Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Daniel Emberg
Summertime signals a bevy of exciting festivals throughout Manitoba and fine music may be heard ringing across cities, woods, and lakes. One of the busiest weekends for festivals will be August 16-18, and here we focus on three festivals taking place during that stretch, which hint at the wide range of options available to Winnipeg music lovers. Continue reading “August Festival Round-up”
by Zach Fleisher
In putting this piece forward, I have to acknowledge a fundamental bias in my writing a review for a Paul McCartney show; I’m a Beatles fanatic. I grew up listening to the Fab Four (though I didn’t actually listen to Sgt. Pepper side to side until five years ago) through drives from end to end of the Canadian prairie. In grade five, I fell asleep every night listening to Abbey Road on a CD with only one track for the entire album and no way to change which song I was listening to. As often as I would fall asleep to the gentle and soothing tones of “Something,” I did make the consistent effort to listen until the medley of broken songs at the end, which more often than not proves to the be the enduring legacy of Paul McCartney’s musical career.
by Sheldon Birnie
What can I say about Fred J Eaglesmith that hasn’t already been said, by me or a hundred other writers into the grittiest and roughest roots music out there on the Highway? Not a whole dang lot, at least not in less than 800 words. To put it in terms that Fred himself might deal in, Eaglesmith is, quite simply, the Real Deal. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Fred Eaglesmith roars on through town, heading East”
Colin Meloy plays The Decemberists’ classics to end a great Thursday night line-up.
by Sheldon Birnie, photo by Andrew Mazurak
Tyler Sneesby sashays into Parlour Coffee on a warm July afternoon wearing a sharp denim outfit and brand new, bright white sneakers. We order Americanos, his hot and mine cold pressed. We are here to discuss, with great anticipation, the opening of Winnipeg’s newest — and certainly one of its most ambitious — live music venues, Union Sound Hall. Continue reading “Union Sound Hall :: Winnipeg’s newest live music venue set to open its doors wide”
by Sheldon Birnie
Deer Tick, the pride of Providence, Rhode Island, just announced a new album to hit the streets this fall. The band will also be hitting the Highway in support of Negativity, their aptly titled fifth studio full length. This tour includes a stop in Winnipeg on October 16 at the West End. I, for one, am pumped. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Deer Tick announce new album, Winnipeg stop in October”
by Sheldon Birnie
Shred Kelly‘s unique brand of foot-stompin’, banjo driven roots boogie has been getting crowds up and off their feet for years now. On Monday, July 28th, the Fernie based group makes a stop-over in Winnipeg to play the Windsor. Stylus caught up with Sage McBride (vocals, guitar) on a short tour stop in Nova Scotia to talk about touring, getting stuck in Alberta’s floods in June, preparations for their new record, and their experience with the CBC Beetle. Continue reading “Shred Kelly :: Bringin’ their banjo boogie to the Windsor”
by Andrew Friesen
Although the grove of cottonwood trees beside Brandon’s Keystone Centre may not look like much from the outside, hidden within is the home of one of the best musical celebrations on the Prairies. Located in the heart of this province’s second largest city, the 29-year-old Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival has slowly made a name for itself as a worthwhile stop on the folk circuit for both artists and fans alike. And despite it’s decidedly urban location (the site is bounded by a hockey arena, a high school, and a car dealership), the festival “under the trees” feels decidedly rural and intimate – the sprawling Winnipeg Folk Fest this is not. Continue reading “Brandon Folk Festival gears up for 29th year”
by Sheldon Birnie
Monday night’s packed show at the Park Theatre was one of those perfect stops along the Hillbilly Highway that at once make you feel so glad that you’re wherever you happen to be at, while at the same time igniting (or rekindling) an “aching wanderlust” to hit the road at once. Backed by Winnipeg’s own Scott Nolan and Joanna Miller (who also opened the night), the crowd at the Park was treated to a magnificent performance from one of the best songwriters (and a dang entertaining performer and storyteller, to boot) in the biz, Mary Gauthier. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Mary Gauthier, Scott Nolan, Joanna Miller @ Park Theatre”