WINTERFOLK XVI PREVIEW & BENEFIT @ HUGH’S ROOM, TORONTO January 21, 2018 Last year, Hugh’s Room announced it was closing its doors. Like many fans, I waited with bated breath, sorry to see yet another beloved Toronto venue cease to [...]
Dolly Parton I Believe In You Sony Music It’s been 50 years since Dolly Parton released her first album. Since then, she has gone through many incarnations. I am not just referring to innumerable changes in wigs and rhinestone-clad dresses, or [...]
Aerialists Group Manoeuvre Fiddlehead Records This past summer, I saw Aerialists perform for the first time, watching as they took the stage at Guelph’s Hillside Festival. I was immediately struck by their arresting stage presence and apt [...]
Murder Murder @ Monarch Tavern, Toronto September 16, 2017 Alt-Bluegrass band Murder Murder hit the stage at the Monarch Tavern on Saturday night as part of their ongoing album release tour for Wicked Lines & Veins. They were introduced by [...]
Kacy & Clayton The Siren’s Song New West Records Second cousins Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum seem like they’re part of a bygone era. It’s not just their retro cover art, the disco-ball cuts in music videos, or their dreamy [...]
SECOND MUSIC MURAL OVER DOWNTOWN YONGE August 17, 2017 @ McGill Parkette, Toronto A little under a year ago, a crowd gathered at Granby Parkette for the unveiling of a towering fresco commemorating the musical legacy of 1950’s and ‘60s Toronto. [...]
Jerry Leger @ The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto August 9, 2017 Jerry Leger took the middle set at the Horseshoe Tavern tonight, performing a series of songs from his catalogue, including his latest release: Nonsense and Heartache. The iconic Toronto [...]
Gordon Lightfoot @ Rose Theatre, Brampton July 20, 2017 “I’m Gordon Lightfoot and the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Seventy-eight-year old Can-Con icon Gordon Lightfoot borrowed Mark Twain’s famous line to introduce himself [...]
Catherine MacLellan If It’s Alright With You: The Songs Of Gene MacLellan True North Records Folk singer/songwriter Catherine MacLellan’s latest release is a personal, reflective homage to the work of her late father, Gene MacLellan, a man [...]
Julie Chadwick – The Man Who Carried Cash: Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash, And The Making Of An American Icon Dundurn Books – May 27, 2017 ISBN – 978-1459737235 Book Review By Elizabeth Andrews In his book Chronicles, Vol. One, Bob Dylan [...]
Allison Pierce Year Of The Rabbit Sony Music Masterworks After two decades recording and performing with her sister Catherine as The Pierces, Allison Pierce ventures into new musical territory with her solo debut, Year of the Rabbit. Produced by [...]
Peter Cooper – Johnny’s Cash And Charley’s Pride: Lasting Legends And Untold Adventures In Country Music Spring House Press – April 25, 2017 ISBN – 978-1-940-61170-9 Book Review By Elizabeth Andrews In his foreword to Johnny’s Cash [...]
Steph Cameron Daybreak Over Jackson Street Pheromone Recordings Steph Cameron made waves with her debut record Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady (2014), an effort that garnered its fair share of acclaim and rave reviews. Her sophomore release, Daybreak [...]
Union Duke @ Tranzac Club, Toronto April 1, 2017 During a bluegrass show in the front lounge of the Tranzac, I once saw the grim reaper nonchalantly pass by the glass doors on his way to the main stage. Not as strange as it sounds. The venue [...]
Jerry Leger Nonsense And Heartache Latent Recordings Jerry Leger’s Nonsense and Heartache navigates multiple terrains with confidence and flare. Two records combined, the striking duality of the album features the textures of a bold, bluesy [...]
Gold Star Big Blue Autumn Tone Records Gold Star, aka Marlon Rabenreither, follows up his full-length album Dark Days (2015) with his latest release, Big Blue. The title is a nod to the ramshackle Hollywood home where he produced and recorded [...]
Folk Fights Back Toronto @ Tranzac Club, Toronto March 21, 2017 Earlier this week, on Brunswick avenue at the Tranzac Club, Folk Fights Back Toronto had its second event. The musician-led organization has launched a series of shows across North [...]
Shelby Earl The Man Who Made Himself A Name Nine Mile Records Shelby Earl’s new record, The Man Who Made Himself a Name, offers a slight deviation from the brooding, guitar-centric tendencies of her first two albums, Burn the Boots (2011) and [...]
Holly Macve Golden Eagle Bella Union It’s hard to believe Holly Macve’s Golden Eagle is a debut album. Originally from Galway, Ireland, the 21-year-old singer songwriter exudes the confidence and control you’d expect from a veteran performer. [...]
Leif Vollebekk Twin Solitude Secret City Records Four years since North Americana, Leif Vollebekk returns with his latest release and third record, Twin Solitude. The songs explore both interior and exterior aloneness, images of physical [...]
Saw Black Azalea Days Crystal Pistol Records Azalea Days was recorded in a basement studio on a temperamental 8-track tape machine. The title of Saw Black’s debut album denotes visions of azaleas, the flowering shrubs whose blooms erupt in [...]
BARING IT ALL AN INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA RAMOLO Andrea Ramolo’s third solo album invites listeners into the raw realities of the post-breakup experience. That said, it would be limiting to label the record simply as an anthem to heartbreak. NUDA [...]
WHISKEY AND REAR VIEW MIRRORS AN INTERVIEW WITH JOEY LANDRETH Joey Landreth has taken on many musical incarnations over the years. He started out as a gifted guitarist and side man, touring and tackling genres from gospel to country. At [...]
“DIRTY” DREAMS AND THE WILDERNESS OF FINDING HOME AN INTERVIEW WITH ABIGAIL LAPELL Abigail Lapell follows the dreamy DIY textures of her 2011 album, Great Survivor, with her sophomore release Hide Nor Hair, recorded in Toronto’s Union Sound, and [...]
