The Crisp Festival is delighted to see the return of Dan! Dan Mangan’s 2025 album Natural Light was recorded unexpectedly over six magical days by four close friends in a cabin by a lake. The album marks a return to the classic foundations of folk music — political resistance, campfire songs, and deeply human storytelling. While Mangan has continually pushed and reshaped his sound over the years, Natural Light finds him grounded in his roots, creating some of his most effortless and affecting work to date.

The album reflects the many chapters of Mangan’s life and career: the determined young artist booking European tours through Myspace in the mid-2000s, the songwriter who stepped into fatherhood as arena-folk surged in the early 2010s, and the genre-bending musician who has challenged both himself and his audience with every record. Across more than two decades, Mangan has built a remarkable body of work defined by integrity, wit, sonic innovation, and lyrical depth.

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Natural Light also carries the cohesion of an album meant to be experienced as a whole. Songs flow together through carefully crafted transitions and overlapping interludes, while Mangan’s lyrics guide the listener through themes of family, care, and a society in crisis.

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Dan Mangan is a two-time JUNO Award winner and three-time Polaris Music Prize nominee. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, he has earned a fiercely loyal audience through his singular voice and fearless songwriting. His career has included performances at Glastonbury and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, sold-out shows at Massey Hall, and acclaimed soundtrack work for film and television. In 2017, he co-founded Side Door, a platform designed to democratize and decentralize the entertainment industry by connecting artists with alternative venue spaces.

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Looking Ahead to Crisp Festival 2026: 

 

Tickets for Crisp Festival, October 2–4, 2026, will go on sale July 1.

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This year, Sunday will be formally added to the festival lineup. As part of the Sunday programming, we are pleased to welcome BreakOut West on a field trip to Pender. BreakOut West will be taking place in Victoria that same weekend, and we look forward to opening this music industry day free of charge to all Gulf Islands musicians.