Critically acclaimed songwriter Julian Taylor returns and he has brought Logan Staats with him for a concert on Friday, January 23. Together they have joined forces, touring across Canada and bringing an incredible night of songs and stories. Presented in an acoustic format, this concert promises musical surprises and heartfelt storytelling. Join the award winning recording artists as they share the stage for a powerful night of music.

Jordan Hart is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose music blends the intimacy of folk with the soul of pop and the craftsmanship of indie. Known for his warm, expressive vocals and heartfelt lyricism, Hart has a gift for creating songs that feel both deeply personal and universally relatable. Over the past several years, he has built a devoted audience through his captivating live performances, connecting with listeners in theaters, clubs, and festival stages across Canada, Europe, and beyond. With a catalogue that balances vulnerable ballads and uplifting anthems, Hart continues to win over new fans, whether performing solo or alongside acclaimed artists. His work reflects an artist dedicated to storytelling, emotional honesty, and the power of music to create lasting connection.

The first Senseless show of 2026 boasts one of our strongest and most eclectic lineups yet – a unique blend of highbrow sound art, performative goofiness and unmitigated aggression that you won’t want to miss.

$15/PWYC

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

Swilkie, the new album from Highlands-based songwriter Iona Lane, weaves ecology, conservation, islands and folklore into poetic songs and contemplative melodies. Written during three residencies on the Isle of Eigg, Isle of Mull and Sanday in Orkney, sense of place and landscape are at the core of these songs. Charting in the UK Official Folk Album charts at #23, Swilkie explores rom basking sharks to lighthouses, lichen to vanishing islands, curlews to tree planting; the album was recorded in a boathouse on the West Coast of Scotland and the eager listener may even hear the lapping sound of the tide murmuring through the album. Iona’s connection to places by the sea is translated through these songs with evolving vocal melodies, subtle guitar and droning shruti box.

Iona’s debut album Hallival charted at #36 in the Official Folk Album Charts and was named by Folk Radio UK as #27 in their Top Albums of 2022. The album received widespread press including in The Guardian, Walk Highlands, BBC Radio 2 and The Scotsman to name a few. 

In 2023 Iona toured extensively and joined Karine Polwart on a run of tour dates in England. Iona joined Karine on stage for a few songs, an awe inspiring opportunity for audiences to see these two artists sing together.

Iona has toured extensively across the UK, Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark and is looking forward to bringing her music across the Atlantic.

Iona was the recipient of the Taran Guitars Young Players Bursary in 2020.

“It stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it… Haunting, touching, atmospheric, loving it!” – Mark Radcliffe BBCR2

“Swilkie is a masterful album full of heartfelt emotion and breathtaking songwriting” – KLOF Mag

“Swilkie is evocative of coastline, nature & history, much like the sound of wind & sea reflecting Iona’s airy, light & gentle voice.” – RnR

“Iona’s lyrics and musical arrangements crackle with wide-eyed curiosity.” Jude Rogers, The Guardian

“Iona feels like a kindred spirit with her gorgeous evocations of landscape and geeky scientific references.” – Karine Polwart

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

Dead Root Revival is not a straight-up Blues outfit, nor are they just another Rock band. The band draws from many corners of the musical spectrum, and sometimes shift between these influences mid-song. One thing you can count on: a DRR concert is a variety of music and moods, shifts in tempo, and a sweeping use of dynamic range, resulting in a powerful concert experience. At the heart of the band, is veteran singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Savage. Many who know Savage for his more folk-oriented solo output, are genuinely floored by the ferocity with which he attacks the strings of his signature Gibson Nighthawk. Joined by the virtuosic Tony Silvestri on keys, and anchored by the rock-solid rhythm section of Bonz Bowering (drums) and Richard Piche (bass), this is Rock and Roll of the highest order.

6:00 Potluck
7:00 Show

A Home Routes Show

Zachary Lucky is a Canadian folk and country songwriter originally from Saskatoon, now based in Orillia, Ontario. Grandson of country legend Smilin’ Johnnie Lucky, he began his career in pop bands before launching a solo career in 2009. Known for his relentless touring and authentic storytelling, Zachary has become a standout artist from Saskatchewan’s vibrant roots scene alongside peers like Colter Wall. He credits the prairie landscape and its people for shaping his music’s spirit. Since his 2010 debut Come and Gone, he has released four more albums, including Saskatchewan, The Ballad of Losing You, and Midwestern, released in 2023.

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

Canadian Folk Music Award-winners and JUNO nominees James Hill and Anne Janelle. Both have one foot in folk traditions and the other in improvised music. With a blend of songwriting and sound sculpture, Champagne Weather artfully bridges these worlds with a sound that evokes Philip Glass and Steve Reich even as it harks back to Appalachian fiddle and Maritime folksong.

In each Champagne Weather composition, two motifs repeat, entwine and slowly change, creating serendipitous harmony that no-one can predict—not even the musicians. Cello, ukulele and violin sparkle like a field of stars, grounded only by the rumble of low-fi synth. It’s ever-changing music that neither sleeps nor wakes, floating instead in a dreamy blue twilight of sound.

The duo’s lyrics paint impressions of modern life and the characters who call it home: the widower, the lost child, the busy people. Every song is a diorama, a shoebox-world with

a peep-hole

        just wide enough

                     to fall

                             through. 

7:00 Doors
7:30 Show

Tiny Size, Mighty Joy!

Tamar Ilana & Ventanas is a Toronto-based band that performs original and traditional material in over 20 languages, weaving in and out of fiery Flamenco dance and music, Greek, Turkish and Sephardic love songs, upbeat Bulgarian dance tunes, and lyrical original melodies, while leading captive audiences through windows into other lands, times and cultures. Lead singer Tamar Ilana’s powerful vocals, honed through a lifetime of performing internationally, evoke deep emotions. Add to this the intensity of Flamenco guitar and dance, the excitement of Middle Eastern darbuka, the soulful sounds of Greek oud and baglama, the haunting sounds of classical violin and contrabass, and the flare of Jazz improvisation and you have one unforgettable show full of music, dance and inspiration.

Tamar Ilana is Ashkenazi Jewish and a member of Pasqua First Nation (Treaty 4 Territory, SK) with some Scottish and Roma-Romanian ancestry mixed in. She grew up on the road performing and traveling with her ethnomusicologist mother, Dr. Judith Cohen, which deeply influenced her life and career. The members of Ventanas are from various backgrounds (including Greek, Italian, French Canadian, Indian) and all grew up playing music and performing since they were children. The project originally formed in 2011 when Tamar moved back to Toronto from Seville, where she had been living and studying Flamenco. Ventanas, meaning “windows” in Spanish, merges the members’ musical and cultural backgrounds together, creating their own sound which in turn reflects the sound of their city, Toronto.

During the pandemic, Ventanas helped found FabCollab, a not-for-profit performing arts organization that showcases BIPOC women and gender diverse minority voices. They are the resident house band for FabCollab’s signature series, Women in Song, which has led them to collaborate with internationally renowned artists such as Meesha Shafi, Measha Bruggergosman-Lee, Tia Wood, Zeb Bangash, Eliana Cuevas, Amanda Martinez, Joanna Majoko, OKAN, Sintayehu “Mimi” Zenebe, Rosary Spence, Cotee Harper, Seanna Bailey, Ooldouz Pouri, Athina Malli, Leen Hamo, Tara Moneka, Suba Sankaran, and Paromita Kar among others. These shows have been livestreamed by the National Arts Centre to international audiences of up to 43,000.

Tamar Ilana & Ventanas have toured throughout Canada and the US, as well as in Ireland, Colombia, Spain, and Portugal and they have been featured in venues and festivals such as Koerner Hall, the National Arts Centre, the Skirball Centre Los Angeles, Vancouver Folk Music Fest, the Aga Khan Museum, Carmel Bach Fest, Yerba Buena Centre San Francisco, the Mississauga Living Arts Centre, Calgary Folk Music Festival, Niagara Jazz Fest, Shambhala, Montreal’s Palais Montcalm, the Wales International Storytelling Fest, La Media Torta Bogotá, a horse ranch in Ibiza, and the Festival Internacional Folk Plasencia in Spain.

For more information, visit their site and follow them at
www.ventanasmusic.com | @ventanasmusic