James Gordon with Katherine Wheatley

James Gordon has been there. He’s done that. He has had a remarkably diverse and resilient career in the Canadian cultural sector. As a solo singer-songwriter and with the ground-breaking trio Tamarack, he’s recorded 42 albums and toured relentlessly around the world. He’s written for symphony orchestras, musical theatre and dance works, scored films, and for more than ten years was heard on CBC radio as songwriter-in-residence for the ’Basic Black’ and ‘Ontario Morning’ programs. Between tours, James is a record producer, playwright, community activist, theatre director and he was a Guelph City Councillor for eight years.  

After a long break because of you-know-what,  Gordon is touring again either solo, as a duo with Katherine Wheatley, or with his band consisting of David Woodhead,  Katherine Wheatley, Anne Lindsay, Ian Bell and Randall Coryell on drums if the situation allows!

 “A remarkable Canadian performer. His body of work is truly original” – Penguin Eggs“A confident artist with important things on his mind.” – Toronto Star 
“Rootsy sound, strong songs, with a poet’s eye for telling details and a picket-line singer’s passion.” – Sing Out Magazine 
“Der Kanadier James Gordon ist so etwas wie die graue Eminenz der kanadischen Songwriter-Szene.” (“James Gordon is the Eminem of the Canadian Songwriter scene”) – A Fan in Germany

Selected Achievements 

*Wrote ‘Frobisher Bay’, which has been covered by over one hundred artists world-wide and many choirs. 

*His classic song ‘Mining for Gold’ was included in the John Sayles film Silver City and was recorded by Cowboy Junkies on their breakout album The Trinity Session. 

*Released children’s music album No Grownups Allowed, which went gold with 50,000 copies sold. 

*Well known for his songs about social justice, heritage and environmental issues, he toured for two years with his hugely successful political theatre piece Stephen Harper: The Musical. (It worked. You’re welcome.), and has more recently been virtually offering his one-man multi-media production "James Gordon's Emergency Climate Musical".

*Gordon has produced albums for many Canadian folk artists, and his popular ‘Rhyme Capsules' songwriting-in-the-schools project has resulted in over two dozen recorded collections of songs by young composers. 

*Created the full-length folk opera ‘Hardscrabble Road’ which debuted live in the fall of 2003. 

* His first novel 'Ark Of The Oven Mitt”, was a finalist in 2022 for the Stephen Leacock Humour Award.  

*His last album “When I Stayed Home” was named #1 in a top ten list from Australia for Green Left Magazine of “Ten New Albums that Protest Against Climate Change” coming in just ahead of Barenaked Ladies and Jackson Browne.

*His viral hit about the so-called 'Freedom Convoy', "Crybabies Caravan" has received more than 300,000 hits on social media and YouTube

*He was Guelph's Artist-in-Residence for 2023

*His newest album ‘Wrinkles and Scars’ is already generating a lot of interest. It's a collaboration with a team Of roots music all-stars: Anne Lindsay, Katherine Wheatley, Ian Bell, Randall Coryell and David Woodhead.