“Listening to the musical chemistry created between local musicians and those in the extended Dead family using Grateful Dead music as a vessel was a magical experience. There were so many moments of unique musical brilliance. For me, playing at the festival was an opportunity to participate in the evolution of the Dead’s music and expansion of the ethos. I was very grateful to contribute to this wonderful community that is really important to me.”
James Stuart, Mbira Renaissance Band
Peter North has had a successful music career that has spanned four plus decades. As an Artistic Director, North just finished an eight-year stint at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival which followed five years of guiding the Winter Roots Festival in Edmonton in conjunction with FolkwaysAlive at the University of Alberta. As a journalist he spent 24 years covering the roots music scene for both the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun.
His television resume includes co-producing the national CBC roots music program The Country Beat and prior to that he was the national and international talent buyer for the Ian Tyson hosted Sun Country series that was syndicated across the CTV network. As a concert promoter North has produced shows by The Derek Trucks Band, Jorma Kaukonen, Jesse Winchester, Honeyboy Edwards, Downchild, Richard Thompson, Guy Clark, Chris Hillman, Rory Block, John Hammond, Jim Kweskin, Alvin “Youngblood” Hart and many more exceptional artists.
Dead Ends Live co-producer Jayne Bawden has had a successful career creating and managing events for several non-profit organizations in Edmonton for over two decades. The Spirit of Spring Fashion Show for McDougall House Association, the Scotiabank Pro Am event supporting Alzheimer’s, the Gala for STARS Air Ambulance, and the Snowflake Gala for Children’s Health Foundation were projects Jayne played a major role in producing and presenting.
Jayne’s tenacity and passion also helped bring Hockey Helps the Homeless to Edmonton. One of her true loves has always been supporting music and she first started producing shows in the Edmonton area some 40 years ago when she was promoting shows with great local bands like Tacoy Ryde, Hot Cottage and One Horse Blue.
Together, Bawden and North are a team whose goal is to add a new and exciting dimension to the Edmonton music scene in the form of an indoor festival. Dead Ends Live is built for fans of the kind of soulful sounds that combine improvisation with the deeply rooted sounds and traditions that influenced the Dead and so many other artists in their orbit.
