Art Bergmann

Canadian singer, songwriter, guitar player. First active in Abbotsford, BC, with The Mount Lehman Grease Band followed by the Notorious Smorg Brothers (aka Shmorgs). He moved to Vancouver and founded The K-Tels (later Young Canadians). He would join Los Popularos before founding Poisoned and then embarking on a solo career.

In 1988 Bergmann signed with Duke Street Records and began to make his mark as a solo artist releasing his first album under his own name entitled “Crawl With Me” which was produced by John Cale. 1989's “Sexual Roulette” and 1991's “Art Bergmann” self-titled album soon followed. In 1995 his stellar “What Fresh Hell Is This?” release earned him his first Juno Award for Best Alternative Album in 1996. Bergmann released two more albums, 1998's “Design Flaw” and 2000's “Vultura Freeway” before relocating to a farm in Alberta and retiring from the music business.

Very little of his solo music can be described as ‘punk’, though that’s where his roots lie. He was ‘alternative’ when that actually meant something, back before it became just another commercial category. And those terms are the closest you’ll get to genre-fying him. You can’t even say there’s an ‘Art Bergmann’ sound, because each of his albums sounds different from the next

Art resurfaced like a musical phoenix in 2014 with a four new song ep entitled “Songs For The Underclass” on Toronto based record label (weewerk) which peaked a lot of interest within his fan base and media alike. Art performed a number of shows to support its’ release, specifically the Upstairs in Victoria, Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, The Great Hall in Toronto, Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield, and This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton. Also showcasing at the Calgary Folk Music Festivals’ Block Heater showcase that year, Art was back and back in a big way.

IAt the end of 2020 Art Bergmann was honored to be appointed to The Order Of Canada, recognized for what the Governor General's office calls his, "indelible contributions to the Canadian punk music scene, and for his thought-provoking discourse on social, gender and racial inequalities." Known for his sharply political, anti-establishment lyrics, Art said he wants to divert any publicity generated by his appointment toward pressuring the federal government over its failure to provide adequate housing and clean water to First Nations.

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