It’s been six long years since Aidan Knight was last in Vancouver for a show, but luckily that changed last night at the Fox Cabaret. A de facto album release party for his 2020 self-titled release, Knight had longtime friend, Yukon Blonde’s Brandon Wolfe Scott along with him. The two shared the same band all evening; Graham Jones on drums and Jackson Gardner on bass, with Scott and Knight trading off leads for their respective sets.

Brandon Wolfe Scott was up first, playing from his own 2020 EP, Burden on Your Shoulders.
His folk-tinged songs drifted through a growing crowd of attentive listeners, with highlights included “Summer on Fire”, inspired by the effects of climate change on BC; his latest single “Fade Out”; and an as-yet unreleased song (possibly called “Take it in Stride”?) which I’m definitely gonna keep an ear out for when it comes out.

After a break and “costume change”, Aidan Knight returned with the band, started with the opening track of his self-titled, “Julia in the Garden”.
From there, Knight played primarily off the new album, including the victorious “Veni Vidi Vici”, the melancholic “Mary Turns the Pillow” and “Renovations”, with a simmering intensity that also saw Brandon pull out an omnichord. The only one not from the new release was my favourite off his previous album Each Other, “What Light (Never Goes Dim)” a slow-burner that builds to a grand finish.
Throughout the show, Knight joked with the crowd between songs, asking if anyone had questions, or rhetorically asking if we were ready for another sad song (answer: yes), and for the most part, the crowd hung on every work he sang, with barely a noise during the songs.
After about an hour, he ended off the main set with “Rolodex”, but Aidan and Brandon almost immediately returned for the encore, each playing a song on their own before getting the rest of the band back for an incredibly fun singalong to a cover of The Wallflowers’ “One Headlight”.

I would probably rank Aidan among my favourite songwriters, and it was great to see him back after so long. Especially at a venue like the Fox, and especially with support like Brandon Wolfe Scott. Hopefully we won’t have to wait that long before the next one.

Aidan Knight setlist
Julia in the Garden
La La
Sixteen Stares
Veni Vidi Vici
What Light (Never Goes Dim)
Mary Turns the Pillow
Renovations
Houston TX
Rolodex
[encore]
Angel Dream [Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers cover]
St Kierans
One Headlight [The Wallflowers cover]

Brandon Wolfe Scott setlist
My Oh My
Need You Now
Summers on Fire
Fade Out
Something Real
(New Song)
Burdon on Your Shoulders