Heather Kitching

The Plastic Acid Orchestra performs with Maria in the Shower

February 25th at the Vogue Theatre
Doors at 7pm
Tickets $20 in advance. $30 at the door.
Advance tickets available at Highlife, Redcat, www.plasticacid.com, and www.voguetheatre.com

http://www.youtube.com/plasticacid
http://www.myspace.com/plasticacid

Orchestral music meets rock and roots next month when Vancouver’s Vaudeville-inspired indie folk band Maria in the Shower teams up with the 45-piece Plastic Acid Orchestra, a genre-defying Vancouver outfit that bridges the worlds of classical music and rock n’ roll — and showcases fresh young Canadian composers in the process. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Breakmen on tour:

January 28 – Harrison Festival Society, Harrison, BC
February 3 – The Chapel, Bowen Island, BC
February 4 – McKinney’s Pub – Powell River, BC
February 5 – Hermann’s Victoria, BC
February 8 – Joe’s Garage, Courtney, BC
February 9 – The Waverly Tavern, Cumberland, BC
February 10 – Hornby Island Community Hall, Hornby Island, BC
February 11 – St. James Hall, Vancouver, BC
February 13 – Carlin Hall – Salmon Arm, BC
February 14 – Central Cariboo Arts Centre – Williams Lake, BC
February 15 – The Minstrel Café, Kelowna, BC
February 16 – Revelstoke Arts Council, Revelstoke, BC
February 17 – Miner’s Hall, Rossland, BC
February 18 – The Royal, Nelson, BC
February 19 – Wild Bill’s, Banff, AB
February 22 – The Rockwater Grill and Bar, Golden, BC
February 23 – The Royal Canadian Legion, Jasper, AB
February 24 – Full Moon Folk Club, Edmonton, AB
February 25 – Nickelodeon Folk Club, Calgary, AB

Take a few musicians with bluegrass roots, grow them up in Canadian soil, nourish them with influences like the Band, Blue Rodeo and Neil Young, and cultivate their talents in the tree-planting camps of Northern British Columbia — and you’ll get the Breakmen, an award-winning West Coast indie-folk outfit and worthy heirs of the Canadiana tradition.
Having already won the Vox Pop Award for Americana Album of the Year at the Independent Music Awards, and having earned two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations for their previous album, When You Leave Town, the band is now embarking on Round Three of its tour to support its latest release, Heartwood.
With Heartwood, the band paid tribute to its Canadian roots-rock idols and sought to bring its impeccably-crafted songs and tight tight harmonies to a wider audience – with bigger drum sounds and lots of vintage electric guitar. Since taking the album on tour, the band has gradually evolved the rest of its repertoire to match, making for a show that grabs listeners from well beyond the folk and bluegrass milieu.
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B.C. and Alberta tour dates

February 2 – The GLC, Whistler
February 4 – The Media Club, Vancouver
February 5 – The Last Drop, Revelstoke
February 6 – Snowshoe Sam’s, Kelowna
February 7 – Wild Bill’s, Banff
February 9 – Rockwater Grill and Bar, Golden
February 10 – The Royal, Nelson
February 11 – Minstrel Café, Kelowna

Australian surfer, snowboarder and award-winning blues rocker Ash Grunwald is heading back to Canada this winter for round two of his Hot Mama Vibes tour – and this time, audiences will notice an evolution in his sound, thanks to two new side projects.

When not touring his solo work, Ash has been performing with Tiger vs. Shark, a collaboration with London-based Aussie producer and multi-instrumentalist Fingers Malone. The music is influenced by London Dub Step — a dark style of electronica that, like the blues, grew up in the underclass. He’s also got a trippy, psychedelic blues rock project called KRASH that features Kram, the guitarist from the chart-topping Aussie alternative rock band, Spiderbait. The beats, the electronica, and the dub step elements from those projects are all starting to creep into Ash’s solo show, adding even more layers to his already-huge and complex solo sound.
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One-time Vancouver Chamber Choir singer performs music from Fractography
Friday, January 6, 2011, 8pm, at the Western Front
(Doors at 8:30, show starts promptly at 9pm)
$15 at door, $12 in advance
Tickets at www.BrownPaperTickets.com

“Her ethereal voice and classically informed arrangements come together in experimental pop that’s both listenable and challenging” – Benjamin Boles, Now

Bowen Island’s Alicia Hansen made an auspicious debut in Eastern Canada earlier this year, earning a feature article in Toronto’s Now to preview her first ever solo show in the city.

Now, she’s returning to Vancouver to perform music from Fractography, the album that Now called “a strong collection of off-kilter piano pop that has a real shot at wider success.”

“Fractography” is defined as “the study of fracture surfaces of materials to determine the cause of failure.”

And by choosing this heavy metaphor as the title for her debut, Hansen prepares the listener for the hauntingly beautiful and disturbing work contained within.

Hansen, a Royal Conservatory grad and one-time professional singer with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, creates an eerie musical landscape marked by powerful piano hooks; chorus-like harmonies; plaintive vocals; complex, jazzy, piano chord progressions; and dissonant passages that feature dramatic singing over chaotic piano and electric guitar. The lyrics – deeply poetic and metaphorical – document the tortured relationships and mental anguish Hansen grappled with as she threw off the constraints of the classical world and sought to find her voice, musically. (It worked, by the way. Anyone who listens to the album will be relieved to hear that Hansen is feeling great these days.) Read the rest of this entry »

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September 24th, 8pm, at St. James Hall, Vancouver
Tickets $24 ($20 for Rogue Folk members)
Available at Highlife, Rufus’ Guitar Shop, on-line at www.roguefolk.bc.ca or by calling 604.736.3022

National tour:

September 28th, 8pm, Victoria Event Centre (Tickets $12-$15)
September 29th, 8pm, Saltspring Lion’s Hall ($12-$15 sliding scale at the door)
October 1, 8pm, Artspace, Prince George ($12 adv. / $15 door)
October 20, 8pm, Revival, Toronto
October 21, 7:30pm, Tallulah’s @ Buddy’s in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto ($12 adv. / $15 door)
October 22, 8pm, London Music Club, London
October 23, 8pm, Free Times Cafe, Toronto ($6 at the door)
October 26, 7:30pm, Showplace Theatre – The Lounge, Peterborough
October 27, 8pm, Little Bean Coffee Bar, Kitchener
October 28, 8pm, Pearl Company, Hamilton
November 3, 8pm, Fusion Café, Woodstock NB
November 4, 8pm, Pump Nightclub, Saint John NB
November 5, 7:30pm, the Company House, Halifax
November 18, 8pm, the Junction Bar, Edmonton
November 19, 8pm, the Jasper Legion
November 23, 8pm, the Ironwood, Calgary
November 26, 8pm, Sid Williams Theatre, Courtenay
December 3, 8pm, the Art We Are, Victoria

Kate Reid calls her new album Doing it for the Chicks, but the beautiful thing about Reid’s music is that “chicks” are far from the only people who get off on it.

The out lesbian singer-songwriter and musical comedienne sings boldly and sometimes heartbreakingly about lesbian life, but first, she gets people of all orientations on-side with her outrageous sense of humour and her giddy, self-effacing schtick.

Indeed, if there’s a person left alive who still thinks lesbian feminists lack a sense of humour, Reid will set them…well…not straight…but you know what I mean.

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Central and Eastern Canada launch dates for Constellation

6th October, The Upstairs, Montréal, Québec
8th October, The Black Sheep, Wakefield, Québec
11th October, The Mansion, Kingston, Ontario
13th October, The Tranzac, Toronto, Ontario
28th October, The Seahorse, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Other dates of note:

17th September, Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, Fredericton, New Brunswick
23rd September, Deep Roots Festival, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
24th September, Deep Roots Festival, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
23rd March, 2012, Collaboration with Symphony Nova Scotia, Rebecca Cohen, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Having already built a following among fans of indie rock and other decidedly non-Django genres, Halifax’s ECMA-winning hot jazz ensemble, Gypsophilia, has stepped out of the box once again, this time recording a new album with the Montreal producer and engineer who’s best-known for his work with acts like Stars and the Arcade Fire.

Yet the product of the band’s first collaboration with Howard Bilerman, titled Constellation, is actually a more sophisticated and classic-sounding album than its sophomore project, Sa-Ba-Da-OW!

Bilerman’s most conspicuous contribution to the record – to which he describes himself as something of a midwife – is its warm, crisp, and spacious sound. The recording feels intimate – as if the listener is right there in the room with the band. Bilerman didn’t conceive a “new” sound for the ensemble, but rather made their collective voice come through loud and clear.

Beyond that, the 11 new tracks are a product of Gypsophilia’s own musical evolution, which is marked by an increased reverence for classic genres and a continued desire to mix things up for the modern age.

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Including Natalie MacMaster, Catherine MacLellan, Laura Smith, The Once and Stephen Fearing among the guest artists on Canadian Girl

Launch dates
September 17 – The Company House, Halifax, NS with guest Dylan Guthro
September 22 -Best Western Manoir Adelaide, Dalhousie, NB
September 24 – La Petite Eglize, Gaspe, QC
October 6 – Centre Ambroise, Montreal, QC with guest Dale Boyle
October 7 – The Rainbow Bistro, Ottawa, ON
October 8 – The Spill, Peterborough, ON
October 9 – Acoustic Grill, Picton, ON
October 12 – London Music Club, ON
October 13 – Bohemian Fridays, Dunnville, ON
October 14 – Little Bean Coffee Bar, Kitchener, ON
October 16 – The Pearl Company, Hamilton, ON
October 18 – C’est What, Toronto, ON
October 19 – The Moonshine Café, Oakville, ON
October 22 – Pearl Theatre, Lunenburg (with Ken Whiteley), NS
October 28 – Vintage Bistro, Hampton, NB
October 29 – House Concert, Fredericton, NB
November 7 – Ironwood Stage & Grill, Calgary, AB
November 10 – WISE Hall, Vancouver, BC with special guest
November 11- Duncan Garage, Duncan BC
November 12 – Merlin’s Sun Home Theatre, Victoria, BC
November 13 -House Concert, Ladner, BC
November 15 – Voodoo’s, Penticton, BC
November 16 – Minstrel Café, Kelowna, BC
November 24 – The Rose and Kettle, Dartmouth, NS
November 25 – Evening Primrose B&B-House Concert, North Tryon, PEI
November 26 – The Dunk, Breadalbane, PEI
November 27 – Marigold Cultural Centre, Truro, NS with guest Alycia Putnam

The idea is just so Canadian it’s amazing someone didn’t think of it years ago: travel across the country, record a song in each province, invite guest musicians from each region – like, say, Natalie McMaster, Catherine MacLellan and Stephen Fearing – into the studio with you, and get the Six String Nation guitar in there for good measure.

Well, Bonnie Ste-Croix has just made that quintessential Canadian album.

This fall, Ste-Croix launches Canadian Girl, a collection of 13 timeless-sounding roots songs recorded in 14 different studios in 12 towns with a total of 46 musicians and singers from all corners of the nation.

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“David Francey is one of the greatest songwriters that Canada has ever produced. His words cut to the very core of human emotion.” – John Angus, The Trews

“One of Canada’s outstanding poets, songwriters, storytellers …” Ron MacLean, Hockey Night in Canada.

“The closest thing this country has to Woody Guthrie” – the Georgia Strait, Vancouver

Cross-Canada album launch tour for Late Edition

Sept. 16 – St. Paul’s United Church, Perth, ON
Sept. 17 – Octave Theatre, Kingston, ON
Sept. 22 – Piggery Theatre, North Hatley, QC
Sept. 23-24 – The Blacksheep Inn, Wakefield
Sept. 28 – Princess Cinema, Waterloo, ON
Sept. 29-30 – Hugh’s Room, Toronto, ON
Oct. 1 – London Music Club, London, ON
Oct. 2 – MacKenzie Hall Centre, Windsor, ON
Oct. 5 – Studio Theatre, Hamilton Place, Hamilton, ON
Oct. 8 – Finlandia Club, Thunder Bay, ON
Oct. 10 – Pappy’s Café, Wabigoon, ON
Oct. 12 – Park Theatre, Winnipeg, MB
Oct. 13 – Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon, SK
Oct. 14 – Central Lion’s Rec Centre, Edmonton, AB
Oct. 16 – Nancy Appleby Theatre, Athabasca, AB
Oct. 17 – Second Street Theatre, Grand Prairie, AB
Oct. 18 – Horizon Stage, Spruce Grove, AB
Oct. 19 – The Geomatic Attick, Lethbridge, AB
Oct. 20 – Auditorium Hotel, Nanton, AB
Oct. 21 – Southwood United Church, Calgary, AB
Oct. 22 – Bearberry Community Hall, Bearberry, AB
Oct. 23 – Margaret Greenham Theatre, Banff, AB
Oct. 26 – Creekside Theatre, Lake Country, BC
Oct. 27 – Dream Café, Penticton, BC
Oct. 28 – St. James Community Hall, Vancouver, BC
Oct. 29 – The Dancing Bean, Chemainus, BC
Oct. 30-31 – Hermann’s, Victoria, BC
Nov. 5 – Port Hardy Civic Centre, Port Hardy, BC
Nov. 12-13 – The Ship Inn, St. John’s, NL
Nov. 18 – Charles W. Stockey Centre, Parry Sound, ON
Nov. 19 – The Market Hall, Peterborough, ON
Nov. 20 – Petit Campus, Montreal, QC
Nov. 22 – Harmony House, Hunter River, PEI
Nov. 23 – Marigold Cultural Centre, Truro, NS
Nov. 24 – Murray Room, Pictou, NS
Nov. 25 – Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, Sydney, NS
Nov. 26 – The Company House, Halifax, NS
Nov. 27 – Arena Complex Theatre, St. Andrews, NB

When you’re widely considered one of the greatest songwriters appearing on the roots circuit today – not just in Canada but around the world – it stands to reason that your appeal is going to spread beyond your base.

That’s why a guy like three-time Juno-winner David Francey can find himself co-writing with The Trews while remaining an unrepentant old-school folksinger.

This fall, Francey – a lifelong manual labourer who didn’t debut until age 45 and who famously only quit his carpentry job after winning his first Juno – heads out on tour to promote the fruits of one of his longest-standing cross-genre collaborations: Late Edition, a collection of songs about news, both worldly and personal, recorded in Nashville with the godfather of Americana music, Kieran Kane.
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July 29 – The Moon, Mattawa, ON
July 30 – Griffin Gastro Pub, Bracebridge, ON
Aug 2 – Cinco Centavos, Sudbury, ON
Aug 3 – Loplops, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Aug 5-7 – Live from the Rock, Red Rock, ON
Aug 10 – Shooters, Kenora, ON
Aug 11 – The Park Theatre, Winnipeg, MB
Aug 12 – Lady of the Lake, Brandon, MB
Aug 13 – Java Express, Moosejaw, SK
Aug 17 – Spadina Freehouse, Saskatoon, SK
Aug 18 – The Legion, Wainwright, AB
Aug 19 – Andy Jean’s House Concert, Red Deer, AB
Aug 21 – On the Rocks, Edmonton, AB
Aug 25 – Tracks Pub, Olds, AB
Aug 26 – The Ironwood, Calgary, AB
Aug 27 – Whytehorse Cafe, Canmore, AB
Aug 28 – Indiefest, Canmore, AB
Aug 29 – Stables, Lake Louise, AB
Aug 30 – Rockwater Bar & Grill, Golden, BC
Sep 2 – Cliff’s Café, Enderby, BC
Sep 7 – Vancouver, TBC
Sep 8 – The Minstrel Café, Kelowna, BC
Sep 10 – Voodoo Café, Penticton, BC

If Amanda Rheaume’s full-length debut album sounds a little too, well, good, for the work of a brand new artist, it might be because she’s really not that new.

Rheaume — a powerful vocalist with just a touch of grit and an instantly-accessible roots-pop-Americana sound — has been a pillar of her local Ottawa music scene for about a decade now.

A $40,000 winner in Live 88.5’s 2008 Big Money Shot competition, Rheaume is not only a regular at local festivals and joints like the Rainbow Bistro, she has also distinguished herself as one of the city’s, if not the country’s, most selflessly giving musicians. She organizes Ottawa’s Bluebird North songwriter showcases, she participated in the Babes for Breasts tour to raise money for breast cancer, she recorded a charity Christmas EP for The Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa – selling 6500 copies just in Ottawa –, she donated a dollar from each album sold during her last tour to a fund for the families of military personnel, and she’s even performed for the troops in Afghanistan…twice.

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Nagez Rameurs named Album of the Week by Britain’s The Independent

Fresh from a cross-Canada tour to launch its brand new album, Nagez Rameurs, Quebec’s Juno and Felix-nominated traditional music trio, Genticorum, is kicking off the summer in Toronto with a free show at Harbourfront.

The high-energy ensemble performs at the Music Garden Thursday, June 30 at 7pm.

Audiences there can look forward to the same combination of killer musicianship, stirring harmonies and hilarious between-song banter that marked their album launch May 19 at Hugh’s Room.

The new concert announcement comes just as Nagez Rameurs was named the folk, jazz, blues or world Album of the Week by Britain’s The Independent, which described it as “an intoxicating mix of flute, fiddle, feet, guitar, and three-part harmonies.”

The just-published summer issue of the folk music magazine Penguin Eggs says Nagez Rameurs “exhibits incredible depth and joie de vivre” and “demonstrates, yet again, why Genticorum are one of the country’s most vital traditionally rooted outfits.”

Genticorum performed across the U.K. in April, just before kicking off its Canadian launch tour in Quebec City and following that show up with a launch weekend at Montreal’s Festival le Grande Rencontre.