My conversation with Leo Cripps on CKUA, March 25, 2025

CKUA Interview March 25, 2025

Vern's Tavern has been a staple to Calgary's local music scene for years. Spencer Jo investigates what makes it such a magical hole in the wall.

Vern's Doc

D.I.Y. music with Greg Rekus

Spencer Jo Radio Demo 2019

"Canadian artist Spencer Jo Burgess isn’t interested in sugarcoating things. In fact, he’s spent much of his musical life searching for sour truth and throwing the spotlight onto it. He’s been in and out of punk bands since the age of 16, and the winding road has lead him to his current incarnation as a folk artist with a sometimes political, sometimes surreal edge that makes his social commentary poignant for anyone who listens. In My Old Home, we find a lyrical maturity that one expects from any veteran of an expository career in music tempered with a sensitivity that seems to empathize with the figures and subjects within each song.

His talent as an instrumentalist and lyricist are showcased in a way that keeps his music free of distracted bravado and long solos, ensuring his convictions remain at the center of attention. The marriage of punk and folk mixes elements of artistry and honesty after all, and Burgess completes this synthesis without disappointing."
--Jason Neubauer, PLAYBACK:Stl

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