Jam meisters Phish is dropping new studio album, Big Boat  Friday, October 7th and everywhere bongs are being loaded to the hilt. Big Boat was announced last week with an exclusive album trailer, viewable now at phish.com. The album was produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, KISS), his second collaboration with Phish following 2014's Fuego.

Recorded in Nashville, New York and the band's home state of Vermont, Big Boat features 13 new songs contributed by all four members of the band - Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, and Page McConnell. The album was recently named among Rolling Stone's "Fall Preview 2016: 35 Must-Hear Albums," with Anastasio noting, "There's definitely a point of view to this one. We're old enough to have a healthy respect for mortality." we can regard the end times with celebration of life rather than with doom, it feels like one of the more personally direct songs in Phish's repertoire."

PHISH FALL 2016

10/14 North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, SC
10/15 North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, SC
10/16 Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
10/18 Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN - SOLD OUT
10/19 Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN - SOLD OUT
10/21 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA
10/22 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, Alpharetta, GA - SOLD OUT
10/24 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, TX
10/25 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, TX
10/28 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
10/29 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
10/30 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
10/31 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
12/28 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
12/29 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
12/30 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
12/31 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Ramblin' Jack Elliott has spent over 50 years during his career gathering inspiration for his legendary stories and songs — from ramblin’ around the United States in the 50’s with Woody Guthrie (who he claims as his major musical influence), traveling the world in the 70’s with Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue, to winning a Grammy Award in 1996, and receiving the prestigious National Medal of Arts Award at a ceremony held at The White House. Not to mention lauded by Dylan, who copped a lot of his early thang from Jack and then dubbed him “King of the Folk Singers.”

Ramblin’ Jack has played and toured with numerous top folk artists over the years including Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Guy Clark, Tom Russell, Nanci Griffith, Arlo Guthrie, and Tom Waits.

Jack’s stories come from many real life experiences, like the time he played for James Dean in a Hollywood parking lot, and after hearing him play on a railway platform as a British schoolboy, a young Mick Jagger was inspired to buy his first guitar.And what other artist is there who’ll tell you about how his dog drove the car, or can regale you with stories about four-masted sailing ships and Model T Fords?

The evening will be opened by Angie Gunn, a young singer with what’s been described as “a perfect 1950s country voice.” Based in Toronto, Ms. Gunn has yet to make her first record, but she has built a strong following as a result of her gigs in smaller local venues.

This evening of music and memories from a master storyteller happens at Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas St. West, Toronto Sun. Oct.16. Last time I saw Jack reminiscing on his long and remarkable career, he allowed that he had had the privilege of having Elvis Presley open for him and the indignity of opening for The Stray Cats. Gonna be some fun that night.

Canadian pop-folk singer, songwriter, performer and one-woman dynamo Piper Hayes launches her sophomore EP, a memorable love-themed trilogy of tunes, in Hamilton on October 13 and in Toronto on October 15, and just released a new video for the first single, “Honey”.

The first show is in Hamilton (where she now resides since 2015) at This Ain’t Hollywood on October 13, and the second is in Toronto (her hometown) at Touché Martini Bar on October 15.  

FIRST SINGLE/NEW VIDEO: “Honey” (third track); youtu.be/tcl3J8uphLA.
AUDIO: soundcloud.com/piperhayes/honey.

‘Goodbye Mister Nice Guy’ (a concept album) will be available via Hayes’ website, at shows, Bandcamp and iTunes.  Produced by Dean Drouillard (Royal Wood, Justin Rutledge) at his Toronto studio, the album plays in the order in which the stories took place in her life. It features musicians Piper Hayes (lead vocal, acoustic guitar), Dean Drouillard (backing vocals, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards – organ, piano, pump organ, synth), Carson Ritcey-Thorpe (backing vocals) and Joshua Van Tassel (drums). 

‘Goodbye Mister Nice Guy’ takes us through the path of a relationship; with its first single “Honey” dismantling all we think we know about letting go. The story takes you from elation, to tears and back again to joy, while the songs will have you singing along and stomping your feet.

Hayes states, “These new songs represent a journey of love and they are very dear to my heart. They tell my story, in all its pain and beauty, during one of the hardest times in my life. And the first single/new video for “Honey” symbolizes empowerment – it’s my anthem for all the people of this world who need to let go of something, who need to say goodbye.”

The new EP is the follow-up to her 2014 Mike Schlosser produced (You Say Party! We Say Die!, Kendal Thompson) debut EP ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Like...’ and her 2013 Danny Garcia produced/Ray Montford mastered (Shawna Caspi, Cris Cuddy) live album ‘Live in NYC’.

Born in New York City and raised in Toronto, Hayes got her start in legendary venues in Toronto including The Horseshoe Tavern, The Rivoli and The Cameron House (playing with artists including Angela Saini, Julian Taylor and Kevin Hearn). She has toured all over Canada and the USA, headlined three international tours (visiting Nepal, India, Holland, Scotland, Ireland, England, Italy, France, Spain and Greece) and VIA Rail’s national ‘Artists on board’ program, teamed up with the Canadian Mental Health Association and, having the need to be a driving force for social change, initiated an adult community support music program.

Hayes also recently teamed up with Hamilton’s Carson Ritcey-Thorpe to form the musical duo Hayesland. They create music elevated by beautiful harmonies and enticing lyrics, enriched by the soulful relationship between the couple.

Here's another lady with a nuanced approach to her music. Winnipeg acoustic folk singer-songwriter Raine Hamilton will be hitting the road this fall with a string of Eastern Canadian Tour Dates starting in Waterloo on October 15. The upcoming tour is in support of Raine's debut album Past Your Past but she is also looking towards the future with the release of a new song entitled 'Robin Hood' which will be included on her sophomore album set for release in 2017. Check out the exclusive premiere of the 'Robin Hood' live performance video on Gray Owl Point.

Raine Hamilton is part prairie songstress, part storyweaver; each song has a story, delivered between songs with humour and grace. Think Joni Mitchell meets Tina Fey. Raine invites her love of the violin into the singer-songwriter genre, writing for violin and voice, as well as for guitar and voice. Raine performs resonant, acoustic folk with an other-worldly edge, and a lyric presence that cuts deep. Prism-clear vocals and strings; a combination of vocal agility and power.

A well received debut album Past Your Past was released in 2015 and since its release she has been playing live at venues, festivals and homes all across Canada, gaining plenty of fans along the way. Raine's currently working on her second release with acclaimed Winnipeg producer Lloyd Peterson. The new album will include the track 'Robin Hood', a song that Raine's been performing live for a while now. The idea for 'Robin Hood' comes from Raine's past.

"The harmony and style of this song are influenced by my background as a medieval musicologist," explains Raine. "I have a masters' degree in medieval musicology from the University of Ottawa. I wrote a thesis that exists on the internet. Someone ordered a hard copy of it once, evidenced by a 12 cent royalty cheque that came in the mail one day. I love medieval music for its otherworldliness, for its harmonies and crunches, for its treatment of time and metre.”

Look for Raine Hamilton on tour in Ontario and Quebec this fall, starting in Waterloo on October 15th.  

RAINE HAMILTON // PAST YOUR PAST EASTWARD TOUR
October 15 - Waterloo, ON - House Concert
October 16 - Toronto, ON - Bell Jar
October 19 - Guelph, ON - Red Brick
October 20-23 - Ottawa, ON - Folk Music Ontario Conference
October 26 - Kemptville, ON - The Branch
October 27 - Ottawa, ON - House Concert
October 30 - Montreal, QC - Grumpy's Bar
November 1 - Hull, QC - House Concert
November 3 - Windsor, ON - SHO Gallery
November 4 - Toronto, ON - The Painted Lady

Brendan Canning, co-founder of the seminal alt-rock collective known as Broken Social Scene, is getting set to head out on tour in support of his latest record, Home Wrecking Years, out now via Arts & Crafts. Tour dates begin November 18 with more dates being announced shortly. The rest of the touring band is filled out by Greg Calderon, Mike Calderon, Graham Jones, Kevin Kane, and Dani Nash. “This is the band that is mostly responsible for how the songs on Home Wrecking Years came to be,” says Canning. “I love playing with this crew and I'm glad these dates came together so we could rock this shit one more time for all the fine people in the neighbourhoods.”

WATCH “BOOK IT TO FRESNO” #NSFW VERSION HERE

WATCH “BOOK IT TO FRESNO” #SFW VERSION HERE

BRENDAN CANNING TOUR DATES
Nov 17 - Montreal, QC – Café Cleopatre | M4MTL
Nov 18  - Kingston, ON - The Grad Club
Nov 19  - Ottawa, ON - Zaphods
Nov 24 - Hamilton, ON - The Casbah
Nov 25 - Toronto, ON - Garrison

Out now via Cadence Music, Pack A.D.’s new record, Positive Thinking, is all carefully constructed chaos, crushing vulnerability, and massive swagger. To celebrate the release the Vancouver duo recently performed at Kops Records in Toronto for Exclaim! TV.

WATCH THE PACK A.D. PERFORM AT KOPS RECORDS FOR EXCLAIM! TV HERE

WATCH AND SHARE THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR “YES, I KNOW” HERE

Underneath the sprawl of its sonic infrastructure of Positive Thinking singer/guitarist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller — self described lifelong high school outcasts — traverse the hidden tunnels that connect all us damaged people together: anger, alienation, humour, sarcasm, sincerity, loneliness, grief. “Positive Thinking explores the numbing day-to-day routine of depression and the fantastical ways that we look to mask it from ourselves and others,” Miller says. “The lyrics on this album are probably more personal to us than on any other record we've done.”

Engineered by Jesse Gander (White Lung, Bison, Japandroids) and mastered by Heba Kadry in Brooklyn’s Timeless Mastering, Positive Thinking isn’t a total overhaul of the Pack A.D. everybody knows and loves. But making this album—it was a reinvention, an old-school reckoning, and they’re better for it. We’re all better for it. “We’ve gone back and found the place where we started from,” Miller says. “This may have been one of the most difficult albums for us personally to work on but because of that, it's also been the most comfortable. There isn't a single moment where I feel like we've done any of it for anyone but ourselves.”

On the heels of a successful spring tour, the East Vancouver duo is now preparing to head back out on the road including what promises to be a very special performance on October 20 at The Horseshoe before heading out on an extensive European tour of what's been called “their most electrifying work yet."

WATCH AND SHARE THE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR “SO WHAT” HERE

THE PACK A.D. NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
Oct 20 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
Oct 21 - Montreal, QC - Turbo Haus
Oct 22 - Ottawa, ON - House Of TARG
Oct 25 - Somerville, MA - ONCE Somerville
Oct 26 - Philadelphia, PA - Kungfu Necktie
Oct 27 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
Nov 15 - Indianapolis, IN - The Hi-Fi
Nov 16 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
Nov 17 - St. Louis, MO – Firebird
Nov 18 - Wichita, KS - John Barleycorns
Nov 19 - Denver, CO - Lost Lake Lounge
Nov 21 - West Hollywood, CA - Roxy Theatre
Nov 22 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hall
Nov 25 – Victoria, BC – Sugar w/ Smash Boom Pow
Nov 26 – Vancouver, BC – Fortune Sound Club w/ w/ Dead Quiet + Uptights

BITS'N'PIECES-Showing love for a couple of newish small venues offering up tasty jazz/blues/ soul bills in a listening/dining environment. East side love to Relish Bar & Grill (2152 Danforth)where this Friday it's  Valerie Shane & Steve Sherman (7-9 pm) and Geary Street Groove Band (9-12PM). Saturday offers up Fred Spek Combo (7-9Pm).

Across the bridge at 120 Church, the 120 Diner is making a name with an eclectic booking policy within the jazz/blues/ soul parameters. This weekend on offer is a pair of Newfoundland born chanteuses now resident in the 6ix. Friday night it's Caroline Martin-Rowe (6-8 PM) a staple on the local scene with a string of strong live gigs 'neath her belt. Saturday marks the return  to a local stage of former Lush Life torchy lead singer Joanne Powell (6-8PM) after an hiatus. It's gonna get sexy.