Award-winning Rocky Mountain minstrel Joal Kamps will perform his Alberta-inspired music on the Ross Street Patio next week.
The singer/songwriter from Calgary will entertain on the Patio on Tuesday and Thursday, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Kamps released his second album, Heads is East, Tails is West, in April. It’s full of tunes shaped by the stories, sights and sounds of Alberta’s rich culture, landscape and history.
The folk-pop artist is also delving ever deeper into world music territory — which is understandable.
Before starting his music career, Kamps spent four years travelling the globe, “going wherever the winds would take him.”
Among his “adventures” was sleeping in a car for six weeks during a harsh Canadian winter, walking Italian runways as a model during Men’s Fashion Week, and installing water filters in El Salvador.
His music now defies pigeon-holing as it encompasses upbeat tales of modern life, as well as haunting ballads and searching tunes about finding your way in a troubled world.
Kamps’ first album, Sojourner, won a Western Canadian Music Award and an Independent Music Award for the single Take My World Apart.
The seasoned performer, who has played at the Big Valley Jamboree and other festivals, looks forward to performing on an outdoor stage for lunchtime crowds in Red Deer.