Archived (83)
Three-time Grammy Award recipient and 11-time Grammy nominee Steve Earle is a cornerstone artist of Americana music. He has turned many musical corners during his illustrious career. He has been equally acclaimed as a folk troubadour, a rockabilly raver, a contemplative bluesman, a honky-tonk rounder, a snarling rocker and even a bluegrass practitioner. One of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of his generation, he has released twenty albums - a number of them were as Steve Earle and the Dukes, one was Colvin and Earle, another was Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band, etc.
Earle has collaborated on recordings with such superb talents as Sheryl Crow, The Indigo Girls, The Pogues, Lucinda Williams Shawn Colvin, Patti Smith, Chris Hillman, The Fairfield Four and The Del McCoury Band. His songs have been used in more than fifty films and have been recorded by such legends as Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, and Joan Baez, Carl Perkins, Vince Gill and Waylon Jennings.
He has created such successes as “When You Fall in Love,” “Guitar Town,” “Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left,” “A Far Cry From You,” “Copperhead Road,” and “Nowhere Road.” During his four-decade career, Earle has also become a novelist, a film, TV and stage actor, a playwright, a short story author, a record producer and a radio host.
His new Warner Bros. Records album, So You Wannabe an Outlaw, explores his country songwriting roots and includes collaborations with Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush and Miranda Lambert.
So You Want To Be An Outlaw is dedicated to Waylon Jennings, who died in 2002. The deluxe CD and the vinyl version of the album include Earle’s remakes of the timeless Waylon Jennings anthem “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” as well as Billy Joe Shaver’s “Ain’t No God in Mexico,” which Jennings popularized as well as Earle’s versions of “Sister’s Coming Home” and “The Local Memory,” songs that first appeared on Willie Nelson discs. Nelson is his duet partner on the new album’s title track.
Earle is backed on the new album and on tour by his long time band The Dukes (guitarist Chris Masterson, fiddle player Eleanor Whitmore, bassist Kelly Looney, and new members drummer Brad Pemberton and pedal steel player Ricky Ray Jackson.
FourTune is a 4-part male a cappella group consisting of Neil Rask (Lead), Andrew Burr (Bass), Robbin Zrudlo (Tenor), and Fraser Gordon (Baritone).
FourTune formed as a quartet as part of the Capital City Chorus' Singing Valentines program, serenading people around Ottawa and Gatineau.
In 2016, FourTune registered for the Fall Contest of the Ontario District of the Barbershop Harmony Society, finishing in 9th place overall.
Head over Heels is an acoustic guitar/vocal duo from the Kingston, Ontario area. Veteran singer-songwriter-guitarist Kevin Head and vocalist Vanessa Burnett, perform a diverse mix of original music and interpreted covers of folk, jazz, classic rock and contemporary tunes. Their musicianship, engaging and playful onstage rapport, has endeared them to many audiences in Eastern Ontario.
Kingston's Kevin Head is an accomplished singer, songwriter, musical director and actor. Formerly from Nova Scotia, where he still has close ties, and once called "The Original Salt Cod Cowboy", Kevin toured extensively throughout the Maritimes with bands, theatre troupes and as a solo performer/singer, songwriter.
He has performed in shows with Valdy, Charlie Major, The Rankins, Gowan, opened a cross-Canada tour for Chris DeBurgh, acted on stage with the late Denny Doherty, and over the years has had lovely musical contributions on his recordings from Ken Pearson ( Janis Joplin, Bruce Cockburn), Willie P Bennett, and Kate McGarrigle.
Groovy grunge rockers JOSEPHINE LEΦNE have been tearing up the stages of their Ottawa hometown since 2015. Within weeks of meeting, they played their first show and have gone on to perform at venues and festivals across Ontario and Quebec. Some of their influences include Sublime, Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Their first release, a self-titled EP produced and recorded entirely by the band members, came out in 2016. The JOSEPHINE LEΦNE EP earned plays on Live 88.5 FM as well as rotation on campus stations CKCU & CHUO with their singles Wash my Blues, Give it All and Got a Demon.
Most recently the band has released a new single called “Never Satisfied” along with a self-produced video. This was the first of a series of singles and videos that they will be releasing over the next few months, offering a little taste of their first full length album anticipated for fall 2018.
Nikola Moisan - Lead Guitar/Backups
Peter Crawley - Drums/Percs/Backups
Michael Bercier - Bass/Backups
Valerie-Josephine - Vocals/Guitar
A veteran of the Ottawa music scene, Ray Harris is a prolific and likeable storyteller who describes his music as "Ameri-Canadiana" - his songs have been described as finely crafted, drawing favourable comparison to master songsmiths. He wears his influences on his sleeve - incorporating strong elements of honkytonk country, rockabilly, folk and roots rock into a distinctly identifiable sound.
Ray's 3rd release, Kinda Sets The Tone (2016) is a collection of mighty fine tunes. The title track and first single off the album, "Kinda Sets The Tone", swings its way right across your heartbreak. His wry humour glints in "Rain On Your Thunder (The Spanish Imposition)", a passion for cars and family shines clearly in "Big Old American Cars" and "Margaret's Waltz" is touching love song. This album's thirteen full band tracks cover the gamut from blues to country to folk.
Ray's previous releases received favourable praise as well...
"East End, West End, North End, South End" (2009), gave us rootsy music worthy of our time. "The deep emotion of the lyrics is matched by a lived-in, dense instrumentation of guitar, pedal steel, banjo and organ" Fateema Sayani, Ottawa Citizen
"Poorly Kept Secrets" (2012), was called "the best of Canada's 'new wave' (of country music)" by Country Music People magazine, UK.
"Ray Harris, veteran of the Ottawa music scene, should be a secret no more" Kickin' Cuts, Country Music People Magazine (UK)
The Cooper Brothers first gained international attention with their hit singles “The Dream Never Dies”, "Rock and Roll Cowboys" and “I’ll Know Her When I See Her” all charted on The Billboard Hot 100.
In 1980, “The Dream Never Dies” earned an A.S.C.A.P Award as one of the most performed songs on U.S radio.
At the height of their career, the band toured extensively with such diverse artists as The Doobie Brothers, Joe Cocker, Charlie Daniels and the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
Terry Tufts is a finger-style guitarist living off-grid with his wife and daughter in the bush in North Frontenac, Ontario.
He has been playing music for enjoyment since 1963 and as a profession since 1974 upon completing high school and moving to Fredericton, New Brunswick pursuing his own musical career as a singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician and sideman for a variety of artists including Susan Aglukark, George Fox, Colleen Peterson, Laura Smith, Ian Tamblyn, Tracey Brown, Wayne Rostad, Tom Paxton, Kathryn Briggs, Marie Lynn Hammond, David Francey, Steel Rail, Melwood Cutlery, Lynn Miles, Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop, The Arrogant Worms.
He is currently, along with pianist Kathryn Briggs, and double bassist John Geggie, writing and performing music inspired by the life story and canvases of Group of Seven inspiration Tom Thomson as part of The Algonquin Ensemble, a sextet consisting of Kathryn, John, Lisa Moody - Viola, Laura Nerenberg - Violin, Margaret Tobolowska - Cello, Terry on various fretted instruments. Their sold out premiere performance was July 9th, 2017 in Kleinburg, Ontario at The McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Take a blazing horn section, throw down some bombastic drums, pepper in piano and guitar, then stir in vocals shifting from sweet to soulful to sultry quicker than you can hop onto the dance floor. And you will hop onto the dance floor because that’s a recipe for groove-making. It’s ingredients for crowd shaking. It sizzles. It pops. It jumps. It jives. It’s The Commotions and the taste is soulicious!
Putting the motion in The Commotions are 12 band members including three lead singers and a wild five-piece horn section with a mighty dose of trumpets and sax. This group is ready to command crowds with brassy beats and smooth ballad treats, all about bringing back the spirit of those super Soul sounds of the 70s and the Motown rhythms that once had them dancing in the streets.
They’ve brought the funky groove to festivals, television and two smokin’ studio albums, ready to drop a blazing-hot third release in 2023. If The Commotions are spinning on your sound system or hitting a stage near you, that bygone beat is moving to the forefront of your feet and a party is about to erupt. You can bank on it!