Biography
Amanda Penner (They/She) is a queer folk singer/songwriter living on Treaty 6 Territory otherwise known as Edmonton, Alberta. With songs that are cinematic in nature and evocative lyricism similar to vignette style prose, Penner’s music lends itself to the yearners of the world trying to find a soft place to land. Their writing encapsulates a feeling of childhood nostalgia with a gentle delivery akin to the comfort of a warm cup of tea or a tight hug, a sound that could only be described as if Adrianne Lenker & Gregory Alan Isakov had a sad, gay baby. With each listen, Penner delivers complexity, wit, and wisdom far beyond their years.
“She’s a Forest Fire” (2023), is a smooth and string-based invitation to honour the earth-given, complex parts of us as the forces of nature we are. Penner’s words float over the familiar, safe-feeling acoustics of a gentle folk song but speak with a fierce introspection.
Penner is an established singer-songwriter who can guide a crowd from tears to laughter to singing along in a single evening. At merely seventeen years old, they made their festival circuit debut at the Canmore Folk Festival in support of their first EP, Honey & Heartache (2019). Penner has since had the joy of touring and connecting with kindred audiences and musicians alike at festivals such as the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival (YPP), Tiny Lights, & Waynestock, among others.
When Penner is not working on their solo project, you can find them performing with their duo partner, Zackery Wilson Elliott as Halfway Home or community-building through Toadstool Collective, their self-started queer arts & music collective.