
Ian Tamblyn has been a working musician since 1972, and was a performer at early editions of NLFB. He has released dozens of albums of his work as well as acting as producer for many other artists. Over the years Ian has written too many songs and has given up on counting them. He has also written fourteen plays and over one hundred theatre soundtracks.
Recently, he was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada. In 2012, Ian was made a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society for his guiding and creative work in the Canadian Arctic. He has been awarded the Estelle Klein and Helen Verger Awards for his contributions to Canadian folk music; he has a honourary doctorate from Lakehead University, a Distinguished Alumni Award from Trent University and was voted English Songwriter of the Year in 2010 by the Canadian Folk Music Awards, amongst other awards and nominations in the music and theatre world.
Ian’s songs have been covered by numerous artists and there is a tribute album of his work entitled Coastline of our Dreams featuring artists like Lynn Miles, Susan Crowe , Hart Rouge and Valdy.