Joel Plaskett and Leeroy Stagger

[ Years ago I presented Joel Plaskett with his musician Dad. It was with great pleasure that I found out he had relocated to the west coast, indeed to Victoria, met up with the lovely, mega talented Leeroy Stagger. Joel is held in very high regard by Canadian musicians as testified in the 2025 album “ Songs From The Gang” Featuring The Arkells, City and Colour, Frank Turner, Jenn Grant, Rose Cousins, Mo Kenney, Alan Doyle, David Myles, Bahamas, and many others, encompassing moments from Joel’s wide ranging catalogue and testifying to the power of his singular songwriting. Joel will be joined by Leeroy on stage and maybe some surprise guests! ]

For over three decades, Joel Plaskett has proven himself a spinning wheel of reinvention. The Nova Scotia songwriter's eclectic body of work reveals a restless and playful spirit, always transforming and expanding.

A special interview about tribute album showcasing Joel’s music

https://youtu.be/MHedLuE0R9M?si=rimp8BRLJdpn9H5X

https://youtu.be/XPOUoP6jLIM?si=58HNeBlfy2n6-LQV

While continuing to celebrate -- and be celebrated for -- his regional ties and embrace of East Coast musical traditions, Joel’s omnivorous appetite for new sonic horizons is an integral part of his work. His discography includes heavy riff epics, like Thrush Hermit's now-classic swansong Clayton Park (1999); low-fi and wide eyed solo records like In Need of Medical Attention (1999) and La De Da (2005); lean, loose and lyrical rock and roll with the Emergency on Down at the Khyber (2001) and Truthfully, Truthfully (2003); and a father-and-son nod to English folk traditions with Solidarity (2017). Then there are the endeavours that push the envelope further: the Emergency’s romantic epic concept album Ashtray Rock (2007); the months-long songwriting challenge Scrappy Happiness (2012); and Three (2009) and 44 (2020), Joel’s sprawling, multi-record ventures exploring love, loss, and existential investigation. For his latest release, the 4-track project One Real Reveal (2024), Plaskett strips his songwriting down to its raw materials, allowing everything in—all the human touches the tape could pick up—and letting (almost) everything out.

Coast-to-coast and the world 'round, Joel has rocked crowds at clubs, festivals and grand old theatres with longtime Emergency bandmates Dave Marsh and Chris Pennell as well as drawn audiences close with intimate acoustic shows, both solo and with his father, Bill. Then there are the special events that have really allowed Joel to reach the rafters, like headlining Toronto’s Massey Hall with everyone in tow, playing the NAC in Ottawa backed by the national orchestra, and warming up huge stages for artists like The Tragically Hip and Paul McCartney.

Joel and the Emergency have also been roundly celebrated within the music industry for their work, racking up awards and nominations from the JUNOs, the Polaris Music Prize, the East Coast Music Awards, Music Nova Scotia, and numerous others.

While Joel’s songs are beloved far beyond the community that helped forge his sound, his creative heart is still found at home in Nova Scotia. At 45 Portland Street in Dartmouth there’s Fang Recording, the studio where he’s made many of his albums and produced records for other great artists like Mo Kenney, Steve Poltz, Shotgun Jimmie and Jimmy Rankin.

And through the door to the front of the building lies Taz Records, Morley's Coffee and Friction Books. Since 2023, Joel has used the space to present Window Inn Wednesdays, a monthly, no-phones-allowed variety show that pushes back—like most of his projects—against the speed and din of modern life, making space for real engagement between art, artist, and audience.

2025 saw the release of ‘Songs From The Gang – A Celebration of Joel Plaskett’ – a deluxe covers album featuring the music of Joel Plaskett performed by Arkells, Sloan, Jill Barber, The Sheepdogs, Julian Taylor, Jenn Grant, Bahamas, City and Colour, Rose Cousins, Frank Turner, and many more.

LEEROY STAGGER FRIDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 2^ND, 7PM

https://youtu.be/w3zFMDdUf70?si=Y772gyw5je-R61T8

Leeroy Stagger is a beloved, award-winning Canadian Singer-Songwriter, Producer and Master Storyteller. Stylistically his music moves between Folk, Roots and Rocknroll. He is Inspired as much by John Prine and Nick Drake as he is Tom Petty and Joe Strummer.

For the past twenty years, he has been touring North America and Europe, making records and gaining a strong and, more importantly, dedicated following. His music is written through the lens of a spiritual path through addiction and recovery; he cuts a trail through the human condition in only a way that a veteran observational traveller and artist can.

Leeroy was signed to the infamous Canadian Label True North Records (Bruce Cockburn, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings) as well as industry mogul Danny Goldberg’s (Nirvana, Steve Earle, The Cranberries) Gold Lake Records.

He has supported and toured with Steve Earle, Josh Ritter, Buffy Sainte Marie, Frazey Ford, The Pixies, Modest Mouse, The Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell, and more. He is just as at-home in a cafe with an audience of 50 as he is on a festival stage with an audience of 10,000.

These days Leeroy is raising kids and producing records in his studio, Neighbourhood Recorders. He is also the host of the weekly Dirty Windshields Radio hour on world famous CKUA radio.