Joey Penner has been penning songs since he was a young boy. At age fifteen, his grandmother passed on her Fender acoustic to him on the condition that he learn to play it well…and find a nice Mennonite girl to marry. 

After two years studying music at Brandon University, he joined local Winnipeg band, The Waking Eyes, touring, recording and being nominated for a JUNO with them until 2010. Next came stints with Royal Canoe, Jicah and French Press, and a number of one-offs with the likes of Del Barber, JP Hoe and Imaginary Cities. 

Now, so many years after selling his soul to his grandma, he's still writing, singing, and strumming that old Fender, accompanied by a rag-tag crew of harmonicas (yet hasn't so much as dated a Mennonite, which is kind of unbelievable, actually).

His music could perhaps best be described as alt-pop, with playing styles encompassing roots, rock, minimalism, ADM (acoustic dance music) and folk, and lyrics covering topics from social protest to prehistoric nostalgia. 

In August 2016 he released his first single "Free World" and accompanying b-side "The Ark" online and to campus radio. He's played throughout the city, sharing bills with Adam Hanney & Co., Last Ditch on the Left, Hearing Trees and a host of others. He looks forward to putting out more music and videos in the coming months, with a tentative EP release on the horizon.

Followers of Jesse Speed