For artists: How to play a workshop stage at ...
Artists outside of Canada may not be familiar with the workshop stage found at most Canadian folk festivals. For the uninitiated, workshops sound like you’ll be expected to teach. However, that is not at all the case! In my years ...
The art of crafting: Jane Eamon reflects on how living ...
Sometimes it’s hard to be creative. Sometimes it’s even harder to stay focused and on point. Sometimes the muse is just not listening. And sometimes I feel like giving up. But….. It’s normal. It’s very normal. The self-doubts, the ...
The great search: on the addiction to collecting guitars
“She didn’t look like too much Just a Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe But a lady has never fared as well Who traveled through so much.” -Jerry Jeff Walker Over the past few weeks, I have been blessed with the postings ...
Every song’s a story
About seven (almost eight) years ago, I put on a quick one-day workshop on songwriting. It was called ‘Writing YOUR Songs,’ and I held it at the charming Glen Williams Town Hall in Glen Williams, ON. That’s the historic little ...
Cheering So Loud: life lessons and indie music in the ...
Water, ball, shin guards – check. Racing to my daughter’s soccer practice, I’m humming our new songs, playing demos on my phone through the car speakers, scared I’ll forget the new parts, the lyrics, the chords. It’s Thursday night, rehearsal ...
The way forward through the pandemic
It has been seven months since we shuttered our world from the onslaught of this virus, closing concert halls, bars, theatres and places for live music. We bravely signed into Facebook and Instagram, Zoom and YouTube to connect in any ...
6 takeaways for roots and world artists from the Roots ...
Today is an exciting day here at Roots Music Canada. It’s the day we uncover the results of our first ever fan survey aimed at helping artists plan the coming months in an era of almost no live music. We ...
Covid collabs: thoughts on working with other musicians in isolation
I started playing in bands over 30 years ago, and it’s been my privilege to play with many talented folks (including original Roots Music Canada co-founder David Newland, in the acoustic 80s band The McFlies) I love collaborating with other ...
The brave new world: Shari Ulrich’s lessons in performing online
Yes, we’re all having to figure out how to share our musical offerings with our audience and the world from our homes. When this weird chapter first began, I frankly reveled in the rare opportunity to stay home and putter ...
Streaming concerts: a technical how-to, courtesy of Folk Alliance ...
At its first webinar on streaming concerts back in mid-April, Folk Alliance International promised a follow-up event focused expressly on the technical side of online shows. It delivered on April 28 with an event featuring artist Stephen Kellog, Lee Totten ...