About The Song Cycle
Canada has no shortage of lyrics that pay tribute to the places people call home, with songs like Alberta Bound, Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon, Sudbury Saturday Night, Farewell to Nova Scotia, and Bobcaygeon to name an obvious few.
Whether it’s rock, pop, folk, or blues there are countless artists of all genres, traditions, and communities with songs that tell the stories about the places we live.
The Great Canadian Song Cycle is an unsupported (no van following along) bicycle trip across Canada with a focus on collecting songs about places. The end goal is to provide a song map of Canada populated by artists and their fans, and random interviews en route.
Be sure to follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Strava.
About Aengus Finnan
Aengus Finnan is an Irish-born Canadian singer-songwriter, schoolteacher, arts administrator, and avid cyclist from Shelter Valley, Ontario.
As an artist Finnan is described as “disarmingly artful” (Toronto Star) and a maverick balladeer with “honest ballads and emotional stories” (Globe & Mail). He released three critically acclaimed solo albums and appeared on Beautiful, the first-ever Canadian tribute to Gordon Lightfoot featuring Blue Rodeo, the Tragically Hip, and the Cowboy Junkies.
Finnan is a recipient of the prestigious New Folk Songwriters’ Award (alumni include Lyle Lovett and the Dixie Chicks), his songs have been licensed for television shows including CTV’s Flashpoint, and he has performed across North American as well as Japan, Australia, and Ireland with appearances ranging from The Kennedy Centre to the Yukon International Storytelling Festival.
He performed at Mariposa’s “Ian & Sylvia reunion” concert, was part of CBC’s 30 year commemoration of Stan Rogers on The National, and co-founded The Way We Feel in 2003 - a national touring tribute to Gordon Lightfoot.
Separate from his music he worked as a research diver for the University of Alberta, taught elementary school in Moosonee and Inuvik, and served as the founding artistic director of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival, Board President of Folk Music Ontario, Touring and Audience Development Officer for the Ontario Arts Council, Executive Director of Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, and post-pandemic change-management at Swallow Hill Music in Denver.
A graduate of Lester B. Pearson United World College, Concordia University in Montréal (BFA), and a distinguished alumni of Nippissing University (B.Ed), Finnan is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for his humanitarian and cultural work in Canada.
At age 16 he and a friend cycled around Lake Ontario. He was a member of the Cobourg Cycle Club and remembers all his past bikes fondly. He currently rides a Trek Checkpoint.
You can follow his journey daily on Instagram, Facebook, and Strava.
Media
For media interviews please email aengusfinnan@gmail.com. Click on the logo to download:
