Contemporary roots-folk singer-songwriter Howard Gladstone officially released his eighth album Crazy Talk (Sonic Peach Music) on September 20,2024.

The twelve new songs cover genres from folk to jazz to folk/rock to world music.

Howard Gladstone, Toronto-born singer/songwriter, is releasing his eighth album of original music in September 2024. He is also publishing a book of his collected lyrics titled "Timepieces." Veteran Canadian songwriter James Gordon has called the work a "remarkably compelling collection."

Gladstone is continuing with his monthly residency at Toronto's Tranzac Club, where he is accompanied by regular band members (Tony Quarrington, Laura Fernandez, Bob Cohen, Ambrose Pottie). Previously Gladstone co-founded and produced the not-for-profit Toronto City Roots Festival from 2004 to 2010. He recovered from a life-changing spinal cord injury in 2014 and released the album Hourglass inspired by his healing journey, in 2017. While in recovery, he found new strength, resolve and solace in music, and understood more deeply its healing power. His follow-up album The Promise was recorded and released during the pandemic lockdown, with musicians working remotely. Gladstone continues to write, record, perform, and occasionally guest host "Corby's Orbit" radio show. Back in his university days, he was a journalist, and his interview with Robbie Robertson was re-published in Rolling Stone magazine.

He and Laura Fernandez formed the boutique record label Sonic Peach Music.

ALFIE SMITH Every Rome Needs A Nero  Alfie Smith released his eighth album, Every Rome Needs A Nero, in October 2024. The Hamilton-based troubadour is a popular and crowd-pleasing fixture on the Ontario’s blues/folk/roots festivals and club circuit, but it has been a full decade since his last release, Come On In My Kitchen, a duo record with his wife, Nicole Christian. In a relaxed conversation, Alfie Smith shared some of his songwriting inspirations and discussed various tunes on the album, as well as some of his thoughts on guitars, tunings and songwriting in general.
Every Rome Needs A Nero, is a timely and provocative album filled with some intimate lyrics and deeply felt performances. An album to treasure for years to come.
“His return to the recording arena with Every Rome Needs A Nero finds Alfie at the height of his creative powers. He is a triple threat: a guitar virtuoso fluent on slide and vintage National and resonator instruments, an eloquent songwriter in the classic blues tradition, and a powerful singer with a voice to match his formidable physical presence. That deep voice sounds like it has been dredged from the depths of the muddy Mississippi River. It is rich and earthy, and capable of expressing tenderness, melancholy, joy, and, in the case of the new album’s title track, righteous anger. Alfie fully flexes his songwriting muscle on Every Rome Needs A Nero, and the gap between albums meant he had a large selection of material upon which to draw. The title tune and opening cut sets the stage sweetly, via a cool trumpet solo, crisp acoustic guitar and a laid back vibe. Smith’s voice locks into a mellow groove, while lyrics featuring historic references remain relevant today.

GRAVEN (Matty McKechnie) - Always Everything A new album from Graven is always an eagerly anticipated event. Always Everything released June 30,2024, is a set of songs that look all the ups and downs, the highs and lows that every life must pass through, captured in a way that only songwriter Graven is capable of.
GRAVEN (Matty McKechnie) is an independent folk-rock singer-songwriter from Ottawa, Canada. An innovative Nepean-born songmaker with a key focus on cultivating joy and wonder in Canadian geography, Matty (Graven) is a wiley wordsmith whose passion is to create a highly accepting and inclusive community of music lovers. Although exposed to classical tunes with piano lessons during childhood and playing the alto sax in Grade 9 - none of that moved the needle. Hearing his dad spin endless vinyl through the floorboards to the tune of Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Whitney Houston, Neil Diamond and many others in his preteens, however, was the spark in Matty's musical fire. Later, he was enthralled by the rhymes and rhythms and wordplay of Hip Hop and rap music, with Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and the Fat Boys kicking open a door in his subconscious teen mind. Lyrics have always been Matty's true north and they provide the canvas for the rainbow-coloured paint spatter of his heart-sleeve songs.

Graven's first release was a basement recording in 1999, and since then, he's shared stages with the likes of Steve Poltz, Jim Bryson, Danny Michel, Sarah Harmer, Elliott Brood, Joel Plaskett, Kathryn Calder (New Pornographers), Stephen Stanley, Ron Hawkins and many more. Focusing on the guitar and vocals, and having eclectic and broad contemporary Canadian musical influences with more than 16 major releases under his belt, Matty has toured all the way across Canada thrice, with a powerful mission to empower his listeners to embrace their authentic selves without judgment. https://www.graven.ca/biography

Her new album, ‘RESONANCE’, is out now! Full of exciting new songs and sounds, Briar is clearly destined for national renown with her brand of infectious pop-rock. Nothing is stopping Briar’s ascendence into pop stardom!

Briar Summers is a singer-songwriter from Muskoka, and now based in Toronto.

Produced and mixed by Wayne Cochrane, mastered by Chris Crerar, at Metalworks Studios, Mississauga ON, it features the incredible talents of Ben Riley (drums), Drew Jurecka (viola, violin), Jack Gaughan (guitars), Cole Jodouin (bass), Daniel Dennis (cello), and Louis Tusz (trumpet).

Briar has performed on many stages throughout Muskoka and beyond - Summerfolk Festival, Muskoka Pride, Muskoka Music Festival, Bala Cranberry Festival and Huntsville's Festival of the Arts, and has played countless other concerts and venues as well. She is performing in Europe for the first time this summer.

Her debut album FROM THE ASHES (2021), was produced and mixed by 3x Grammy-award winner David Bottrill.

Adrian's fifth solo album released, February 27, 2024, ‘You’re Just A Place That I Know’, tracks the story of his Ukrainian grandparents’ flight from their homeland in the 1940s, settling to begin life anew in Montreal. Situated somewhere in Glynn’s usual wheelhouse of dark indie folk, the album has tinges of traditional Ukrainian folk music, featuring instruments like the bandura and the lira (or “hurdy-gurdy”), as well as strings, a full band and a young men’s choir.

Adrian Glynn McMorran is a Vancouver, Canada-based actor and musician. Raised in Vancouver, Adrian received a BA in Theatre from the University of British Columbia and studied acting at New York's Atlantic Theatre School.

Adrian also records and tours as a singer-songwriter ("Adrian Glynn") and has spent the past few years playing shows in Canada and Europe, both as a solo act and as a member of the Canadian modern folk group, The Fugitives.

The Fugitives 2014 release, Everything Will Happen, garnered them nominations for the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the Western Canadian Music Their most recent album ‘No Help Coming’ is a stunning reflection on the looming environmental crisis that we can’t seem take seriously.

Nothing ever really, truly ends. Even with our sights set on the future, once a significant event—a love lost, a love found, the birth of a child, the death of a friend—passes, we're bound to our memory's eternal return. On New Kind of Familiar, his second album under the Clever Hopes moniker, Andrew Shaver explores the texture of transition with lush folk-rock and poetic lyricism, from a liminal vantage point that offers both views of where he's come from and the places he might be headed.

Between writing his debut Clever Hopes album, Artefact, and the songs that comprise New Kind of Familiar, Shaver experienced his fair share of significant events—falling in love, moving to Nova Scotia, becoming a father. These are the things occupying his mind on the new record, and yet, they don't exist in a vacuum; Shaver rejects tidy narratives and time's linear arrow, and instead lets the album take shape with the same flow and verve of real life, bouncing back and forth in his lyrics between memory, the glorious, the complicated present, and anticipation.

The result is appropriately dreamy, drifting, rhythmic, and charged. On the record's soulful, simmering opener, "The Only One," Shaver's dusky delivery plays foil to longtime collaborator Eva Foote's airy vocals as he tentatively moves into new romance while acknowledging the lingering sting of a past breakup. The horn-blasted "Thrown It Open" finds him fully fallen into a big love and embracing the unknown; haunted pedal steel colours the reflective "Holes" as the relationship shifts and unsettles; with the quick-shuffling "Blue Parachutes," hazy memories of a lost year in Australia convince the songwriter's present self to pull it together.

"There was a lot of looking back on Artefact," Shaver says. "New Kind of Familiar is far more forward looking; there are songs on which I've been able to celebrate the place I'm in now - a place of stability and clarity.

As Shaver puts it: "I love a slow fade to black."

NATE SILVA RETURNS with ‘The Chase’

Nate Silva has made a name for himself as a consummate guitarist, songwriter, singer and entertainer. On June 07,2024, Nate will return to Huntsville, in concert, with his trio, showcasing a new album- ‘the Chase’, tour and triumphant set of songs at Canvas Brewing Company.

Known primarily for his virtuoso guitar stylings with the Slyde (2009-2021), an internationally successful recording band, he was much beloved for his exhilarating cover sets where he displays his artistry and melodic flourish on acoustic guitar. http://natesilvamusic.com/

Nate is also highly regarded for his extensive studio work as session player and producer. He has toured with an impressive variety of artists, in almost every genre available in today’s music scene, such as Gabrielle Goulet, Cindy Doire, Reuben and the Dark, Tim Piper and many more.

His powerful, multi-octave singing range, often compared to Geddy Lee and Freddie Mercury, is beyond thrilling. Above all, Nate is a dynamic, exciting presence on stage and engagingly charismatic considering how thunderous his music can get.

http://www.nathandasilva.ca/

LORI YATES - MATADOR

“Matador," released on January 29, 2024, is an exciting, thoughtful album from a veteran songwriter and performer. In this delightful, easy-going conversation, Lori discusses the album and what it means her and her many years thriving in the music industry.

Lori Yates is a renowned voice, a respected singer/songwriter in roots music, and a pioneer of “alternative country music” in Canada.

The Band's Rick Danko once described Yates as having "that desperate Canadian sound," sealing her legendary status.

Yates returns with her eighth album, "Matador," released on January 29, 2024, a testament to Yates’ enduring influence and artistic evolution.

https://loriyates.ca/

NO HELP COMING. - THE FUGITIVES

'No Help Coming', to us, isn't a negative," says Glynn. "It means humanity's alone in this, but we're alone in this together."

The Fugitives are: Adrian Glynn: vocals, guitars, bass, balalaika, piano, additional percussion Brendan McLeod: vocals, guitars, ukulele, bad banjo Carly Frey: vocals, violin Chris Suen: vocals, banjo, ukulele

BIO: Formed in Vancouver, Canada in 2007, The Fugitives are a folk collective headed by songwriters Brendan McLeod and Adrian Glynn. The band has toured extensively in Europe & Canada, won multiple folk music awards and released 5 critically-acclaimed albums. On "No Help Coming" they took the learnings from months of research from their JUNO nominated previous release, "Trench Songs", to playfully take on deadly serious topics. "No Help Coming" is concerned with the climate emergency, and how humanity's only choice is to work together.

The Fugitives are an acoustic folk-roots group headed by songwriters Adrian Glynn and Brendan McLeod. They’re joined by banjo player Chris Suen (Viper Central) and violinist Carly Frey (The Coal Porters).

Over their first five albums, they’ve amassed a JUNO nomination, numerous CFMA and WCMA nominations, and toured extensively through Canada, Europe, and the UK. Performance highlights include most major Canadian folk festivals, a slot at Glastonbury, and a tour opening for Buffy Sainte-Marie. In 2020, the band created “Ridge”, a WW1-centered theatre show, which was named a Globe & Mail “Top Arts Pick of the Year”, and has toured to over 30 theatres across Canada.

The band has earned a reputation for unforgettable live shows, brimming with complex harmonies, infectious storytelling and top-notch musicianship. As the CBC has it: “This show is simply brilliant.”

54•40 is a legendary Canadian rock band that emerged from the vibrant music scene of Vancouver, British Columbia. Formed in 1981, the band's name is derived from the westward expansionist James K. Polk (11th President of the USA) political slogan “54-40 or Fight”! The band’s core members are Neil Osborne (vocal’s, guitar and Brad Merritt (bass). Both high school friends with a shared passion for music, they were later joined by Phil Comparelli (guitar) and Matt Johnson (drums), who became important contributors to the band’s signature sound. After Phil Comparelli's departure from the band, Dave Genn joined 54•40 as the new guitarist. His addition to the lineup brought a fresh perspective and musical talent that complemented the band's existing sound. Dave Genn had already gained recognition in the Canadian music scene through his work with the band Matthew Good Band. With Dave Genn on board, 54•40 continued to create memorable music and deliver electrifying performances. Their chemistry as a group remained strong, and they embarked on successful tours, both nationally and internationally, further solidifying their status as one of Canada's most cherished rock Acts. In 1984, 54•40 released their self-titled album debut, which included tracks like "Baby Ran" and "I Go Blind." These songs garnered significant video exposure on Much Music and quickly established the band as a promising force in the modern rock scene. Throughout their career, 54•40 has earned critical acclaim and numerous awards, solidifying their status as Canadian music icons.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the band achieved even greater success with albums like "Show Me" (1987) and "Dear Dear" (1992), “Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret” (1994). The latter featured the hit single "Ocean Pearl," which became one of their most recognizable and beloved songs.

Otis released a new single on March 8,2024. It’ll be a bluesy, rockin’ cover of a 1969 song by soul sister Betty Harris called There’s a Break in the Road. The band absolutely kills it with their version and makes it their own. Lead singer/guitarist Boone Froggett (is that a cool name or what?) spoke to me March 05,2024 and we don’t want you to miss the opportunity to check this young band out. Recorded in a live full band take at The Rock House in Franklin Tennessee, the single features electric piano from and mixed by renowned Grammy Award winning musician Kevin McKendree (Brian Setzer, George Thorogood) and mastered by Ty Tabor of the acclaimed US rock band Kings X. Kentucky born and bred, OTIS is a young, hard rocking quartet who performs and plays their exciting original music like they’ve been around for 40 years. Alongside Boone, John Seeley (bass), Alex Wells (guitar), and Dale Myers (drums), these tight-knit guys stay connected to their homegrown roots having been around traditional instruments from a young age in piano, fiddle, and guitar instilling in them an appreciation of country-rock, bluegrass, blues, soul, and folk music.
The band blends roots, blues, classic rock, soul, and, of course, Southern rock and has created an original sound reminiscent of some of the great blues-rock/Southern rock bands like the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and Wet Willie. The band’s debut album, 2014’s Tough Times: A Tribute to John Brim, is a raw, groove-oriented, blues drenched masterpiece that got rave reviews and was a blueprint for things to come for the band. The blistering Eyes of the Sun was released in 2018 on Cleopatra Records and more than lived up to the promise of the band’s debut album.
And now comes There’s a Break in the Road, which is a precursor to a full album that will be released sometime in 2024.

OTIS website: https://theotisband.com

On March 01,2024, The Hello Darlins released the Alders and the Ashes, a double album follow-up to their breakthrough smash 2020 album, Go by Feel.

A lot has happened for the band and its principal songwriters, Candace Lacina and Mike Little, since they garnered world-wide attention with their debut. The lock down, Mike’s recovery from a worrisome health issue, the loss of family and friends, an extensive 2023 tour in support of Go by Feel and the rigorous demand placed on them as preeminent, highly sought after, studio musicians.

The Alders and the Ashes is a masterfully written and produced, sophomore album. For fans, eagerly awaiting more material from the songwriting duo and their esteemed bandmates, it is generously playful, soulful and dare I say, spiritual - a bountiful sonic feast of Americana Roots, Rock and Country.

‘Shepherd’, Bywater Call’s third studio album, released August 9, 2024, is an emotional tour de force that sequences and builds from song to song into a profound musical statement and merits every bit of the attention and accolades it is receiving. Meghan Parnell, lead vocalist, gave us the time to discuss the album before heading off on an extended tour.

Bywater Call has received many blues music award nominations, including most recently, Best International Artist for the 2024 UK Blues Awards. They have toured extensively in Europe where shows have been praised by Dutch, German and UK media, with references to Meghan as one of the best female voices in blues and roots today.

The band’s music is an exploration of life’s highs and lows. From intimate ballads that lay bare the complexities of human emotion to electrifying anthems that demand to be played at full volume, their catalogue is a journey through the human experience, incorporating influences from the likes of The Band, The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Otis Redding, Little Feat, Sly and the Family Stone, among others.

Bywater Call is a powerhouse seven-piece Southern soul, roots rock band from Toronto, Canada, featuring: Meghan Parnell (vocals), Dave Barnes (guitar), Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), John Kervin (keys), Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax).

‘A Way Through Time’ JJ Shiplett.

Americana Roots singer-songwriter JJ Shipplet’s breathtakingly personal new album, A Way Through Time, released on March 15,2024 via Red Buffalo Records under the exclusive license of Jayward Artist Group (distributed by The Orchard). 

This new album showcases the Calgary, AB-based artist's evolution both sonically and lyrically, as he explores a sound he has been searching for a long time. And please, please, please listen to the last track, "You and I Will Never End"... it is devastating and heartbreaking. 

A Way Through Time was written throughout the course of a few years, in and around my house here in Calgary. These were the songs and melodies I would hold tightly to; something inside said they mattered and constantly drew me in further every time I’d sing them. When I’d pick up my guitar, or play the piano, these were the songs that would come out.

As a thread began to weave itself through each song, it became clearer and clearer that each song had a purpose, a story to tell, and something to work towards. It was the recognition that life barrels on, lap after lap, and as we learn to ride the wave, we begin to take advantage of the very moment, allowing us to give it away and to love recklessly.

Armed with the songs and time running out, I went to Fort Records in Fort Langley, BC, with Jay Stewart at the helm. His positive mental attitude, attention to detail, and willingness to dive deep into the songs was so crucial to making this album. Together, with close friend Jeremy Friesen, we set out to capture the truth of each song by connecting the lyrics and melody to the rhythm and emotion. It was extremely important that these songs be recorded with Jeremy, as he was battling stage 4 cancer. With each session, I could see him fading away. We knew we had to make the most of each moment. The very last session we did, finishing vocals for You and I Will Never End, was the last time I saw him.

https://www.jjshiplett.com/

Love Always was produced by and features pianist Ernest Turner, along with bassist John Brown and drummer Donovan Cheatham. “Love Always’, a new 2024 album by Lois Deloatch, is testament to the sublime heights a masterful songwriter/ lyricist, accompanied by a trio of astonishing musicians, can aspire to. Lyrically and musically, these songs transfix the listener’s attention, lifting both spirit and earth-bound weariness toward a deeper understanding of what it means to be truly human. Transcendent and hauntingly beautiful, Deloatch’s themes resonate and celebrate with values we surely must all share - love of family, faith and nation, perceptively clarifying a lesser travelled path for our feet and hearts to follow. Extraordinary achievement.” Lois Deloatch marks thirty years in music with her new recording, Love Always. Recognized internationally for her rich contralto voice, thought-provoking lyrics, and distinctive blend of jazz, folk, blues, and spirituals, Deloatch has shared the stage with Ellis Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, and Dr. Billy Taylor, among other luminaries. Her limited-edition release, Hymn to Freedom: Homage to Oscar Peterson, was selected as one of the Top 10 CDs of 2008 by JazzTimes Magazine’s music critic Owen Cordle. With this, her sixth recording as leader, Deloatch says, “I’m offering music I hope will resonate, inspire and unify. I want listeners to feel our connectedness and shared humanity.” Music reviewer, Joe Vanderford, says, “Deloatch’s voice is thick and wide. She and the rhythm section signed a pact to be equal partners. She is a vocalist cast as an instrumentalist, another improviser contributing to the whole.” Love Always was produced by and features pianist Ernest Turner, along with bassist John Brown and drummer Donovan Cheatham. Deloatch’s original compositions, “Occasional Brilliance,” “Souls Remember,” “Forty First Cousins,” “In My Bones,” and “Friendly Fire” reflect her rural, Southern upbringing and expansive world view,

Chris James is their front man. He plays keyboards and guitar and harmonica. Writes songs too. He wound up with the Burrito Brothers in 2009.

The band was formed in 1968 in Los Angeles as The Flying Burrito Brothers. Its classic lineup featured country rock pioneer, the late Gram Parsons, and former founding Byrds members bassist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke, along with eventual original Eagles member Bernie Leadon on lead guitar and pedal steel guitar genius Sneaky Pete Kleinow. The band’s first two albums, The Gilded Palace of Sin (which Rolling Stone listed at number 192 on its list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time) and Burrito Deluxe, remain highly influential, acclaimed works which helped put country-rock on the map. Because Parsons and Keith Richards were good friends, Burrito Deluxe contains the first issued version of the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards-written song "Wild Horses," released almost a year before the The Rolling Stones own take on it appeared on Sticky Fingers. These days, the band, now based in Nashville, features Chris P. James (who’s been involved with the band since 2009), guitarist Steve Allen, Tony Paoletta on pedal steel and drummer Peter Young…all extremely talented musicians who love being involved with the band’s legacy and creating new music to keep that legacy alive. The current lineup has continued for over a decade to carry the Burrito Brothers torch via the Christmas release, which features the band’s trademark tight ensemble playing, beautiful harmonies, excellent songwriting, and the ability to turn other artist’s songs into their own.

AUTOGRAMM - MUSIC THAT HUMANS CAN PLAY

Autogramm has a long-standing connection to the art, punk, and skateboarding communities world-wide. They are: Jiffy Marx - vocals, synths, guitars The Silo - vocals, drums, synths, guitars CC Voltage - vocals, bass, guitars Lars Von Seattle - guitars and vocals

“It’s like as if David Bowie, The Fixx and Cheap Trick partied with Prince and recorded the whole thing. Most of the songs should probably be on the Fast Times At Ridgemont High soundtrack.”

“Autogramm is a weird and wild synth-heavy, power-pop new-wave four-piece with members spread across Seattle, Chicago, and Vancouver. Drawing on influences from some of the best of the best like Devo, The Cars, Gary Numan and The Go-Gos, the band also flirts with elements of retro-punk, modern pop and rock. Autogramm has a long-standing connection to the art, punk, and skateboarding communities of the various cities and scenes they have been a part of (Vancouver, Berlin, New York, Calgary, Seattle, and Chicago). They have channeled their dedication to the DIY approach into a cohesive and self-sustaining concept wherein recording, visual art, and video production are all handled by members of the band themselves. In doing so, their primary focus remains creativity and good times. Speaking of the band members, they boast a stacked line-up of players from some of the most primo international acts around; Jiffy Marx (Hard Drugs, Night Court, Blood Maridian), CC Voltage (Black Halos, Spitfires, Dysnea Boys), Lars Von Seattle (The Catheters, Bread and Butter), The Silo (Black Mountain, Destroyer, Lightning Dust). They’ve toured extensively in Canada, the US, Mexico, the UK and Europe. They’ve charted across North American campus community radio and have been in rotation at Sirius XM’s The Verge, Rodney On The Rock and Steven’s Underground Garage. So, yeah, they’re kind of a big deal :)

Who are The Commotions?

A twelve-piece funk/soul band ready to get you dancing!

“They’re hot, sizzling, fun, and funky.”

Putting the motion in The Commotions are 12 band members including two lead singers and a wild five-piece horn section. Directed by Brian Asselin, these high caliber musicians will rock your heart and soul.

VOLUME III, is a riveting, stellar album which will set your feet and fire and get you singing along. Enjoy this wonderful conversation with Brian Asselin about one of the great albums of 2023 and the plans for the band moving forward.

THIS IS THE COMMOTIONS:

1. Brian Asselin - Musical Director - Tenor Sax
2. Jeff Rogers - Lead Vocalist
3. Rebecca Noelle - Lead Vocalist
4. Mackenzie Di Millo - Lead Vocalist
5. Ed Lister - Trumpet
6. Eric Littlewood - Trumpet
7. Mike Lett - Tenor Sax
8. Caelan Roberge-Toll - Baritone Sax
9. Ken Seeley - Bass
10. David Gaw- Guitar
11. Deniz Lim-Sersan - Piano
12. Jeff Asselin - Drums

M.D. Dunn is a poet, a journalist and an evocative, thoughtful songwriter. He has released nine original studio albums and published three books of poetry.

His latest project, ‘You Get Bigger As You Go’, a detailed book on the influence and evolution of the music and artistry of Bruce Cockburn, has garnered enthusiastic praise and reviews for its insightful breadth and depth into the master guitarist and lyricist work, including an exhaustive examination of Cockburn’s entire recorded catalogue.

Dunn, who resides in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, an enduring follower of Cockburn’s exhilaratingly productive career, realized after several interviews with Cockburn as a music journalist that he had begun to formulate the basis of a book. Over years of research and interviews with associates and fans, Dunn has published a definitive study that will delight admirers of one Canada’s most notable troubadours.

In a relaxed and spirited conversation, Mark Dunn outlines the path and challenges that lead to the publication of this outstanding achievement, ‘You Get Bigger As You Go,’ on a thriving body of recorded art spanning over 50 years which still continues.

After much success of their first album, Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns, 2021, which started with drummer Jim Casson writing original material with bassist Russ Boswell, during the pandemic lock downs. Adding guitarist, Bernie LaBarge and organist Brent Barkman, they completed their first song, “Marshville Station” but the project stalled and was put on the shelf.

Meanwhile, tuba player, Jay Burr was working on a singer songwriter album and had asked Jim to contribute drum parts. Jim decided to ask Jay if he would try to add a tuba part to the shelved project. Jay agreed and it was magic.

While the first album took time discovering what the sound of the Green Lanterns was, "Canboro Canborough" focuses on the core group of Casson on drums, Burr on tuba, DeAdder on guitar, Branton on slide, with a guest appearance by Mark Lalama on keyboards.

The new album sounds more like a band than some of the cinematic adventures of the first. The recording concept remained the same with most of it done remotely in the member's home studios.

Once again, the song titles pay tribute to the history of the Niagara Peninsula and some vintage radio clips are back along with some other notable audio samples.

Funky and uplifting, there is a lot of laughter on this album.

The Stephen Stanley Band releases “Before the Collapse of the Hive”, November 10th,2023.

“Before the Collapse of the Hive” is one of those astonishing, long-awaited set of songs that is startling, contemporary, and completely relevant for the unsettled times we live in, as well a moving personal statement from a gifted artist in full command of his craft. Certainly, one of the best for 2023 and one that reminds you, as Stanley perfectly ascribes in his song the Owl, “everything worth knowing is hidden in your record collection”.

Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist Stephen Stanley is best known from his many years as a founding member, lead guitarist and vocalist with The Lowest of the Low. After years of touring and sharing the stage with the likes of Billy Bragg, The Violent Femmes, The Jayhawks and Lloyd Cole, a gold record for their “genuinely timeless album” (Exclaim!), ‘Shakespeare My Butt’, Stanley now leads his own band, The Stephen Stanley Band.

Americana UK described the band’s 2018 album ‘Jimmy & The Moon’ and Stephen’s artistry this way: “The songs are big and bold, unafraid, unashamed to flaunt their heritage. Stanley’s voice being not a thing of beauty but a workman’s tool skillfully used to create just the right effect...” A new record called “Before the Collapse of the Hive” is currently in the final stages of recording and slated for release on November 10th, 2023.

Sage McBride joins Douglas McLean in conversation about recording Blurry Vision, touring and staying creative.

Shred Kelly is Tim Newton, Sage McBride, Ty West, Ryan Mildenberger. Their music is vast, infectious and beyond cheerfully uplifting.

Emerging from the majestic landscapes of the Canadian Rockies, Shred Kelly is a powerhouse band that seamlessly blends elements of alternative, folk, and rock music. With a captivating live act that leaves audiences in awe, they have become a mainstay in the Canadian music scene. But it's not just their energetic performances that set them apart—Shred Kelly's heartfelt songwriting strikes a chord with listeners, connecting deeply as each band member brings their eclectic musical influences to the table, shaping the group's unique musical direction. Shred Kelly's ascent shows no signs of slowing down as they prepare to release their highly anticipated sixth studio album, produced by the acclaimed Nygel Asselin.

Blurry Vision delves deep into the overwhelming world that surrounds us while searching for glimmers of hope. Recorded with Asselin, with whom they previously collaborated on their 2020 release Like A Rising Sun, the album reflects the band's ability to confront the complexities of existence with both vulnerability and resilience. Through their songs, Shred Kelly paints a picture of dark times illuminated by slivers of light.

With a fervent commitment to their craft, Shred Kelly has garnered praise from critics in Canada and beyond, earning Amazon playlisting, Spotify Playlisting, international radio play, and regular rotation on influential platforms such as SiriusXM, Radio Eins in Berlin and CBC Radio. The band was nominated for Rock Artist of the Year at the 2021 Western Canadian Music Awards.

Josh Finlayson and Andy Maize discuss ‘Bide Your Time’ & ‘Hide Your Light’.

Two amazing EP’s soon to be presented as a vinyl record experience

These songs are truly inspiring and touching in scope and in their depth of feeling.

To tell the story of Skydiggers is to tell the story of a thriving musical collaboration that was born in friendship and has abided with trust. Over the course of 15 studio albums and countless miles on the road, Skydiggers have grown from enthusiastic youngsters into husbands, fathers, and mentors. And while band members have changed over the decades, Josh Finlayson and Andy Maize remain its beating heart. With new collaborators bringing their unique musical histories into the circle, the sound of Skydiggers continues to evolve.

Their new music is a captivating collection showcasing Skydiggers' ability to weave rich narratives around complex characters navigating complicated times. The first EP, Hide Your Light, is a celebration of life, community, and connection. The second EP, Bide Your Time, features another stellar collection of six new songs including “One Song at a Time” - a heartfelt tribute to their dear friend Dallas Good of The Sadies.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Toronto based singer-songwriter Terry Donaghue is releasing his 4th solo album “Looking For Redemption” September 6th. The album was recorded at Toronto’s legendary Kensington Sound.

Looking For Redemption is a roots/americana/alt-folk genre is a concept album of 9 tracks telling the story in film noir style of a man on the run from his past and a woman he meets along the way also on the run from her past.

Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, now based in Toronto I’ve been involved in music since my early teens. I remember vividly the music I heard on the radio in the ’50s and ’60s – the local stations with their mix of country and pop and faraway places like Chicago, Detroit and Wheeling West Virginia that my brother and I could pull in on an old tube radio at night when the weather was right. It was my older brother who really got me playing an instrument. He was playing electric guitar and big on Dwayne Eddy, the Ventures and ’50s/early sixties rock & roll. Somewhere he heard Gordon Lightfoot’s self-titled first album, went out and bought it, a Guild 12 string guitar (which I still have) and became a folkie. I began playing folk and bluegrass on the banjo, later picking up the guitar and more recently the mandolin. This all led to the folk groups we were in together in Sault Ste Marie. As The Natural Men together with some friends we were one of the top folk groups in the Sault during my high school years. All that music has stuck with me and forms part of my musical DNA.

Over the past few years, I’ve channelled my songwriting output into a series of original solo albums. “Songs of Love and Longing” was released in May 2020. “Northern Reflections” was released in January 2022. In 2023, I celebrated the release of “Shades Of Blue.” All three albums were recorded and produced by Vezi Tayyeb at his legendary studio, Kensington Sound, he founded for more than 50 years ago recording over the years with an incredible range of artists and styles.

Sonic Mojo is Foghat’s highly anticipated and long-awaited 17th studio album—their first in seven years--on the band’s label, Foghat Records, which is distributed by Select-O-Hits (part of the Sun Records family). It will be available as a single CD with 12-tracks and a six-page gatefold cover, as well as an 11-track, limited edition 180gram, purple neon vinyl. Digital pre-orders are now available here (including CDs available on Amazon), while CD and vinyl (including autographed copies) and merchandise bundles are available to pre-order here.

On Sonic Mojo founding member, drummer and leader of the pack Roger Earl is joined by stalwart guitarist, engineer, and co-producer Bryan Bassett (formerly with Wild Cherry and Molly Hatchet), fun-loving bassist Rodney O’Quinn (longtime member of the Pat Travers Band), and on lead vocals and guitar, Scott Holt (who toured and recorded with the legendary Buddy Guy for 10+ years).

“I will rock until I drop,” is Roger’s favorite saying when it comes to Foghat and his life in general. SONIC MOJO proves that without a doubt.

Foghat website: https://foghat.com

The Blackburn Brothers music is authentic and always about a message of history, freedom, legacy, family, black unity, and love

An obvious uniqueness that identifies and sets apart the band is that Blackburn Brothers is a band of brothers. Duane (lead vocals, organ, piano), Brooke (guitar, vocals), Cory (drums, harmony vocals), Robert (guitar, harmony vocals), and Nathan (bass guitar) all share the Blackburn name. This name has become truly connected to Toronto's music history.

Musically, the Blackburn name has been forever imprinted in Canadian Music by the patriarch of the family, Bobby Dean Blackburn, a veteran R&B artist who gained legendary status on the Toronto music scene, performing the city circuit for over 50 years.

On September 1, 2023, Blackburn Brothers release their long-awaited third recording, aptly titled ‘SoulFunkn'BLUES’.

In conversation with Cory, Brooke and Duane, we discuss their long legacy of making soul satisfying uplifting music, their family history, and how they make their music so soulful, funky and the bluest in modern music.

Alexis Normand’s music in French and English has been recognized across Canada to critical acclaim. Drawing inspiration from the infinite horizons of her Saskatchewan home, she explores the dualities of a francophone identity on anglophone soil with her velvety voice as the centerpiece of her candid approach to the contemporary folk world that suites her so well.

After her side project with Rosie & the Riveters, Alexis making her long-awaited return as a solo artist brimming with warmth and vulnerability.

“The album explores the dualities of a francophone identity on anglophone soil and features 9 original songs and 4 scored field recordings produced by James Bunton.”

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

This Hen released May 2023.

"This album is about how we view our past," shares Zoe. "I dedicated it to my grandmothers to pay homage to my own Southern roots. Every song has a story to tell - literally. "I Miss You (But My Aim is Getting Better)" started with a collection of horrible jokes my mother found in my grandfather's personal effects after he passed away. "Just a Trickle, Just a Nickel" is a reflection of my own experiences with homelessness and a recent experience with a mentally ill friend who disappeared into the streets. "What’s a Little Fire?" is about me burning down the cabin in the woods I lived in as a child. But just as they did in my grandmothers’ time, I talk about many heavy subjects with the tenderness and lightheartedness still expected of women." https://www.zoeackah.com/

BIO – Zoe Ackah Zoe Ackah is a genre defying and imaginative singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Toronto, Canada.

Known on the Toronto scene as a singing drummer and studio backup vocalist, Ackah is now forging a solo path with fierce determination and a trunk full of creative ideas. In late 2020, she released her debut album, The World Inside, and is now readying the May 2023 release of a second full-length, This Hen, a record steeped in classic country. “I wrote This Hen for my mother and grandmothers, true ladies of the South,” Zoe explains. https://www.youtube.com/@ZoeAckah

With the release of Sunshine Baby, Jessica Rhaye’s second album with The Ramshackle Parade, the New Brunswick-based singer/songwriter expands her reach as a lyricist and vocalist with a set of alternately personal and observational songs that manage to be incredibly intimate and cinematic in scope simultaneously. On, Sunshine Baby, Rhaye illuminates the darker corners of her world with a compelling, if sometimes somber, sound. A treatment driven as much by the stellar contributions of The Ramshackle Parade and liberal application of lush strings, as by Rhaye’s substantial vocal chops and her uncanny ability as a lyricist to invite listeners to find their own lives, loves, and heartaches reflected in her words.

SÉAN MCCANN

SÉAN MCCANN (the Shantyman) is a founder of the iconic Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea and an Order of Canada recipient for his recovery advocacy. A survivor of sexual abuse and subsequent addiction, Séan has spent the last ten years touring North America as a solo concert performer and musical keynote speaker, singing and sharing his story with theatre audiences, front line workers, teachers, students, patients, inmates, veterans, and anyone who struggles with their mental health.

Séan believes that music is strong medicine and a song is never more powerful than when it is sung with a friend. 2023 marks the XXX anniversary of one of Canada’s favourite bands and Séan will be celebrating the legend with fans across the country. Armed only with his solo voice, bodhrán (Celtic hand drum), and guitar, the Shantyman will lead us all in a great big singalong as we sail back in time to the brighter bays of his native Newfoundland. Filled with foot stomping favourites and hilarious stories of life on the road, this is the only “tribute” show you need to see this decade and a nostalgic tip of the hat to the legacy of a truly iconic Canadian band.

The SHANTYMAN continues the GREAT BIG SINGALONG as he tours throughout late summer and the fall.

2023 marks the XXX anniversary of one of Canada’s favourite bands and Séan will be celebrating the legend with fans across the country. Armed only with his voice, bodhrán (Celtic hand drum), and guitar, the SHANTYMAN will lead us all in a GREAT BIG SINGALONG as we sail back in time to the brighter bays of his native Newfoundland. Filled with foot stomping favourites and hilarious stories of life on the road, this is the only “tribute” show you need to see this decade and a nostalgic tip of the hat to the legacy of a truly iconic Canadian band.

BIO: https://seanmccannsings.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@SeanMcCannSings

Michael Jerome Browne

Three-time Canadian Folk Music Award winner (Traditional Singer, 2015; Solo Artist, 2012 & 2008), Recipient of the Blues With A Feeling Award at the 2020 Maple Blues Awards (with 35 nominations since 1999), five-time Juno Award Nominee in both the Roots/Traditional and Blues categories, Kerrville (Texas) New Folk Finalist -- Michael Jerome Browne is a multi-instrumentalist, a songwriter, and a living encyclopedia of American Roots music.

After three years of sporadic performing, Michael is hitting the road again and will be releasing his new album “Gettin’ Together” in May of 2023. He traveled to different places to record with old and new friends: Harrison Kennedy, Mary Flower, Eric Bibb, John Sebastian, Colin Linden, J.J. Milteau, and many others. Getting together with these great musicians in the studio was highly therapeutic.

Whether he's gliding a slide across his resonator guitar, creating an intense mood with his tremolo 12-string guitar, or “hammering the claw” on his gourd banjo, Michael's passion and virtuosity always shine through. In the true tradition of folk music, his performances inspire us to see the interconnections between the many cultures and influences that gave birth to American Roots Music. Gospel, Blues, Old-Time, Country, Soul and Cajun, expect to hear all of this and more from a performer who's been called a street-smart archivist and an absolute treasure.   Born in South Bend, Indiana, Michael is the son of English professors whose love of music and poetry inspired them to take their nine year old son to the great jazz, blues and folk clubs in their adopted home of Montreal. By the age of fourteen, MJB was already a regular on the vibrant folk and coffee house scene adding banjo, fiddle, and mandolin to his masterful command of all variety of guitars and harmonica.

https://www.michaeljeromebrowne.com

FEATURED SONGS: Please Help Fixin_ To Die Blues Diamond Joe Living With The Blues

Marc Jordan - Waiting for the Sun to Rise

A songwriter’s songwriter, Marc Jordan is best known for writing (along with John Capek) “Rhythm of My Heart,” the 1991 smash for Rod Stewart. Marc’s songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross, Cher, Chicago, Bette Midler, Natalie Cole, Kenny Loggins, Kim Carnes and the Manhattan Transfer, to name a few.

Waiting for the Sun to Rise sees Jordan turning his gaze outward, writing from a place of weathered wisdom. “Rio Grande,” is the album’s centerpiece, is a hymn to what’s left of the world. Squandered potential and abiding hope live side by side, and a soaring solo by Grammy-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker tops off producer Lou Pomanti’s arrangement. The stunning “Coltrane Plays the Blues” continues Jordan’s penchant for mid-century jazz references. Like his thematic cousin Paul Buchanan of the Blue Nile (whose “The Downtown Lights” is covered here), Jordan sets his stories in an after-hours netherworld populated by lonely lovers and disappointed dreamers.

Jordan is a Juno Award and Genie Award winner, and in 2019 was Juno-nominated for his last album Both Sides. He is married to singer-songwriter Amy Sky, and in 2022, the duo recorded an album of duets entitled He Sang She Sang.

https://www.marcjordan.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@marcjordanmusic

FEATURED SONGS Rio Grande Intro / Frontier Rio Grande Bad Time to Say Goodbye Cradle to the Grave Everybody Wants to Rule the World

https://youtu.be/Upw5hSY34k0

Ian Tamblyn. – BACKSTAGE PASS

Musician, Adventurer and Playwright

I first met Ian Tamblyn at Northern Lights Festival Boreal close to 50 years ago and it’s been a joy to watch his continued skill and craft grow over these many years. His music is beyond an inspiration, delving poetically and figuratively into Canadian and Universal themes as only a master such as he can achieve.

It’s a great honour to have him on Backstage on the Sound Café, in conversation about his newest album, his 30th, A Longing For Innocence , his upcoming tours and his approach to songwriting, production, playwriting and more.

Bio: Ian Tamblyn has been a working musician since 1972. He has released dozens of albums of his work as well as acting as producer for many other artists. Over the years Ian has written too many songs and has given up on counting them. He has also written fourteen plays and over one hundred theatre soundtracks.

Mr. Tamblyn has received a number of awards and nominations. In 2012, Ian was made a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society for his guiding and creative work in the Canadian Arctic. He has been awarded the Estelle Klein and Helen Verger Awards for his contributions to Canadian folk music; he has a honourary doctorate from Lakehead University, a Distinguished Alumni Award from Trent University and was voted English Songwriter of the Year in 2010 by the Canadian Folk Music Awards, amongst other awards and nominations in the music and theatre world. https://www.iantamblyn.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ian.tamblyn/

Jesse’s debut album, Mansion Full of Ghosts, heralded by Vancouver Sun, Penguin Eggs, and The Georgia Straight, was an exploration of a city’s duality, with all of its beauty and shadows, expressed through varying moments of lush, orchestral arrangements to hushed duets over expert fingerpicking. The result was a beautifully crafted album that celebrated the pursuit of hope, and gently reflected on an oftentimes weighty effort to “keep a light on in the dark”. Canadian Beats praised, “infused with a hopeful tinge, Mansion Full of Ghosts is a wholesome, masterfully written debut that will appeal to fans both old and new.” https://jessewaldmanmusic.com/home

Jesse’s sophomore album, The Shimmering Divide, set for release September 20th, 2024, sees him collaborating with long-time musical partner Marc L’Esperance. The storytelling on Divide is deeply personal, delivered with the acuity of Jesse’s poeticism and Marc’s glittering harmonization and multi-instrument contributions. The songs are watercolours of people and places Jesse has encountered and truly cared about, presented humbly and gorgeously as an acoustic-based collection of alt-folk ruminations. The album holds a fresh wisdom gained since Mansion but maintains the virtuosity of playing and delicate ear for arrangements, serene and richly lulling like that of a train, which some of the songs just happened to have stirred from, jotted down in journals from the West Coast to Ontario.

Reflecting on the album title, Jesse shares, “For me the title ‘The Shimmering Divide’ represents the age-old battle between good and evil, which path to take to do the right thing in your life. Those points are charged with possibilities that can change you forever.”

On June 9th, Big Little Lions (Helen Austin & Paul Otten) release their first concept album (and seventh album) AMPM via Fallen Tree Records. The trans-continental folk-pop duo enlightens us from morning to night on the new album. Tackling anxiety and self-hate, the grind of daily life, the perils of parenting, and the value of community and forgiveness. The JUNO-winning collaborators once again charm with their intimate, clever, and relatable lyrics, paired with the melodic lilt of indie rock and pop. Helen and Paul met at a conference for licensing music for TV and film, one is classically trained, the other self-taught and they create their music together from thousands of miles apart. Heavily influence by the likes of Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Police, Big Little Lions are masters of a catchy melody, great harmonies, and a cool turn of phrase. The folk-pop duo Big Little Lions are Canadian Helen Austin (Royston, BC) and American Paul Otten (Springboro, Ohio). Their sound fuses the melodic sense of indie rock and pop with the intimate, heartfelt lyrics of acoustic folk and singer-songwriters. They were born out of a collaboration that won them a JUNO Award and a John Lennon songwriting prize in 2014, and have gone on to win a Canadian Folk Music Award, from their six nominations. Licensed for use in numerous commercials, films, and TV shows, their music is jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies – the sound of two people working happily side-by-side, for the enjoyment of fans from Brazil to the Philippines. They’ve been nominated and won many awards since their inception: Nominated Canadian Folk Music Awards - Vocal Group of The Year 2020, Nominated Roots Group of the Year - Break Out West 2018, Canadian Songwriting Competition Folk Winner 2018, Nominated for 2 Western Canadian Music Awards 2017, Canadian Folk Music Awards - nominated Vocal Group and Contemporary Album 2016,

Acclaimed songwriter Justin Rutledge released of his tenth album entitled ‘Something Easy’, May 19th,2023, via Outside Music.

“Something Easy” is album and set of songs of rare beauty, each song is a world unto itself and yet draws you into a compelling narrative of discovery and understanding.

Indeed, it was the arrival of Rutledge’s first son that convinced him he should level up on this record. As any new parent knows, free time is at a premium when there’s an infant in the house, and the Toronto-born-and-bred singer/songwriter didn’t want to waste any of that time. He took guitar lessons for the first time in his life, even though he’s been making a living as a professional musician for 20 years now. He went back to school and got a degree in Arts Administration, taking an internship behind the scenes at iconic Canadian concert venue Massey Hall. And, of course, he learned how to make a record by himself while simultaneously learning how to be a parent.

“It started after Jack, our firstborn, came along,” says Rutledge. “I had no time to go into the studio, so I started learning how to engineer and record myself. I ended up producing the whole album at home, working for 45 minutes to an hour each night for 2 years and calling friends for advice about the recording process. It was probably the slowest album I’ve ever made, but at the same time, I was teaching myself the basics of engineering.” He continues, "All of these songs are about youth, and I hadn’t realized that. And it’s interesting because I feel that, as a new dad, there’s this transition that’s happening where suddenly I’m realizing I’m in my 40s. And what’s happening is that our wild-and-free years are suddenly over there, and our ‘middle-aged’ years are now right here. I feel like I’m at this apex where I’m thinking a lot about my youth, But I’m not lamenting anything. I’m not old, I’m just shocked at how suddenly this new phase of life has begun.”

This week, Terra graciously agreed to a conversation about her career and newest album ‘Old News’, her collaboration with Ben Caplan.

“In ‘Old News’, Spencer weaves a mysterious aura around finely etched portraits of faces, places and faded memories, as only a songwriter of her imminent promise can. Almost in cinematic, slow motion, a series of characters materialize, share their hard-won lessons and dissolve, cross fade into another. An old teacher, a loving dog, a long-lost love, a small engine repairman, a lonely girl longing for love, each comes into focus only long enough to be recognized for their humble place amongst the human tide.” Great Dark Wonder

“Raised on the mud banks of the Avon River, award-winning Nova Scotian funeral director-turned-songwriter Terra Spencer has won over audiences in Canada, the UK, and Germany since her 2018 debut. She has already crafted a catalogue of startlingly intimate songs, marrying fingerstyle guitar, gospel piano, and her butterscotch voice with sly humour and 70s wood-paneled warmth. Terra recently released her third album, Old News, created with Ben Caplan and celebrated with a cross-Canada and UK tour. In a room of 5 or 500, every show is a knee-to-knee conversation with a natural storyteller. Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and Karen Carpenter walk into a bar.”

https://terraspencer.ca/home https://www.facebook.com/terraspencer/

Canadian singer/songwriter Tara MacLean has been an internationally renowned and award winning recording and touring artist for over 25 years. She released her first album with the Nettwerk Music Group in 1996 and Sony Music Publishing Canada. Since then has been signed with Capitol Records, and EMI Canada with her JUNO nominated band Shaye. She has written and recorded six solo albums and two with Shaye.

Tara has recently received the Senate of Canada Medal for her activist work in her community. She finished a run of three summer seasons with her hit theater show that she wrote, produced, and directed called, “Atlantic Blue-The Stories of Atlantic Canada’s Iconic Songwriters” in Charlottetown. The summer of 2019 saw Atlantic Blue produced and directed by the world famous Charlottetown Festival playing three nights a week to sold out crowds.

Tara received the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award as well as Solo Recording of the Year for her latest album, Deeper at the PEI Music Awards. Deeper was nominated for Pop Album of the Year at ECMA 2020. Her duet with Catherine MacLellan, "This Storm", received the award for Song of the Year. She performed “Songs from Atlantic Blue” in Concert with the PEI Symphony Orchestra. Last year, Tara received the Stompin' Tom award by the East Coast Music Association, marking an outstanding contribution to music in the region.

Tara MacLean is an environmental and social justice activist, a zen student, a poet, author and a playwright. She resides primarily in her home province of Prince Edward Island, and also lives part time on Salt Spring Island, BC. She considers herself bi-coastal. Her greatest joy is being a mother to her three beautiful girls.

Her first book, Song of the Sparrow, will be released on March 14th, 2023 with Harper Collins Canada, followed by a new album that is the soundtrack for the book on March 31st.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Since 2022 to date, Steve Dawson has released three extraordinary albums, “Gone, Long Gone”, “Phantom Threshold” and this March 2023, “Eyes Closed, Dreaming”. The trilogy comprises a remarkable body of work, styles and spotlights Steve’s grace and agility as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Over the past two decades, Steve Dawson has become such an indelible fixture on the Canadian musical landscape that it’s tempting to take him for granted. The music that flows out of him is so natural and authentic that it’s possible to forget all of the toil that went into producing it.

Behind the seemingly endless stream of award winning musical output (he has produced and/or played on more than 200 albums since the turn of the millennium, 7 of which have won Juno Awards), is one of the hardest working musicians this country has ever produced. Whether he’s turning heads on the concert circuit with his incendiary playing, or pulling the best possible performances out of the many artists that he works with in the studio, Dawson is always striving to take things to the next level.

A native of Vancouver, Canada, but currently residing in Nashville, where he works as a solo artist, sideman, and record producer, Steve has forged an impressive career full of highlights and awards, including:

This week, [someone], [someone else] and [another person] cover [topic].....

Topics discussed:

1. Topic A
2. Topic B
3. Topic C

Links mentioned in this episode:

• http://example.com
• http://second-example.com

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

LYNN HARRISON

Lynn Harrison joins Douglas in conversation about her newest album, Treasure and performs three songs acoustically during our talk, letting the magic of these songs speak for themselves.

“A gifted artist known for thoughtful, heartfelt songs of uncommon beauty, power, and insight; Toronto singer-songwriter LYNN HARRISON is an inspiring presence on Canadian stages. Her new seventh solo album TREASURE (produced by Douglas September) features musicians David Woodhead, Bob Cohen, and Ambrose Pottie.

Lynn Harrison is a concise storyteller, prolific songwriter, and an expert turner of memorable phrases. Her previous, highly acclaimed album Something More was ranked among the Top 20 albums of 2020 by Jan Hall of Folk Roots Radio, among others. Also, as an ordained Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister currently serving at First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto, it’s clear that in all paths of her work, Harrison presents an inspirational message of love, hope and justice.

Treasure is an album about staying sane in a mad world; about facing change with love and optimism; a 12-song prayer cycle that's both personal and universal – from a songwriter's songwriter, whose deft lyricism, melodic sensibilities, and captivating voice are second to none.

www.lynoleum.com https://www.youtube.com/@lharrison77 https://www.facebook.com/lynn.harrison

Lynn plays three selections from Treasure: "Let's Talk to Each Other Like Trees" is a thoughtful, poignant meditation on communicating at the soul level, with other people, and with the earth.

To the hypnotic, percolating sound of Harrison's fingerpicked rhythm guitar, "Punctuation" ingeniously parallels an author's periods, question marks, and run-on sentences with those of our lives.

"Good Songs" is a tender-hearted acoustic solo piece featuring Harrison's intimate vocals and sparkling guitar, affirming the value of songs to inspire love and heal the world.

Kate Weekes // Better Days Ahead

February 3rd, 2023 Release Date

On her 4th album, Better Days Ahead finds the Quebec-based singer-songwriter Kate Weekes exploring “the liminal space created by lockdowns and cancelled plans”. Given that Weekes’ song writing has typically been inspired by travel, Better Days Ahead required an entirely new way of writing, using internal cues to map a moment in time. Composing mainly in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec, Weekes found “the boreal forest and Canadian Shield were beautiful places to pass a challenging period.” Indeed, the wildly eclectic songs assembled on Better Days Ahead — which Weekes variously describes as “Appalachian-influenced murder-suicide ballads, anthemic folk-pop, whimsical instrumental waltzes,” and “moody, horse-riding cowboy meets British rock”— announce an artist fiercely unbound by musical convention yet precisely able to articulate her vision. BIO: All albums are travelogues of sorts, deep dives into foreign (sometimes familiar) worlds undertaken with little more than a guitar, a notebook, and an unquenchable desire to explore. Few artistic journeys have been as expansive as the one mounted by Kate Weekes as she assembled ‘Taken by Surprise’, recorded in 2019 with James Stephens in Chelsea, QC. This dazzling third solo album charts a tumultuous period in Weekes’s life; her first album to fearlessly chronicle not just the physical landscape around her but also the emotional one within. Now based in Wakefield, Quebec after nearly a decade spent immersed in the Yukon’s vibrant music scene, Weekes drew on an astonishing array of experiences including dog mushing-for-hire in Norway, touring China with a swing band, canoeing from Whitehorse to Dawson City and, notably, several intense personal relationships to write these by turns mournful and joyous songs. That unique backstory explains why a one-genre description simply cannot capture the album’s musical scope.

https://kateweekes.com/home

With their new album, “Inside These Walls”, the Salt Cellars have made a huge step forward on their road to establishing themselves as a major, must hear act. This conversation took place in April 2022, before the album release in August. I have long hoped to publish this talk with these talented musicians to Backstage. Take some time to get to know this incredible band.

The Salt Cellars come from the south side of Algonquin Park. The Salt Cellars are currently a 5-piece band made up of Virginia DeCarle (Lead Vocals and Harmonies), Rob Bersan (Lead Vocals and Harmonies, Guitars), Ron Kapitain (Harmonica, Accordion, Keyboards, Harmonium), Richard Joudrey (Bass guitar), Anne Wilde (Harmonies).

Virginia deCarle and Rob Bersan are the singer/songwriter foundation and in 2016, they formed the duo, ‘The Salt Cellars’. The two have also played music together in previous years with other musicians. Drawing from their love of Americana, Folk, Blues, Jazz, Reggae, Rock and pretty much any other music that tickled their ears, they have written an eclectic mix of songs over the years. After many years of writing individually they brought their lyrics and music to each other. They also write collaboratively and have played in many venues in different parts of Ontario (Rob in Sweden too), getting great feedback from audiences who attended their shows. People loved the tight harmonies and skilled musicianship.

In 2017, Ron Kapitain, consummate harmonica, accordion & keyboard player from the Maynooth area, joined the duo. In late 2017, the trio met Anax Junius Music Studio producer and JUNO winner, Richard Joudrey (Blue Peter/Rational Youth). Impressed by their originality, he was excited to begin production of their first CD entitled, ‘Truth’.

The band became a six piece, including Rick Joudrey on bass, Anne Wilde on backing vocals and Brendon Burgess on percussion and drums.

The new album “HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENTS” by Dominic Quarto is fresh music but with hints of nostalgia from the many artists that influenced him since he was a kid, like the Beatles, Aerosmith, Rick Nelson, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams III. This album is laced with touches of humor, great melodies and catchy lyrics while paired with a completely unique vocal style which all help make this a extremely well balanced collection of get off your chair tunes. “HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENTS” includes premier players like Doug Pettibone, Kenny Aronoff, Jorgen Carlsson from Govt Mule, Brent Harding from Social Distortion. Produced by Dave Jenkins (producer and co-writer, studied under Brian Wilson – produced Dolly Parton’s version of “Magic Man” with Howard Leese). Recorded the old fashioned way with stand up bass and vintage condenser microphones.

BIO - Matthew Barber is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter who has been plying his trade for two decades, releasing ten records and touring across four continents along the way. His work has garnered a couple of Juno nominations, a handful of Canadian Folk Music award nominations, and even a pair of Montreal English Theatre awards for his musical contributions in the world of the dramatic arts.

Most comfortable slinging an acoustic guitar and crooning to an attentive audience, Barber has been known to plug in and get sweaty in the din of a rock club as well from time to time. Like his heroes Neil Young and Bob Dylan, he feeds off of the contrast of intimate solo performance and electric band energy and this balance has been reflected in his body of work. From his early Paper Bag Records and Warner Music Canada days and continuing throughout his longstanding relationship with Outside Music, Barber’s album Ghost Notes has garnered millions of streams, was nominated for a Juno Award, with almost every track from the record licensed to both film and TV spots, including Hockey Night in Canada, Heartland, Gabriel’s Inferno and more.

As the road miles have accumulated, Barber’s live shows have leaned away from the raucous and more to the mellow side of things. In 2016 Matthew collaborated with his talented sister Jill Barber and the result was The Family Album and an extensive tour with three generations along for the ride. Many memorable tours happened before and after, including a 20-city tour of China, a couple of forays in Europe, several trips Down Under and countless miles on the trans-Canada highway.

2022 will see Barber releasing new music of his own for the first time since 2018’s Phase Of The Moon and he is very excited about it.

In this intimate and personal conversation David Myles takes us inside the making It’s Only a Little Loneliness, his fifteenth album release – a album of very special songs lyrically, thematically and beautifully performed and recorded.

Our most fundamental questions—about how to exist in this world we share, and how best to love the people we love—so often keep us awake at the end of the day, at a loss for answers. From the plaintive opening notes of David Myles’ It’s Only a Little Loneliness, the New Brunswick-based songwriter testifies that he’s no exception: “I could try to explain what goes on in my brain, but I’d have to pretend that I knew,” he sings on “Certain.” On his introspective 15th studio album, Myles establishes himself as a seeker—of paths, of new sonic expressions, of God. Concrete answers, however, elude him the same as they elude the rest of us. All of that seeking reveals one clear conclusion, though: we are bound to each other. “But it’s late at night, and I’m reaching for the light,” he continues over soft, arpeggiated guitar on the album’s opening track. “And I want to spend my whole life with you.”

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

David Libert had such a long and interesting career in the music business, his friends encouraged him to write a book about it…so he did.
The result is an autobiography 50-plus years in the making aptly entitled Rock and Roll Warrior, recently released on Sunset Blvd Books. It’s a chronicle of David’s inner circle life in the music industry as a popular international performer, singer/songwriter, tour manager, booking agent, producer, and drug dealer on the Sunset Strip. It’s a story so wild, so crazy, so over-the-top that it can only be true.

Rock and Roll Warrior is a unvarnished, no-holds-barred, stories of his life in the rock ‘n roll fast lane on the road, backstage, on private jets and inside notorious after-show parties with music legends in the era of free-spirit, hard driving rock ‘n’ roll and R&B. It’s life on the road in technicolor. A roller coaster ride peek behind the curtain at the good, the bad and the ugly in the music biz of years gone by.

The book is a riotous, humorous, intimate, provocative story of Libert’s life in music. He has absolutely no qualms about sharing stories of all aspects of his life that will amaze, titillate, impress, and endear him to those who read his fascinating life journey in music.

From his tenure as co-lead singer of 60s pop hitmakers, The Happenings, to his role as tour manager for Alice Cooper’s most legendary 70s tours, to managing funk/R&B legend George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic to eventually being imprisoned for dealing drugs in L.A.,

Bruce Cockburn: Kicking at the Darkness

Bruce Cockburn’s conversation with Douglas McLean covered his stellar career of over fifty years in the music industry . Recorded in February 08, 2022. For 50 years, this Canadian musical legend has been capturing in song the essence of human experience – while fiercely striving to make it better.“One of Canada’s finest artists, Bruce Cockburn has enjoyed an illustrious career shaped by politics, spirituality, and musical diversity. His remarkable journey has seen him embrace folk, jazz, rock, and worldbeat styles while travelling to such far-flung places as Guatemala, Mali, Mozambique, and Nepal, and writing memorable songs about his ever-expanding world of wonders. “My job,” he explains, “is to try and trap the spirit of things in the scratches of pen on paper and the pulling of notes out of metal.” That scratching and pulling has earned Cockburn high praise as an exceptional songwriter and a revered guitarist. His songs of romance, protest, and spiritual discovery are among the best to have emerged from Canada over the last 50 years. His guitar playing, both acoustic and electric, has placed him in the company of the world’s top instrumentalists. And he remains deeply respected for his activism on issues from native rights and land mines to the environment and Third World debt, working for organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Friends of the Earth. Throughout his career, Cockburn has deftly captured the joy, pain, fear, and faith of human experience in song. Whether singing about retreating to the country or going up against chaos, tackling imperialist lies or embracing ecclesiastical truths, he has always expressed a tough yet hopeful stance: to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight. “We can’t settle for things as they are,” he once warned. “If you don’t tackle the problems, they’re going to get worse.”