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Jim McLennan Music  

  Jim McLennan is known as a fingerstyle guitarist who specializes in

arranging compelling songs for solo instrumental guitar.

 

These days Jim is very active as both an electric and acoustic guitar player,

playing and performing in a number of ensembles.

Performances to come

May 30, 2025  Leanne Lightfoot Trio, Priddis, AB

May 31, 2025  Charlie Ewing, The Stop, Diamond Valley, AB

June 21, 2025  Leanne Lightfoot Trio, Clear Lake Festival, AB

June 27, 2025  Wailback, Beaver Fever Festivel, near Castle River, AB

July 18, 2025 Hugh McLennan and Western Spirit, 

Vilna Cowboy Music Festival, Vilna, AB

July 24, 2025 Charlie Ewing, Wellspring Concert, Calgary, AB

Aug. 24, 2025  Leanne Lightfoot Trio, Gibsons, BC

Sept. 12 - 14, 2025  Hugh McLennan, Caroline Cowboy Festival, AB

Sept. 27, 2025 Hugh McLennan, Medicine Hat Cowboy Festival, AB

The Leanne Lightfoot Trio

consists of singer/songwriter Leanne, Jim and upright bassist Jamie Newsom.

The music is mainly Leanne's original songs, which can best described

as roots/folk with an occasional gentle lean towards jazz. 

In April Leanne's 2025 recording, Still Knowing reached

#1 on Canada's national folk/roots/blues charts.
To find out more visit leannelightfoot.com

Hugh McLennan and Western Spirit

Jim's big brother Hugh is Canada's best-known cowboy, thanks to

thirty plus years of his syndicated radio program The Spirit of the West.

Jim, along with bassist Mike Dygert, has played with big brother for many years,

at cowboy gatherings, concerts and back porches throughout the Canadian West.

Jim is featured on both of Hugh's recordings, 

The Creak of the Leather and A Little Past Our Prime. Visit hugh-mclennan.com

Sid Marty and Wailback

is comprised of writer/poet/singer/songwriter Sid Marty,

Jim on electric guitar and James van Leeuwen on acoustic guitar and vocals.

Fans and protectors of Alberta's precious wilderness will know Sid through his numerous books, including Men for the Mountains, Leaning on the Wind,

and his 2023 award-winning book of poetry, Old Man's River.

Turns out Sid is also one of Alberta's best songwriters. sidmarty.com

​Charlie Ewing

is a rancher who's lived his whole life in Alberta's Porcupine Hills.

He writes and sings songs that resonate with those who love these hills

and the western and ranching lifestyle. charlieewing.com

Ryan Fritz 

is a cowboy singer who lives in the shadow of the rockies in the ranch country

near Longview, Alberta. He grew up listening to Ian Tyson, and is quietly

taking the torch from Ian in his drive to honour and share the traditions of western and cowboy music. Ryan has recorded ten studio albums, two of which

Jim has played on. ryanfritz.net

Calling all guitarists! 
Have a listen to Jim's One Tune Concerts.  
Songs like Rouler Sa Bosse, Over the Rainbow, Foxglove, Just the Way You Are, Beatle Medley, Windy and Warm 
and so many more.  

 

Jim & Lynda McLennan

Jim McLennan


Music with Jim McLennan


One Tune Concerts - Listen Here

 

Tom Cole Homebound Concerts -

Listen Here

 

Trevor Warke and Jim McLennan -

Listen Here

 

Another series we would like to recommend is

Steve Bell:  Live from the Vault

Listen Here

Jim McLennan’s reputation as a fingerstyle guitarist, composer and arranger has produced an enduring legacy as one of Alberta’s finest guitarists. He recorded for Stefan Grossman’s iconic Kicking Mule record label in the 1970s, and has been featured in Guitar Player magazine. 

Jim's first solo CD, Six-String Gumbo,  was a Western Canadian Music Award finalist for Instrumental Recording of the Year.



Lynda McLennan taught high-school music for many years, working with choirs, bands, jazz choirs and was music director for several Mainstage musicals. She has directed church choirs and retired after 15 years as the Founder / Director of the Big Rock Singers, a community choir in Okotoks, Alberta.  Her first love, though, is singing, and in performance she puts her personal stamp on tunes from Gershwin, Foster, Berlin, and others, in a musical style that can best be described as "folk jazz." 


Available for House Concerts

and other Performance Venues

A Jim and Lynda McLennan performance includes instrumental guitar pieces from 

Jim and vocal tunes from Lynda. One moment it’s a “folkafied” version of a standard 

like Ain’t Misbehavin’ or Fly Me to the Moon, next up might be an acoustic nod to the R&B world of Sam Cooke or Curtis Mayfield. The only criteria for a McLennan 

interpretation of a tune is that it be a great song.

Much of their music is recognized and loved by their listeners. Seasoned performers, their genuine and engaging stage demeanor immediately puts audiences at ease. 

They have performed at Festival Place in Sherwood Park, the mid-Winter Roots and Blues Festival in Edmonton, the On the Edge Concert Series, Carlson’s on Macleod in High River, the Room Full of Sound concert series in Okotoks, Mikey’s Juke Joint in Calgary, the Blue Chair in Edmonton, the Canmore Folk Festival, and at numerous house concerts and other acoustic music venues. For information on booking Jim and Lynda McLennan, or for information on how to host a house concert, please send an email.

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Please have a listen to a few samples of our music over the years.

In the Kitchen with Jim and Lynda McLennan - Where Did it Go?
by Nathan Tinkham

Northern Lights Lodge July 2018

Check out the following YouTube link for a sample of Jim and Lynda's music at the

Room Full of Sound Concert Series in 2015, Okotoks, Alberta.


Enjoy a few more instrumental guitar selections by Jim McLennan

 Blue Finger

 Lady Madonna

  Mississippi Blues

Jim performing Live at Blue Chair Cafe, Edmonton,

at the Edmonton Winter Roots and Blues Roundup,

sponsored by Folkway International.

Sweet Tooth - an original tune             Amazing Grace on electric guitar

A Room Full of Sound Concert Series


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Current CD's available

Dancing On Air           Six-String Gumbo          

In Times Like These

      Cost:  $15.00 per CD         Send an email to order

Six-String Gumbo

This is Jim's solo instrumental acoustic guitar CD, which was a Western Canadian Music Award finalist for Instrumental Recording of the Year. The songs include Jim's original compositions, and Jim's arrangements of tunes from the likes of Scott Joplin, Billy Joel, and Lennon and McCartney.

This is a recording of hymns and gospel tunes that features Jim's long time friend, 

Trevor Warke.  

Trev has an outstanding voice and has arranged these songs in a style reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot. Jim's guitar adds some colour to these timeless songs of faith, including "How Great Thou Art," "The Church's One Foundation," and "Love Lifted Me." 

In Times Like These

 

Other CD's that feature Jim's playing.

Jim has played guitar on a number of artists' CDs over the years. 

Here are some of them:

Quarter Section, by Meaghan McKenzie

Chronicles, by Tom Cole

Other People's Cattle, by Cowboy Celtic

The Creak of the Leather, by Hugh McLennan

World Weary, by Joe Cunningham

Between Heartache and Hope, by Dianne Quinton

Wailback, by Sid Marty and Wailback

River, by Steve Fisher

Runaway Remuda, by Ryan Fritz

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If you're interested in having  Jim play on your recording,

send him an email.

Jim and Lynda McLennan   mclennanflyfishing1@gmail.com


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