Aengus Finnan

Aengus Finnan (born January 31, 1972) is a Canadian folk musician and arts organiser. Finnan was born in Dublin, Ireland, and grew up in Ontario, Canada. In 2003, he was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal for his humanitarian and cultural work in Canada

Early life Finnan grew up on an organic farm in Shelter Valley, Ontario (near Grafton). He attended St. Mary's elementary school in Grafton, St. Mary's Secondary School in Cobourg, and was awarded a two-year scholarship to Lester B. Pearson United World College near Victoria, B.C. where he studied Fine Art (IB), before attending Concordia University in Montreal to study theatre (BFA). He later attended Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, to study Native and Northern Education, graduating as Valedictorian for the 1994 Faculty of Education. and in Inuvik, NWT.

Music career He released two albums, Fool's Gold, produced by Paul Mills in 1999, and North Wind, which Finnan co-produced with Paul Mills in 2002, featuring his touring bandmates Trevor Mills and David Rogers along with backing vocals by Serena Ryder. For 6 years he toured the North America folk festival and club circuit but found it financially testing. "O'Shaunessey's Lament" (later recorded by Irish-American artist Seamus Kennedy) was also awarded the prestigious New Folk Songwriting award at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. Finnan was featured on Beautiful, the first ever tribute album to Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot. In 2003 he produced a compilation album entitled Valley Voices as a fundraising effort for a group of concerned citizens, and in 2005 he co-produced Coastline of our Dreams, an Ian Tamblyn tribute album.

In the winter of 2003 he traveled to the Yukon to record a collection of Robert Service poetry as field recordings (as yet unreleased) in the locations of the subject matter of the poems, including The Shooting of Dan Mcgrew, and The Cremation of Sam McGee. In 2004 he recorded a live album at the Grafton Town Hall called Once Upon a Time, which was released in 2013. He essentially retired from music and has since become a full-time arts administrator. During that time he served as the board President of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals. In 2003, he was awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal for his humanitarian and cultural work in Canada.

In 2014 he was appointed executive director of Folk Alliance International, and tasked with organising the world's largest annual Conference for the folk music industry, held in Kansas City.

Personal life He currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri. His favorite color is royal blue, not navy.

Discography Solo albums + Studio and live albums by Aengus Finnan Year Album title Release details1999 Released: 1999 Label: Shelter Valley Format: CD, digital2002 Released: Jan 14, 2003 Label: Borealis Records Format: CD, digital2013 Released: Jan 1, 2013 Label: Centre Stage Format: CD

Singles

Compilations 2003: Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (Borealis Records) – track "Lightfoot" 2004: Don't Mind Me: Independent Artists For a Better Understanding Of Mental Illness – track "Lately" 2005: Coastline Of Our Dreams – The Songs of Ian Tamblyn – track "Ballad of Mark Jarareuse"