Winnipeg's New Festival (and a free sampler)

Via Library Voices comes word that Winnipeg's Better Swimmers have kicked off a new festival in that city. Pop! Et Cetera will run Oct. 7th to the 18th and will feature performances by Shout Out Out Out Out, vitaminsforyou, Young Galaxy, Library Voices and Bend Sinister amoung others. For a full list of who is playing when and where see the here.

They've also posted a free sampler with a few of the acts who will be playing including Oldfolks Home, Not Animals, Library Voices, Oromocto Diamond, Get Famous!, vitaminsforyou and LeBeato.

You can grab a copy of that at http://planetshhh.com/?p=958

Halifax Pop Explosion Lineup Announced

The full list of acts for the 2009 Halifax Pop Explosion have been announced. The 17th annual festival runs October 20-24, 2009 in Halifax.

Heading to Halifax from other parts of the country are:

The Acorn, Ancestors, Attack In Black, Barn Burner, Boys Who Say No, Brian Borcherdt, Bruce Peninsula, By Divine Right, Cadence Weapon, Carpenter, D-Sisive, Dan Mangan, Dance Electric, Dead Wife, Devil Eyes, Diemonds, Dinosaur Bones, Dinuk Wijeratne & Kinan Azmeh, Doug Hoyer, The Eddie Orso Band, The Elwins, Entire Cities, Ex~Po, Final Fantasy with Symphony Nova Scotia, Forest City Lovers, Fox Jaws, Grand Trine, Gravity Wave, Great Bloomers, Hannah Georges, Hot Panda, Japandroids, Jason Bajada, Julie Fader, Lake of Stew, Little Girls, The Magnificent Sevens, Maylee Todd, MSTRKRFT, Nadja, Off The International Radar, Oh No Forest Fires, Ohbijou, Old Folks Home, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, The Pack A.D, The Paint Movement, Play Guitar, Red Mass, Said The Whale, Slow Down, Molasses, Snailhouse, Sports, The Band, Straight Reads the Line, Think About Life, Thy Flesh Consumed, Timber Timbre, Valleys, Will Currie and the Country French, The Weather Station, You and Me, You Say Party, We Say Die, Yukon Blonde, and Zeus.

Then there are East Coast acts playing close to home:

A History Of, Bike Rodeo, Black Moor, Crissi Cochrane, The Danks, The Divorcees, DJ Double A, Dog Day, Dusty Keleher, The Fat Stupids, The First Aid Kit, Gamma Gamma Rays, The Gideons, The Got To Get Got, The Grass, Grassmarket, The Hemingways, Hopeful Monster, Husband & Knife, In This Style, Jenn Grant, Jenocide, Julie Doiron, The Just Barelys, Kestrels, Lovesinger, Mardeen, Maria Osende Flamenco Company, The Memories Attack, The Mighty Northumberland, Norma Macdonald, Poison Percy Rufus, The Prospectors' Union, Rich Aucoin, Scientists of Sound, Secret Colours, Sleepless Nights, Smothered In Hugs, The Stolen Minks, The Subtitles, Their Majesties, Thomas/Richard, Tomcat Combat, Two Hours Traffic, Uigg, We, the Undersigned, Y-Rush, and York Redoubt.

For a schedule of who is playing when and where visit http://www.halifaxpopexplosion.com/schedule.html or hit up halifaxpopexplosion.com for info on tickets and accomodation.

No Fest Lineup Announced

I wrote a bit about this a few weeks ago but the No Fest Peterborough's "completely free, entirely local music festival" is now almost ready to go. The shows start on Thursday night and things are shaping up like this:

Thursday August 27th – Sapphire Room

DJ Who & Special Guests 11:00 – 11:45
MC Soul Natural & Exploding Propaganda 10:00 – 10:45

Friday August 28th – Spill

Tarantula 12:30 – Close
Jill Staveley 11:30 – 12:15
The Blades 10:30 – 11:15
Gin & Sparrow 9:45: - 10:15
Dave Tough 9:00 – 9:30

+ DJ Twinkle- Fingerz

Friday August 28th – Blue Streak Records
Joe Hall 8:00 – 8:45
Trevor Davis 7:00 – 7:45

Saturday August 29th – Spill (Matinee)
Sorcerer 4:00 – 4:45
Wes Ryan 2:00 – 3:45

Saturday August 29th – Spill (Evening)

The Burning Hell 12:30 - close
Candle Cave Ensemble Part II 11:30 – 12:15
Drea 10:45 – 11:15
Fire Flower Revue 10:00 – 10:30
Ben Rough 9:15 – 9:45

+ DJ GO GO GHOUL

Saturday August 29th – Pig’s Ear Tavern

The Prize Winners 11:00 – 11:45
Gone River 10:00 – 10:45

No Fest: Peterborough Aug. 27 - 29

Just in case you need one more festival before Fall happens Nick Ferrio and Mike Twinkle-Fingers Duguay have just announced "NO fest: a completely free, entirely local music festival in downtown Peterborough, August 27 - 29, 2009." The festival will feature - The Burning Hell, Joe Hall, The Diplomats, Jill Staveley, Sun Ra Ra Ra, Candle Cave Ensemble pt ii, Rippin' Donnies, Trevor Davis, Gin & Sparrow, Charming Ruins, The Blades, Ben Rough, Fire Flower Revue, The Prize Winners, Gone River, Sean Conway, Sorcerer, Wes Ryan, Tarantula and others. To keep up to date on the latest additions and get full show times and locations just click Maybe or better on the Facebook Event Page!

Home County Folk Festival, a rousing success!

Home County Folk Festival, has been a part of Southwestern Ontario for 36 summers in London. Where other events have come and gone, Home County has continued to offer a weekend of FREE music and arts, taking over Victoria Park attracting upwards of 150,000 fans over the course of the weekend.

When the list of performers was released this year, the festival served notice that it was taking a step forward, looking to become a must-do event like for the next generation of artists and music fans. With 2009 Polaris Prize shortlist nominees Elliott Brood & Joel Plaskett; 2008 & 2009 (respectively) Juno nominated siblings Jill & Matthew Barber; perennial surfpunk faves, The Sadies; and, then Danny Michel, Home County is certain to be a dot Canadian Indie festival radar.

The concert highlights…
Joel Plaskett (solo) / Peter Elkas

The Aeolian Hall | 7.16.09
The festival kicked off at The Aeolian Hall. Having sold out a 9:00pm show quickly, a second, show was added. Peter Elkas took the stage for a short set and then Plaskett took over at 6:30 and 9:00pm solo – enlisting Elkas for help on many songs. Elkas took advantage of the hall’s grand piano and both he and Plaskett showcased one of Canada’s top ranked venues for acoustics. Plaskett’s night had no setlist, playing songs the audience’s called out. In the end, fans – many who paid to see both shows – were treated to four plus hours of music.

Jill Barber

Victoria Park - Mainstage | 7.17.09
The festival proper, got into gear Friday afternoon at the park. The crown jewel this year was the show closer on the first night. Juno nominated and ECMA award winning Jill Barber performed a free concert in the park’s bandshell. Barber’s music is a love note to a bygone era, and seeing her play the bandshell, under a starlit summer night was poetic. She encouraged dancing, and as one longtime festival going couple commented, "this is the most people we’ve ever seen dancing at the main stage". Barber delighted fans both young and old, and judging by lineup to meet her after the show and get a copy of the CD signed, had made many new fans.

The Sadies

The Aeolian Hall | 7.17.09
One of the troubles with festivals, is that often performers you want to see will be playing at the same time. Friday night pitted The Sadies – part of the late night series of shows at The Aeolian Hall – while Jill Barber was playing downtown. As any Sadies fan knows, they aim to please, and they do not leave the stage till the crowd has had their fill. With Barber’s set in the rearview mirror, there was plenty of the Sadies still to be had. Dallas, Travis and company treated a packed Aeolian Hall to the gamut of their material including their patented fretboard tradeoff. Their show brought an interesting juxtaposition of punk and energy in a hall that was constructed to house classical concerts. A real treat in the old lady.

Matthew Barber / Elliott Brood

The Aeolian Hall | 7.18.09
The elder Barber in the pair of musically (and visually) stunning siblings, also was part of the Home County late night concert series. Barber, now knee deep, working on the material of his fifth album, took the time to feature some of the new songs, as well as favourites from previous albums. Like his sister, he shares an ability for hilarious between-song conversation.

Elliott Brood batted clean up on the night, with their legendary energetic live show. They encouraged people to leave their seats and the resulting energy virally filled the hall. True to reputation, the Brood finished the night with their trademark ‘pan-core’ in which the band hands out dollar store baking sheets and wooden spoons, enlisting anyone who wishes to add to the ‘ambience’ of the song by banging on the cookware with the spoons. Where the night started with the gentle tones of Barber, it ended loud and spent with Elliott Brood.

The workshop highlights…
A common facet of folk festivals that makes them so attractive is the workshops, song circles or ‘singers in the round’. Artists are put together, who don’t normally share a stage, given a theme, and then encouraged to approach that theme in song. Home County did not disappoint in this respect.

Truth & Beauty hosted Jill Barber who was flanked by The Good Lovelies and Emma-Lee put five women on the stage, each with a wonderful voice in their own right, while they explored songs that did not necessarily lie, as Good Lovelies said, but certainly were beautiful.

The Art of Song Production was led by Danny Michel. The Sadies and Matt Barber filled out the workshop stage. The session had a decidedly more electric sound ranging somewhere between electric Dylan and Folsom Prison Cash. It was exciting to see the artists interact so fluidly.

Heartaches and Hardknocks appropriately had Matt Barber leading, Luke Nares and Fraser. A late add to the workshop, was Elliott Brood. While both Barber and the Brood were well known, Nares and Fraser were fresh faces. Fraser had a very Timber Timbre feel to his songs, and Nares’ self proclaimed mellow-choly softened the energy quite nicely.

The highlight of You’re Never Too Old to be a Fool in Love hosted Jory Nash was the tossup between Nash’s story telling and the very unique sound and stage presence of Little Miss Higgins. Danny Michel and Jill Barber also in this workshop proved that love was a topic that transcended age, and served up a gamut of song inspiration.

The epilogue…
In the end, the festival ran from Thursday night till Sunday evening, and it was an epic success no matter how you look at it – It had so much for everyone. The fans that have been attending this from year one, all the way up to the new fans attracted by the next generation of music that played such a large part of the weekend, had more than their share of things to do and see this weekend. You couldn’t do it all, but you certainly could think about how great next year is going to be, before this year’s festival had even completed.

For a pictorial recap of the weekend, see my pictorial recap here.

Dawson City Music Fest: The Preview

So in just under a week's time the greatness that is the Dawson City Music Festival will take place. Being a resident Yukoner it has been my pleasure to partake in this festival on more than one occasion and each time has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Dawson City has what I will call the 500 kilometer appeal, now this rule of appeal can be adjusted depending on your distance from the place, but as I'm in Whitehorse and Dawson is about 500 km north of me its what I'm going to call it.

Firstly there is the weather, I know it poured rain last year but that was an anomaly, el nino or something, for the most part the weather is amazing. High 20's the entire weekend and sun all day and night. Where else in the country can you travel north for hotter weather. This summer has been a great one for the Yukon and we can proudly boast to being the hottest place in Canada on more than a few days this year.

Secondly there is the famed midnight sun. Now by the end of July darkness is slowly creeping into our nights down in Whitehorse, but 500 km's north in Dawson, the nights are still bright and warm. Its like getting an extension on a term paper, those bright summer nights lingering for a few more days. There is nothing better than going into the Palace Grand for the Radio 3 showcase, getting out at 10 or 11 and then putting your sunglasses back on as you trek to the beer gardens. Then as 2 am rolls around and things are closing up you grab that sixer you left in your car and head for a friend's campsite to keep the night going, just tell yourself you'll go to bed when it gets dark and see how it works out.

Thirdly there is the drive. Now you can fly into Dawson and many do, it is much shorter and a lot more convenient, but the drive from Whitehorse to Dawson should be experienced at least once. If you're driving in from elsewhere in the country then you might groan at the thought of another 5+ hours tacked on but here's what I suggest. If you can, arrive in Whitehorse a day or two early, camp or grab a room in town(you can stay in my yard if you need to), recover, enjoy the city, and grab some supplies for the weekend(things in Dawson are a little more pricey than Whitehorse). Then the next day get an early start, or a late one its not like its going to get dark, and head north. An experienced Yukoner can do the drive in about 5 hours, I believe the exact distance is 480km. Sections of the road are unpaved and this can make for some dusty periods if the weather is dry. There are plenty of stops to make too: just under an hour outside of Whitehorse is the Braeburn lodge, stop here to grab some humongous cinnamon buns, then just outside of Carmacks (another hour or two down the road) you'll see the five finger rapids. There's a great pullout here with a spectacular view so snap some shots while you can. You can gas up in Carmacks or wait another hour for Pelly Crossing. You'll also pass by Moose Creek Lodge on the highway and if they're open you can grab a Also watch your speed in between the two communities, the cops are awake festival weekend and checkstops have been known to happen. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife as well as they like to roam alongside and on the highway. Umm I think that's all I can think of for the drive, as you can tell I'm a big proponent of it and would definitely count it as part of the festival experience.

Alright so on to the music, this is a music blog after all and you want to know who's playing. Dawson has another stellar line up this year which includes: Chad Van Gaalen, The Acorn, Coeur de Pirate, Johnny and the Moon, Sunset Rubdown, Luke Doucet, Eekwol and Mils, Lana Rae, Triple Forte, Melissa McClelland, The Handsome Family, Alma de Espana, Gadji Gadjo, SoCalled, Iskwew, Mother Mother, Crash the Car, Katie Moore, Elena Yeung, Headwater, and Bend Sinister. I've had the chance to catch Chad Van Gaalen and Bend Sinister in concert before and I'm looking forward to seeing them again, but as you can see they are only a fraction of the talent performing at this festival and I can't wait to see everybody else. The stages in Dawson range from a waterfront gazebo, to your customary festival tent, to the much lauded Palace Grand which you have to see to believe.

So come one come all to Dawson City, home of the Klondike Gold Rush and the best little festival in Canada. If you're in Whitehorse on Thursday, stop by the MacBride Museum to say hi or ask for a ride, otherwise track me down in Dawson it would be great to see you there!

Lucas

Surrey Fusion Festival

If you're a Vancouverite who' s not headed out to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival next weekend (July 17-19) because of the hefty festival pricing, consider heading out to the Surrey Fusion Festival in the 'burbs on that same weekend.

Now why would you want to head out all the way to the former Car Theft Capital of North America, you may ask? The following is a highlight of the artists you can see for free

July 18th:

JOEL PLASKETT & THE EMERGENCY 9:00 pm
BARNEY BENTALL & THE GRAND CARIBOO OPRY 8:00 pm
SAID THE WHALE 7:00 pm

July 19th:

ALEX CUBA 8:00 pm

JON AND ROY 6:00 pm

You can see the full line-up here. Did I mention that it's free?

They say that good things come to those who wait. For me, who is not willing to miss out on a performance by Basia Bulat at the VFMF, I'll be racing from Jericho Beach all the way to Holland Park, just in time for Said The Whale's set. See you there!

Rifflandia Music Fest Earlybird Wristbands and Lineup Announced!

So last year Victoria got a new music festival, it went by the name of Rifflandia and it rocked. I unfortunately did not get to go as I decided to enjoy the Yukon for a few extra days before it was back to school. This year however I fully intend on enjoying what will no doubt be a stellar festival full of fantastic talent. The festival will run September 24 - 27th and will feature the mad skillz of Tegan & Sara, Holy Fuck, Buck 65, Mother Mother, Champion, Final Fantasy, Beach House, Shad, Pink Mountaintops, and Mt. Saint Helens Vietnam Band(I hope all those links work, they took way too long to do) with more names to be announced on July 15th. Right now a limited quantity of earlybird wristbands have been released and will be available till July 14th. Wristbands will run you about 50 bucks including fees and are totally worth it. They'll get you into every venue as well as some bonus perks. Also Rifflandabrau will be brewed once again for your enjoyment and some special "twists" like the Rifflandia Drama Club and as well as an official festival magazine/guide book to be released in mid August.

And that's not all, Rifflandia is being held as a sister event to Transmission, an international music conference for all the movers and shakers of the industry. It looks to be pretty interesting and hopefully I'll be able to grab an invite for that so I can let you know what its all about.

All in all it looks like a pretty darn exciting weekend in Victoria. For more info you can check out the Rifflandia site here and the Transmission site here.

Fun in the Midnight Sun

I'm not sure how many readers we have out there that call anywhere North of 60 home, but there's a summer full of fun going on in the Yukon. Coming up this weekend is the 4th Annual Sunstroke Music Festival, a friday and saturday night full of fantastic tunage all part of the weekend's bigger Solstice Festival. Sunstroke has grown over the years from a one night event that ran out of beer too early to a festival bringing in some killer local talent as well as some from "down south" too. The bands this year include, Nemisis, Death in Venice, the Whiskeydicks, Nicole Edwards, Lana Rae, Sasquatch Prom Date, Gordie Tentrees Band, Sophisticated Cavemen, Fishhead Stew, and Pegasus Wing. Rounding out the lineup from out of down is Johnny Cajun, Andrea Ramolo, and part of our NXEW family, the Pack A.D. An excellent line up if I do say so myself, and it is awesome to see some bands heading up north for something other than the Dawson City Music Fest.

As well it is definitely worth mentioning that this festival is a major fundraiser for Humane Society Yukon and the $20 you pay to get in will help keep the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter running another year. So if you're in Whitehorse this weekend come on out to Shipyards Park starting noon on Friday and enjoy the block rockin beats under the midnight sun.

FozzyFest Celebrates 5th Year

FozzyFest, an all weekend DJ/music camping extravaganza, returns this year for it's fifth celebration and organizers expect it to be their biggest year yet.

Started in 2005 as a birthday celebration for Shawn Lafluer (a.k.a. Fozzy) by his friends, the group rented DJ equipment and invited a whole bunch of people to join them. The outing was such a success, they decided to expand the invite list the following year and focus the celebrations around Canada Day. They began charging a small fee to recoup the costs of equipment rental but have always maintained that this is a not-for-profit, all-for-fun event. In fact, the group began donating a portion of the money collected to the Heart & Stroke Foundation last year.

This year's event will not only feature plenty of DJs spinning various kinds of music on both nights (June 26th and 27th, 2009) but they've expanded to two stages and will feature live music as well...

VISIT OFF THE DIAL FOR THE FULL ARTICLE!

Weakerthans Tour Dates

Just got an email from the Weakerthans mailing list. Not much to add to it so I'm reposting it basically as is (Civil Twilight video tacked on to make the post sound better)!

*The Weakerthans - Tour dates.*
The Weakerthans will be performing through out the United States this summer and fall. Full tour dates are being announced on our site as they are confirmed. While we’re at it, we will playing a couple of Canadian shows as well: in July, we are starting in Western Canada with a performance at the Vancouver Folk Festival, then heading down the West coast of the USA. Later in the year we will be playing at various stops across the Mid-West and North East USA.

Here are the concerts dates so far:
July
7/17 Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Folk Festival
7/18 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's
7/20 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
7/21 San Louis Obispo, CA @ The Downtown Brew
7/22 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
7/23 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
7/24 Eugene, OR @ WOW
7/25 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
7/26 Nelson, BC @ Spirit Bar

September
9/15 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
9/16 Boston, MA @ Paradise
9/17 Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Music Hall
9/18 NYC, NY @ Bowery Ball Room
9/19 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
9/20 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
9/22 TBA
9/23 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
9/24 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
9/25 Chicago,IL @ Bottom Lounge
9/26 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
9/27 Madison, WS @ High Noon
9/28 Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Lounge

*Itunes Session.*
The Weakerthans will be releasing their recent Itunes recording session, tracked while we were on our Rolling Tundra Revue Canadian Tour at Metal Works in Mississauga, ON. Keep an eye on your iTunes home page it will be released June 30th, 2009.

*Thanks.*
Thanks to all those who came out to Rolling Tundra Revue 2009 Canadian Tour concerts. We hope you all had as much fun as we did.

The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight

Hillside Lineup Announced

Thanks to CBC Radio 3 for the heads up. This year's Hillside lineup has been announced. Hillside takes place on Guelph's Lake Island, July 24-26. This year's bill goes:

• Ariana Gillis


• The Arkells


• Attack in Black


• Bahamas


• Birthday


• Bruce Peninsula


• Buffy Sainte Marie (Saturday)


• C.R. Avery


• Coeur de Pirate  


• Dala


• Dancehall Free For All


• Dave Bidini


• David Francey (Sunday)


• David Martel


• Delhi 2 Dublin


• Donovan Woods


• Eccodek


• Emma Lee


• Final Fantasy


• FRED


• Frozen Gloves


• Gentleman Reg


• Great Lake Swimmers


• Grupo Fantasma (Saturday)


• Gurpreet (The Tabla Guy)


• Hey Rosetta (Sunday)


• Holy Fuck


• Holy Rosary


• Issa


• Jah Youssouf & Woodchoppers Association (Sunday)


• Jayme Stone & Mansa Sissoko


• Julie Doiron


• Kate Reid


• Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle (Sunday)


• Kid Coma


• Kristin Sweetland  


• Ladies of the Canyon


• Lindi Ortega


• Loreena McKennitt (Friday)


• Los Misioneros del Norte (Sunday)


• Mishka


• Notre Dame de Grass  


• Ohbijou


• Patrick Watson


• Pilot Speed


• Rock Plaza Central


• The Rural Alberta Advantage


• Skydiggers


• Timbre Timbre


• Tokyo Police Club


• Treasa Levasseur  


• USS


• The Waking Eyes


• WOMEN


• Woodhands


• Xavier Rudd (Friday)


• Zaki Ibrahim

Ottawa Bluesfest Lineup Announced

Trendwhore has the lineup for this year's Ottawa Blues Fest. It is a long, long list but it includes Andrew Vincent, the Arkells, Beast, Blue Rodeo, Crystal Castles, Flecton Big Sky, Handson Furs, Hey Rosetta, Hollerado, Holy Fuck, the Human Statues, Jenn Grant, Jill Barber, K.D. Lang, Land of Talk, Library Voices, Meridith Luce, Mother Mother, Neko Case, Sam Roberts Band, Sky Diggers, Sunparlour Players, the Stills, United and Steelworkers of Montreal!

A full list is available here or at the Ottawa Blues Fest site which also has the full schedule (by stage etc.)

Luke Doucet Blood's Too Rich Ottawa Bluesfest 08

Regina Folk Festival 40th Anniversary Lineup

Chartattack has the goods on the 40th Anniversary Edition of the Regina Folk Festival. This year's (pretty f'ing amazing) lineup includes: Iron And Wine, K-OS, Corb Lund,
The Wailers, Bedouin Soundclash, Connie Kaldor, Loudon Wainwright III, Socalled, Plants And Animals, Chic Gamine, Pacifika, Daby Toure, Delhi 2 Dublin, Chad VanGaalen, Basia Bulat, LAL, Mark Berube And The Patriotic Few, Ghost Bees, Royal Wood, The Deep Dark Woods, Andy Shauf, No Luck Club, Meredith Jordan, The Good Lovelies, Folle Avoine, and The Fabulous Song.
If you're heading Regina way, you can grab tickets here.

R3TV at Reginat Folk Festival #39