NATURAL LIGHT was recorded unexpectedly over 6 magical days by four best buds in a cabin by a lake.

Here, there is a return to folk music’s classic underpinnings of political resistance. A return to writing “song songs” that might be played around a campfire. Mangan has experimented rigorously with his sound over the years, but resting in his roots may be where he operates most effortlessly.

There is something fitting in Mangan hitting this high watermark at this stage of his life and career. You can trace the chapters of his story in the fabric of Natural Light. You’ll find remnants of the tenacious young artist who booked tours of Europe via Myspace in the mid 2000s. The emergent songwriter who hibernated into fatherhood just as arena-folk exploded in the early 2010s. The genre-bender who has subtly challenged his audience with each album, tracing a unique trajectory of confronting and eclipsing his own art.

Over two decades, Mangan has managed an enviably strong creative ethic, and his integrity as both a singer and songwriter has only strengthened with age. The big picture cohesiveness of Natural Light harkens to a pre-streaming, album-focused sensibility. Songs bleed together through focused transitions and overlapping interludes. Mangan’s lyrics act as gondolier for the journey, reassuring the listener that it’s cool to care. Dan sings for his kids, for his wife, and for a society in existential crisis.

Dan Mangan is a 2x JUNO Award-winning and 3x Polaris Music Prize-nominated musician and songwriter. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife and two sons. For decades, Dan has brought signature wit, sonic innovation and lyrical insight to the indie/folk community, garnering him a fiercely dedicated and deeply involved audience. He has played Glastonbury & Jimmy Kimmel Live, sold out Massey Hall and scored acclaimed soundtracks for television and feature film. In 2017, he co-founded Side Door, a community marketplace platform for the arts that seeks to democratize and decentralize the entertainment industry by connecting artists with alternative venue spaces.

Opening for Dan Mangan is Brandon Wolfe Scott

There’s something uplifting to Brandon Wolfe Scott’s heartbroken songs. The Vancouver singer-songwriter, known for his work as guitarist and co-songwriter of the JUNO-nominated indie rock group Yukon Blonde, earnestly searches for a brighter future on his latest EP, [Pressed Flowers]. Teaming up with Gavin Gardiner (of Juno & Polaris-nominated indie-folk outfit The Wooden Sky) and Champagne James Robertson (Lindi Ortega, Dwayne Gretzky)—the architects behind the “slow-motion surf rock” band MOONRIIVR—This EP details the moment Scott’s life turned upside-down while also serving as an ode to the power of musical friendship.

Between tours and recording projects, Scott has been working at Green Auto, Vancouver’s beloved DIY venue. “It’s exciting to watch the next generations of Vancouver’s music scene thrive, and to have a space that allows these young bands to build a fan base and grow as musicians,” Scott smiles. “I try to pass along any knowledge I can, while I keep learning too—it’s a perfect push and pull.” It feels fitting for an artist at an inflection point, embracing where his musical friends and his community are taking him.

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