Dan Mangan: Vancouver’s Shining Star Stays Grounded


If you mentioned the name Dan Mangan a few years ago, you might have gotten a couple of nods from music elites. Now, the same name causes a stir everywhere throughout Canada – and it doesn’t stop there. During a pit stop at home amidst his tour across North America and Europe, Dan chatted to Youthink over the phone about the success of his new record, the recognition he has received from the Canadian music industry and the reason there has never been a better time to be a Vancouver musician.


The release of Mangan’s sophomore record Nice, Nice, Very Nice has certainly skyrocketed his career, but the folk singer-songwriter admits he didn’t expect the reactions he has received. “You always hope that all these crazy things are going to happen, that you’re going to be playing at all these venues in front of smiling people, but I didn’t necessarily have any expectations.”


In a whirlwind of a year, Mangan has been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and has won three Western Canadian Music Awards. The 27-year-old is clearly still trying to take it all in. “To know the great bands that you’re up against are the people that you’ve been growing up next to in the music industry was amazing,” he says.


Along with the awards he now has under his belt, Mangan has sold out numerous shows throughout North America and Europe. Even then, he admits that for him, nothing beats playing right here at home. “To go from going to [the Vogue] as a kid to having a couple of sold-out shows there is just mind-blowing,” he says. “The local scene is just becoming more and more supportive –rather than pinning each other down, everyone’s helping each other up.”


One thing is for sure, Mangan has become a Vancouver music icon – but you wouldn’t be able to know that from talking to the astoundingly grounded musician. “It’s easy for me to find millions of flaws in what I’m doing,” he says with a chuckle. “Anyone can be labelled amid the perspectives of other people in the industry, but when it comes down to it, you kind of have to focus on the music.”


The waves of success that Mangan has received would knock many modern musicians off their feet, but Mangan emits an attitude that is at once optimistic, humble and downright Canadian.