just the facts
strictly based on the numbers
At publication time, and barring any further cancellations or additions, we had listed well over 1,000 live music events this year. That's a lot of gigs, and a lot of chances for local music fans to feed their musical hunger.
what we counted and what we excluded
We chose to only count those gigs that happened in Kelowna, West Kelowna or Lake Country for this article. We also made the decision to keep it limited to public gigs that the general public could actually go to.
That means that we didn't include private gigs like weddings and coporate events. We also left out gigs that local artists played up in Vernon or down in Penticton and further out. We wanted to make this article about Kelowna.
did we get all the events?
Probably not, but we sure tried. We were in contact with as many venues as we could be from the very start of the year. We are pretty sure we missed a few shows here and there, and maybe even some cancellations, but we know that we came as close as
humanly possible to get the numbers at least close....
any artists just miss out?
To say the least! From Joshua Smith in 4th place down past James Hay and Jon Bos to Josh + Bex and on through Double Sharp in 8th, there were only a single gig or perhaps two separating these musicians from each other.
jeff piattelli
#1 with 74 gigs
We only included the public gigs, and if you count his private gigs such as weddings and corporate events, Jeff clocked an amazing 125 gigs for 2021.
We managaed to catch a few of his public performances, and at each one he brought his A-game, regardless of crowd size and even the weather! We shot him once early in the year and the air was freezing cold and sleet was falling.
See Jeff's Page
poppa dawg
#2 with 73 shows
Yes, it really was that close between the two busiest musicians this year. We have no idea if Rick did any private gigs and if so, how many, but as far as getting booked at a lot of venues this year, Poppa Dawg was The Man.
One of the things that we really appreciated about his playing over the months was being treated to a bunch of tunes that we had never heard him play before. Some Americana and singer/songwriter stuff made its way onto the set list everytime we made it
out to one of his gigs.
See Poppa Dawg's Page
anna jacyszyn
#3 with 34 performances
Anna seemed to be everywhere this year. A slew of gigs over at Grizzli Winery, a bunch more at Forbidden Spirits, Parks Alive! performances and even gigs at Friends of Dorothy Lounge kept her in front of audiences more weeks than not.
All the gigs we saw her play featured Loni Moger on guitar. As a duo, with Loni looping guitar parts and playing some pretty tasty lead lines over his looped rhythms, and Anna applying her stylistic approach to everything from jazz to pop,
these guys filled the room, or the patio, whatever the space, with good vibes every time.
See Anna's Page
joshua smith
#4 with 30 events
Even as a solo performer, Joshua managed to rack up 30 gigs this year. On some of those gigs he invited some of his long time music buddies and those nights became special in the way only friends who have played together for years or decades can make happen.
If we added all of Joshua's solo gigs, his gigs with Josh + Bex, and his Kentucky Eileen gigs, he would have finished up step higher in 3rd place.
See Joshua's Page
james hay
#5 with 28 shows
This is the one that surprised us the most, but only because we hadn't been that aware of James Hay before this year. He played a lot of gigs at a lot of different venues. Full marks for being the consumate professional every time we saw him play.
Hay has a distinct vocal approach that suits the songs he sings very well, but he also impressed us with playing some super tasty lines on whichever guitar he was using at the time.
See James' Page