UNWRITTEN WEEKEND: ARTISTS
Brussels
MUSIC
FARIDA AMADOU
Electric bassist and sound sculptor, blending free jazz, noise, and deep rhythmic structures. A vital force in the experimental music scene, she has collaborated with artists such as Thurston Moore, Peter Brotzmann, and Moor Mother.
For the festival, she will present the North American Premiere of a new solo creation — around West African rhythm samples, melodic fragments, and voice — and collaborate with local improvisers.
> March 29 at Red Gate (workshop)
Montreal
MUSIC
MYRIAM GENDRON
A singular voice, bridging fingerpicking folk and contemporary sonic explorations.
Her music combine traditional and original songs with arrangements that make space for avant-garde musical interludes by renowned collaborators, such as Marisa Anderson, Chris Corsano, Jim White, and Zoh Amba. Throughout her three albums, Myriam has written music to accompany poetry, explored the complex folk traditions of Quebec, and released original songs.
Montreal
MUSIC
RADWAN GHAZI MOUMNEH
Lebanese-Canadian musician based in Montreal, blending Arabic song traditions with electronics.
Founder of the audiovisual duo “Jerusalem In My Heart” (JIMH), he has toured internationally for 15 years, released 4 albums on Constellation Records, & been a guest curator at Le Guess Who?. He also co-founded the legendary Hotel2Tango recording studio.
Radwan’s performance at Unwritten Weekend will be the Vancouver premiere of his new solo project.
> March 28 at Red Gate
Nanaimo
MUSIC
WILLIE THRASHER & LINDA SADDLEBACK
A folk troubadour with a proudly Inuvialuit heart, Willie Thrasher plays road-worn country rock in a way that feels urgent and vital.
Three of Thrasher’s songs appeared on the 2014 Grammy-nominated compilation, Native North America (Vol. 1), renewing interest in his and other Indigenous artists’ work. Thrasher was born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, in 1948 and at five years of age, Thrasher was taken from his family and sent to a residential school where he was forbidden to practice his Inuvialuit culture. He is joined for this show by his partner, Linda Saddleback.
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Vancouver
MUSIC
ADRIAN AVENDAÑO
Adrian Avendaño is an improvising drummer and percussionist, sound artist, DJ and recordist.
His work explores the connection between sound, space, and territory.
His approach to drums and percussion is informed by elements of acoustic ecology, deep listening, and the connection to his diasporic Latine heritage.
Vancouver
MUSIC
AMANDA SUM
JUNO-nominated Amanda Sum assimilates elements of Indie-Pop, Jazz, and Alternative Folk into her eccentric and genre-bending sound.
The vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist’s idiosyncratic work freely traverses music, theatre, and performance art, engaging diverse audiences and championing underrepresented artists.
Vancouver
MUSIC
BAHAR KHAZEI
Bahar Khazei, is a first-generation immigrant artist and educator living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people.Her musical background includes free improvisation, classical piano, Iranian traditional music and synthesis.
In her solo ambient project, she explores the concept of the space-in-between and (un)familiarity through ambient sound and blends collected field recordings with original compositions.
Bellingham / Vancouver
MUSIC
CAT TOREN
Cat Toren, a pianist, composer, and improviser of international renown, boasts six critically acclaimed albums under her leadership and a JUNO Award earned with the group Pugs & Crows.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Cat Toren has become a fixture in the vibrant jazz scene of New York City and recently relocated to Washington State where she is a faculty member at Western Washington University.
Vancouver
MUSIC
DANDELION RECORDS (DJ SET)
Dandelion Records has been around since 2006.
They carry an eclectic selection of records from all genres, times, and places.
For the festival, they’ll curate a special DJ set guided by their deep and diverse collection and their taste for musical discovery.
Nanaimo / Vancouver
MUSIC
EARTHBALL
EarthBall are a psychedelic free jazz ensemble. Their music is fully improvised, drawing from experimental rock, free improvisation, post punk and more.
Since forming, Earth Ball have quickly established an international profile through touring and releases with the UK label Upset The Rhythm. They received strong critical attention from outlets including The Wire and The Quietus, and toured internationally including two appearances at Le Guess Who? Festival.
Sunshine Coast
COMEDY
ERIN LEIGH
Erin Leigh is a gardener, musician, chef, nature-lover, non-reader, cat lady, cartoonist, luddite, painter, smoker, farmer and seamstress who spends most of her time writing and telling jokes on the Sunshine Coast.
Her wide range of to-do’s make for plenty of material, whether its an elaborate sketch character poking fun at wellness trends, or a scathing roasts of her fellow “islanders”. Erin’s anecdotal and absurd sense of humour is always weird, clean fun.
Vancouver
MUSIC
FRANCIS BAPTISTE
Francis Baptiste is an Indigenous songwriter who covers topics of cultural reclamation, addiction, and fatherhood.
In 2022 he released his debut album, Sneqsilx (Family), an album that features songs sung in his native language Nsyilxcən [nah-silk-sen], the endangered language of the Syilx [see-ilks] people. The 10-song album was his effort to preserve and connect with his heritage.His new album, Lived Experience in East Vancouver, was released in 2025 and focuses solely on his battle with addiction.
Vancouver
VISUAL ARTS
GORDY LI
GORDY黎名卓 is a multidisciplinary artist (mostly music tho) from Richmond BC who kept his old phones, iPods and 3DS from high school in the closet instead of throwing them away.
I am very inspired by the music that I hear and jam around Vancouver's local scenes so I tend to improvise a lot when I am shooting. Also I went to China 2 months ago, can u tell between the photos I took there and the ones I took in richmond ?
FOR FANS OF COMPRESSED CRUSHED JPGS THAT YOU CAN HEAR
Vancouver
MUSIC
JESUS CABALLERO
Jesus Caballero is a drummer, improviser, composer and producer originally from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. He studied the art of drum music with Mexican drummer Milo Tamez.
In 2022, his band Omianan were nominated for Global Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards for their debut album Paper Dream.Caballero is currently working in post-production as a composer, sound artist, audio editor, dialogue editor, and more for independent films and/or video games.
Vancouver
MUSIC
JOHANNA HAUSER
Johanna Hauser, clarinets, began her career in New York City performing with Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Brooklyn Philharmonia Chamber Players, and the Group for Contemporary Music.
She has recorded for the CBC and the NFB and, as director of the Kits Classics and Carnegie Classics concert series, she has produced and performed in over 150 chamber music concerts. In an attempt to protect unceded Coast Salish territory and express her gratitude for living here, Johanna has participated in actions resulting in two arrests and one conviction for criminal contempt.
Vancouver
VISUAL ARTS
JOY MULLEN
Joy Mullen, aka Joy On Drums, has been playing the drum kit for 30 years working as a drummer touring, recording and teaching.
For some time she had been curious about exploring other art mediums. She was drawn to textiles and became interested in using drum materials that were no longer usable and would otherwise be discarded. She began visiting local drummers and asking for their old drum heads, broken sticks, blown out mallets, warped cymbals, and cracked shells. She enjoys combining elements of drum materials; metal, plastic, wood, cloth, and animal hides with mixed yarns and wools with exploratory colour combinations.
Vancouver
MUSIC
MATTHEW ARIARATNAM
Matthew Ariaratnam is an interdisciplinary sound artist, composer, guitarist, improviser, cellist, and listener based in so called Vancouver, BC.
He creates free improvised music, sensory walks, sonic bike rides, writes dumbpop and chamber music, and frequently collaborates with choreographers, visual artists, and theatre-makers.
His current projects include a duo with drummer Adrian Avendaño, Ambr Aria, Gamelan Bike Bike, and the music series Improv Karaoke.
Vancouver
MUSIC
MAURICIO PAULY
Mauricio Pauly makes music as a composer, performer, and songwriter. His work has been heard at festivals like Warsaw Autumn, Darmstadt, Ultima Oslo, Modulus, and Open Ears.
A triple album documenting live performances from the past decade is coming out on No Hay Discos (Montreal) in late 2026.Mauricio teaches at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts. Originally from Costa Rica, his home and studio are in Vancouver since 2017.
> March 27 at 8EAST
Edmonton
MUSIC
MUSTAFA RAFIQ
Mustafa Rafiq is self-taught guitarist and saxophonist.
Using these instruments with voice, field recordings and sound collage percussion he researches relationships among nature, ritual, sound and time.
Vancouver
MUSIC
SAMMY K
Sammy K (Kearse Samuel Werts) is a Vancouver-based DJ/producer and recording arts graduate with a decade in BC’s electronic underground - both on decks and behind the scenes - and with sets at Shambhala Music Festival, Bass Coast, and venues across Vancouver. During COVID, he began exploring R&B, hip-hop, and soulful sounds alongside his electronic roots.
Working out of TrebleFive Studios, he shifted focus toward producing and developing emerging talent. In 2021, he launched Northburn Records, a label/collective built to provide opportunity and resources for BIPOC artists in and around Vancouver.
Vancouver
VISUAL ARTS
SARAH NASH WONG
Sarah Nash Wong (they/she/he) is a writer, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Grounded in the archive of their queer, disabled, and 2nd(ish) generation body, their practice traces lineages of family history, community resistance, movement across land, and slow gestures of care.They make space for the multiple, creating across and between performance, site-specific installation,
Vancouver
VISUAL ARTS
TRAVIS KIRTON
Working at the boundary of control and autonomy, Travis is a generative artist exploring how simple computational rules give rise to unexpected complexity.
His latest series begins with minimal binary instructions and lets them unfold into dense, emergent structures
Vancouver
VISUAL ARTS
XEL
Hadis Fard aka XEL is an Iranian/Canadian human being from Lur ancestral lineage, based in ancestral land of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Shíshálh nations. She is a sound and vision composer and multi-disciplinary artist.
Hadis uses sound, visual art, data, code, and poetry to bridge art x tech x eco and creates multi-sensory & immersive performances and installations. She has performed and exhibited in National Music Centre (Calgary), Mutek.JP x Touchdesigner (Tokyo), Times Square..