Monthly Archives: October 2021

Feature

Shane Cook has teamed up with some impressive partners for ...

There’s a certain magic that happens when musicians get together to play songs or tunes, and right away they’re on the same wavelength. They don’t even have to have the same music background; they just “get” each other. When they ...
Concert review

 Muhtadi International Drumming Festival – Oct. 17 at Wychwood Barns, ...

Rick Lazar & Samba Squad At Toronto’s Wychwood Barns this last Sunday, bright sunshine and scores of percussion stars turned out to appreciate and show sincere admiration for the cultural contributions of drummer, teacher and activist Muhtadi Thomas. His annual ...
Album review

David Wiffen – Live at the Bunkhouse

According to their website, Mapache Records is a “Barcelona-based record label that reissues long-time lost albums that blow your mind.” I can’t vouch for the mind-blowing quality of their entire catalogue but one recent reissue of real interest to Canadian ...
Feature

Sina Bathaie’s new album mixes santur and electronica

Sina Bathaie first started learning Santur in his native Iran at the age of seven from his father, master Javad Bathaie. He has taken the instrument places few musicians have gone with it before. His latest album, Oracle, is a ...
News

Howard Gladstone releases ‘The World’s Become A Warmer Place’ from ...

Toronto-based contemporary folk-rocker Howard Gladstone has released his new hybrid folk album, Concord Sessions, that holds a disarming mirror up to human nature.  Singles “Building A Fence” and “The World’s Become A Warmer Place” are also available now. In the ...
Feature

Ah those small-town turkey dinners

I’ve been engaged to provide half an hour of after-dinner entertainment for the 80 or so employees and family members of a local farm equipment machinery dealer. (No gig is too small or obscure for me to accept!) The wingding ...
News

Check out these two songs from Yellowknife artist Carmen Braden’s ...

Sylvia Siemens first introduced us to Carmen Braden two years ago on Roots Music Canada, and we’re thrilled to hear she has a new album coming out. Study after study has shown that women have borne the brunt of stresses ...
Feature

John Wort Hannam on losing his father, losing his voice ...

The expression “Stop and smell the roses” has always been used as a way to re-evaluate our lives and our priorities. But as life gets faster each year with increasing technological changes, it’s harder to do that. Many times, what’s ...
Feature

Watch Caroline Wiles cover Gordon Lightfoot

Caroline Wiles’ new album Grateful is packed with the poetic lyricism and Canadian sound of her hero, Gordon Lightfoot. In fact, Gord himself has kindly complimented Grateful, saying that it’s got “a lot of really strong material, wonderful vocals and harmonies.” Fittingly, Caroline’s ...
Feature

Jan Vanderhorst has published a book featuring his stories from ...

If you read Roots Music Canada on a regular basis, you’ll recognize Jan Vanderhorst’s name. He regularly interviews artists for his online radio show, Just Us Folk, then turns those interviews into features for us here at the website. In ...