Guitarist, singer, writer of songs, are just some of things that go to make up the man Adrian Nation.

Guitar builder, rugby player, carpenter, martial artist, climber, the list goes on and is reflected in his musical catalogue. Here is an artist who can’t sit at home waiting for imagination to create the songs, rather he goes and finds the places in life where songs can be found.

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His music, although acoustic guitar-driven, is not traditionally folk as such. There are touches of folk, rock and even country in his blend, it’s true, but not so much of any one genre as to make the music easily categorisable. Pushed to make a comparison, to name names, you might find a trace of the Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in there but still, it’s hard to pigeonhole him.

A talented, committed musician in his youth, Adrian Nation describes his first compositions as “the ramblings of a searching teenager”. He may ramble less these days, but his search continues, and he has evolved into one of the most insightful and incisive songwriters of his generation.

Influenced at an early age by the genius of Bob Dylan and the melodic fluidity of Mark Knopfler’s haunting guitar, Adrian’s teenage eyes and ears were truly opened when the late Isaac Guillory “played the guitar like I had never seen” (Diamonds in the Stream). Reflecting on this experience Adrian says, “Suddenly the acoustic guitar was a much bigger instrument than I ever thought it could be. My mind was set.”

Adrian is delighted to be returning to Canada following his highly successful 17 date tour in Alberta last November, to play the Salmon Arm Festival, swapping his toque for sunglasses and his skis for sandals!

“Adrian Nation reminds me of a young Martin Simpson – blessed with boundless boldness and unrestricted flair” (Roddy Campbell editor Penguin Eggs)

(Biography provided by the artist)