Jon Gant

Jon Gant is a southern Alberta singer/songwriter with more than a few stories to tell. His new record, A Rough Start To The Night, puts listeners on the barstool next to him as he reflects on relationships broken and built again, reckless living, and making it through the day.

After years of playing in punk and experimental bands, Jon began his music career in his late teens with friends Shawn Everett and Scott Moffatt in The Boston Post. Three years of intensive touring and recording with The Boston Post ended when Jon moved to Victoria, British Columbia. There he joined, and toured extensively with Leeroy Stagger's band for a couple years before moving back to the prairies to kick a few bad habits and concentrate on his own music. In 2009 Jon moved to New York, receiving a coveted residency at the famed Lower East Side venue, Arlene's Grocery. From New York Jon moved to Dublin, then back to Calgary where he put together his new band. 

Life as a touring musician and traveler has left its mark on this new collection of songs, imbuing them with the observations and insights of a man who is on the outside looking in, and always moving on. A Rough Start to the Night is an intimate and honest record that will further Jon's reputation as one of Alberta's finest songwriters.

Recorded with Lorrie Matheson over four days at Arch Audio in Calgary, A Rough Start To The Night was tracked mostly live-off-the-floor with Jon's new band consisting of Scott Munro (Chad Vangaalen, Gunther) on upright bass, Chris Dadge (Lab Coast, Samantha Savage Smith) on Drums, Chris Vail (Key To The City) on mandolin and Lawrence Nasen (No River) on banjo. Ranging from sparse meditations to full-on stompers, the songs carry the weight of Jon’s experiences and share his uniquely world-weary, but always hopeful, perspective.