Album Review :: Scott Nolan :: The Suburb Beautiful

by Scott Price

Scott Nolan’s first album since 2016 opens with a ballad entitled “Bella Vista,” a tribute to the venue where Nolan cut his teeth for decades. The Bella is now the popular Shorty’s Pizza. While you can still get a slice there, the venue it once was is now gone. Live long enough, and your old haunts will change names and owners or be obliterated off the map. Every time we pass by these places, a flood of memories, sounds, and smells comes at us. There is some comfort in nostalgia but also melancholy. 

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Hillbilly Highway – Mary Gauthier, Scott Nolan, Joanna Miller @ Park Theatre

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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”

Hillbilly Highway – A conversation with director of Chasing a Song

Chasing a Song Poster

by Sheldon Birnie

Chasing a Song is a brand new documentary from local filmmaker Charles Konowal. Some of y’all might remember Charles’ work on Happily Dysfunctional: The Story of Transistor 66 Records. Konowal’s latest is a study of the art of songwriting, by way of local songwriter Scott Nolan, who Konowal met while working on Happily Dysfunctional. The film is a beautifully shot, stirring contemplation of what makes Nolan tick as an artist, with some special appearances from Bobby Stahr and Jesse DeNatale. Shot in Winnipeg, Oklahoma, and Folsom Prison in California, Chasing a Song takes the viewer on quite the trip along the Hillbilly Highway. Stylus caught up with Konowal recently to chat about the making of the film. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – A conversation with director of Chasing a Song”

Hillbilly Highway – Scott Nolan live at the Park Theatre

by Sheldon Birnie

Scott Nolan could be to Manitoba what Guy Clark is to Texas. A songwriter’s songwriter with an attention to the minutia of everyday life; drawing from a vast, detailed knowledge of all those who’ve walked the line before him; capable of delivering a heartbreaking line followed easily by a knee-slapper the next. Continue reading “Hillbilly Highway – Scott Nolan live at the Park Theatre”