Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Ron Hawkins has long been revered as one of Canada’s greatest contemporary singer-songwriters. As lead singer/multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter of Canada’s legendary Lowest of the Low, Ron Hawkins has enjoyed many accolades through the years: In 1996, 2000 and again in 2005, Chart Magazine honoured the group’s 1991 debut album, Shakespeare My Butt, with spots in the top 10 of the Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time. In 2000 and once again in 2015, Hawkins was voted Songwriter of the Year by NOW Magazine’s reader’s poll. Also in 2000, Ron received Toronto station 102.1 The Edge’s Lifetime Achievement Award. And in that same year Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails won album of the year at The Indie Awards, for their album Crackstatic. In 2008 The Lowest of the Low was inducted into the Canadian Indie Rock Hall of Fame and awarded gold records for Shakespeare My Butt.

Over the years, Ron has written and released eight LOTL albums, five solo discs, three records with his band The Rusty Nails, and three records (one a double album) as Ron Hawkins and The Do Good Assassins. That’s 19 albums of original material to date plus a commemorative vinyl box set called “Shakespeare My Box” – an anthology of the entire Lowest of the Low catalogue.

GRAVEN
Ottawa’s Graven is a fan favourite at Hotel Wolfe Island! With 16 major releases under his belt, and his latest feature album Simple Complex recorded at Fang Studios in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and mixed by Joel Plaskett, Nepean, Ontario-born Matty McKechnie (Graven) is a passionate wordsmith of song who wears his heart on the sleeve of his melodies. “Simple Complex” charted across many college radio stations in Canada and the USA and was #3 on CKCU FM’s top 50 albums of 2022. His last record Years (2020) was produced by Jim Bryson (singer songwriter and producer of Kathleen Edwards award winning album “Total Freedom”) and helped put his music into new realms. Having toured across Canada thrice, he always has uplifting words and self-love promoting songs of support for anyone at his shows and his dedicated fan-base (who have dubbed themselves as “Graventown”). Graven always tries to create a highly accepting and inclusive community and his music has become a safe-haven for anyone and everyone who wants to be their real-self without judgement.