Kyp Harness makes music on his own terms and has been doing it for 35 years. He is prolific, having put out 20 independent albums of storytelling and melody, with his latest (Lovely) released in April 2026. His approach hasn’t changed that drastically since he released his debut album, Nowhere Fast, in 1991. Harness has had his compositions recorded by Steve Earle, Mary Margaret O’Hara and Ron Sexsmith and has been called a “great writer” by Daniel Lanois and noted as “the most vital, essential Canadian singer-songwriter out there” by the Calgary Straight.
But it’s not only his vast solo catalogue that defines Harness. His multimedia adventurousness makes his output all the more impressive. The winters are long and cold in Canada. He is, however, a man for all seasons. Originally from Sarnia, Ontario, Harness is the author of The Art of Laurel and Hardy and The Art of Charlie Chaplin, the latter hailed by Chaplin expert Dan Kamin as “among the best books ever written on the comedian.” He is also the creator of the daily Mortimer the Slug webcomic. His novel, Wigford Rememberies, won the Best Canadian Independent Novel Relit Award in 2017.
His is the type of music that envelops you with its warmth, and you might find yourself feeling lit up from the inside like one of those kitschy plastic snowmen in people’s front yards. The off-kilter playfulness is in combination with serious topics. But there is a kind of serendipity that lends his songs a homey touch, one that is amplified by a certain ramshackle tenderness.
Album opener Rid of Me rocks from the first note and states his intention to never waver: “Whatever way the wind might blow / Whatever way the river flows / Whatever happens I’m stayin’ close / You’ll never get rid of me.” Despite its melancholy subject matter, the folkish Allie Jane has the comforting familiarity of an old, much-worn pair of jeans. “Now it seems like everything is speedin’ up / Can’t remember when I lost track of keeping track / All that’s new is old again.”
For his mini-gig, Harness plays a thirty-year-old Takamine guitar his wife bought him. “It has weathered many trips and stages,” he remarked. “I’m playing on a stage set carefully decorated to look like my backyard. (Joking – I’m playing in my backyard.)”
As always, the best ways to support artists are to go to their shows and buy merchandise. But if Harness isn’t playing a gig near enough, you can buy some without the travel at his Bandcamp site. Follow him on Instagram and visit his website, but first press play and hear what the squirrels and bunnies heard during this recording.
God’s Footstool – In this early song, I humbly set myself the task of describing the cosmos and even titled a whole album God’s Footstool. It didn’t become a top ten hit, at least in this galaxy. I got the title from a remembered Biblical passage: “The heavens are God’s throne, and the earth is His footstool.” I sort of went from there.
Old Grey House – In the country, you can see lots of abandoned houses and decrepit, falling-apart barns that look like the skeletons of dinosaurs. In the city, you can see abandoned boarded-up houses too. At one time, they were built by people full of hope and looking to the future. Someday people will look at our homes and wonder who lived there.
Business As Usual – Just take a look around a world where money controls too many things money shouldn’t control and the human toll of that. In history, we see the human species keep doing the same things over and over again, just as it does today. Jimi Hendrix said, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” I think we’re still in the love of power phase.
