Aysanabee

Aysanabee's performance date TBA.

Many people poured their hunkered-down pandemic free time into bread making or cross-stitching. Evan Pang spent those quiet apartment nights and weekends becoming a major force in Canadian music. That wasn’t his initial intention. He just wanted to focus more on the guitar he learned to play growing up off-grid in the northern Ontario community of Kaministiquia, near Thunder Bay. Plus, he was getting into long conversations with his grandfather — a residential school survivor — and found he had many stories to tell. 

By calling himself Aysanabee, the Oji-Cree member of Sandy Lake First Nation reclaimed his grandfather’s surname, with his debut album Watin being his grandfather’s first name. It earned a Juno nomination, and at 2022 Top 10 CBC Music nod. His songs have a sweeping, almost epic-rock feel — with his powerful, soulful voice filling them out. But a folk singer’s intimate storytelling is at their core, opening eyes as it enchants ears. 

Aysanabee called his music a “journey of reconnecting” to his roots. As anyone who attended this breakout star’s gripping set at February’s Block Heater will attest, it’s also a journey for the audience.