The Lonesome Ace Stringband

The Lonesome Ace Stringband bring grit, skill and abandon to a music that lurks on the outskirts of old-time, bluegrass, and folk. Catch them live at the Artesian on Friday, April 17th!

Show Details:
The Lonesome Ace Stringband
Date: Friday, April 17th, 2026
Doors: 7:00PM
Show: 8:00PM
Tickets: $30.00 in advance online or in person at Paper Umbrella (2724 13th Avenue), or $35.00 at the door

*Advance tickets close at 5:00 PM day-of-show. Additional tickets will be available at the door unless it is officially labelled SOLD OUT*

The Artesian is wheelchair accessible, all-ages, and a proud supporter of positive spaces initiatives with a zero-tolerance policy towards hate, harassment, and/or discrimination. We reserve the right to remove any patron creating an unsafe environment. The accessible entrance is available via a lift, Please ask staff for help if necessary.

About The Lonesome Ace Stringband:

The Lonesome Ace Stringband bring grit, skill and abandon to Americana music, bridging old-time, bluegrass and folk traditions into a seamless hybrid of original material that is at once fresh and timeless.   

The trio’s sound is anchored in the fiddle and clawhammer banjo of John Showman and Chris Coole. They are joined by a rotating cast of extraordinary upright bassists (including founding member Max Malone, Noah Harrington, and Lotus Wight). The band moves freely between a sound so commanding it doesn’t seem like it should be coming from a stringband, to a sparse fragility that draws the listener closer.  Whether singing about climate change, modern love, BBQ techniques or life's inevitable existential crises, the band cuts to the core. They can also turn and churn out a tune with so much verve that it will make your heart spin and set the dance floor swirling. 

There’s a reason why they are a smokin’ hot outfit - they’ve put in their time. In 2007, Lonesome Ace Stringband took up residency in Toronto’s legendary Dakota Tavern, routinely playing 10 sets of music every weekend. They went on to spend seven years as the house band before ever taking the show on the road or recording a note. Those years of musical percolation honed them into a group that thinks and plays as one - something that comes from clocking thousands of on-stage hours together.  Outside of their trio work, each musician is a veteran of the Canadian music scene, sought after for teaching camps, recording sessions and touring with some of the best artists in North America.   

The band’s recording journey mirrors the arc of their on-stage evolution.  Their early catalogue, anchored in inventive and engaging interpretations of traditional repertoire, has transitioned to a catalogue of engaging original material inspired by the former. In October 2025, LAS released their 6th studio album Big Wing.

Their touring has taken them well beyond their Toronto origin.  They’ve become festival favourites at Rockygrass, Celtic Connections, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Merlefest and regularly tour the USA, UK, Germany and, of course, Canada. 

Call Lonesome Ace Stringband whatever genre you want - they are just unorthodox enough to be brilliant.