Suzie Vinnick
BASS GUITAR
A Saskatoon native transplanted to the Niagara Region of Ontario, Suzie Vinnick is the proud owner of a gorgeous voice, impressive guitar and bass chops, and an engagingly candid performance style.
Her career has seen triumph after triumph. Among her most recent successes: being awarded the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Singer of the Year, a 2024 ECMA award for Blues Album of the Year with her project A’Court, Spiegel and Vinnick, the 2023 Maple Blues Acoustic Act of the Year, the 2022 Maple Blues Female Vocalist of the Year and the 2019 Saskatchewan Jazz Festival Special Recognition Award. Suzie achieved finalist status in the Solo/Duo Category at the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN; received the 2012 CBC Saturday Night Blues Great Canadian Blues Award and the 2012 Sirius XM Canada Blues Artist of the Year. Suzie has won 12 Maple Blues Awards, 2 Canadian Folk Music Awards and is a 3X Juno Nominee.
In May 2024, Suzie performed at the Teatro Nazionale in Genova, Italy, as a guest of Italian acoustic guitarist and singer Beppe Gambetta and she also performed at the Baltic Blues Festival in Eutin, Germany. In July 2024 Suzie and her band opened for Burton Cummings at the Kemptville Live Music Festival; she also appeared as a special guest of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings at Ottawa Bluesfest in 2023, performing alongside Daniel Lanois. She has also toured nationally with Downchild, Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Café, with ASV (Charlie A’Court, Lloyd Spiegel and Vinnick), the John McDermott Band and she performed for Canadian Peacekeepers in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. She was also the voice of Tim Horton’s for 5 years.
Workshops
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A bass major.
We’ll explore:
Different blues song structures and grooves — shuffle, swing, walking, funk, and more
Some of our favorite bass players and their styles
Scale patterns, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and turnarounds
How to start and end songs with confidence
Song tags and short fills for flavor
Playing with drummers and other musicians
A bit of basic music theory
How we care for our musical tools
Jamming and soloing together
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with Damian Graham.
Focus: 12/8 feels, shuffles, and swing grooves
We’ll dig into how bass and drums lock together in swing-based feels — from slow 12/8 blues to driving shuffles. Students will practice setting tempo, shaping dynamics, and discovering where to sit in the groove. We’ll also look at how small timing choices — laying back, sitting right on it, or pushing slightly — can totally change the feel of a tune.
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with Damian Graham
Focus: Funky 16ths, 8th-note feels, pop and R&B styles, rhumba
We’ll move into straighter grooves and talk about creating a tight, solid pocket. Students will try
different ways to lock in while keeping the music alive and breathing.
Other concepts we’ll look at will include:
Less is more - playing for the song
Non-verbal communication between players
Developing and building your own personal groove repertoire
How great rhythm teams stay connected naturally
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with Paul Pigat & Damian Graham