Lillian Wauthier has been running her east end folk club, Acoustic Harvest, out of the basement of St. Nicholas Anglican Church in Toronto (previously at Birchcliff Bluffs United Church) for some 20 years (with thanks to the late, great Rick Fielding). A monthly mecca for quality roots performances, Lillian has long promoted a wide-ranging Who’s [...]
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Despite its seemingly negative-sounding title — No One Will Remember You — and somewhat sombre graphics, David Newberry’s second album’s contents are surprisingly uplifting, if not altogether thrilling. Newberry — a Vancouverite (by way of Ontario) — carries a very distinctive new voice onto the playing field, having distinguished himself through the writing and arranging [...]
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Al Lerman did exactly as he sings — he moved out into the woods, but for different reasons than the protagonist in the song “Suitcase Blues”. His album Crowe River Blues is largely the by-product of this move — the cover art reflecting the wondrous change-of-life that moving from city to country can bring. Al [...]
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Oh, you know the old joke: “How can you tell if there’s a banjo player at your door”? “They can’t find the key, the knocking speeds up, and they don’t know when to come in.” There’s a million jokes like that — as Chris Quinn admitted from the stage “it’s a tambourine on a stick” [...]
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Fiddle people get it. Most of them know who she is because of the voice she’s attempting to establish. And, given the success of American counterparts like Alison Krauss, you’d think Ottawa native April Verch – some 8 years Krauss’ junior – would be perfectly poised for her share of all the attention. She certainly appears [...]
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With our population of some 35 million potential blues lovers — you couldn’t find an audience more ripe or receptive to the blues. Problem is — as everyone who lives here knows — this huge country’s tiny population is spread across some 3,855,103 mi² of turf, which too often proves unfriendly to touring musicians. Many [...]
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Goodness gracious this is rich! For anyone who may occasionally fall into the trap of thinking Canadian talent plays second fiddle to anybody, Rob Lutes & Rob MacDonald’s LIVE will have your flag flapping in its proper place. Both players have been around (immediately obvious after the first few notes — chops like these are [...]
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Originally billed as “3 East Coast Ladies, 1 Night”, a cold, wet Tuesday night was soon transformed into a cross-Canada kitchen party at the Free Times Cafe, with the help of two added performers: Nicole Byblow (Toronto via Winnipeg) and Keith & Renée (Winnipeg). Opening the show, Nicole Byblow delivered songs all by her lonesome, [...]
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The artful pairing of one of the world’s greatest musical performers with the superb acoustics of singer-songwriter-friendly Koerner Hall was a stroke of genius – it really doesn’t get any better than this. Likewise, the abilities of one man to still a crowd and mesmerize them with his 42-year’s worth of contributions to modern music, [...]
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Adrian Legg, Lulo Reinhardt, Marco Pereira and Brian Gore We know you’re out there…..guitar freaks of all natures. It’s the instrument you dream of playing or already play. It’s also the showpiece instrument of many a band and one that, depending on the calibre of the player, gets the lion’s share of the attention. Not [...]
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