New for 2024, Whistler Summer Concert Series Sunday Sessions, a Resort Municipality of Whistler initiative, will bring festival vibes to Whistler Olympic Plaza as major touring acts and talented local musicians come together for afternoon performances over two long weekends.
Sunday, August 4, Whistler-based musicians Taylor James and Ryan Harris will kick off the inaugural Whistler Summer Concert Series Sunday Session, followed by headliners Gone Gone Beyond and Bahamas.
Sunday, September 1, features Sea to Sky locals Little Biggs Band, JennaMae and The Groove Section and Cat Madden followed by headliner Kim Churchill.
Sunday, August 4 – Line-up
1 pm – Taylor James
Guitar slinger, singer-songwriter, and dreamer, she left home on a Greyhound bus and has been writing, interpreting and delivering roots-based music ever since. She’s performed globally and released six collections of recordings along the way, as her early love of flat-pickin’ turned to pop, rock, and sizzling slide guitar. Often compared to artists like Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow, her knack for reaching the crowd takes her show from pindrop intimacy to flat-out rock’n roll.
1:40 pm – Ryan Harris
Ryan Harris is a musician and filmmaker who makes music from his bedroom make-shift studio in Whistler. He grew up living and surfing in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia until age 15 when his family finally settled back in Canada. Ryan’s music is inspired by his childhood in New Zealand, where he listened to Ben Howard, John Butler Trio, and Jack Johnson.
2:25 pm – Gone Gone Beyond
Gone Gone Beyond’s music has been described as “mesmerizing future folk.” It blends acoustic, world, and electronic elements to create a unique, uplifting, and expansive sound. Following the success of their LP 2030, Gone Gone Beyond toured extensively around the United States and has played a range of festivals, including Envision, Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, Red Rocks, and beyond.
Gone Gone Beyond fans have attested to having downright spiritual experiences during their heartfelt live performances, during which the band encourages the audience to slow down, tune in, and dance into the stars.
3:45 pm – Bahamas
As the studio follow-up to 2020’s Sad Hunk—an album beloved by the JUNO Awards and Ted Lasso music supervisors alike—Bahamas’ sixth full-length, BOOTCUT, sees Afie Jurvanen emerge from the pandemic fog to fully embrace the joys of IRL interaction and the ability to travel freely again. You could call this Bahamas’ “country” album, full of songs rooted in familiar Nashville topics like love, death, and automotive vehicles, and topped with extra dollops of teary twang, mandolin-pluckin’, and saloon-door-swinging rhythm. But BOOTCUT isn’t simply a Bahamas interpretation of country music. It’s a country-music interpretation of Bahamas that puts a sepia-toned spin on Jurvanen’s signature moves using a genre-less blend of Americana, Bluegrass, and all that Bahamas has been known to embody – the funky finesse, the bizarro guitar solos that sound like they’re beaming in from Mars, and the ever-so-sly storytelling that filters timeless themes through a distinctly modern lens.
Sunday, September 1 – Line-up
1 pm – Little Biggs Band
It’s a Louisiana fairytale from somewhere over in Rainbow. Longtime Whistlerite Monty Biggins leads a crew of local talents in a celebration of original songs written in classic Americana Roots style, inspired by the sounds of New Orleans.
1:50 pm – JennaMae and The Groove Section
JennaMae, backed by her band The Groove Section, delivers soulful pop with R&B groove influences. She crafts original music that intertwines nature-inspired themes and personal reflection. Together, they create a captivating sonic experience, blending soulful vocals, dynamic instrumentation, and infectious rhythms.
2:40 pm – Cat Madden
Cat Madden’s sound has been described as “like an opera singer mixed with a Husqvarna chainsaw…” Cat strives to be an ambassador for women in music with songs that “eloquently blur the lines between rock, soul and jazz.” The band has been likened to groups as diverse as Tedeschi Trucks Band, Norah Jones, Jeff Buckley, Little Feat, Frank Zappa, Heart, Yes, and Stevie Nicks. Expect a transcendent, emotionally powerful, refreshingly genuine performance intertwined with witty banter and astonishing talent.
3:30 pm – Kim Churchill
Known for his magnetic, dynamic stage presence, Kim unites lyrical artistry with fierce vocals. He is a sonic architect, using his guitar to create landscapes that animate his lyrics. Kim has toured internationally supporting Billy Bragg, Ziggy Alberts and Milky Chance and major festival performances include Glastonbury, WOMAD, Montreal International Jazz Festival, SXSW, Telluride, Byron Bay Blues Festival, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton Folk Festivals. Kim will be wrapping up his summer-long Canadian tour at Whistler Olympic Plaza.
