Winnipeg music & culture since 1989
by Olivia Michalczuk
Folk duo and twins Lucas and Madeleine Roger are preparing to open the festival and play the main stage at what they refer to as a second home, Winnipeg Folk Festival. Their family is no stranger to the festival. The family’s colourful history with WFF dates further back than their first-year camping as babies in 1992. Continue reading “Roger Roger :: Winnipeg Folk Festival”
by Chris Bryson
Have you ever wanted to see some awesome heavy local bands live from your living room couch? Red Tie Productions has been working at bringing you just that. Continue reading “Red Tie Productions”
by Nigel Webber
“It’s hard to conceive that you can be something when you had nothing” – Choclair
Northern Touch Music Festival enters their sophomore year in 2018 expanded and with results on the promise of furthering local hip-hop, R&B and soul acts. The festival, taking place June 29 to July 1, draws their name and inspiration from a touchstone song in Canadian hip-hop. “Northern Touch” by Rascalz featuring Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, CheckMate and Thrust was an important record when released in 1999. Continue reading “Northern Touch Music Fesival”
By Matt Harrison
Soft violin gently starts this album with the soothing hum of singer Raine Hamilton over top of it. Before you can fall into the melody, the violin turns to a jagged sort of snap and the story of Night Sky begins to unfurl. As the same song, “Starlight”, carries on, the acoustic folk sound offers vibes akin to wandering through a forest, the intervention of light a hopeless wish. Continue reading “Raine Hamilton :: Night Sky”
By Ryan Haughey
Rural Manitoba’s The Young Pixels’ new record is musical, intimate, and so wholesome. With a pop rock style, the married duo drives their songs forward with melodic vocals and meaningful lyrics. Continue reading “The Young Pixels :: Fever of Becoming “
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 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
I was over at my pal JP’s place the other night, interviewing him about his show, “Destination Moon,” on CKUW for the upcoming issue of Stylus. After going over the process he uses to assemble his shows from his extensive LP collection, he dug into some country music for me as we enjoyed the last of our beverages. It has to be said, during the 1970s and early 1980s, with the proximity of K-Tel records and other pressing plants in Winnipeg, that a lot of pure gold was pumped out into the world, the bulk of which has either been destroyed, is sitting in peoples’ basements or thrift stores, or assembled piecemeal into collections like JP’s. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Pure Manitoba Gold”
After a disturbingly friendly-weathered day, John K. Samson welcomes the subzero chill that we Winnipeggers are so familiar with. “I’m kind of relieved it’s getting a little colder. It was freaking me out yesterday. It was kind of unsettling… We need the real winter,” he explains over the phone. Continue reading “Citing Sources :: John K. Samson’s “Provincial””