Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Darcy Penner
A Wednesday night a few weeks ago I stepped off a #16 bus to make my way down to 555 Osborne for the Songwriter Explosion night. The story of the venue is known, but still unique: a sign-less bar in the basement of a Thai restaurant showcasing singer-songwriters and new artists, all the while hosting acts from punk bands to DJs. Continue reading “555 Osborne :: Basement venue providing music in South Osborne”
by Sheldon Birnie
I’ve been a big fan of Memphis, Tennessee’s Lucero for years now. So when it was announced late in 2012 that the band would be finally playing in Winnipeg, I nearly lost it. I immediately contacted their management to arrange for an interview. After some back and forth in January, I finally completed a nice little chat with Lucero guitarist Brian Venable last week. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Lucero preview”
It’s been two years since her last album, but Ingrid Gatin is back with 11 songs and 1,000 Lives. 1,000 Lives, the title of her second full-length disc, was recorded in a Winnipeg loft and church, and in Grammy-nominated producer Howard Bilerman’s (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, the Dears) Montréal studio. Continue reading “In Conversation with INGRID GATIN”
by Sheldon Birnie
Last week here on the Hillbilly Highway, we spoke with Dustin Bentall leading up to his performance at the Park Theatre on Valentine’s Day.
Now that a few days have passed, I’m still stuck with his unbelievable tune “Emmylou” playing repeat on the jukebox in my brain. I can’t shut it off. I wake up in the morning, it’s there. I’m walking the streets of Winnipeg, it’s keeping me company. I try to drown it out by hitting the Windsor or the Times, but when I deke outside for some air, it’s right there. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Top 5 tunes about truckstop waitresses, topless turnpike dancers, and backroads beauties”
by Sheldon Birnie
Dustin Bentall is an award winning songwriter off of the West Coast of British Columbia. Since the early Oughts, he’s been travelling hard across the Hillbilly Highway, churning out a couple albums worth of solid storytelling songs about drifters, gunfighters, and guitar slingers. On his recent EP, Orion, Bentall has finally locked down a solid band at his back. With the Smokes in tow, Bentall, son of Canadian folk-rock hero Barney Bentall, is rolling into town with Lindi Ortega to take the Park Theatre by storm. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Dustin Bentall & The Smokes to light up the Park”
As my pal Corin Raymond has said before, “there will always be a Small Time.” What he’s talking about is the underground music scene, the independent artists and people who support them. Basement bars, house concerts, barn dances. All these things have been around, in some form or other, since caveman days (probably). Continue reading “Hillybilly Highway – Full throttle for CKUW Fundrive”
In December, Stylus caught up with drummer and graphic artist for legendary Québec metal band Voivod, Michel Langevin. Their latest album Target Earth, was released January 22nd through Century Media Records. In its 30 year career, Voivod has made a name for themselves with a prog-rock/trash metal sound, thought-provoking lyrics, and an eerie science-fiction vibe. It was a chilling cover of Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine” from 1989’s Nothingface that broke the band, reaching number 114 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Continue reading “Voivod :: Target Earth with new album”
by Sheldon Birnie
It is truly amazing how far a crazy idea can go if you really give it all you got. Case in point is Corin Raymond’s latest album, Paper Nickels. Funded entirely by what Corin calls “The Great Canadian Tire Money Caper of 2012,” the album is possibly the craziest crowd sourcing experiment the world has seen yet, and certainly the most Canadian. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Crazy what a bunch of Paper Nickels can do…”