Felice Noir:Songwriter Circle w/ The Goddamsels and friends!

THE GODDAMSELS

Based on their name alone, The Goddamsels aren’t your grandparents’ idea of country music. Formed out of the longstanding friendship between Alberta-based singer/songwriters Mallory Chipman and Freddi MacDougall, The Goddamsels write songs with strong, empowering messages, blended with elements of folk, pop and traditional country, all tied together by their stunning, instinctive harmonies. Their signature sound, which has drawn comparison to acts like The Chicks and Fleetwood Mac, can be heard on their debut album, Wayward Daughter, and subsequent singles, including their latest “Same Damn Thing”. They were nominated for the 2023 Roots Artist of the Year at the Country Music Alberta Awards, and in 2023, they completed a staggering 60-date tour across Canada. The Goddamsels recently completed their first European tour in Ireland, Scotland, and England in early 2024, and will be headed to Seoul Music Week in Korea in fall 2024 ahead of their sophomore record release.

KATE BLECHINGER

Kate Blechinger is an award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, and music educator originally from Treaty 4 Territory, and now based on Treaty 6 Territory. At times poetic and playful, then introspective and honest, Kate’s music is a true hybrid of folk, jazz, and pop genres. With “a voice like liquid peace”, her lyrical observations of life, love, and loss shoot straight to the heart. Kate’s 2018 debut album, Under a Dancing Sky, features innovative folk-jazz arrangements of Joni Mitchell’s compositions alongside several of Kate’s original compositions. Kate won the Jazz Recording of the Year award at the 2019 Edmonton Music Awards for her version of ‘Night in the City’. Kate’s arrangements and compositions have been featured on CKUA Community Radio, CBC Radio-Canada, and CBC Radio Two, among other campus and community stations. Kate is grateful to have shared her unique twist of folk-jazz at various venues around Alberta and Saskatchewan, and is currently workshopping new music with plans to record a sophomore EP in 2024-2025.

SMOKEY

Smokey is Nickelas Johnson, a musician and multidisciplinary artist from Northern Alberta, Canada. Drawing from western folk traditions and the avant-garde, he creates a kind of gothic country music. Using dusty acoustic and electric instrument, wobbly synths and lofi field recordings, Smokey croons through a dream world of regret and desire. A spectral scout, he wanders the woods holding humor and horror like lamps in each hand. Smokey is supported by the Feelings,a shifting alliance of top-tiermusicians that has included Peter Sagar (Homeshake, Mac DeMarco), Paul Arnusch (the Bobby Tenderloin Universe, Faunts, Whitsundays), Aaron Parker (Cantoo, Whitsundays), the eponymous Aladean Kheroufi, and Gavin Dunn (the Hearts). Smokey recently released a new single and video in May 2024 for his song “Springtime”. Last year, Smokey unveiled videos for two new singles: 'Your Beast,' an autobiographical lament of a lycanthrope, and 'Horsecock,' a jest, maybe crude, but simple and true. 2023 also finally saw the release of 'Livin' With My Shadow', an original song featured in the film Hands That Bind (2021) starring Bruce Dern and Will Oldham.

AARON PARKER

Aaron Parker has been making melodic, independent music in Edmonton for over a decade starting with self-produced releases by his psych-pop project, Cantoo. During the pandemic, he was in the mood to write a few melancholy, acoustic based songs built around guitar and moody string arrangements. Released under his own name, the O Candyland EP showcased this knack for sad, yet uplifting songs. He's been quietly wooing audiences with these songs since 2021. In addition to his own music, Parker plays in Smokey and the Feelings and Duplekita as well as his own Gord's Gold band, an 8-person tribute to Gordon Lightfoot. He also played in Faith Healer and the Whitsundays.