BIO

Ian Tamblyn began his professional life as a musician and songwriter at the Bobby Orr Pizza in Peterborough, 1972.  Since that time, it has been a slice. Forty-sixalbums, CDs and cassettes later, Ian has recently released a retrospective of his work. Featuring twenty-six songs on the double CD and ten on the vinyl release, the collection is entitled Scenes through a Mirror.

 

In the past year Ian has been busy touring, mostly in Ontario and Quebec. He has also been working on a collection of Arctic stories and reflections that is now in the hands of editor, Season Osborne.  Hopefully it will be ready for publication by the fall of 2027. The collection is entitled Chasing the North.

 

Last year Ian researched a story about his grandmother Vera Baird who was a singer in the lumber camps and towns of Northwestern Ontario. The project came about when Ian discovered her repertoire of sheet music in a piano bench.  The research has developed into a musical play entitled Vera. Carson Beckie, a classical pianist, recorded twenty of these “found” songs.  A workshop for this play was held in June 2024, with Carson (pianist), Sheena Turcotte (Vera), Eleanor Crowder, and director Mary Ellis.

 

Continuing with the theatre front, Dr. Tamblyn is involved with actor/director Maja Ardal bringing Otzi, the Cooper Age Iceman back to life!  with an eye to a collaborative production. He is also involved in a theatrical adaptation of Brian Doyle’s book “Mary Anne Alice”. In the spring of 2025 Magnus Theatre, Thunder Bay ON toured Ian’s play “Land of Trash” across Northwestern Ontario. Ian has written seventeen plays.

 

Ian has won numerous awards and nominations throughout his career. Most recently Ian was nominated as English Songwriter of the Year by the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2022. In the same year he was awarded membership as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

 

For upcoming concert dates please visit Ian’s website at  www.iantamblyn.com

 

 

 

January 2026