THE JANZEN BOYS

The Janzen Boys have been playing music together since the very beginning, but it started as “The Janzen Boys” shortly after they moved back to Canada from Japan in 2012. They’re a rootsy, harmony-singing folk trio from Winnipeg, Manitoba, consisting of brothers Simon and Mick, and father JJ. Whether they’re playing at music festivals, theatres, venues, or intimate house concerts, they’ll have you laughing, crying, and singing along to classics that you know and love, and catchy original tunes that’ll be stuck in your head for days! https://www.thejanzenboys.com/

“We started playing music together from the very beginning, but it really only started as “The Janzen Boys” after we moved back to Canada in 2012 after a childhood spent in Japan. I (Mick) was 9 years old and Simon was 12 and he wanted to try busking at The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dad (JJ) likes to talk about how I would never sing when we played together, so for me to join them at The Forks, I would have to sing harmonies. That was the condition. It was here that “the father-and-sons trio, The Janzen Boys” started.

“In the summer of 2014, sticking with what we knew, we went on what we call our “Western Canada Busking Roadie.” This “tour” took us all the way to B.C., playing in music venues, farmers markets, on the street, and public spaces from Winnipeg to Kelowna, where we bought a baritone guitar from a friend and then turned around. It was the beginning of realizing that we could have a lot of fun doing the thing we love while getting paid for it.

“In 2018 after a successful showcase at the Manitoba Arts Network Emerging Artists series, we booked concert dates in towns and cities all around Manitoba. We didn’t know what to expect but it turned out to be a great series of shows, in little historic theatres, many of them in the out-of-the-way parts of the province.