Harbourfront Centre’s 2017 summer season celebrates Canada’s cultural heritage with Sounds of Home, a sonic tribute to the strength of the diversity found across the land known as Turtle Island. The season kicks off on June 27with Here in the 6ix: Celebrate Multiculturalism Day, a program offering a full day of free events reflecting Toronto’s rich cultural mosaic.

Four distinct weekend festivals in July form the core of a programming vision that gathers Canadian talent from coast-to-coast-to-coast for an array of evocative and entertaining events ranging from concerts, comedy shows, family activities, culinary events, and late-night afterparties. Audiences and visitors are invited to join us throughout the summer on Toronto’s waterfront to relax on our lakeside vista and enjoy these curated festivals, your favourite annual festivals, and season-long events, such as the Summer Music in the Garden classical music series, and our weekly Free Flicks outdoor film series and Dancing on the Pier events.

Every year around this time when winter has finally played itself out and summer is warming up for its annual residency, everything starts to change. The greens return, the sky becomes a deeper blue and the golden sun is once again the star of the show. And music on radio and playlists changes as well. Used to be you planned releases around the seasons and certain songs were held back as “great summer song” material. Some of these hits are still being played or covered today. Nothing says summer, even 60 years later like “Summertime Blues”, Lovin’ Spoonful’s “ Summer in the City”, and of course don’t we all feel better, practically or metaphorically, when it’s “ summertime and the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high?”

Some of the following list is from last year’s informal poll and some are from today. Hopefully this will make you think of your favourite summer song.

The Hammers are back ! A new album and a new single from The Road Hammers, Canada’s premiere country rock band is about to explode onto the airwaves.

Norbert Putnam, bass player, arranger and record producer can now add author to his list of occupations. Actually more of a raconteur. The talented and well respected Putnam has a new book, Music Lessons Vol. 1, that just hit the shelves this month And oh the stories he can tell ! We asked Norbert from his home in Florence, Alabama, what prompted the writing of his memoirs? “My wife Sheryl and I were living in Hilton Head, North Carolina and going to these get togethers and parties with these moneyed people, non music folks, and they all wanted to talk about the music business and what I’d seen and done. They funny thing is most of them seemed more interested in the lesser known artists I had worked for and with. One night at an architect’s house they asked me about working with Jerry Jeff Walker. I explained that with Jerry Jeff we set up an actual bar in my studio. Then we’d sit around and drink and talk and then we’d record some. It was the atmosphere that Jerry Jeff was comfortable with.

“ Come and sing a simple song of freedom, sing like you’ve never sung before. Let it fill the air, tell the people everywhere, that we the people here don’t want a war.”

Those lyrics written by Bobby Darin are as relevant and true today as they were 48 years ago when Darin wrote them.

It’s true we’ve had wars since, the Gulf War and the Persian War and unrest in the Middle East but somehow, although we had military involved, it was never a threat in our own backyard. It always seemed far away. It’s a little different now. Now you have two unstable leaders with access to nuclear codes and  we can feel the breath of the threat on our necks. Nuclear war never seemed a possibility to me because level heads on both sides know that with each having the deadly weapons, nobody wins. But these are not level headed times.

Toronto blues harpist David Rotundo heard James Cotton perform at the El Mocambo in 1991. “He blew one note on the harmonica that hypnotized me...” The next day, Rotundo went out and bought a harmonica. “...and I’ve been playing the blues ever since.” Obsession with the blues led Rotundo on a diesel-fuelled roots tour of blues epicentres of the United States including – New Orleans, Clarksdale, Austin, Memphis and Chicago with little more than his wits and a bag full of harmonicas. “I wanted to hear and experience the real thing.” He returned to Canada with a visceral perception of the blues and a deep knowledge of blues history. After making the stories his own, he earned the right to tell them. Rotundo has developed his own language of the blues, honing the technique that gives the voice power and authenticity. Proof of his impact shows in the fact that he has been nominated for a Maple Blues Award for 11 consecutive years!

The debut album by Toronto hip hop/rap artist Boland has been a long time coming but the artist will be here for a long time .

The title of the project ‘Shades’ suits both the album and the artist. The album shows the many “shades” this young poet has observed and documented in his life and “shades” suits for his signature sunglasses.

Debbie Green is not a household name but to the musical giants she influenced, taught and mentored she is a cornerstone to their careers and musical force to be revered and respected.

It’s best to go back to the beginning to get the full story on her influence on the folk music boom of the 50’s in America and beyond.

Deborah Green was born in New York City in 1940, her Dad was Vice President at Macy’s Department Store and her mother devoted a lot of her time and energy to charity work. Her life was middle class normal, growing next to a golf course on Staten Island. Her life changed when her parents split up when she was four years old.

She enrolled in The Putney School, a boarding school in Vermont. The school had a good music program and it was there that Debby showed her interest in music.

There are a few artists that I personally look forward to hearing new stuff from. Manitoba’s Doc Walker are near the top of that list. So when I caught wind of Weathervane, the boys new 9 nine song set, I was eager to hear what they had come up with this time. And as I had hoped, they didn’t disappoint. It seems every time I review a Doc Walker album it’s “their best to date.” No surprise Weathervane just moved into the “best yet” ranking.

Welsh born pianist-singer-songwriter Judith Owen has been making great records since her debut album ‘Emotions On a Postcard’ in 1996 and has just released ‘Somebody’s Child’, arguably her best work to date. A 15 song collection, 13 tracks and 2 bonus tracks, the album features songs and pictures of a life well lived and experienced. With Judith’s distinctive voice and piano as the stars taking centre stage, the finely crafted tunes give us a glimpse inside the life of a well rounded and observant songwriter.

The title track and opening song is a gem in all its simplicity and honesty, an observation of the human condition in the 21st century. In Judith’s words “Somebody’s Child is about all the things I see, the things that really count in this noisy crazy world where we’re all running around. I’d seen this young homeless girl in Manhattan, middle of winter, a foot of snow, barefoot, naked really except for a couple of trash bags with a huge beautiful, pregnant belly. We were all crossing the street when suddenly I had this moment of clarity where I thought that’s somebody’s child and if my life had been different that could be me.”

Canadian country music legend and Hall of Famer times three Dick Damron is still pickin’ and kickin’ south of two borders in sunny Mazatlan, Mexico. He is a charter member of three Hall of Fames; The International Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

The pride of Bentley, Alberta, has been making Canada proud for seven decades and fondly remembers the early scuffling days in the 70’s. “I was touring Europe, Scotland, Germany and England, back in the day where musicians from my area thought a Far East Tour was going to Saskatchewan! We played a lot in Vegas is those days as well. Here I was a kid from Bentley playing in Vegas. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, what happens in Bentley….no really, what happens in Bentley??”

The Sonics formed in 1960 in Tacoma Washington, just 25 miles from Seattle where the grunge movement would start years later. Many of the grunge and punk rock bands would credit The Sonics with influencing their sound and style. Cashbox Canada caught up with Rob Lind, the sax/harp player and founding member to talk about the band and their upcoming tour and specifically their Toronto date ay the Danforth Music Hall.

April 6th. Merle Haggard’s date of birth in 1937, date of his death in 2016 and in 2017 the date of a Nashville tribute concert honoring the country music legend.

Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard is set to take place on April 6 at 7 pm at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena; April 6 also would have been Haggard’s 80th birthday. The star studded event is being put together by Haggard’s family, Blackbird Presents and Willie Nelson, and Don Was, Ben Haggard and Buddy Cannon are serving as its musical directors. The tribute show will be taped for multi-platform distribution and some of the proceeds will benefit the TJ Martell Foundation.

“I am so very thankful for this tribute to my late husband, Merle Haggard,” Theresa Haggard says in a recent press release. “Please come join me and my family at this fantastic show that Merle would be so proud of.”

Ken Tobias, Canadian music legend is at it again. He has just released a brand new single Soul Tune that ranks up there as one of his best to date. And that’s goin’ some cause Ken has had a slew of hits and made some great records.

His most famous song “Stay Awhile” was a monster hit for the Bells in the 70’s but Ken himself recorded a lot of hits on his own. His first album included the title track “Dream #2” and “ I Just Wanna Make Music” , both hits, and was recorded in L.A. featuring Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborneon on bass, Larry Carlton on guitar and Larry Knechtel on keyboards.

His second album recorded at George Martin’s Air Studio in London, England and yielded “Good To Be Alive in the Country”, “My My” and “Fly Me High”. These were followed by his first Attic record that featured “Every Bit Of Love”, “Run Away With Me”, “Lay Me Down Again”, “Give A Little Love” and “Lady Luck”. These hits were followed by “New York City” and “My Maria”.

Give me a minute....a paragraph to gush. Desert Star is, by a country mile, one of my favourite albums of all time. This is music I will be listening to for years to come. Why? Because it speaks to me both musically and lyrically. It's insightful (House Is A Garden), honest (Glass House), romantic (Take Me (Stay), Say Goodnight), playful (Hot Heels, Coke Bottle Candy) loving (One Time), a touch nostalgic (Chemical Low) and of course, has my favourite summer dance song, Just A Little Bit, as part of this marvelous collection of songs. It touches all my senses. Many of the songs are simple, every day observances or comparisons (back to House Is a Garden)....beautiful songwriting that connects. I absolutely love every beat, every note, every nuance....Julian Taylor's voice just soars, penetrates and washes over you. Jeremy Elliott's drumming is superb....solid, tight, kicking ass one minute, subtle the next. You can sometimes feel him almost caressing them. The keyboards and horns fill you up in all the right places. Full on where required and filling tiny pockets that, without them, the song would feel somewhat empty.

The pride of Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, Jason Blaine, is about to break new ground with a new album (his 6th) and it is arguably his best to date. The album, Country Side, was released last week in conjunction with a new single, Spotlight. We caught up with Jason, who has been living in Nashville, Tennessee for nine years now. “I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love, in a town that I love surrounded by people I love, my wife and three kids.”

The road to success has been a long one for Jason but he has stayed the course, remaining true to himself and his music and he couldn’t have done it alone and lovingly acknowledges the support of his wife. “I remember when we first moved to Nashville 9 years ago , my wife held down the fort in our little apartment with our baby girl while I pounded the streets of town trying to get a deal. It took about a year but it finally came together. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

When we talked to Susan back in 2015, she really wanted her story to be told with facts and we did our best to do that for her. We both decided that an apt title for her story would be It's My Turn. Here was her reaction to the story. "Cashbox Canada has done a cover story on me and my music and I wanted this interview to be about my history, not filled with the incredible BS that appears on various pages on Facebook as well as in interviews, both past and present by other people. The important thing to me is that someone realized there is more to my story than one person's "creative version". There is still so much more that needs to be told and it will be. I've just started.  Thank you Don Graham and Cashbox Canada!!! "

Linda Ronstadt was the owner of one of purest, crystal clear voices of her generation. From country, to country rock, to folk, the American songbook classics, to high octane rock and roll, Linda owned it all. She even did an album of children’s lullabies and a beautiful Mexican album, sung entirely in Spanish.

Last week Ronstadt broke the news publicly that due to her contracting Parkinson’s disease, she will never sing again.  Wow, even just typing those words seems surreal.  The buzz in the industry has been about Ronstadt’s new book, 'Simple Dreams' due out in September 2013. A tell all memoir of her career spanning the 1960’s through 2000’s and everything in between, the highs the lows, the good the bad and the hits and misses. There is, of course, no mention of the fate she just learned about. How ironic is it that a beautiful voice like hers is quieted and all the auto-tuned, edited, non singers of today are still able to sing? There is no meritocracy in the world of music.

Every year in May we get to honour the strongest people on the planet….mothers.  You will note that it’s Mother Earth, Mother Nature, the Motherlode,the Mothership and so on. Not to take anything away from fathers but most of us who had good fathers was because they had good wives, who happened to be our mothers.  This little story pretty well sums it up. A kid comes home and sees his mom and says, “Mom where’s my jacket?  Mom where’s the thing I left in the whaddayacallit  by the front door?  Mom do we have any milk left?”  Same kid comes home and sees just his dad;one question, “ Dad, where’s mom?” ‘Nuff said.

And the effect of mothers in the entertainment field is huge as well. When Elvis Presley, the future King of  Rock ‘n’ Roll walked into Sam Phillip’s Sun Records in Memphis,Tennessee it was to make a record for his mom. The kid recorded ‘My Happiness’ and caught the attention of Phillip’s secretary. The rest, of course, is history.