Artist Spotlight: Helena Deland

by Kim Wiesner

So, the Winnipeg Folk Fest is such a highlight for us here. How was your first one?

It was amazing. I totally understand. I think it’s a highlight for everyone. We had been playing a few festivals earlier in the past two weeks. And to be honest, I was feeling really low energy, drained, the traveling, playing, the being in crowds. I’m not so much of a like festival-goer type. And then I ended up being in festivals a lot. But then I got to the Winnipeg Folk Fest, and it was just the most like, you know, kind of generative, energy-giving, sweet, soft experience. And, I’m just gonna say it on the record. I don’t think I’ve been treated that well. You know what I mean? The organization here is so efficient, and everything is thought out. And as soon as you meet something as an artist, it’s like you’re like, you just have to rub the magic bottle, and the genie appears and here’s a beautiful meal and your transportation. 

Continue reading “Artist Spotlight: Helena Deland”

EP Review:: Ritchot Textiles :: i

by Daniel Kussy

Built out of the ashes of Abbotsford post-punk quartet Blessed comes Ritchot Textiles, the latest project from longtime collaborators Drew Riekman, Mitchell Trainor and Reuben Houweling. Their first release as a group, i is born out of love for droning synthesizers and loaded sequencers, all while crafting a minimalist yet rich pairing of industrial electronic and krautrock. It’s not at all surprising to know that it was created entirely using only analogue equipment.

Continue reading “EP Review:: Ritchot Textiles :: i”

Concert Review :: Noah Reid Live at the Winnipeg Folk Festival!

Bradi Breckman

On the second day of the 49th annual Winnipeg Folk Festival, Snowberry Field in Birds Hill Park was packed with festivalgoers braving the afternoon heat. Why? To see Noah Reid, of course. Having come to fame through his role in the hit comedy show Schitts Creek, Reid is now making his name as a musician. The Ontario-based singer/songwriter drew a crowd on his first-ever visit to Winnipeg as the temperature climbed to 30°, and the anticipation grew.

Continue reading “Concert Review :: Noah Reid Live at the Winnipeg Folk Festival!”

Show Review: Pop Punk Party 4! Live at the Park Theatre

Guitar player performing at Pop Punk Party at the Park Theatre.

by Bradi Breckman

On October 19, I had the pleasure of attending the Pop Punk Party at the Park Theatre. The show was held as a fundraiser for mental health awareness and suicide prevention in memory of Zach Huchall, who was tragically lost in 2016. The fundraiser was put on three years in a row before it was halted due to Covid-19. Thankfully, it returned this fall with a passion! The proceeds from this year’s show went to Klinic Community Health and the Robb Nash Project, totalling over $35,000 through ticket sales, silent auction tickets and donations. 

Continue reading “Show Review: Pop Punk Party 4! Live at the Park Theatre”

EP Review :: Long Fall :: Self-Titled

By Mykhailo Vil’yamson

It’s not unprecedented for an artist to put out material that moves from heavy to significantly more sedated – take, for instance, Dallas Green’s mid-to-post-Alexisonfire solo project City and Colour (or alternatively, the conventional yet banal trend of most musicians to progressively mellow over the years). However, it’s refreshing to hear a move in the entirely opposite direction in what is the debut EP by Long Fall, which is the brand-new punk outfit that’s fronted by none other than Nic Dyson.

Continue reading “EP Review :: Long Fall :: Self-Titled”

Concert Review :: Cluster Festival :: Pulse (with Debashis Sinha, Jason Tait, and Compost)

(June 6, 2024)

by maggie astrid clark

If—as Phil Elverum sang during his performance of an unreleased Mount Eerie song at the West End Cultural Centre (WECC) on June 26—recorded music is a “statue of a waterfall,” then concert reviews are poems about a blurry photograph of said statue. Words cannot capture the experience of a sound, let alone reconstruct a memory that is already fading from the mind.

Continue reading “Concert Review :: Cluster Festival :: Pulse (with Debashis Sinha, Jason Tait, and Compost)”