Maria Dunn
2022 Juno Award winning songwriter Maria Dunn draws deeply on the folk tradition of storytelling through song. Melding North American roots music with her Scottish-Irish heritage, she sings about the resilience and grace of “ordinary” people, past and present. Along with multimedia shows Packingtown, GWG: Piece by Piece, On The River (with Asani) and Troublemakers, developed with Don Bouzek of Ground Zero Productions, Maria has eight independent albums, including Joyful Banner Blazing (2022 Juno Winner, 2022 WCMA Nominee), Gathering (2017 Juno Nominee, 2017 WCMA Nominee, 2016 Edmonton Music Prize Winner), Piece By Piece (2013 Canadian Folk Music Award Nominee), The Peddler (2009 CFMA Nominee), and 2004 people’s history of Alberta, We Were Good People. Her latest release Hardscrabble Hope (November 2025) finds a path through the upheaval of the past five years and celebrates gratitude, solidarity, connection and the love that fires our actions to make the world a better place. (All albums produced by Shannon Johnson of Juno-winning band The McDades). Edmonton-based, Maria performs at festivals, theatres and conferences across Canada, Europe and USA.
Maria is a writer with a critical eye, a keen ear and a nose for sniffing out issues that need to be examined and publicized through the medium of song. For those of you who are not yet familiar with Maria’s recorded output and live performances, I invite you to familiarize yourselves with her amazing body of work. – Tim Readman, Roots Music Canada
From the very first note [Joyful Banner Blazing] truly hit my heart – like welcoming a loved friend – wonderful stories and songs needed for this time. – Tom Coxworth, Folk Routes, CKUA Radio
Maria Dunn's Joyful Banner Blazing elevates our humanism — Fish Griwkowsky, Edmonton Journal
…remarkable singer-songwriter, think of her as a distaff Woody Guthrie. – Mike Ross, Edmonton Sun