNO Awards.

In early 2024,when Aysanabee made history as the first Indigenous artist to win the JUNO Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for his EP Here and Now, he followed up the wins with a memorable performance on the awards broadcast with a tribute to Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot alongside Allison Russell, William Prince, Julian Taylor, Shawnee Kish, Logan Staats, and the Rainbow Coalition. He was also nominated for Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.

Having been compared to Bon Iver, Matt Corby, Hozier, Kim Churchill, and Kings of Leon, Aysanabee’s album With Here and Now (Oct 2023) took a new direction, tackling personal experiences of love’s end with unflinching self-examination. CBC Music boasted that, “Here and Now reveals an artist deep in his groove. Aysanabee has rounded out his sound, blending elements of gospel, roots, soul and rock. The production and his earth-shattering voice put him in line with artists like Matt Corby, Hozier and Kings of Leon.”

He has been short-listed for the 2023 Polaris Prize, won three 2023 Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards for Artistic Video, Pop/Alternative/Rock Album of the Year, and Rising Star. He also won the 2023 Jim Beam Indie Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year and the 2023 Canadian Live Music Award for New Touring Artist of the Year. Among his many accomplishments, Aysanabee was nominated for a 2023 JUNO Award for Contemporary Indigenous Group or Artist of the Year. Moreover, he became the first Indigenous artist to hit Number 1 on Mediabase Canada’s Alternative Rock chart in March 2023.   Aysanabee last performed in Peterborough in November 2023 at Market Hall.

Opening for Aysanabee is Cale Crowe, a local singer-songwriter from the Alderville First Nation territory who has been entertaining audiences as a  “One-Man Band” act, performing acoustic guitar, electronic drum, and a loop station pedal. Crowe has performed all over North America from Sydney, Nova Scotia, to Albuquerque, New Mexico with notable acts such as Ron Sexsmith, The Strumbellas, William Prince, Digging Roots, and countless others. Cale is currently finishing his third studio record, the “Burn Blue” EP, and continues to tell his story – and the stories of others – behind the strings of an acoustic guitar and a microphone.

Listen to Aysanabee HERE

Listen to Cale Crowe HERE