BTW-Austra, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Teddy & The Rough Riders, Mike McDonald, Hypoluxo, Sean Jones, Madison Violet, Hilario Duran, Dean Lewis

Fri Aug 11 2017
Austra

Carrying her masterful political pop album Future Politics , Austra return to Canada Aug.18 for a run of tour dates including Pop Montreal, Ponderosa Music Festival , and stops throughout the prairies. Full tour dates can be found below.

Austra's third LP, Future Politics, is the Montreal band's most ambitious record to date and calls for radical hope: "a commitment to replace the approaching dystopia," says Katie Stelmanis , who leads Austra with the support of Maya Postepski (Princess Century, TR/ST), Dorian Wolf, and Ryan Wonsiak.

Seether Releases New Music Video For Betray and Degrade

Fri Aug 11 2017
Seether Photo Credit Marina Chavez

Betray and Degrade, Seether’s newest music video from their seventh full-length studio album, Poison the Parish, premiered on Vevo August 10, 2017. This is the second music video the band released from their latest album.

Poison the Parish (Canine Riot / Fantasy), which hit on May 12, 2017, debuted at #1 on Billboard's Hard Rock albums chart, #14 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart, and #8 on Billboard's Current albums chart selling more than 31,000 copies in its first week.

Most recently the band shared lead single, Let You Down, which sat at #1 across the U.S. at rock radio for four consecutive weeks.

Poison the Parish, recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, marks the first album produced entirely by front man Shaun Morgan. Perhaps the heaviest and most expressive collection they've ever released, the album is earning their best notices in years.

Seether is currently on the last leg of their North American tour, and come September 10, they will embark on their European tour. The European tour includes stops in countries such as Russia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, among others.

BTW-Moon King, Tara Beier,Yukon Blonde, Jerry Leger, Mike Monroe, Benjamin Booker, Figure Walking, Broken Social Scene

Fri Aug 04 2017
Moon King Photo Credit Devon Behelak

Moon King (Daniel Benjamin) returns with an animated visual for lead-single "In & Out" taken from his forthcoming tape Hamtramck '16 - out August 4 on Arbutus Records . Video animation is by Jordan Minkoff . On "In & Out" Benjamin says, "I made this in Detroit last September, very quick & dirty, mostly inspired by the music I was hearing DJs play around town ... it's a good tape to leave in your car I think." The new single also premiered on air courtesy of CBC q.

Doug MacLeod: Break the Chain

Fri Aug 04 2017
Doug MacLeod: Break the Chain

‘Break the Chain’ is the latest, twelve-track offering from leading US steel-guitar and slide master, Doug MacLeod. Recorded once again with Reference Recordings and Prof Johnson’s crystal-clear 24-bit set-up, this is an album that is bound to create enormous interest as is often the case with this guy’s music.

MacLeod is a regular award-winner; indeed, it seems that everything he delivers is destined to pick up national and international awards. Success is pretty much assured with this guy. As usual the tracks feature MacLeod picking and sliding with a remarkable ease and enormous talent and confidence. Accompanied by his usual, preferred sidemen of Jimi Bott and Denny Croy on drums and bass respectively, this outing also sees Macleod’s son, Jesse, and percussionist Oliver Brown step up to the plate. The result is a fuller sound than we have come to expect from MacLeod, who normally delivers stripped-back, pared-down acoustic blues with his signature sound and hints of wit and humour at the heart of his story-telling song-writing.

Geoff Gibbons: Buffalo Hotel

Fri Aug 04, 2017

Geoff Gibbons, a veteran singer/songwriter from Vancouver, has an excellent new body of work that really deserves to be heard. I was alerted to this talented performer by Canadian Pop Encyclopedia of Pop Music author Jaimie Vernon who had worked with Geoff with his band Silverlode. The band released two albums and garnered some airplay and recognition with the band.

Geoff started out with an acoustic guitar and a host of great role models, Cat Stevens, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to name a few and of course The Eagles. All these influences are evident in his work.

Geoff has collaborated as a songwriter with artists like Jeff Carlisi of .38 Special-Lynard Skynard, Dawn Langstroth the daughter of Anne Murray and Nashville writers James Dean Hicks and Peter McCann to name a few. His songs have been used for TV shows such as Higher Ground, Just Cause and Robson Arms. Geoff also wrote the score and the songs for Lions Gate Film's "Wolf Moon" aka "Dark Moon Rising.”

BTW White Hot Guilt, Ember Swift, George Thorogood, Tim Moxam and Liz Stringer, (Sandy) Alex G, Rik Emmett, The Road Hammers

Sun Jul 30 2017
White Hot Guilt

Side projects are great evolvers of music and White Hot Guilt is on that from the get go. Change is good, and for Josh Warburton (July Talk) and Toronto producer Thomas D'Arcy (Small Sins/BROS./Tommy Hawkins) change was exactly what these two needed to fully discover their new side project White Hot Guilt. Out making the rounds is first new track, Little Things , off self-titled debut EP (TDM Inc.). All proceeds from sales will be donated to ' SKETCH ' - a Toronto-based community-arts-development initiative that creates equitable opportunities for young people homeless and on the margins from across Canada to experience the transformative power of the arts. Check out more info about White Hot Guilt at www.whitehotguilt.com.

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.