Minutes after his set on the Canada stage at The Great Escape in Brighton, John from Dawson was still riding the high. The Yukon rapper from Dawson City had just played one of three shows that marked his first time performing outside Canada. "Every day of this trip has been the best day of my life," he said. "And it's just like the next one's the best one."
Representing Dawson
John wears his hometown on his sleeve, literally and in the music. "My name is John from Dawson and I'm from Dawson City, Yukon," he said. "All my music is about my small town." Working with producer NiTPIK and DJ Charles Hegsted, he has built a catalog of positive, high-energy boom-bap that puts the territory on the map. Tracks like LONELY BOY carry that pride in every bar.
Dawson is the only place in the world where you can join the Sourtoe Cocktail Club: a shot of whiskey served with a preserved human toe, which has to touch your lips before you drink. It is a local rite of passage, overseen by the toe captain at the Downtown Hotel. John leaned all the way in. He filmed a music video doing the shot at nine in the morning, with four retakes to get the right take. That meant four whiskeys before the toe captain gave the all clear. "It's the only place in the world you can take a shot of whiskey with a human toe," he said, laughing. The ritual even gave him a song title: 993, after the number you call to book it.
His ambition matches the energy. "My goal in my career is I want to be bigger than the gold rush in my town," he said. "That's my goal." After a week in Brighton, it feels within reach.
A festival that exceeded everything
Last year's Edmonton Folk Festival was his first show outside the Yukon. The Great Escape was the next step. He had nothing to compare it to, but the format won him over immediately. "It's so well put together," he said. "It's so overwhelming but in a good way." He laughed about going home and needing three years to recover. "But it's worth it. It's such a unique festival."
He came in wondering whether songs so rooted in Dawson would connect with a UK crowd. What he found was the opposite. "Everyone kind of comes from my town," he said. "Everyone can kind of relate a little bit to the music." UK audiences, he added, had been "extremely kind."
Inspiration everywhere
Between his own sets, John and Charles were out every night taking notes. A late punk set from Frenzy left him buzzing. "I want to be musical like that," he said. The Skinner Brothers pouring beers on the crowd and diving into the audience had the same effect. Even Peaches rewired how he thinks about stage presentation. "I have so much inspiration," he said, "like a ridiculous amount."
His own songs hold up just as strongly. Dilly Body, a warm new track about friendship, and Halo, with its singalong hook and full rap verses, are favourites he would happily take to karaoke. The boom-bap foundation stays. The live show keeps growing.
What's next
John does not want to stay in one box. Alongside the close-to-home boom-bap that got him here, he and his team are putting together a house and drum and bass album with different drummers. The songs are largely done, but he held them back from Brighton on purpose. "If I come here, I need to come prepared with that kind of music," he said, "because you guys are the best at that." He added: "I don't want to copy it. I want to find my own space in it."
Shows across the Yukon over the next two months, then a festival in Ontario in August. For anyone who caught him on the Canada stage, the message was clear: this is an artist with real momentum, real joy, and music that earns every repeat listen.
