About “Dinner With The Lord”:
Blending non-religious Gospel, Soul, and Roots influences with their signature community spirit, AV & The Inner City’s “Dinner With The Lord” is a stirring, fully acapella interpretation of a song written by fellow porch-concert musician, Alin Rogoz. Recorded live around a single microphone, the track highlights the group’s unmistakable vocal blend, relying on precision, trust, and shared intuition rather than production. With tender vulnerability and a hint of wry honesty, the group explores the universal search for comfort in moments of loneliness and uncertainty. Rather than offering answers, the song creates a space for listeners to consider where they turn when connection feels out of reach; whether toward faith, community, memory, or simply the hope of being seen. Both earnest and tongue-in-cheek, “Dinner With The Lord” invites reflection on the timeless need to belong, honouring the shared hunger for understanding that first brought this ensemble together on AV’s front porch. As the closing track of their debut, self-titled EP, “Dinner With The Lord” is a triumphant and natural bookend to the project, bringing the collection of songs to a close with a track that completes the project’s full-circle arc, echoing the communal porch-singing roots that first brought these voices together.
Quote: “‘Dinner With The Lord’ is about searching for comfort and belonging when you feel like you’re running out of places to turn. We didn’t write it, but we related to it more and more by singing it together, which reflects exactly how this group was born: through community.” – AV (Ann Vriend)
Biography:
AV & the Inner City is a Soul/Roots group that formed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Edmonton’s inner city. In just three years, they completed their first summer tour, playing major festivals like Vancouver Island, Calgary Folk Festival, and Edmonton Folk Festival, where they received the Emerging Artist Award. At the Calgary Folk Festival, former Nickelodeon promoter Vic Bell praised their set by saying: “Soul and gospel singing ruled… This was an act that could have closed the Main Stage any night.” The group of all female vocalists grew out of AV’s weekly “porch concerts” – nearly 60 free shows held from 2020 to 2021 in Edmonton’s McCauley neighborhood, offering live music and connection during the pandemic. By summer 2021, the vocalists had become a polished ensemble, performing AV’s originals in rich, soul/gospel harmonies. Their first releases have already garnered over 20,000 Spotify streams. Their self-titled debut EP, released in October 2025 has continued that momentum, debuting on the CKUA Radio Top 30 and just one week later reaching #7. Featuring members from Indigenous, Black, Filipino, LGBTQ, immigrant, and working-class backgrounds, the group’s sound is shaped by lived experience and a shared commitment to community. Known for their powerful acapella moments, emotional depth, and commanding live presence, AV & the Inner City have quickly become one of the most compelling and authentic new voices in Canada’s Roots and Soul landscape.
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