2021 Lifetime Achievement

This year’s Lifetime Achievement recipient has had a lasting impact on the music community through his passion, drive, and positivity. He got his start by playing the trombone in school jazz bands, but soon discovered his love of the guitar and punk music. After high school, he studied visual arts at Keyano College for a year, before moving to Vancouver to study sound engineering.

He soon came back to Fort McMurray and began playing with local bands like Abandin All Hope and Fresh Cut Lime, becoming a regular fixture around the community playing guitar and singing original and classic songs.  Eventually he moved to Edmonton, where he worked on a number of solo projects and recorded his first EP. Friends say he inspired the “next crop” of local musicians to pick up a guitar and put on shows, but he often attributed his success to his bandmates and collaborators. 

Many hearts were broken when he passed away suddenly in 2015, but his legacy continues to thrive. Songs he’d written with his various bands are often still performed at campfires, open mics, and concerts throughout Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Vancouver. And every year around his birthday, his friends organize a celebration at the Tavern On Main, where people come from all across Canada to pay and play their tributes. 

The Board of Directors of Arts Council Wood Buffalo are pleased to present the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award to Joey Delusong – also widely known as Joey D.