It’s always a bit stressful trying to whittle down the list of shows I saw in a year to the 10 best. Every single show I’ve been to has been inspiring in its own way, and all have given me a break from the real world for a while. I’m eternally grateful for all of the people on the list for all of the joy they brought to me this year.

As always, I love hearing what you saw this year that really moved you, so if you have any favourites, recommendations, comments, stories, etc., please post a comment or drop me a line!

Here’s the full list (up to now):

Live Shows 2011

January 15 – James McMurtry & Del Barber – Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago (early and late shows)
January 22 – Del Barber – Times Change(d)
February 16 – Twang Trust FunDrive Spectacular (Hatcher-Briggs, Scott Nolan, Keri Latimer, etc.) – Lo Pub
March 5 – Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans – West End Cultural Centre
March 6 – Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans – Falcon Trails Resort
April 1 – James McMurtry & The Bottle Rockets – 400 Bar, Minneapolis
April 3 – Catherine Maclellan house concert
April 9 – Del Barber & Jenn Grant – Park Theatre
April 16 – The Damnwells & Harper Blynn – The Hub, Cedar Falls, Iowa
April 17 – The Damnwells & Harper Blynn – 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis
May 13 – Kate Maki & Fred Squire – StuDome
May 13 – Chris Carmichael Band w/ Andrina Turenne & Damon Mitchell – Times Change(d)
May 20 – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings w/ Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – The Garrick
May 28 – Hayes Carll – Folk Fest in-store
May 29 – U2 & The Fray – Stadium
June 2 – Bands vs. Filmmakers with John K Samson, Nathan, The Jaxon 3, The Shallow End – West End Cultural Centre
June 9 – Del Barber & Meaghan Smith – West End Cultural Centre
June 17 – Jack Marks – Times Change(d)
June 18 – Chris Carmichael – Sunset Saloon
June 24 – Woody Holler & His Orchestra – Times Change(d) (Jazz Fest, early and late shows)
June 25 – Colin Linden – Times Change(d) (Jazz Fest, early and late shows)
July 1 & 2 – The Warped 45s, Ayla Brook, The Heartbroken, Joshua Cockerill, Joe Ely – Dauphin Countryfest
July 3 – Warped 45s & Joshua Cockerill – StuDome
July 6-10 – Winnipeg Folk Festival
July 11 – Chuck Prophet – StuDome
July 20 – Gillian Welch – Fitzgerald Theatre, St. Paul, Minn.
July 22 – Steve Earle w/ The Dukes & The Duchesses – Big Top Chataqua, Bayfield, WI
August 4-7 – Edmonton Folk Festival
August 9 – Lyle Lovett & His Large Band – Walker Theatre
August 11 – NQ Arbuckle & Carolyn Mark – Times Change(d)
August 12-14 – Trout Forest Music Festival
August 14 – Chris Isaak – Concert Hall
August 16 – Brandi Carlile – Fargo Theatre
August 20 – Nathan – River Barge Festival
August 28 – Fish & Bird – The Cyrk
September 16 – Romi Mayes CD/Vinyl Release & Documentary Viewing – Park Theatre
September 21 – Matt Andersen & Del Barber – West End Cultural Centre
October 1 – James McMurtry – Park Theatre
October 12 – David Francey – Park Theatre
October 21 – Jory Nash – Sunset Saloon
October 29 – Elliott BROOD w/ 100 Dollars – West End Cultural Centre
November 9 – Tom Wilson w/ Carleton Stone – West End Cultural Centre
November 21 – Brock Zeman house concert
November 26 – Hatcher-Briggs, Wendy Bird & Friends – The Pyramid
December 13 – Scott Nolan live recording (with Matt Budaloski of Leaderhouse) – Park Theatre

Upcoming plans:
December 23 – The New Meanies – Pyramid
December 31 – Motel 75 Reunion – Bella Vista