Hello World of Friends! Hope this finds you well and happy in the blossom season. I’m finding that I’m valuing family time more and more, just as our family feels like it’s constantly going off in all directions. For instance: on one particular Saturday this April, four members of our extended family were all performing live shows in four separate venues across Canada: my lovely wife Jill Barber sang with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Theatre (more on that in a bit), and her very talented brother Matthew Barber happened to also be playing Kingston, Ontario, that very night, by sheer coincidence, across town at the Sesame Theatre.

Out here on the West Coast, our son Josh’s band Blue Jay Valley opened for our friends Said the Whale at a sold-out Hollywood Theatre, while across town I performed a mini-reunion with my band the Smugglers (three very fun songs) at a club called the American, where, fittingly, we played with our American friends and mentors the Young Fresh Fellows at their first Vancouver show in over thirty years. This was all on the same night! Not to be out done, our daughter Grace has founded a “play club” at her elementary school where she and her classmates will put on a production of “Alice In Wonderland” in a few weeks. Phew!  (And hey, the Smugglers are hoping to get booked onto Little Steven’s Underground Garage Cruise 2027 so if you’re reading this and have any insights, please get in touch, thanks!)

Speaking of shows, if you’re around the glorious Sunshine Coast next week, i hope you’ll consider taking in one of our four Grant Lawrence and Friends: Stories and Songs shows. For those reading from afar, the Sunshine Coast is an exceptionally beautiful area of the inner south coast of BC, famous for its ocean views and impossibly twisty roads, upon which generations of my family have thrown up, whilst trying to get to the ferry terminals that connect the upper and lower coasts. At the north end is Desolation Sound. Also exceptional is line up of musicians at these shows: my ol’ pal Jeremy Fisher from Ottawa, the sublime Desiree Dawson, and the excellent Louise Burns. They’ll play the tunes, I’ll share the stories, and I hope to see you there!  Here’s a great article on what to expect from the Powell River Peak. If you have friends who you think might be interested in these shows, please let them know!  Wed Apr 22, Pender Harbour School of Music Thu Apr 23, Pender Harbour School of Music (SOLD OUT) Fri Apr 24, Cranberry Hall, Powell River Sat Apr 25, Cranberry Hall, Powell River … and on the May Long Weekend, Jill and I will be taking part in the Word on the Lake Writers Festival in Salmon Arm, BC.

TICKETS

Okay, it’s official!! My next book will be about something I am deeply passionate about: orcas. And not just any orcas, friend! This book will be about the adventures of one of thee most unique orca pods in the recorded history of the West Coast! A pod with a storied legacy that dates back to the capture era, and includes an extremely rare white orca (that one above.) And like most of my stories, for me, this one all began in Desolation Sound.

The book will be roughly based on Whale Tale, my CBC Radio series and podcast from last year, but will dive much deeper than the limited time a podcast can allow.  It’s a wild story of heroes and villains, dirty deeds and divine (human) intervention, a marine empire built on the backs of captive whales, and a West Coast mystery that has lasted over 55 years. Best of all, this story has what I consider to be both a happy and hopeful ending. I look forward to sharing the book with you, and will let you know all of the publication details soon.

As mentioned, Jill has been performing her new show “Under Paris Skies” with symphony orchestras across the country. The kids and I journeyed back to our beloved Winnipeg to see the first show, and it was un spectacle formidable. It was also funny, heart-felt, emotional, soaring, and highly dramatic with non-stop costume changes – and I barely speak French! Tout le monde! Up in that Winnipeg balcony I was a blubbery mess. Jill has two more performances this spring: Thu Apr 30, First Performing Arts Centre, Ste. Catharines, Ont. (jazz trio show) Sat May 2, Conexus Arts Centre, Regina, Sask. (Under Paris Skies with the Regina Symphony Orchestra)

TICKETS

Well, the Vancouver Canucks had an absolute miserable meltdown of a season, but the last home game of the year was a little sweeter when our son Josh’s band Blue Jay Valley were invited to perform pre-game on Canucks Plaza at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver for “Fan Appreciation Night.” As thousands of fans gathered, they were treated to ear-blasts of BJV songs. And the Canucks won in overtime! Unlike the Canucks for most of the season, Blue Jay Valley continue to impress with their popularity and drive. The members are now an average age of 11 (Josh is the eldest at 12) and they have two vinyl records under their 24” belts, you can hear their music on streaming platforms, and there’s more exciting shows upcoming. Sun May 3, Lana Lou’s, Vancouver BC (w/ the Fangers, and the Ra Ras, both kid bands) Sat Sep 12, Barnside Harvest Festival, Ladner BC, 4:45pm Heritage Stage

Tickets

This summer we hope to continue the tradition of the Desolation Sound boat-access-only summer tour, but first I’ll have to see if I can hit my book deadline… to be continued… Happy spring, happy life, hope to see you at a show, and all the best from the West, Grant Lawrence

Hope to see you at some of the upcoming shows! There will be exceptional musicians at all of them, including Danny Michel, Jill Barber, Desiree Dawson, Jeremy Fisher, Joel Plaskett, and Louise Burns. Find details and ticket info here!

In addition, I’ll be in attendance at the Word on the Lake Writers Festival in Salmon Arm, BC, May 15 – 17.

And if you’re a fan of my band The Smugglers, I’ll be singing a couple of songs at the Young Fresh Fellows show on Sat Apr 11 at the American in Vancouver.

Hello World of Friends!

Happy blustery days of November. Hope you’re staying cosy and warm wherever this may find you. 

Wrapping up another season in the Sound

November 2025 in Desolation Sound. Photo by Matt Dixon.

As each year passes, it always seems harder to close up the cabin for another season. Not so much physically but emotionally. Anytime of the year can be beautiful in Desolation Sound, as was proven when we closed up recently over four tranquil days in mid November. So you think, well, why not keep it open all year? But then a wicked southeasterly gale churns up the inlet into a black and white froth to answer your question for you. 

On our recent November closing weekend, true to Russell the Hermit’s old Desolation Sound adage of “there is always something to see,” there was: flocks in the thousands of “winter ducks” (as my dad calls them – scoters, goldeneyes, harlequins, and buffleheads) enjoying the sheltered salt waters of the inlets… massive seal lions barking and cavorting on rocky outcrops gorging on the last of the salmon… colourful mushrooms sprouting like miniature villages in the mossy banks… and dolphins showing off outrageously acrobatic moves to mostly themselves, the ducks, and the rare boat that might pass by, if at all….

November dolphins in Desolation Sound. Photo by Jas Kryver.

As we motored our boat Cliffhanger away from the cabin for the last time in 2025, off for other adventures far away from Desolation Sound, I ceremoniously poured the final sip of my beer into the dark green ocean. I consider it a tradition, a token of thanks, a gift to the sea, whereas my wife Jill still refers to the gesture “the biggest hoser move” she has ever seen.

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House of Vinyl

Do you own a record player? Yes! Great! No? Well, ask for one for Christmas because the Barber-Lawrences have the start of your collection right here. Yes, this is something I never would have predicted: three of our family members are releasing vinyl albums this fall:

• My lovely non-hoser wife Jill has (finally) released her first-ever Christmas album, entitled A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas, a mix of saucy originals and steamy holiday classics. You can order your own copy on jack pine evergreen vinyl in time for Xmas from Outside Music.

• Our 12-year-old son Josh’s rock band Blue Jay Valley has released a six-song 12” vinyl EP called Breakaway… and it totally rocks! Josh plays guitar in the band, and does a lot of the artwork, posters, and shares songwriting duty. We’re very proud of him and his band – who played a packed and epic record release party recently in East Vancouver. Our local entertainment weekly the Georgia Straight described the band as “Smells like pre-teen spirit.” You can order your own copy of this super cool release on three different varieties of coloured vinyl from Fink City Records.

• And finally, my ol’ rock n roll band The Smugglers are releasing a remastered 30th anniversary edition of our “most popular” album Selling The Sizzle. The reissue comes with a deluxe fold-out sleeve designed by our friend Chris Appelgren (who originally released this album in 1996 on Lookout Records), extensive liner notes by Nardwuar, and a truly sizzling remaster by original Sizzle producer Mass Giorgini… thirty years later. You can order your own copy on ketchup-and-mustard splattered vinyl in time for Xmas on Lava Socks Records.

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A Very Vancouver Christmas

It’s back! A few years ago, we did a Xmas version of my touring Stories and Songs show in East Vancouver. This year, we’re taking the show to… THE WEST SIDE… deep in the heart of Vancouver’s tony Kitsilano neighbourhood at the historic Hollywood Theatre for the second edition of Grant Lawrence and Friends: A Very Vancouver Christmas. 

*Wed Dec 17, Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver BC, all ages, 7pm*

We have assembled an all-star line up of Vancouver performers for this show, including musicians Torquil Campbell of the band Stars, Dan Moxon from the band Bend Sinister, young guitar phenom Ayla Tesler Mabe, and my lovely wife Jill Barber. Also on the show, hilarious comedian Charlie Demers and Vancouver author / historian / raconteur and tin whistle player Aaron “AO” Chapman, along with other special surprise guests! Get your tickets here.

Partial proceeds from the show go to BC Cancer Research. If you’ll be near Vancouver, we hope to see you there! 

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A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas Tour

Jill will be jiggling all the way to the Maritimes with a decorative Xmas tour full of special guests and songs of seasonal magic. If you’re near one of these towns, please go to the show and tell Jill her hoser husband sent you! Last sip of eggnog goes in the Northumberland Strait!

Thu Nov 27, Jane Mallet Theatre, Toronto
Fri Nov 28, Babs Asper Theatre, Ottawa

Sun Nov 30, Capitol Theatre, Moncton NB

Mon Dec 1, Kings Playhouse, Charlottetown PEI

Wed Dec 3, Imperial Theatre, Saint John NB

Thu Dec 4, Freddy Beach Playhouse, Fredericton NB

Fri Dec 5, Chester Playhouse, Chester NS

Sat Dec 6, Mermaid Imperial Performing Arts Centre, Windsor NS

Sun Dec 7, Evergreen Theatre, Margaretsville NS

Mon Dec 8, deCoste Performing Arts Centre, Pictou NS

Tue Dec 9, Marigold Cultural Centre, Truro NS

Wed Dec 10, Light House Arts Centre, Halifax

Find tickets to all of Jill’s Xmas shows here.

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Looking ahead to 2026, I will be doing three new Stories and Songs shows in March with an excellent line up of musicians:

• Thu Mar 5, 44 Collective, Mayne Island (w/ Danny Michel and Jill Barber)

• Fri Mar 6, Errington Hall, Vancouver Island (w/ Danny Michel, Jill Barber, and Desirée Dawson)

• Sat Mar 7, Clayoquot Theatre, Tofino, Vancouver Island (w/ Danny Michel, Jill Barber, and Desirée Dawson)

The tour will return next summer in Desolation Sound! 

And hopefully I’ll get going on some whale of a new book, too.

Happy fall, happy life, and all the best from the blustery west,

Grant Lawrence

“Rocky”, the biggest of ’em all. Photo by Aly Kohlman.