The 34th SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, after a year-long wait, returns this summer with four headlining artists that includes Juno Award winners Wide Mouth Mason.
The festival, cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set from Aug. 7 to 15 at the TD Mainstage Bessborough Gardens and tickets are already on sale.
Saskatoon’s Wide Mouth Mason, together with The Sheepdogs, will open-up the festival. Wide Mouth Mason is a two-time Juno Award winner that boasts of having toured with AC/DC, ZZ Top and the Rolling Stones aside from performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
The Sheepdogs, another home-grown group, will be sharing the stage with the popular Canadian blues-rock band where they are ready to entertain the audience with their own blend of Southern, blues and classic rock music.
“Like an experienced chef, the band keeps honing their recipes, constantly creating more complex yet subtle flavours,” said Sheepdogs lead singer and main songwriter Ewan Currie.
The Sheepdogs holds the distinction of being the first unsigned band that made it on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine. Their decades-long music career resulted in multi-platinum album sales and four Juno awards that include winning Rock Album of the Year for Learn & Burn in 2012.
Seven-time Canadian Country Music Association Award winners The Washboard Union will be performing on Aug. 8 where they will be playing their usual lineup of country and bluegrass music. The two-time Group of the Year award winner became one of Canada’s top country musicians since they were formed in British Columbia more than a decade ago.
On Monday, Aug. 9, the folk-rock duo of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet will be taking the stage where they will entertain music fans with their signature guitar-heavy and harmony-abundant music with songs that are lyrically deft.
The Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra will be making their return to performing live by presenting Keyed of Life: The Music of Stevie Wonder Aug. 10. Wonder’s musical career that spanned generations became the inspiration of the band for their upcoming performance, where they are expected to play the hits of the R&B legend.
SJO will be performing with guest artists Heidi Munro (vocals), Todd Martin (vocals, amp, and harmonica), and Mak DeJong (saxophone).
Artistic Director Kevin Tobin said everyone is excited for the show since this year is significant.
“While scaled down, the 2021 SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Music Festival is shaping up to be an exciting one as our communities start to gather to support our incredible Canadian and Saskatchewan artists.”
Board chair Shawna Nelson added that it is nice to be back. “After 16 months, it feels great to reconnect as a community and what better way than [with this] announcement. The board and staff can’t wait to see the smiling faces enjoying the sights and sounds of the talented local, regional, and Canadian artists that are schedule to perform.”
Tickets are available at the Broadway Theatre box office at 715 Broadway Ave. in Saskatoon or call 306-652-6556 and check online at broadwaytheatre.ca/events for more information.
