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Join us in the beautiful and intimate gallery at Artech to witness the music of two folk singer-songwriters, Georgia Lee Johnson and Jemma and the Good Thing. Known for her unique voice and heartfelt performances, Cortes-Island based Jemma Hicken (Jemma & the Good Thing) weaves together tender lyrics, funny storytelling, and catchy sing-a-longs to create a feel-good folk show. Drawing on the humour and sentimentality of John Prine and Dan Reeder, the innocence of Paul Simon and Ingrid Michaelson, and the fire of Ani DiFranco, Jemma is a songwriting force.
Based in Edmonton for three prairie winters, Jemma was featured at the New Moon Folk Club, SkirtsAFire Festival, Kaleido Fest, and won the 2019 Bent River Songwriting Competition. The pandemic brought her back to her Gulf Island home, and in 2024 she can be found touring around BC and AB, most notably debuting at festivals such as Vancouver Island Music Fest, Filberg Fest, Quadrapalooza, and Woodstove Festival.
Jemma released her debut album, Get It Together, in July 2023. Jemma & the Good Thing is a project of many iterations; the Good Thing is often other musicians, or sometimes it’s just Jemma’s tenor guitar. The common denominator is always Jemma and her songs.
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Georgia’s songs weave intimacy and belonging where there was previously conflict and unease. Dancing between deep self-reflection and playfulness, her songs’ themes carry depth and resonance. Inspired by the female folk singer-songwriters of the past (Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez) and present (Anais Mitchell and Adrianne Lenker), her style blends more traditional folk sounds with imaginative instrumentation and arrangements. In her live performances, she harnesses vocal freedom to carry both power and vulnerability. Audiences are gathered into a brief moment of connectedness, harmony and remembering. Accompanied by an ensemble of some of Vancouver's finest jazz and improvisational musicians, the full band sound is rhythmic, groovy and lush, defying the bounds of genre.
Georgia's most recent release January Mind is out now on Surkeus Records.
"The Straight has been championing the brilliance of homegrown heroine Georgia Lee Johnson for at least a half-decade, flagging her as one to watch after the release of 2015’s Wanderling, which bridged ’70s AM-radio pop with unvarnished DIY folk. Think: the most gorgeous parts of the Carpenters and Gillian Welch, Johnson coming on like someone born to run with Weyes Blood and Julie Jacklin." - Mike Usinger, The Georgia Straight
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
336 E 1st Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 1A9, Canada
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