Spirit of the West were a band of pioneering Canadians who peaked in the 1990s with a string of hits including 'Home for a Rest'. Renowned for their traditional folk style, they combined celebrated musicianship with emotive lyrics to cement themselves as one of Canada's finest exports over their 13 studio albums.
Formed in 1983 by John Mann, Geoffrey Kelly and James 'J' Knutson, they initially began life as a group under the name Eavesdropper, before changing their name to Spirit of the West. They independently released their self-titled debut in 1984, signing to Warner Music Canada in 1990 for the release of their first platinum-selling album 'Save This House'. This began a spell of commercial and creative success in which they followed up with the consecutive releases of 'Go Figure' and 'Faithlift'.
After the release of 'Weights & Measures' in 1997, they took a hiatus from touring, only playing selected festival dates, while members pursued solo projects. They returned to full-scale touring following the release of 'Star Trails' in 2004. They were inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame and 'Home for a Rest' was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
Frontman John Mann passed away on November 20th 2019 aged 57 after a lengthy battle with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. After previously beating cancer in 2011, Mann made the announcement of his incurable illness but still continued to perform for a further two years with Spirit of the West. They performed farewell concerts in 2015 at the iconic Massey Hall, which were documented in the film 'Spirit Unforgettable', premiering at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and later on HBO Canada. Benefit concerts were held in 2017 and 2019 to help raise funds towards Mann's medical fees, featuring Sarah McLachlan, Barney Bentall and Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies. Upon news breaking of his passing, many of his bandmates and peers spoke publicly of their affection and admiration towards him.
