UPSIDE DOWNTOWN – POP UP, GET DOWN
Concerts + Art on Rotary Square, Casa
Thursdays, July 3 – August 28, 5pm to 7pm
Cash Bar
FREE
This Thursday: John Wort-Hannam
Food Truck Guest: Beaus’ Birria, Mac n’ Custard
John Wort Hannam has been on his folk and roots-fueled troubadour journey for two decades, spinning song writing gold from the chaff of the lives he has encountered and those within his fertile imagination. Twenty-two years in, he shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, he’s gaining both momentum and a wider audience, winning two 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Solo Artist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year. Add to this a Juno Award nomination, a Kerrville New Folk Win, a previous Canadian Folk Music Award, and it’s easy to see why audiences and critics alike hear something special in his narrative and lyrically driven songs. Effortlessly mixing rich and clear timbered vocals with lyrics that tug at the heart, his sound is both unique and familiar.
Born on the island of Jersey in the UK, he immigrated to Canada at the age of nine. He discovered the guitar and his knack for writing songs in his early thirties while working as a teacher on the Kainai Nation in Blackfoot country. In 2001, John quit his teaching job and made himself a promise – he would try his hand at writing songs for 10 months or until his employment insurance ran out. When time was up, he had a handful of songs. They became his first recording, released in 2002. Twenty-two years later, John is recognized as one of the best folk roots songwriters in Alberta and has released 8 full-length recordings. https://www.johnworthannam.com/
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Upside Downtown Concerts + Art 2025 Schedule
Weekly concerts on Rotary Square at Casa every Thursday night after work from 5pm – 7pm. Meet your friends, have a drink, grab a snack, and listen to local music in the downtown core. While you’re visiting, explore the galleries inside Casa, as it is always FREE.
JULY 3 – Veronica Raine, The Decadent Phase
JULY 10 – Makiisma
JULY 17 – Joce Reyome
JULY 24 – Joshua Beebe & The Forest Orchestra, Willy Big Bull & Wintercount
JULY 31 – John Wort-Hannam
AUGUST 7 – Nuela Charles
AUGUST 14 – Bailey Kate Band
AUGUST 21 – Richard Inman & The Western Canadian All-Stars
AUGUST 28 POP UP, GET DOWN 5pm until 10pm
Shaela Miller + Guests, ADEQUATE!, Hippodrome
A summer dance party with three bands, an art market, and we’re closing 8 Street!
This summer in The Gallery at Casa: Re:Turning the Stories, a community exhibition with over 40 local artists reflecting on their relationship to the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden and Nikkei cultural stories in southern Alberta.
Order an Upside Downtown 2025 concert t-shirt designed by Tatianna Cook from Nectar Fine Tattooing and printing by So Normal Print Shop by visiting http://artslethbridge.org
See all the arts events happening in Lethbridge here: http://yqlarts.ca
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The Allied Arts Council is thankful to the Upside Downtown sponsors that support arts programming in Lethbridge: FACTOR, Spectrum Ale Works, Westco Construction, Precon, Andrew Hilton, Anova Law Group, CIR Realty, Nectar Fine Tattoo, Safeway, So Normal Print Shop, Tourism Lethbridge, and Warwick Printing. Thank you to our media sponsors: CJOC, The Ranch, and MyLethbridgeNow.com.
If you like this event and other free arts programming supported by the AAC, consider donating here: https://bit.ly/AACDonate
