From the Canadian prairies in southern Alberta comes one of Canada’s most promising new song writers John Wort Hannam. John is known for his unique take on the simple day-to-day dramas of common folk through songs that map the landscapes of both the human heart and this vast country of ours.  He is a born story- teller with a  keen eye for the quirky, and an engaging performer with lyrics that create stories behind the songs.  His voice is a constant strong and emotive presence demanding attention to lyrics. And while it is true that John is a relatively new face on the folk/roots scene, John has achieved some fine accolades and seen his profile rise rapidly in a few short years. 

John Wort Hannam comes from a long line of blue-collar workers: his father, a carpenter, his grand- father, a farmer, and great grandfather, a coal miner and part-time preacher.  On his mother’s side, his grandfather was a master upholsterer, and his great grandfather was a potato farmer. John himself was born on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, UK and immigrated to Canada when he was nine years old.

For five years John Wort Hannam was a fulltime school teacher on the largest reservation in Canada, the Kainai Nation, part of the Blackfoot tribe.  He taught creative writing to grade 9 students.   But in 1997 a friend played him a Guy Clark record and John was hooked by the music and stories. In 1998 he bought a guitar and learnt some chords.  In 2000 he quit teaching and hasn’t looked back. Shortly after he began to pursue a long time dream of being a working musician.  He released his debut CD “pocket full of holes” in 2002 followed up with “Dynamite and ‘Dozers” in 2004 and then his third full-length CD “Two-Bit Suit” in spring of 2007.  
 
John Wort Hannam has performed at concerts and festivals across Canada, in the United States, an Australia.  In spring 2010 he will tour Europe. His many appearances have included the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC in conjunction to one of John’s songs, “Church of the Long Grass” appearing on the prestigious Folkways recording label. 

He tours actively as a solo, duo, or with with his trio, John on guitar tenor guitar, and harmonica and his “guys” Tyler Bird on upright bass (and he’s been known to sling an accordion in the van)  and Scott Duncan on fiddle.

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