Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
By Zoe McCrea
Ever since Birthday Tapes’ first release of notme’s Sinking, plans for Birthday Wishes: Vol. 1 have been slowly, in the making. Putting together a (mostly) local, Canadian compilation of admired musicians, has been a project idea since before Birthday Tapes formally existed.
Continue reading “Birthday Wishes: Volume 1 :: A Collection of Mood Swings”
By Alina Moore
With the recent release of their first physical album Don’t Give In to the Bad Feelings it is apparent that Iansucks, does not suck. Like in their song “Too Hard”, this album really has been a long time coming. Radiating tones of raw, relatable, melancholic honesty that can appeal to the moody millennial of our generation, or really anyone who has feelings. Continue reading “iansucks :: Don’t Give In to the Bad Feelings”
In a time of pre-election bliss when the presidency of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was but a hissing whisper in the night, the ever elusive songwriter Cass McCombs released Mangy Love, a socio-politically charged collection of acoustically nomadic tracks. Continue reading “Cass McCombs – Mangly Love”
By Zoe McCrea
When you grow up in a city like Winnipeg local talent can be found around every corner, which tends to inspire something different in every person to come across it. Birthday Tapes is the newest project started up by Austin Bouton and Isiah Shellenberg, a pair who plunged into Winnipeg’s music scene as soon as they knew how. Continue reading “Birthday Tapes :: Releasing New and Old Friends”
By Victoria King
It’s not only one of the most anticipated shows planned for this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival, but potentially one of the most unique and historic shows to be hosted in Winnipeg in recent years. Continue reading “Native North America”
Nap Eyes (from Nova Scotia) are about to release a very thought-provoking album. It is composed of cool melodic blues-folk with lyrics that make you think: think about yourself, how others see you, your life choices, and all of the meanings behind your decisions. It’s a cool mellow way to reassess and self-reflect. To set the mood, the band recorded all seven tracks live on a porch beside the beautiful coast of Pictou, NS. Continue reading “Nap Eyes: Lyrics that make you think”
By Kaitlyn Emslie-Farrell
The Real McKenzies aren’t a new topic of conversation for Canadian punk lovers. They’ve been written about, talked about, and danced to. But if you’re really experiencing The Real McKenzies, you’re drinking to them. Vancouver based Celtic punk rockers aren’t strangers to Winnipeg either. I spoke with front man Paul McKenzie and he told me many stories including one about our own wind spot on Portage and Main. Continue reading “The Real McKenzies”
By Chris Bryson
On March 4, Winnipeg experimental pop-rock outfit Boats will be playing their last show at the Good Will. “Probably the last show,” says Mat Klachefsky, Boats’ frontman and songwriter. Continue reading “Boats: One Last Hurrah Before Setting Sail”
By Victoria King
From her home in Saint John’s Newfoundland, and me from the CKUW production booth in downtown Winnipeg, Amelia Curran and I make small talk: How’s the weather there? Did you see the news about Bowie? Yes, it got to -30 here this weekend. Don’t these sorts of things always happen around time of year. Continue reading “The Feast and Famine of Amelia Curran”
By Rachel Narvey
Frazey Ford joins me on the phone a week into the new year. When I ask how 2016 is going, she confesses that for the past few days she’s been in bed with a cold. “I’m just coming out of it,” she says. “I feel a bit like a newborn.”
Hearing her voice, you’d never know she’d been sick. Ford speaks with a warmth that instantly suggests her signature musical blend of folk and soul. You only have to play the first minute of a Frazey Ford song before someone in the room turns to you, a little bit in awe, and asks “who is this?” Continue reading “Frazey Ford”