Electronic Press Kit
G. Ken
Holman
Intimate acoustic performance focused on the storytelling tradition of classic singer-songwriters.
Enquire about booking
Westboro, Ottawa, Canada · GKHmusic.ca@gmail.com · +1(613)807-9268
Electronic Press Kit
Intimate acoustic performance focused on the storytelling tradition of classic singer-songwriters.
Enquire about bookingWestboro, Ottawa, Canada · GKHmusic.ca@gmail.com · +1(613)807-9268
About
For more than half a century I've been a journeyman 12-string strumming guitarist and singer performing cover music. For the first five years and for more than the last thirty years I've been performing in front of audiences. I've been focusing these last few decades on intimate presentations in retirement homes and for care groups, and as of March 2026 I am branching out now to restaurants, festivals, and stage events.
I love what the music carries: the words. I am, first and always, a songwriter's singer. I weave long-form story ballads with the familiar radio hits that live in everyone's memory. Singing along isn't just welcome, it's encouraged. Please join in!
Based in Westboro, Ottawa, Canada, I perform solo acoustic music drawn from the golden era of popular song: the 1950s through the 1980s. Radio hits, crooner ballads, and the great singer-songwriter canon sit alongside themed sets — a Country & Western evening, a night of TV themes, show tunes, songwriter tributes — honouring greats such as Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Stan Rogers, Jimmy Buffett, and Paul Simon who are writers whose words have meant a lot to me.
I bring the same spirit of engagement to retirement communities, restaurant patrons, festival stages, and open mic nights: attentive, unaffected, focused on the song. When the occasion calls for a leprechaun hat and a shamrock shirt, or a longhorn belt and cowboy bandana, I will supply those too.
Beyond music, I am a humanitarian education volunteer in East Africa with a Canadian NGO (TEMBO), and a world-recognized Internet expert in XML document standards (LinkedIn) whose career has taken me to conferences on almost every continent. My wife, Kathryn, and I make our home in the Ottawa area (Facebook).
Listen
These are cell-phone recordings — candid, not studio quality, and a bit lost in the sound of the room — but they capture the live experience.
A cell-phone recording of a performance at Bowie's in Smiths Falls
Another cell-phone recording the same night at Bowie's in Smiths Falls
An opportunity to play for over an hour at Bongopix in Whitney, ON
These are cell-phone recordings from the quiet of home ... but please remember these are simple raw recordings without any post-production and there is no live performance vibe off of an audience.
Mary Ellen Carter — Stan Rogers
The Highwayman — The Highwaymen
Lies — Stan Rogers
What I offer
All programmes are available as featured stage performances or background dinner music — please indicate your preference when enquiring.
Format 1
A curated selection drawn from across the classic era repertoire — 1950s through 1980s pop hits, ballads, and singer-songwriter staples.
Format 2
A full set dedicated to the catalogue of a single artist. Current tribute programmes in progress:
Format 3
Programmatic sets built around a single theme. Current themed programmes:
Format 4
Audience-driven and participatory. Attendees choose the order. Current singalong programmes:
Format 5
Tailored programming for retirement home and memory care audiences, with repertoire chosen for familiarity, engagement, and warmth.
Repertoire
Song titles shown are representative samples only. Full set lists available on request and honed in collaboration with you.
Schedule
Confirmed engagements
May 20, 2026 11:00am · Osgoode, ON
May 30, 2026 · Smiths Falls, ON
June 13, 2026 4pm-5pm · Osgoode, ON
Check the calendar below for event times and any additional ad-hoc performances such as open-mics.
Gallery
Bowie's 2026-04-09
Danby's 2026-03-30
Royal Oak Barrhaven 2026-05-12
Brew Revolution 2026-04-19
Brews and Blues 2026-03-25
St. Patrick's Day 2026
Testimonials
"Ken has been coming to our ROSSS.ca programs for many years and has been entertaining our clients. Ken has been amazing at our Christmas and St. Patties day parties, he always interacts so well with the clients, cracking jokes, telling stories, and of course performing so beautifully. We are forever grateful to know Ken and have him come play for our seniors!" - Ashley and Lyn
References available on request — GKHmusic.ca@gmail.com
Booking policy
All performances support Project TEMBO. In lieu of the performance fee, hosts are invited to make a donation of their choosing directly to this registered Canadian charity, for which they will receive an official tax receipt.
No rate is set. A fair contribution is appreciated. The charity, the children, and the audiences all are the beneficiaries. Six weeks of the year I volunteer in Tanzania teaching pre-high school children for this Ottawa-based NGO.
Contact
For booking enquiries, please include the proposed date, venue, approximate audience size, and which performance format interests you. An advance YouTube Music playlist will be provided for every confirmed booking.
A note about the instrument
Nashipai is a custom 12-string acoustic guitar, built in collaboration with Jeff McKay of McKay Guitars in Shanly, Ontario. The design elements were proposed by me and refined by Jeff — a genuine partnership between musician and luthier.
The name Nashipai is Maasai in origin, the feminine Maa for "joy" or "happiness", reflecting my long connection with East Africa through my humanitarian education work. My Maasai name, Loshipai, is the masculine form of the same word. The guitar's Maasai-patterned strap, created in collaboration with David Skinner of Skinner Leather, makes that connection visible on stage.
I have played 12-string guitar since 1972. Nashipai arrived March 2026. The relationship is relatively new; the voice is not.
