Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Jesse Popeski
Carly Dow’s 2015 debut Ingrained introduced a bold and ambitious folk artist to the Canadian music scene. Her sophomore album Comet (October 19th, 2018) reveals a self-assured artist abandoning the need to prove herself and allowing an unpolished rawness to come through. Continue reading “Album Review :: Carly Dow :: Comet”
by Chris Bryson
Continuing tradition can be a great thing. Apply that to music festivals and you’ve found many people’s version of heaven. Areas of the world have so many memories spread across what eventually becomes sacred musical land. The first ever Hoot Owl festival makes its home in Kerry, Manitoba at the old locale of the legendary Shine On festival and sets out to continue tradition while being its own thing in the process. Continue reading “Hoot Owl Festival :: New Name, Same Place, Familiar Spirit”
by Daniel Emberg
photo by Cheyenne Rae
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band will be hitting the stage in an hour, and the Rev is seated at a picnic table working on his band’s setlist for the night. Turning his formidable facial follicles across the street toward the King’s Head Pub, he smiles at the action on the patio. “You know,” he says, “It’s a lot of fun, but I don’t drink so I’m not much for bars except when we’re playing. You know that store Claire’s at the mall, with the earrings and stuff? If they had music there, that’s where I would hang out, is Claire’s. I just want to be where the music is.” Continue reading “Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band brings salvation to Jazz Fest”
This latest LP from Nashville-based Jonny Fritz (formerly Corndawg) is sure to delight fans of well crafted country songs. Continue reading “Jonny Fritz – Dad Country”
by Sheldon Birnie
The Hillbilly Highway from Winnipeg to Austin and back was a long, winding, and often ice covered one. But we made it. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Looking back at SXSW”
This little platter is a pure slab of old-timey Americana gold. The product of Sam Doores and Riley Downing & the Tumbleweeds chance encounter in 2010, these 12 tracks are a mix of each songwriter’s style, along with some revamped classics thrown in for good measure. Continue reading “Sam Doores and Riley Downing & the Tumbleweeds – Holy Cross Blues”
North Carolina’s Tift Merritt has a gift for storytelling, a mean band, and a voice that wouldn’t be out of place on the Ryman stage, or a backwoods jukejoint. Continue reading “Tift Merritt – Traveling Alone”
by Sheldon Birnie
Well, friends, it’s that time of year again — holidays albums are coming out of the woodwork, family get togethers spill into boozy bar nights, and the lucky ones have time off of work to get wild. If you’re in Winnipeg this holiday season, there’s plenty of holiday hoedowns abound to keep you rocking into the New Year. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Holiday Hoedowns Abound”
by Sheldon Binie
Corb Lund has been around the independent Canadian music scene for over two decades now. Touring extensively in the 90s with heavy Edmonton alt-rockers the Smalls, and ramping up international success as a solo country & western artist since the late 90s, Corb Lund knows the value of hard work, good songs, and good friends. He took some time last month to chat over the phone with Stylus about his new record Cabin Fever, and his band the Hurtin’ Albertans’ upcoming Winnipeg show. While some technical difficulties appeared throughout our conversation, you’ll find the bulk of it below. Giddyup! Continue reading “Corb Lund brings Cabin Fever to Winnipeg”