Afie Jurvanen (born April 28, 1981), known by his stage name Bahamas, is a Canadian musician.

Early life

Jurvanen was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and raised in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He is of

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

ancestry.

Career

Jurvanen taught himself guitar. He worked with a variety of musicians that includes

The Lumineers The Lumineers are an American alternative folk band based in Denver, Colorado. The founding members are Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano). Schultz and Fraites began writing and performing toge ...

City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist and songwr ...

, Feist,

Howie Beck Howie Beck is a Canadian musician, mixer and producer based in Toronto, Ontario. He has been nominated for three Juno Awards in Canada on three occasions for Adult Alternative Album, Engineer of the Year and Producer of the Year (2017). History Be ...

Jason Collett Jason Collett is a Toronto-based Canadian singer-songwriter. He has released six solo studio albums, and is a former member of Broken Social Scene. His latest album, ''Song & Dance Man'', was released in February, 2016. Early life Collett was bo ...

, Jack Johnson,

The Weather Station The Weather Station is a Canadian folk music band fronted by Tamara Lindeman, formed in 2006. The band membership has changed over the years, and as of 2022 includes Lindeman (lead vocals, piano), Ben Whiteley (bass), Johnny Spence (keyboards), ...

, and

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

. Downtown Music Publishing represents Bahamas' songs. Jurvanen recorded his debut album, ''

Pink Strat ''Pink Strat'' is the debut album from Canadian musician Bahamas (musician), Bahamas. It was nominated for both a Juno Award, Juno and a Polaris Music Prize in 2010. Track listing References

{{Authority control 2009 debut albums Bahamas ...

'', in a cabin in rural Ontario in 2008. He released the album under the name Bahamas in 2009 and was subsequently nominated for a 2010 Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo. Bahamas' second album, '' Barchords, was released'' on February 7, 2012. The album received nomination at the 2013 Juno Awards for the Adult Alternative Album of the Year. Jurvanen received a nomination for Songwriter of the Year for the tracks "Be My Witness", "Caught Me Thinking", and "Lost in the Light". Jurvanen released his third album, '' Bahamas Is Afie'' on August 19, 2014. The album received first place on '' Qs Top 20 Albums of 2014. ''Bahamas Is Afie'' received a nomination for Adult Alternative Album of the Year At the

Juno Awards of 2015 The Juno Awards of 2015 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2013 and in most of 2014. The awards were presented in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 14–15 March 2015. The main ceremony was conducted ...

, and Jurvanen received nomination for Songwriter of the Year for "All the Time", "Bitter Memories" and "Stronger Than That". He won the awards in both categories. Jurvanen tours with drummer

Jason Tait Jason Tait is a Canadian musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is the drummer for the Canadian indie rock band The Weakerthans. Tait has also been a contributing member of Broken Social Scene and The FemBots. Career Tait played drums for the Pa ...

and backing vocalist Felicity Williams. Bahamas opened for Jack Johnson, Robert Plant,

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

and

. Jurvanen released his fourth album, '' Earthtones'' on January 19, 2018. Bahamas began their Canadian tour for Earthtones on January 18, 2018, the Earthtones World Tour and recruited

Zach Gill Zach Gill (born May 18, 1975) is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter. He performs regularly as a solo artist in addition to being a member of Animal Liberation Orchestra and Jack Johnson's band. Gill has performed at festivals and on te ...

to open the shows. Jurvanen released his fifth studio album, ''

Sad Hunk ''Sad Hunk'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Bahamas, released October 9, 2020. The album's release was preceded by the preview single "Own Alone" in August, with "Trick to Happy" following in September. The album won the Juno Awa ...

'', on October 9, 2020. The album won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2021 The Juno Awards of 2021, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented on 6 June 2021, observing the 50th anniversary of these awards. The main ceremonies were televised on CBC. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in Ma ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

Personal life

Jurvanen lived in The Junction neighborhood of Toronto with his wife and two children until December 2018, when they relocated to Nova Scotia.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 births Living people Canadian male guitarists Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian indie rock musicians Musicians from Barrie Musicians from Toronto Canadian people of Finnish descent Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year winners Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers