Mariposa Going Long and Strong

Sun Jul 30, 2017

If success is measured in longevity then the Mariposa Folk Festival is one of the most prosperous events around.

In 1961 the folk revival was at its peak with performers that included Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, and Joan Baez to name a few. In light of that popularity the Mariposa Folk Festival was created.

Bruce Cole was a photographer who witnessed the ascension of the festival from its early stages of a simple event, to becoming an internationally known incubator of folk stars everywhere. Bruce was involved starting in 1971 and took photos of some of the best musicians around.

“It was the first few years that it was on Toronto Island, before that it was in Orillia,” said Bruce in an interview with Cashbox. The event has since moved back to Orillia and this year it was reported by CTV Barrie that it could top the record-setting attendance of 24,000 people that it made back in 2010. The Orillia Packet & Times later verifired that claim by revealing that the Mariposa Folk Festival had approximately 27,000 attendees this year.

Sons Of Texas Forged By Fortitude Release in September


Sun Jul 30 2017
Sons Of Texas Photo Credit Lindsey Byrnes

Sons of Texas Forged By FortitudeSons of Texas Forged By FortitudeFollowing two years of touring behind their debut album, Baptized in the Rio Grande, Sons of Texas returned to the studio earlier this year with producer Josh Wilbur to record their follow up. The result is the 10-song CD,Forged By Fortitude, set for a September 22nd release with Razor & Tie. The album will be available in Europe through Spinefarm Records and with Sony in Japan, where the band was named the #1 New Band of the Year by Burrn Magazine, following their performance at the 2016 Loud Park Festival.

The album is available in advance visit sonsoftexasmusic.com.

“American Idol” Finalist Casey James Returns to his Texas Blues Roots

Sun Jul 30 2017
Casey James

Released June 9, ‘Strip it Down’ by Casey James, is produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge and features a guest duet with the legendary Delbert McClinton.

“All I want to do is play music,” says singer/guitarist, Casey James. “All I want to do is play music,” says singer/guitarist, Casey James. “Stripping it back to just me making a record of music that I love was a huge stepping stone in my life.”

It’s titled Strip It Down because it’s exactly what Casey James did – shed off the layers of stylized artistic clothing that he’d been given in those other public ventures to find the real artist underneath, a guy with a convincing, smokey vocal quality and a burning, lyrical skill with a guitar.

The Fimisters Play/Pause/Resume

Fri Jul 21, 2017

In high school, I travelled to Kingston or sat around Colin Blamire’s house to listen to these guys jam and share their passion with us all. In as many years as I have lived away from the town we went to high school in, The Fimisters had not played together. But in the last several years these guys have not only gotten back together, they have released their second album. So, when the opportunity to interview them about the new adventure in their lives came up, I was both excited and nervous, for I hadn’t seen these guys in 20 years!

BTW Timber Timbre, Ugly Sun, The New Pornographers, Melanie Peterson, Random Order, Bruce Mississippi Johnson, Dorjee Tsering

Fri Jul 21 2017
Timber Timbre Photo Credit Richard

Montreal trio Timber Timbre have unveiled the video to "Sincerely, Future Pollution", the title track to their recent sixth album, released on Arts & Crafts. The video was directed, animated and produced by Joël Vaudreuil. Timber Timbre's music has arrived at a smoky, grimy space for roots sounds like blues, folk, and early R&B, fitting framings for their most politically savant album yet.

The pair have always created music that traces a shadowed path, using cues of the past to fuse the sound of a distant, haunted now. On Sincerely, Future Pollution, the band coats the stark, sensual sound of 2014's Polaris Music Prize Short-Listed andJUNO Award nominated album Hot Dreams in an oil-black rainbow of municipal grime. It is the cinema of a dizzying dystopia, rattled by the science fiction of this bluntly nonfictional time.

Hunter Brothers Stick to Their Roots with Latest Single “Born and Raised”

Fri Jul 21 2017
Hunter Brothers

Hunter Brothers, the five-piece band and viral video stars, celebrate their heartland upbringing with their latest single “Born and Raised”. The single, from their debut album Getaway, will be released to Canadian radio on July 26. The group was recently nominated for a CCMA award for Interactive Artist of the Year and took to their social media to formally announce the single release.
“Born and Raised” is a powerful song that showcases the group’s musical talent and harmonies. It’s also a special tribute to the communities that are stretched across the country and the pride that every Canadian has for their hometown. “No matter where we travel, we always feel our hometown calling us back,” says J.J. Hunter. “The song is all about the things that make us proud of where we’re from. We’re honouring family, farm, faith and community; the people and things that made us who we are today.”

The single is especially significant following the video shoot for the song, which took place this July on the Hunter family farm, as part of a larger benefit concert supporting local charities in their hometown of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan.

Beamer Wigley Beaming Up!

Fri Jul 14, 2017

Say the name Beamer Wigley to yourself. Then say it a couple more times. Then write it down somewhere, put it in a memo in your phone and tell all your music loving friends about him. That way when he makes it big you can tell folks “remember I told you about him?” And his chances of success are definitely there.

As we all know, talent is of course, a huge prerequisite for “making it” but there are other components. Desire, perseverance and then the right people in a position to make it happen getting on board with you. Beamer Wigley can put a check mark next to all of the above. He is a talented young man, has the desire and perseverance. “ I have no plan “B”, this is what I want to do with my life” Then the most important piece that you can’t control, the right people running your career path.

BTW Lucy Rose, Eden Sela, Begonia, Royal Canoe, Washed Out, Eminem, Sean Jones, Kim Doolittle, Joanne Powell

Fri Jul 14 2017
Lucy Rose

Lucy Rose has let loose her third album Something's Changing via Arts & Crafts. The album is accompanied by a fly-on-the-wall short film documenting her debut tour in Latin America last year, a trip independently organized by Rose with the help of her fans. The tour was the inspiration for the record and the film serves as an intimate account of this process.

In celebration of the new release, the video for the single "No Good At All" is now available. Of the video, Rose says "'No Good At All' is the oldest song on the album and was written just before I went on my first trip to Latin America. When I wrote it, I was kind of feeling that maybe I wasn't good enough for music and was re-thinking everything. But it's also got an element of love to it, finding the one to start a new life with,who one day you could settle down and have a family with. There's a fair amount of self-doubt in this song, but positivity for the future, too."

ONES - The Number ONE Hits of The Beatles

Fri Jul 07, 2017

The brainchild (and dream) of singer, songwriter and recording artist Frank Zirone, ONES is a special music production presenting the North American number one hits of The Beatles with a very special nod to Canada. Unknowingly, this particular project has been years in the making, beginning with that very first Beatles performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Throughout Zirone's years of writing, recording and performing, The Beatles and their music have deeply influenced his career almost every step of the way.

Zirone's long history in the music business makes him well suited to create and produce a show such as ONES. He has been nominated for a Juno, toured around the world and worked with acts such as The Monkees, Loverboy, Herman’s Hermits, Saga, Gary Puckett, Max Webster, Randy Travis and Triumph. Frank’s body of work, extensive history and reputation have earned him the respect of some of the finest musicians in Canada, allowing him to gather unequalled talent for his production of the ONES show.

Sandy Graham Has Gone Back to Her ‘Route’s with ‘You Could Be Dancing’!

Fri Jul 07 2017
You Could Be Dancing

Canadian music business veteran, Sandy Graham, has been involved in the entertainment industry for more decades than she cares to admit. “I can’t remember not being involved in music or dance my whole adult life,” she said from her home/office in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood. And a quick check of her history backs that up.

Random Order Release Black Lipstick Kiss

Fri Jul 07 2017
Random Order Release Black Lipstick Kiss

Sometimes described as “rock ‘n reggae” or “spine-tingling pulp fiction with a swamp-rock reggae twist,” Random Order is one of Toronto’s best, longstanding underground treasures. On June 30th, they’re releasing the re-mix of “BLACK LIPSTICK KISS,” [Lov3mix] (Catscratch Records), a sexy, pop, electro dance track that explores the dark links between pleasure and pain.

Lead vocalist and writer Lynx takes cues from Tarantino, Rihanna, and Prince. The Toronto-based artist’s spine-tingling, subversive pop attracts a diverse cultural audience, with equal parts irony, confidence, and catharsis.

This new offering. “Black Lipstick Kiss [Lov3mix]” presents a new direction for a turbulent world ready for love. Featured alongside Spoon and Morrissey in Magnet Magazine, this chart-topping, award-winning artist injects their signature sound into sexy, spy-movie soundscapes.

Random Order has charted in Canadian Top 30 radio, landing the #2 spot twice in their hometown of Toronto.

For more info please visit www.randomorder.ca

iLLvibe, and Myer Clarity at The Smiling Buddha

Fri Jul 07 2017
iLLvibe, and Myer Clarity at The Smiling Buddha

On Thursday August 3, two of Canada's most talked about hip-hop artists, iLLvibe, and Myer Clarity, will perform songs from their new album We Are The Aliens live at Smiling Buddha.
Widely known for having won the season premiere of the hit CBC show "Canada's Smartest Person," iLLvibe was named runner up to Drake for Readers' Choice Best Rapper by NOW Magazine in 2015. Last year, the Toronto born rapper performed more than 100 tour dates and has shared festival main stages with Chris Brown, Kehlani and Wiz Khalifa. His last musical offering Firebreather reached #1 on the National Earshot Radio charts in Canada

Beaches Jazz Fest Returns for the 29th Year in Toronto’s East End Neighbourhood

Fri Jun 30, 2017

The Beaches International Jazz Festival is a 10-day music festival held each year in the lakeside Beaches community of Toronto in the month of July. Originally started in 1988, it is now one of Canada's largest free jazz festivals with nearly 800,000 attendees, throughout its 10-day span.

The Festival takes place across a number of venues; stage concerts are held in several different parks within the area and also along a two kilometre stretch of the Beach main street - Queen Street East.

2CELLOS Release New Video For Chariots Of Fire

Fri Jun 30 2017
2CELLOS

2CELLOS, music's most electric and dynamic instrumental duo, release a new video for "Chariots of Fire" from their new album SCORE (Portrait/Sony Music Masterworks), available now. The video was filmed in Croatia and features Luka Sulić and Stjepan Hauser playing on a stunningly scenic beach.

"Summer is here so we thought we'd kick back and enjoy playing 'Chariots Of Fire' on the beautiful Zlatni Rat Beach in Bol, Croatia," said Luka and Stjepan.

SCORE brings 2CELLOS' game-changing sound and style to the most popular melodies ever written for classic and contemporary movies and television.

The guys will kick off the US leg of their tour in July performing at iconic venues like The Greek in LA and Red Rocks in Colorado. In September they will perform for the first time at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

Graham Ko Outside Looking In

Fri Jun 30 2017
Graham Ko Outside Looking In

Graham Ko has spent years developing and searching for a sound to call his own. In his new album, “Outside Looking In,” Graham has finally defined himself as a Country-Soul-Rock artist.A Humber graduate, and a private student of the legendary Rik Emmett, Graham is ready to showcase his colourful writing and honest soulful voice in this full-length album.

Graham Travis Ko is a Canadian singer/songwriter born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. His music brings together a mixture of R&B, Pop, Rock & Roll and has been compared to the likes of John Mayer, Michael Bublé, and Jason Mraz. As a budding new artist Graham has played and shared the stage with artists such as Mike Stern, The Celebration Army, The Video Games Live Orchestra, as well as playing with many local acts and in different venues around Toronto, Hamilton, and Sarnia.

Johnny Cash Forever Words The Album

Fri Jun 23 2017
Johnny Cash Forever Words The Album

There’s a new album on its way of new, never before recorded Johnny Cash songs thanks to the foresight of the legend’s son John Carter Cash.  Last year, 2016, Carter Cash published a book of his father’s poetry called ‘Forever Words’ made up of works that the elder Cash left behind. The book contained reproductions of Cash’s own handwritten pages and a collection of never before published poems and musings.  Taking a lead from Arlo Guthrie, who decided to have some of his father, Woody Guthrie’s unused poetry put to music. Carter Cash has done the same with Johnny Cash’s poetry. When publishing the book John Carter Cash told the New York Times: “I want people to have a deeper understanding of my father than just the iconic, cool man in black. I think this book will help provide that.”  And so will the record.

The album began when country artist Brad Paisley set one of the poems from ‘Forever Words’ to music. The song “Gold All Over the Ground” was the first to take shape and prove the viability of the project.

Tanika Charles Endless Chain on a Soul Run

Fri Jun 23, 2017

The first thing you feel when you hear Tanika Charles talk about her music and performing is the passion in her voice. Tanika is filled with passion; about her songs, her music, her band, her loves, her life. Her passion, performance and songwriting combine the strength of her soul while showing her vulnerable side through her music.

‘’I was surrounded by music growing up. My Dad, Leonard, always had great records playing so I heard Spiro Jiro, George Benson, Chante Moore, George Duke, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and so many more. I always loved the soulful vocals of Patti LaBelle, Nina Simone and Etta James but the one that really was a huge influence on me was Paula Abdul. I am a dancer and a singer and so she really has it all.”

“My older brother Rudy is also a greatly multi-talented man; he can play any instrument so he inspired me as well.”

Gary Cain Band playing It Right with Twangadelic Bluesophunk'

Fri Jun 16 2017
Gary Cain Band

Since the May 12th release of their outstanding debut album Twangadelic Bluesophunk, Kitchener Waterloo's Gary Cain Band have enjoyed extensive airplay and positive album reviews from around the world, particularly among guitar and blues-rock aficionados.

Canadian guitarist and songwriter Gary Cain has had a long road to get to his debut album. After suffering a vocal injury while playing in a band in Dubai, Cain took a hiatus from live performance that was physically and mentally rejuvenating.

Stay Groovy and Have Mercy!

Fri Jun 16, 2017

When Steve Clark introduced Chris “Travis” Townes, Pat Lalonde and Ted Lalonde to Shelley Buffitt and her daughter Alysha Carman in May 2016 to perform at a benefit concert in Marathon, Ontario in June, little did they know that nine months later they’d be Mercy The Band.

“Shortly after the June 2016 concert in Marathon, I became quite ill. Unfortunately, we had to cancel a couple of gigs that Steve booked for us in August and September, 2016. I also had to leave the Clay Williams “Canal Pursuit” marathon run, in which I was selected Crew Chief. I took the next few months to recover and in February 2017, I received a call from Chris “Travis” asking if I was able to perform for The 6th Annual Unplugged for Cancer Concert in Marathon in March,” explains Shelley. The group got together within days to start practicing and the performance went very well. On March 22nd they officially became Mercy The Band and began collaborating on original material. What followed was a recording session on April 29th at Pennock Studio in Thunder Bay, with Producer (Steve) Clark and Sound Engineer Bob Kovacs.

Eric Andersen Mingle With the Universe: The Worlds of Lord Byron

Fri Jun 09, 2017

Submitted by Don Graham

You’re Eric Andersen. You have iconic status, you have a Gold Membership card to the folk elite club with fellow members like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Joni Mitchell. You were there when the great folk boom exploded. This is your time to bask in the golden light and soft glow of all you have accomplished in your music career. That’s what one would think.