Our Special Guest Singers at the Outdoor Adventure Show!

Karen Thirlwall

Karen Thirlwall is a singer/songwriter/musical performer who grew up in southwestern Ontario. As a child, she took piano lessons, and loved singing duos with her dad at church, with her mom accompanying on piano. Throughout elementary school and highschool, Karen participated in choirs and starred in musical plays, and was completely enthralled with both of her older brothers’ record collections.

In University, Karen began learning to play guitar from her eldest brother, and started to perform her favourite songs for friends. People raved about her crystal clear vocals and range, and encouraged her to follow her passion. She recorded her first album of original music, ‘The Voice Inside Me’ before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts.

Upon moving to Whistler, BC after University, she and her guitar broke into the live music scene there and performed solo acoustic guitar/vocal shows in many of the local hot spots, doing hundreds of shows each year. It was here that she recorded her second album ‘Wide Eyed’. After 6 years in Whistler, Karen moved east to Calgary, and became a main staple in the live music scene. She performed in all sorts of venues in the city, surrounding mountain ski towns, and sometimes flew home to Ontario for a few shows in a beach town or local watering hole. She recorded three more solo acoustic albums in the next few years.

During Covid, Karen live streamed her acoustic show on Facebook to cheer people up and give them something to look forward to each week.

Over her career, Karen has performed thousands of gigs and has a set list of over 500 songs. Her favourite country artists to cover include: Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, Madeline Merlot, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Coombs, Maren Morris and Tim McGraw. She also loves to cover a wide range of artists from the pop, rock, and folk genres, including Ed Sheeran, Cold Play, Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, The Beatles, Adele, Tracy Chapman, Neil Young and Stevie Nicks. Her collection of original songs can be infused into any set.

Currently Karen performs regularly for special events, golf courses, weddings and private parties, and remains focused on sharing her love of music, and the joy and healing it brings to us all.