Category: News

By Max Hamilton

Synonym started in West Broadway, and since its foundation, the neighbourhood has developed at an incredible rate.  It’s an art consultation group, driven by the desire to see employment opportunities for local and international artists, well-known for the many murals it has been a part of creating in our city.  Since its beginning, the area that its headquarters are situated in has become more defined visually, and a central part of Winnipeg.  There seems to be a relationship between the boom in population and in public art, something which their annual Wall to Wall Mural and Cultural festival will be further developing this year. Continue reading “Synonym Art Consultation : Wall to Wall”

By E.H. Stockton

Standing in the thirtieth row of a partially filled MTS centre, dressed to the nines (or at least the sixes), on a narcotic propelled rocket hurtling my mind through some forgotten corridor of the cosmos is when I was first introduced to Susto. It was as though my experience was tethered to an otherworldly elastic that, at the moment of its choice, pulled me back down to earth and into my mortal self while the chorus of Susto’s Waves roared through the arena. The lights danced in unison as though they themselves were drowning waves. “It comes in waves” sang frontman Justin Osborne, reminding a select few of every time they ever felt the ‘waves’ come on at the outset of what will surely be a good trip. Continue reading “Susto: & I’m Fine Today”

by Chris Bryson

 The reaches of metal have always been in flux and constantly pushed by those with innovative minds, who dare to defy genre expectations and purist mores. In recent years especially so, it’s been crossover metal that has been increasingly breaching the mainstream, and it’s been the permutations across genres that increasingly bring non-metal fans to metal music, to embrace the might and the magic – the burn and the beast. Continue reading “Pallbearer”

By Rachel Adrushuk

From July 27-29, Disco Needs a Squeeze, a 3-day punk music festival, takes over The Handsome Daughter and the Good Will Social Club. This will be its second year. The first year was a huge success, most likely because it met a demand that existed for years. While there’s a supportive and thriving punk scene in Winnipeg, punk shows have been on the decline since the closing of beloved venues like The Albert, Ozzy’s, and War on Music/The Death Trap. The economy has played a big role, too. Continue reading “Disco Needs a Squeeze”

Words by Gil Carroll 

Photos by Kelly Campbell, Julia Hardy, and Sam Sarty

The Winnipeg Folk Festival really brings out the sunshine in people.  For the 44th year in a row, the WFF brought together a community of free-spirited, peaceful and enthusiastic folks at the beautiful Birds Hill Provincial Park. Nearly every moment of the WFF, which took place from July 5-9 in sun-filled, beautiful and all-encompassing nature, made  you feel good inside. Continue reading “44th Annual Winnipeg Folk Festival – Festival Report & Photos”

By Max Hamilton

It would be easy to imagine that a band as tight as Odd Outfit is single-minded in their approach to their work.  But this is a group of strong players with strong opinions and varied backgrounds, and among the four core members there doesn’t seem to be a singular vision that dominates and directs their artistic sensibilities.  In talking about the roots of their music and musical experiences, perspectives were shared less frequently than a willingness to listen and to understand each other’s point of view.   Continue reading “Odd Outfit”

 

by Chris Bryson

 

With the success of her full-length debut, Emotions and Math, and an appearance in  the April edition of Rolling Stone in an article titled “10 New Artists You Need to Know”, Margaret Glaspy’s career has been on the upswing. This week she’ll be in Manitoba to play the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Continue reading “Margaret Glaspy : Winnipeg Folk Festival”

By Maddy Cristall

There are good concerts, great concerts, excellent concerts and then there are concerts like this. Mavis Staples is a 77 year old R&B, soul and gospel singer from the iconic band with her family members, The Staples Singers. She is a civil rights activist who sings powerful songs about marching in DC and the injustice towards marginalized people. Her voice is the perfect canvas for evoking emotion, she transports people with her tender lyrics and volcanic pipes. She has been singing professionally her whole life and her voice only seems to be improving, she is a rare and truly special artist. Continue reading “Mavis Staples at Winnipeg Jazz Fest :: She Took Us There”

By Olivia Norquay

Krimewatch is the toughest band I’ve ever heard. The New York band’s 2016 Demo, released on vinyl by Lockin’ Out records, sits at under five minutes and incorporates fast, heavy hardcore punk with some thrashy elements (a.k.a. divebombs). I don’t usually care that much about new releases, but the new(ish) Demo manages to be reminiscent of early East Coast hardcore while still maintaining a contemporary and accessible sound. Sonically, Krimewatch inhabits the space between Boston’s Dame and Toronto’s Triage. Continue reading “Krimewatch :: Demo”

By Colton Siemens

The aggressive and visceral vocals that makes FRIGS one of the most promising young bands coming out of the Toronto scene are those of Bria Salmena. At some points, it sounds as if she’s swallowed a handful of gravel on their new singles “Trashyard” and “Chest”. This powerful and raw voice is backed up by sludgy post-punk that puts graveyard chills into listeners. Last year they put out their first EP, SLUSH, under the FRIGS moniker. They recently dropped two new singles leading up their soon to be released LP. I spoke to vocalist Bria Salmena about FRIGS and what we can expect for the future. Continue reading “Frigs”