Southern Ontario friends, I have some big news for you! The Jerry Cans, Nunavut's favourite folk rock band, are taking over the weekend of June 20th, first in Ottawa, then in Toronto as part of NXNE. The Jerry Cans are an Iqaluit-based band; the band members are Andrew Morrison (lead vocals and guitar), Nancy Mike, (throat singing and accordion), Brendan Doherty (bass and vocals), Steve Rigby (drums and vocals), and Gina Burgess (violin and vocals). You can check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and SoundCloud to get yourself in the mood.

Yes, that's right - a Nunavut band is playing in Canada's largest and capital cities, and you should absolutely make it a point to go to one (or both!) of their shows. Why? Well, first of all, I really like them. Yes, that is biased, but if you're on this blog then you probably like me/reading about my biases. If that's not enough, then here are five more reasons to see The Jerry Cans in Ottawa or Toronto.

1. The Jerry Cans Usually Play in the North

The Jerry Cans have wowed crowds all over the circumpolar world. They've headlined at the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon (header photo), performed at Yellowknife's Folk on the Rocks and Snowking Festival (inside of a snow castle for the latter), and shared a little bit of Nunavut with an audience in Nuuk, Greenland. Most often, they're jamming and sweating and singing along with their biggest fans right here in Iqaluit.

For Toronto or Ottawa residents who want to witness The Cans live and in action, this means spending at least $1500 or 15,000 Aeroplan points for a plane ticket to their nearest northern hub (plus the cost of food). That $10 ticket for the Ottawa concert seem like a pretty good deal now, eh? And for those of you in Toronto with NXNE wristbands, you're pretty much going to see The Jerry Cans for free, so...