Basia Bulat is a one of Canada’s most accomplished songwriters, having built a significant audience over the past 15 years through her distinctive voice and compelling songwriting, drawing from classic folk, neo soul and gospel. In addition to her powerful vocals, Bulat is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, playing electric guitar, piano, autoharp, ukulele, bass, and charango.

Over the course of five albums, the Montreal-based musician has brought together an intrinsic contemporary sound with a love of classic folk, indie folk, country and R&B songwriting. Three of her albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, including her debut album, 2007's Oh My Darling, as well as 2013's Tall, Tall Shadow and 2016's Good Advice (produced by My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James). 

Basia Bulat comes to Banff Centre as faculty for the Banff Musicians in Residence program, which gives musicians and ensembles the time and space to develop new work, refine their craft, and collaborate in Banff Centre’s inspiring mountain setting. The second half of this concert will feature participants in this program.

Basia Bulat is a must-see in my books; she’s an absolute sweet-heart on stage and her voice and presence makes joy pretty infectious. - Concert Addicts

Bulat’s robust voice and quick rhythmic strumming had a larger-than-life fullness that needed no accompaniment. - Apartment613

Much like Florence Welch (of “the Machine”), she can belt it out and when she hits her stride she rides it all the way. - Live in Limbo

Vancouver-based artist Niall McNeil is an actor, writer, lyricist, poet, filmmaker, and painter who also happens to have Down syndrome. As the co-creator of acclaimed productions including Peter Panties and Sir Arthur's Knight (both developed here at Banff Centre), Niall returns to Banff with a new creation that adds director to his list of artistic practices.

Inspired by the 1740 French fairy tale La Belle et la Bête, Jean Cocteau's surrealist film adaptation, and Disney's 1991 animated classic, Niall brings his own experiences and perspectives to the iconic story in Beauty and the Beast: My Life.
Featuring seriously catchy music by Veda Hille, stylized choreography by Billy Marchenski, and an accompanying exhibition of Niall's paintings exploring the show's themes, Beauty and the Beast: My Life is a funny, vulnerable, high-energy celebration of a singular artist's imagination. This highly original interdisciplinary performance offers audiences an experience unlike anything else on stage.

Beauty and the Beast: My Life has been created with accessibility for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences in mind, with live captioning provided at every performance.

Interested in Beauty and the Beast: My Life? You might also want to learn more about Teatro La Plaza: Hamlet at Banff Centre.

Beauty and the Beast: My Life is experimenting with paintings that I’ve designed with handles so people can dance with them. My original idea is to let the performers work in my different new way. It’s my first time being a director. My purpose is to make my own art. - Niall McNeil

 

Talk about innovation. Talk about risk. Talk about reward. Talk about writer and director Niall McNeil’s Beauty and the Beast: My Life. - Colin Thomas 

 

"Beauty and the Beast: My Life balances raucous panto and poignant personal reflection" - The Stir 

 

“Here is a trailblazing artist who has taken life as it was handed to him and forged a career in theatre, the visual arts, film and now as a director… to say this Beauty and the Beast is like no other you’ve ever seen is an understatement… I saw it. I embraced it. I found the poetry”. - Theatre Reviews on the Scene

 

The Bad Plus, "the iconoclastic jazz group known for its genre-eschewing approach" (Billboard) have been one of jazz’s most endearing and enduring stories. Founding member, bassist Reid Anderson has been there since the beginning—16 albums and 26 years of touring and acclaim. In 2003, The Bad Plus exploded onto the jazz charts—and beyond—with These Are the Vistas, blending jazz and rock with genre-defying covers of Nirvana, Aphex Twin and Blondie.

Coming to Banff fresh off The Bad Plus’ massive farewell tour, Reid is beginning to plot the next chapter with his new trio: Slow Reactors.

Reid Anderson founded his new band with Tina Priceman (violin) and Gregg Belisle-Chi (guitar), based on his long-time passion for electronic music. Using analog synths and drum machines, Anderson explores the compositional and interactive possibilities of electronic music with live musicians.

Reid Anderson comes to Banff Centre as faculty for the Banff Musicians in Residence program, which gives musicians and ensembles the time and space to develop new work, refine their craft, and collaborate in Banff Centre’s inspiring mountain setting. The second half of this concert will feature participants in this program.

Celebrate the final evening of our Deep Winter Writers Literary Cabaret series, part of the Deep Winter Writing Residency at Banff Centre. Chapter 3 showcases compelling original works from residency writers and is hosted acclaimed faculty mentor Yasmine Seale who will treat us to a final reading.

Yasmine Seale brings an elegant, international, and deeply literary presence to the series. As a poet, critic, and translator, her work bridges languages, histories, and traditions, offering audiences a compelling entry point into the power of translation, myth, and contemporary global literature. 

Deep Winter Writers is a three-week residency designed for writers to enter a focused period of creative development in the mountains. Faculty are in residence for the first two weeks, offering mentorship, conversation, and community, with the public readings taking place during this active exchange. The third week shifts into a quieter period of deep work, giving writers time and space to carry that momentum into their manuscripts.

Grab a drink from the bar, browse handpicked selections from Pages Books, and take in the lively, welcoming atmosphere of CLVB '33. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7 p.m., followed by time to mingle with writers and faculty members until 9:30 p.m.
Admission is free. Don’t miss this closing night of powerful storytelling and winter literary magic!

Step into the second chapter of our Deep Winter Writers Literary Cabaret series, celebrating the vibrant work emerging from the Deep Winter Writing Residency at Banff Centre. Chapter 2 features a dynamic lineup of readings from residency writers, hosted and accompanied by a special reading from faculty mentor Renee Gladman.

Renee Gladman brings a singular interdisciplinary voice to the series. Her work moves between fiction, drawing, architecture, poetics, and visual art, making her an exciting draw for audiences interested in experimental literature, world-building, spatial imagination, and writing that challenges the boundaries of form.

Deep Winter Writers is a three-week residency designed for writers to enter a focused period of creative development in the mountains. Faculty are in residence for the first two weeks, offering mentorship, conversation, and community, with the public readings taking place during this active exchange. The third week shifts into a quieter period of deep work, giving writers time and space to carry that momentum into their manuscripts.

Enjoy drinks from the bar and immerse yourself in an evening of creativity and conversation. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. in CLVB '33, with the program beginning at 7 p.m., followed by relaxed mingling until 9:30 p.m.
Admission is free. Join us for a night of imagination and winter inspiration.

Join us for the first gathering in our Deep Winter Writers Literary Cabaret series, part of the Deep Winter Writing Residency at Banff Centre. Chapter 1 offers an engaging evening of original works from this season’s writers-in-residence, hosted and capped with a special reading by faculty mentor Karen Solie.

Host Karen Solie is one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary poets, with a major international reputation and a body of work recognized for its precision, intelligence, and lyric force. Her presence offers a strong Canadian literary anchor for the series, while also connecting the residency to a wider global poetry conversation. 

Deep Winter Writers is a three-week residency designed for writers to enter a focused period of creative development in the mountains. Faculty are in residence for the first two weeks, offering mentorship, conversation, and community, with the public readings taking place during this active exchange. The third week shifts into a quieter period of deep work, giving writers time and space to carry that momentum into their manuscripts.

Settle in with a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books from Pages, and enjoy the warm, creative atmosphere of CLVB '33. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings beginning at 7 p.m. Continue the conversation afterward during an informal mingling session with writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m.
Admission is free. Start your deep-winter literary journey with us!

Join us for an evening celebrating the next generation of storytellers, bards and troubadours as part of our Literary Cabaret series, featuring the Early Career Writers of Poetry's Residency at Banff Centre.

This final showcase brings together original works from resident poets, sharing verse that range from tales of urban malaise to queering marriage. The event will feature short readings and reflections on works-in-progress, offering a glimpse into creative process, voice, and lyricism craft across their poetry and lyrical narrative prose.

Acclaimed writer and faculty mentor Vik Shirley will host the evening and share from her own celebrated work.
Vik Shirley brings a sharp, surreal, and darkly playful poetic sensibility to the series. Her work connects contemporary poetry with visual practice, humour, the uncanny, and small press culture, making her a compelling host for audiences interested in poetry that pushes beyond the expected. 

Discover bold new voices shaping the future of poetry. Explore curated selections from Pages Books and enjoy the welcoming creative atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. in CLVB '33, with things kicking off at 7:00 p.m. Stay after to mingle with writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m.

Admission is free. Don’t miss this inspiring night of creativity, community, and verse! Event and audience may be captured on film.

You are invited to an evening celebrating the next generation of storytellers, bards and troubadours as part of our Literary Cabaret series, featuring the Early Career Writers of Poetry's Residency at Banff Centre.

This showcase brings together original works from resident poets, sharing verse that range from tales of urban malaise to queering marriage. The event will feature short readings and reflections on works-in-progress, offering a glimpse into creative process, voice, and lyricism craft across their poetry and lyrical narrative prose.

Acclaimed writer and faculty mentor Tyler Mills will host the evening and share from her own celebrated work.
Tyler Mills brings a deep commitment to craft, poetic inquiry, and teaching. Her work moves between poetry, essay, memoir, and pedagogy, offering audiences a host whose practice is rooted in both artistic excellence and the generative possibilities of writing as a lifelong studio practice.

Discover bold new voices shaping the future of poetry. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. in CLVB '33, with things kicking off at 7 p.m. Stay after to mingle with writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m.

Admission is free. Don’t miss this inspiring night of creativity, community, and verse! Event and audience may be captured on film.

As part of our Literary Cabaret series, featuring the Early Career Writers of Poetry's Residency at Banff Centre, join us for an evening celebrating the next generation of storytellers, bards and troubadours.

This showcase brings together original works from resident poets, sharing verse that range from tales of urban malaise to queering marriage. The event will feature short readings and reflections on works-in-progress, offering a glimpse into creative process, voice, and lyricism craft across their poetry and lyrical narrative prose.

Acclaimed writer and faculty mentor Joyelle McSweeney will host the evening and share from her own celebrated work. 
Joyelle McSweeney brings major international stature and a fiercely original voice to the series. Her work is known for its intensity, invention, theatricality, and genre-defying approach to poetry and performance. As a poet, critic, publisher, and advocate for global literature, she offers a powerful draw for audiences interested in bold contemporary poetics.

Discover bold new voices shaping the future of poetry. Explore curated selections from Pages Books and enjoy the welcoming creative atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. in CLVB '33, with things kicking off at 7 p.m. Stay after to mingle with writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m.

Admission is free. Don’t miss this inspiring night of creativity, community, and verse! Event and audience may be captured on film.

Be the first to experience a groundbreaking collaboration between contemporary artistic powerhouses: Grammy Award-winning composer Bryce Dessner (The National, Train Dreams) and award-winning poet Ocean Vuong, setting a powerful collection on immigrant histories, war and displacement, queer identity, and family lineages to music on stage. 

Now considered to be one of the foremost creative writers in America today, Ocean Vuong (author of 2019's acclaimed On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous) made his career debut with Night Sky with Exit Wounds in 2016, becoming the youngest person ever to win the T. S. Eliot Prize for poetry at 29 years old, and the second ever debut collection to win it. The book was also listed as a New York Times Top 10 Book of the year. Based on his family's history as Vietnamese immigrants, the collection "beautifully attests to Mr. Vuong’s own ability to use the magic of words to summon and preserve the past" (The New York Times). 

Bryce Dessner is equally at home in the world of rock, achieving fame as the co-founder (along with his twin brother Aaron) of The National—multi-award winning band, including two GRAMMY Awards and two NME Awards for Best Album and Best Band in the World (2018)—as he is in the world of contemporary classical music. Dessner is a producer and composer, having worked with Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Alejandro Iñarritú, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, and Taylor Swift. He also co-founded Dream House Quartet with pianists Katia and Marielle Làbeque and guitarist David Chalmin, and has a new opera of Herakles Mad, with libretto by poet Anne Carson, premiering in Basel, Switzerland in May 2027.   

Born out of their friendship and mutual artistic admiration, bringing Night Sky with Exit Wounds to the stage is a collaboration between Vuong and Dessner and close collaborators, theatre director Silvia Costa, mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron, and 2025 MacArthur Fellowship recipient and visual artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen on projection design. With Costa and Dessner navigating the delicate balance between the raw vulnerability of Vuong’s poetry and the dynamic interplay of music and visuals, the collaborators are embarking on an exploration that transcends conventional design boundaries toward a universe where live music, poetry and visual art find a seamless, deeply charged flow.  

This workshop presentation will feature a post-show Q&A with artists on site for the residency, including Dessner, Barron, and Costa. 

"Vuong's poems combine to form a view that's at once movingly personal and energized with a message that needs to be heard." - Lonesome Reader 

"Vuong accomplishes with sophistication and grace what many poets only strive to accomplish: he invites us to experience a world where hardship and isolation are expectations ... This voice, Vuong’s necessary, shimmering voice, fills us to the core." - Harvard Review

"Dessner moves fluidly between rock and classical and everywhere in between." – Guardian

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