Paul Kelly, arguably Australia’s preeminent songwriter, will spend the month of May performing intimate shows across North America — his first concerts on this continent since 2013 The tour is in support of Kelly’s 2016 release, the uniquely conceived Death’s Dateless Night , although he will also be playing songs from an award-winning career that has earned him induction into Australian Recording Industry Association’s Hall of Fame and, just earlier this year, being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to the performing arts.

Death’s Dateless Night, a collaboration with highly regarded Australian multi-instrumentalist Charlie Owen, contains songs that they have played at various funerals. Featuring a mix of covers, traditional tunes and a few Kelly originals, the album’s vibe is actually far from funereal. The spare, stirring set has been hailed as a “powerful meditation on life, death and the mess we make in-between.”

It was a year of many grassfires, upon occasion a decent brush fire or three but there weren't any roaring, all consuming forest fires at CMW this year.

The Aussie showcase came close to an all out blaze, especially as the night wore on at The Hideout's new home on College and the outdoors temp on the rise. Ducked in to catch Quivers, making their Canadian debut with a fistful of brisk pop songs, cheeky clever lyrics, lotsa chiming guitars and likeable frontman Sam J. Nicholson. The hard candy-coated Eliza & The Delusionals brought shades of The GoGos and flavours of KPop to their indie poprock with a skittery edge. There are decent hooks and the stirrings of something here but it didn't really get across to the room.

The rich musical legacy of Ian and Sylvia continues to entertain millions of fans across the globe, and today singer songwriter, painter, and essayist Tom Russell announced a project honouring their music with new interpretations of classic songs with his May 19th release of “Play One More: The Songs Of Ian And Sylvia.”

Russell has recorded 35 highly acclaimed records, & published five books - including a book on his art and a book of his songs. Russell and Ian and Sylvia share similar values and cultural traditions – both deeply rooted in the depth of the song and story. Russell says, "The music of Ian and Sylvia has stood up over a half of a century and is still recognized as deeply Canadian, it was an honour to pay tribute to them.”

In 1992, Ian and Sylvia were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the Juno Awards ceremony. In 1994 they were both made Members of the Order of Canada.

Headstones, one of Canada's most enduring and hardest rocking bands, announced earlierthis year that they were heading to the studio to record their forthcomingalbum Little Army. Today they are thrilled toreveal it will be unleashed to the world on June 2nd via Cadence Music and have given fans a first taste of thealbum with first single "Devil's On Fire."

A smart, addictive, dirty rock 'n' roll track, "Devil's On Fire" is acontagious, aggressive rock anthem. Fans have been getting an exclusiveinside look at the making of Little Army on the band's socialchannels since February, in real time. With tours of the Bathhouse,adventures around NYC, and a little inside look at the recording process,Headstones once again kept the fans close and a part of the process.Headstones frontman Hugh Dillon couldn't be more excitedto share this with the world, saying "We set out to write the best rockalbum of our career, and I think that's what we've done."

Saskatoon-based roots singer / songwriter Steph Cameron is sharing “Winterwood,” the latest track from her upcoming album Daybreak Over Jackson Street. “Winterwood” is about “being at the mercy of uncertain forces,” says Cameron. “Of a moment where time is frozen and clear and our own vulnerability is stark and beautiful.”

Cameron supported Daybreak Over Jackson Street with a hometown release show on April 15 in Saskatoon before making her way to Toronto for Canadian Music Week.

In 2014, Steph Cameron arrived on the scene like a bracing gust of fresh musical air with her debut record Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady, receiving unanimously enthusiastic reviews. “This is a monumental, brilliant album… heralds the crowning of a bright new talent,” declared PopMatters in calling it the #1 Canadian album of 2014. No Depression termed it “a stunning debut,” while Exclaim! noted that “ Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady delights from start to finish. Steph Cameron is the real deal.” The record also made the coveted longlist for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize in 2015.

Toronto-based alt rock band and Craigslist success story Iduna commands the attention of their listeners through exhilarating rhythms and powerfully rich harmonies and melodies, and I wanted to work with them from the very first time I heard their music. Iduna is heavily inspired by 90's alt-rock, and their debut album COUNTERPART is produced by Mark Makoway (known for his work with David Usher and Moist)! The album is being released at Iduna's May 12th show at Adelaide Hall and wanted to know if you can cover the show.

Iduna is a band bent on bringing back an edgy and mindful brand of alternative rock. Based out of Toronto, Ontario, this quartet spent their formative years playing Toronto-area festivals and the city’s many venues.

Heavily inspired by 90’s alt. rock, their music ranges from heavy and soulful to high energy rock and roll exploring a wide range of melodic flourishes and dynamic flux. With introspective lyrics in tow, sometimes wistful, sometimes fierce, Iduna delivers a unique flavour of rich harmonies, stirring melodies, and rhythms that compel you to move.

They're back and harder than ever. Critically acclaimed supergroup The New Pornographers are premiering the title track off new album Whiteout Conditions today. Stream/share the song at https://youtu.be/hXwGX5Es9vM . The album dropped April 7 and is the first release on the band’s own Collected Works Records in partnership with Concord Records and damn fine rock 'n' roll.

If there is a true mystery about Canada-based,US acoustic bluesman Tim Williams, it must surely be why he’s largely unknown and unrecognised. Williams is no new-comer, no new kid on the blues-block. This is a guy who has sure paid his dues, gigging widely and popularly across his adopted homeland in North America and turning out albums that positively zing with class and style. With his latest release, ‘So Low’, an inevitable play on words, selling well to widespread international acclaim, it’s hard not to think that just maybe his time has come.

Williams himself is a tad self-deprecating about the apparent lack of global recognition, acknowledging the difficulty faced by all bluesmen of whatever stripe and style. He chuckles when asked why he’s remained over-looked for so long, responding with typical humility and modesty: ‘Yea, it’s kinda puzzling at times. I’ve been a pro for many, many years but I guess it’s just the way it is. It can be a tough business, for sure, but I love the life and the music.’

Premier Toronto taiko group ‘Nagata Shachu’ continue their 18^th annual concert season titled ‘Toronto Taiko Tales – Global Beats from Around the City’ in the vibrant community of Regent Park. They reach out with a series of four concerts featuring new, original live performance works and launch their new and fourth DVD ‘ Toronto Taiko Tales’, which includes a new 12 track CD (official release date: April 7, 2017), at the Aki Studio Theatre on April 7, 8 and 9, 2017 (includes two weekend matinees).

WHERE: Aki Studio Theatre (inside the Daniels Spectrum Building) – Regent Park – 585 Dundas Street East, Toronto, ON, M5A 2B7.
DATES and TICKETS: April 7, 8 and 9. Advance tickets are $20.00 to $30.00.
Ticket Links:
Friday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 8 at 2:00 p.m. (matinee)
Saturday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 9 at 2:00 p.m. (matinee)

Riding 'High' on the success of their latest single, Windsor rock group The Silence Factory will be packing up the van and hitting the road for a tour across Canada starting on April 1st with a show opening for Royal Ascot and The Sheepdogs. The tour will take the band from coast to coast in April and May and includes 2 showcase events at Canadian Music Week in Toronto on April 19th and 20th. See below for the full tour schedule.

The Silence Factory released their current single 'High' back in January and after 11 weeks on the Canadian active rock chart, they've achieved considerable success at rock radio reaching a peak chart position of #37 this past week. ‘High’ was produced by Juno Award winning and Grammy nominated producer Gavin Brown(3 Days Grace, Billy Talent). The band just finished recording another track with Brown which will be released in early May.

A recent appeal to the music industry and beyond has been launched to help the son of Ian Thomas who was recently in a devastating accident.

On Saturday, January 7th, 2017, Jake Thomas was snowmobiling with some friends, enjoying the last of the winter holidays, when he endured a serious accident in his resident town of Bracebridge, Ontario. The accident has left him with life-altering injuries, and his family with life-altering circumstances.

Jake’s injuries include 7 broken ribs, a dislocated hip and fractured acetabulum, but worst of all - a T12 burst fracture. On Sunday, the 8th, the Sunnybrook neurosurgeon confirmed that Jake sustained a complete spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis from the waist down.

Although the news was devastating , Jake has bravely accepted his new reality; he has displayed the ultimate courage, strength and perseverance anyone could ever demonstrate under these tragic circumstances.

Snowblink released their album Returning Current last September in Canada and now the rest of the world will be able to hear what Exclaim! calls “a blissful ride, sounds as the world does when you’re underwater: soft and calm”.

Stony Plain Records has announced a March 31 Canadian release date for the vinyl LP edition of Time to Roll, the fifth album by award-winning Canadian blues/rock trio, MonkeyJunk.

Time to Roll is unique in that it incorporates elements of all four oftheir previous recordings with added maturity insongwriting and instrumentation, cementing MonkeyJunk’soriginality and sound as its own. It is also progressivefor the band, as they’ve added electric bass on most of thesongs. No MonkeyJunk recording to date has included bass,but they felt that it would be a welcome addition toMonkeyJunk’s sound. In another precedent, the band alsorecorded one acoustic track for the first time on the newalbum.

BTW Latent Lounge (performances from Cowboy Junkies, Skydiggers, Lee Harvey Osmond, Jerry Leger, Harpacash & The Morals and others), Bill Plaskett and Joel Plaskett, Wild Rivers, Ninjaspy, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Snoop Dogg/ BADBADNOTGOOD , Danny Marks.

In 1982, while living in the UK, Michael Timmins and Alan Anton, were inspired by the independent label scenethat sprung up around the English punk movement, and created Latent Recordings. Latent subsequently released a 45rpm single of their first band Hunger Project and two albums by their second band Germinal. Upon returning to Toronto and forming Cowboy Junkies, they used Latent to release the band’s first album Whites Off Earth Now!! and then, in 1987, thebands' ground breaking The Trinity Session.

Flogging Molly announces their 2017 North American Headlining Tour, which kicks off on May4^th in Oakland, CA and brings the band’s adrenaline-fueled liveperformances to cities including Vancouver, Denver, New York City,Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and more. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 17 ^th at 10:00 am local time. The tour is insupport of Flogging Molly’s long awaited new album, LIFE IS GOOD, out on June 2^ndvia Vanguard Records. Fans will be excited to know that every ticket order(in select markets) will include a digital download of the new album uponrelease. For additional ticket information, visit www.floggingmolly.com, and see complete list of tour dates below.

Tommy Hunter celebrates a milestone birthday on Monday, March 20th, 2017. The much loved TV personality and country music singer will turn 80 on that day! Hunter retired from the concert stage 5 years ago to the day in 2012 and has been happily ensconced in retirement ever since.

The soon to be octogenarian is best known for Country Hoedown and The Tommy Hunter Show which broadcast into Canadian homes for a groundbreaking 36 years. Canada’s ‘Travelin’ man’s endearing stage presence and familiar voice brought back a simpler time and place when family gathered around the television on Friday night - a ritual what was well established and time honoured regardless of where in the country you lived. Tommy Hunter remains a true home grown legend and of course, always, Canada’s ‘country gentleman’. Hunter will celebrate the day with family and friends!

The following is a story we ran in Cashbox in 2012 on the eve of Tommy’s 75th birthday.

Self-described as “pilgrims of funk, soul ‘n’ roll,” the Julian Taylor Band makes music as eclectic and all-encompassing as its taste will allow. They move effortlessly between vintage soul, tasty funk, tender balladry, indie rock, and even the occasional foray into social comment, solo acoustic, reggae and psychedelia all done expertly. Leading the band, Taylor boasts a drop-dead killer voice, impressive guitar work and a knack for writing catchy, earworm choruses – all of which pegs him as an authentic, eclectic talent foranyone’s palate. Current opus is the stellar double album Desert Star, a self-described labour of love for Taylor and the band, clearly evident by the prolific flurry of songs that resulted from their hard work. Now they’ll be bringing the new music to fresh audiences on the upcoming 401 Tour.

After the critically acclaimed full length album E in 2014, Toronto-based pop vocalist Emilia had nowhere to go but up. So that's exactly where she's gone with new EP Up. The five song cookie finds Emilia rolling with three heavy hitter Juno winners in producer Ryan Stewart (Hedley, Carly Rae Jepson), songwriter Anjulie and engineer George Seara (Drake, Rhianna, Holly Cole) working out of Toronto's Noble Street Studios, which boasts a client list that includes Shawn Mendes, Drake, The Weeknd and Usher. From this quality team has come a high-sheen, high quality EP that arrived bringing dispatches from the front lines of progressive pop.

On Tuesday, April 4, Avery Raquel and her band(s) will celebrate the release of Without a Little Rain at 3030 in the Junction. Avery has been working extremely hard over the past year – nothing new for this very focused young woman who started in the entertainment industry when she was just 7 years old – she has risen to every challenge handed to her - probably the biggest to date, has been to write original songs, and to that end there are six Avery Raquel originals on this her sophomore recording.

Her passion for singing has never wavered, and has led to an impressive list of career accomplishments on her musical resume. Avery Raquel has garnered numerous vocal awards over the years, and has excelled on the festival circuit too, delivering winning performances at The Oakville, Brantford, TD Niagara, and South Coast Jazz Festivals and sharing the stage with the likes of Matt Dusk, Lou Pomanti, June Garber, and other prominent Canadian artists.

The 15th Annual Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival, taking place in Toronto February 17-19, 2017, is set to present the best of urban, blues, rock, jazz, country, folk and roots music, and will feature returning favourite artists as well as fresh new talent. It’s an all-ages, mid-winter, weatherproof event that emulates a multi-stage rural summer festival. More than 100 artists will be performing at five venues and six stages over three days of the long Family Day weekend. For more information on the festival, schedule and for updates, please visit www.winterfolk.com .