Wintersong Music Festival has officially announced the headliners for their 4th edition, taking place January 20th – 21st, 2023 in Stouffville, ON. The annual festival draws thousands to the local area in the shoulder-season of Winter, giving a much-needed boost to the local economy.
Wintersong will be headlined by Montreal indie-pop band Stars; two-time JUNO award winning musician Dan Mangan; and 80’s new wave/synth-pop band Men Without Hats.
They will be joined by 2022 Polaris shortlisted OMBIIGIZI – a collaboration between Zoon’s Daniel Monkman and Status/Non Status’ Adam Sturgeon; and local indie-folk band Man Made Forest.
Also announced were indie buzz acts Hollowsage, Jerome Tucker Band, Junestone and Stouffville’s own Evan Farrell. They will be joined by 100+ acts, performing across 15+ venues over the two-day event including local restaurants, bars, theatres, cafés and retail spaces.
“Wintersong was the last festival to occur in Stouffville in 2020 and the first to return in 2022 and we’re proud to be back in 2023,” Kevin Ker, from Epidemic Music Group said. “We are incredibly excited to be expanding even more this year. The enthusiasm and excitement from the local and musical communities is encouraging and we’re looking forward to the long-overdue opportunity to gather in celebration of live music and support local businesses after a long, quiet two years.”
The highly anticipated Kensington Market Jazz Festival (KMJF) returns this year for the 7th year of performances, boasting an incredible lineup. Since its inception, the can’t-miss festival has brought the biggest names in jazz music and up-and-coming superstars to Toronto in a series of ticketed and curated busking shows.
The KMJF will return to in-person entertainment Oct. 1-2 in Toronto’s vibrant neighbourhood of art, vintage shops and multicultural cuisine, a designated National Historic Site of Canada.
Created and helmed by award-winning jazz vocalist Molly Johnson, KMJF will kick off at Tom’s Place (190 Baldwin St), the hub of the festival’s solo piano series, hosted by Holly Nimmons. The other participating venues include Tapestry (formerly Poetry Jazz Café), Handlebar, Supermarket and Pamenar with seven shows each per day. There are also Pay-What-You-Can shows in Bellevue Square Park on Saturday and Sunday from 1-2:30pm and 4-5:30pm.
The weekend concerts run from 1 p.m. until 11 p.m. The media invite and details to the festival’s kickoff is below.
There are no advance tickets. All shows will operate in the traditional KMJF format of ‘Audience Pays Artist,’ – Cash Only – where the trusted KMJF volunteers collect a cover charge at the door. For full transparency, KMJF takes a 10% service charge to go towards festival production and the remaining 90% is given to the band leader. This format works for all as KMJF has a track record of filling venues through word-of-mouth, and extensive promotion through the festival themselves and artists working together. 100% of the proceeds from CD sales during KMJF go directly to the artist.
This year confirmed artists include Kevin Barrett & Julie Michels, Sammy Jackson, Billy Newton-Davis, Micah Barnes, Diane Leah, Heavyweights Brass Band, Amanda Martinez, Jay Douglas, Laura Fernandez, Allison Au, Elizabeth Shepherd, Michael Occhipinti, Eddie Bullen, Barbra Lica and more. The complete list of artist and venues can be found here.
KMJF will once again after two years of virtual programming, return to in-person programming the city’s beloved Kensington Market clubs Tapestry, Handlebar, Supermarket, Pamenar and El Gordo’s (Big Band Stage).
The Kensington Market Jazz Festival is a Charitable organization, committed to presenting live music in the heart of Toronto’s heritage market neighbourhoood throughout the year and with a festival in early fall.
An intimate, coming-of-age memoir by legendary guitarist Kid Congo Powers, detailing his experiences as a young, queer Mexican-American in 1970s Los Angeles through his rise in the glam rock and punk rock scenes.
Kid Congo Powers has been described as a “legendary guitarist and paragon of cool” with “the greatest resume ever of anyone in rock music.” That unique imprint on rock history stems from being a member of not one but three beloved, groundbreaking, and influential groups — Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Cramps, and last but not least, The Gun Club, the wildly inventive punk-blues band he co-founded.
Some New Kind of Kick begins as an intimate coming of age tale, of a young, queer, Chicano kid, growing up in a suburb east of East LA, in the mid-‘70s, exploring his sexual identity through glam rock. When a devastating personal tragedy crushes his teenage dreams, he finds solace and community through fandom, as founder (‘The Prez’) of the Ramones West Coast fan club, and immerses himself in the delinquent chaos of the early LA punk scene.
A chance encounter with another superfan, in the line outside the Whiskey-A-Go-Go to get into a Pere Ubu concert, changes the course of his life entirely. Jeffrey Lee Pierce, a misfit Chicano punk who runs the Blondie fan club, proposes they form a band. The Gun Club is born. So begins an unlikely transition from adoring fan to lauded performer. In Pierce, he finds brotherhood, a creative voice, and a common cause, but also a shared appetite for self-destruction that threatens to overwhelm them both.
Quirky, droll, and heartfelt, with a pitch-perfect evocation of time and place, and a wealth of richly-drawn supporting characters, Some New Kind of Kick is a memoir of personal transformation, addiction and recovery, friendship and belonging, set against the relentless creativity and excess of the ’70s and ’80s underground music scenes.
Through the day-to-day struggles of life, we often get lost in the monotony, something that resembles an inescapable cycle of ups and downs paired with a tall glass of anxiety – and maybe even some dread. It’s Big Lou’s anthem that reminds us that we are in control of this supposed destiny and our lives ahead of fate. It is “Tayrona” – and it is available now.
There is power in the comforts that those closest to us can provide – while it may not always be easy to ask for help, it is often the bravest outcome. This message becomes rapidly present in Big Lou’s newest single, “Tayrona.” The song opens, teasing its deeply rooted message of perseverance;
“A letter to depression / born from reflection / upon inspection he sees resurrection.”
From there we are delivered a heartfelt message of survival packaged with a hard-hitting production – an infectious Spanish guitar lick paired with deep bass kicks programmed to subconsciously open the listener to “blue pill” themes while covered by a façade of trap music.
Listening through Big Lou’s newest single makes it obvious that these choices were entirely intentional. The production feels harrowingly personal to Big Lou, containing an internal power drive that can only be described as inspiring. Big Lou reflects on this by saying, “Everyone out here is struggling with something. Instead of contributing to the problem, I want to be part of the solution. I try and inject as much positivity and hope into my music as possible. There are difficult & ugly aspects to this life but with each other’s support, we can make our lives that much better.”
“Tayrona” encapsulates the daily struggles people go through to merely “feel okay,” often taking things on a day-to-day basis. While this struggle initially feels heart-rending it is often the tribulation that leads to ground-breaking self-discovery and acceptance; it is our transition into a warrior.
Big Lou offers his consolation on the subject:
“I understand that struggle is a part of life. From it, we get the opportunity to grow despite how ugly it may look although there can be beauty in the struggle. An important first step to take to identify this beauty is to talk about our struggles. Depression needs to be a bigger part of the conversation. Too many people are struggling alone and that is only making the problem worse.”
This powerful moral is paired perfectly with a triumphant production, adding an unmatched voracity to this powerhouse anthem of self-importance and perseverance. Powerful lines are delivered with perfect cadence as Big Lou reflects as he reflects on his journey with depression and taking charge of life.
“I chose to call this song ‘Tayrona’ because of what the word means. It translates to ‘sons of the jaguar’ or ‘Jaguar warrior.’ Some say that the jaguar represents the power to face one’s fears or to confront one’s enemies. This is exactly what the people of Tayrona did and it is what we need to do to overcome our depression.”
Big Lou began his artistic journey honing his lyrical penmanship and singer/songwriting skills in mid-2019 while practicing his raps for any and all willing listeners. As Big Lou dealt with many personal hurdles, including depression, he subsequently launched the Go Produce podcast, featuring interviews with music industry professionals offering advice to up and comers. With experience, persistence, and determination, he would realize his musical vision with the debut single “As A Crew,” which was released to overwhelming praise.
Big Lou has been breaking into the Canadian hip-hop scene ever since, featuring catchy hooks, infections flows, and dynamic rhythms sure to appeal to all hip-hop fans. With the release of singles like “Tayrona,” it is obvious that Big Lou’s musical career is on a crushing upward trajectory.
It’s a sad symptom of the human condition. Sometimes we just don’t realize what we really have until it’s gone. This cornerstone component of the blues gives award-winning singer-songwriter André Bisson the foundation for his funky, driving new single, “Missing You.”
The first taste of the Hamilton-based, internationally touring artist’s 9th album, “The Ballad of Lucy Stone”, due out September 30, “Missing You” emphatically checks all the boxes of a killer, scathing blues track with a funkified soul. Bisson’s guitar is meaty and rhythmic, and his voice is primed with emotion and gravelly heartache. The horn section jumps in with searing melodic fills and the super tight rhythm section solidly ushers the whole song along at a pace guaranteed to inspire maximum groove.
“‘Missing You” is about a man who has talked his way out of a good relationship and hopes that it’s not too late to fix it,” says the 2022 Hamilton Arts Award nominee. “There is a revelation that becomes clear: it’s not who we can live with but instead who we can’t live without.”
Some say that loneliness
Lives alongside misery
Till that girl came and saved my soul
I was keeping both company
We’d all like to avoid having them but, regrets are definitely the fuel that drives “Missing You” and makes the song universally relatable.
“Sometimes all the little changes that are asked of us are for our own benefit, to improve our own quality of life,” explains Bisson. ”Sometimes it takes being deprived of that to realize just how truly special our relationship is. The hope is that this epiphany is realized before it’s too late.”
“Missing You” is the first introduction to Bisson’s new album “The Ballad of Lucy Stone”, set for release on September 30. This is the Bruce Mines, Ontario-born, Hamilton-based singer-songwriter’s 9th album release since 2009. That’s a staggering average of a new album every 18 months for the past 13 years from this prolific singer-songwriter and tireless live player. And all that hard work is delivering. Over those 13 years, Bisson has gained notoriety with awards such as Hamilton Blues Awards’ “Male Vocalist of the Year”, “Song of the Year” from Blues and Roots Radio, and he’s been nominated for four Hamilton Arts Awards. He was also selected by the Grand River Blues Society to compete at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
“The Ballad of Lucy Stone” is a tribute of sorts to a real, historic figure and builds its theme inspired by her story. Lucy Stone (1818 – 1893) was a women’s rights activist in mid-19th century Massachusetts. Stone was the first woman in the State to earn a college degree and became a vocal advocate and organizer for the women’s suffrage movement, which eventually led to passing the 19th amendment which granted women the right to vote in the U.S.
The story of Lucy Stone reflects the theme of this album,” notes Bisson. “The road to change may be difficult, but many things worth doing often are. We must not avoid the obstacles in our lives but instead face them head on. Fear is only a reminder that we are working towards something worth fighting for.“
Bisson certainly exhibits fearlessness and pure joy when fronting his band that can range in size from 6 to 20 members. However, he’s a do-it-yourself artist when it comes to songwriting and arrangements. Much like his previous albums, He’s the sole writer of all 10 tracks on “The Ballad of Lucy Stone” and produced the album. He’s no one-man band in the studio though. While Bisson plays all the guitars and sings lead and some background vocals on this album, he was joined by Jesse O’Brien on piano and keyboards, Mike Rowell on bass guitar, Keagan Early on drums and other percussion, Pat Carey on tenor sax, Gordon Aeichele on tenor & baritone sax and clarinet, Loretta Hale on trumpet and cello, Shawn Moody on trumpet, Rob Somerville on trombone, Lizuarte De Sousa on flute, Kevin Matthews on clarinet, Dan Rodrigues on dobro, accordion and piano, Paul Barna on violin/viola and Theresa Hale-Charters, Quisha Wint and Selena Evangeline on background vocals.
With 13 very busy years of music career building leading Bisson and his band to play sold out shows in Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Europe, he knows the work and dedication it takes to establish and grow in the music biz.
Big changes do not happen overnight,” says Bisson. ”It is the little actions we take each day that make the difference.”
Lucy Stone’s reported final words are also words to live by for Bisson and his music.
“Make the world better.”
For Bisson, it’s one great song and one sold out show at a time.
“Missing You” from the forthcoming “The Ballad of Lucy Stone” is available now.
Juno-nominated Inuk singer-songwriter, Looee, just released her sixth album, Maani, and “Mumik&alirunnuk (Haali Jaali)” – pronounced “mu-mee-hla-LEE-ru-nu” – Looee’s first single leading up to the album release, is her first-ever song in English, as well as her first foray into the world of electronic dance music.
“Mumik&alirunnuk” means “to dance” in Inuktitut. The melody and text date back to the very early days of contact between Inuit and southern whalers, but the song has been supplemented with new lyrics and music, all of which were approved by Inuit knowledge keepers.
The song tells the true story of a young Inuk woman who meets a southern whaler named Jackson, on a mission to Nunavut. According to the original words, the two spend an entire night dancing together.
Originally a simple, repeating folk-tune, the song has evolved into a contemporary music triumph, with modern vocal production, synthesizers, and industry-standard mixing and mastering.
Production for this single and album took place in make-shift hotel room studios across Ottawa, ON. It was recorded and produced by Thor Simonsen (Kelly Fraser, Aasiva, Joey Nowyuk) and released with the Iqaluit-based record label, Hitmakerz, and distributed by CD Baby. This project was made possible with financial support from the Government of Nunavut.
Many of the tracks on Maani – meaning “right here, right now” in Inuktitut – are traditional Inuit songs that have been reimagined and transformed into contemporary, radio-friendly pop songs. The album includes Inuit classics such as “Inuksulualuk”, “Uppijuarlu Tulugarlu”, and the title track, “Maani”, as well as original works by Looee herself, inspired by her spoken-word poetry.
Looee is a prolific singer-songwriter, performing artist, accomplished writer, and seamstress. In addition, she is also the Executive Director of Qaggiavuut, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the Nunavut artists and establish the territories first-ever Performing Arts Centre. In 2021, Looee was also nominated for a Juno Award for her work with Messiah Complex.
“Mumik&alirunnuk (Haali Jaali)” is now available on all streaming platforms at https://loom.ly/MmKJ5Hk. The full album, Maani, is available on September 23, 2022. Pre-save the album now at https://bit.ly/maanialbum.
To learn more about Looee, follow her on Facebook or check out her website at www.looee.ca
Bruce Springsteen’s new studio album, a collection of fifteen soul music greats titled Only The Strong Survive, will be released by Columbia Records on November 11. Featuring lead vocals by Springsteen, Only The Strong Survive celebrates soul music gems from the legendary catalogues of Motown, Gamble and Huff, Stax and many more. This 21st studio album from Bruce Springsteen will also feature guest vocals by Sam Moore, as well as contributions from The E Street Horns, full string arrangements by Rob Mathes, and backing vocals by Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Curtis King Jr., Dennis Collins and Fonzi Thornton.
Bruce Springsteen commented: “I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies? I’ve taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I’ve tried to do justice to them all—and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music. My goal is for the modern audience to experience its beauty and joy, just as I have since I first heard it. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it.”
Only The Strong Survive was tracked at Thrill Hill Recording in New Jersey, produced by Ron Aniello, engineered by Rob Lebret and executive produced by Jon Landau. The release will mark Bruce Springsteen’s first studio album since 2020’s Letter To You (Columbia Records), which debuted at #1 in eleven countries. Springsteen will reunite with the legendary E Street Band in February for his 2023 international tour, which to date has sold over 1.6 million tickets across the United States and Europe.
ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE
1. Only the Strong Survive
2. Soul Days feat. Sam Moore
3. Nightshift
4. Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)
5. The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore
6. Turn Back the Hands of Time
7. When She Was My Girl
8. Hey, Western Union Man
9. I Wish It Would Rain
10. Don’t Play That Song
11. Any Other Way
12. I Forgot to Be Your Lover feat. Sam Moore
13. 7 Rooms of Gloom
14. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
15. Someday We’ll Be Together
HBO Sports Documentaries in association with Company Name & UNINTERRUPTED presents SAY HEY, WILLIE MAYS!, a film exploring the life and career of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays, debuting WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and available to stream on HBO Max. Directed by Nelson George, the documentary includes exclusive interviews with Mays and his family. The film will have its world premiere at the 2022 UrbanWorld Film Festival on October 27.
Willie Mays says, “Over the years, the fans have given me so much joy, and I am excited to express my thanks again through this wonderful documentary and its telling of the story of my career and life. I have worked hard and been fortunate to do many amazing things over the course of my life, and I am excited and proud that the people who see this film, including younger fans who never saw me play, will have the chance to relive this great journey with me and have a few laughs along the way. Watching this documentary brought a proud and grateful smile to my face, and I hope everyone else enjoys it too.”
Willie Mays’ life is a beacon of the “American Dream,” intersecting with a transformative era of the Black American experience. From his formative years playing Negro League baseball in Birmingham, to landing on the country’s biggest stage in New York at the inception of televised games, and expanding with baseball to the west coast during the peak of the Civil Rights movement. Mays transfixed fans from coast to coast with his style, jubilant persona and contagious smile, and helped to erode racial barriers and move the sport of baseball, and the American dialog, forward. SAY HEY, WILLIE MAYS! follows Mays’ life both on and off the field over five decades as he navigated the American sports landscape and the country’s ever-evolving cultural backdrop, all while helping to define what it means to be one of America’s first Black sports superstars. He left an indelible mark in New York City and San Francisco, building a love affair with both cities’ fans.
Mays is undoubtedly one of the best all-around players in Major League history, displaying the rare combination of speed, power and defense whenever he took the field. He played in a record-tying 24 All-Star Games in his 22 years with the Giants (1951-1972) and the Mets (1972-1973). He signed with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League at 16 and then joined the Giants organization in 1950. After serving in the U.S. Army for most of the 1952 season and all of 1953, “The Say Hey Kid” returned to post an MVP season in 1954, leading the Giants to the World Series Championship. He earned NL MVP honors again in 1965 and won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1957-1968. Mays finished his career with a .302 batting average, 660 home runs, 338 stolen bases, a .384 on-base percentage and a .557 slugging percentage. The Alabama native was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 with 94.7% of all votes, the fourth-highest total ever at the time of his election. In 2017, Major League Baseball renamed the World Series Most Valuable Player in honor of Willie Mays.
The film features new interviews with Mays, his godson Barry Bonds, and son Michael Mays. Additional interviews include Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal, alongside the late baseball legend Vin Scully, Hall of Fame Broadcasters Jon Miller and Bob Costas, and Mays’ biographer John Shea.
Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith has returned to share “What I Had in Mind,” the first single from his forthcoming album The Vivian Line. “What I Had In Mind,” boasts a trademark catchy Sexsmith melody and an upbeat feel boosted by female backing vocals and a positive tone to the lyrics: – “In the rear-view mirror, leaving all our tears behind, now that’s what I had in mind.” The Vivian Line will be released on February 17th, 2023.
The Vivian Line is the 17th album entry in Ron Sexsmith’s compelling discography, one matched by very few contemporary singer-songwriters. His catalogue has earned him immense peer respect and a loyal international following, and this new release captures Ron at the top of his creative game. The Vivian Line is named after a rural route near Ron’s house, and he views it as “representing a sort of portal between my old life in Toronto and my new life here.”
Almost entirely written during a short period of 2021 during COVID, The Vivian Line was recorded in Nashville with producer and multi-instrumentalist Brad Jones (Josh Rouse, Marshall Crenshaw, Matthew Sweet) at Jones’ studio Alex The Great. The result is a beautifully rich and evocative sounding album. The vast array of instrumentation plus female harmony and backing vocals are employed subtly and judiciously, and Sexsmith is at the top of his game with his vocal performance. The Vivian Line is guaranteed to delight the Sexsmith faithful out there and deserves to attract new fans to the fold.
Ron Sexsmith is one of Canada’s most accomplished singer-songwriters. He has collaborated with the likes of Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom, Ane Brun, Tchad Blake, and Bob Rock. His songwriting appears on albums from Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris and Feist. His inimitable work has drawn praise from the likes of Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello and Chris Martin to name just a few. He has been awarded 3 Juno Awards, having been nominated 15 times including eight nods for Songwriter of the Year. F
Tour Dates
Sept 27, 2022 Montreal, QC Le Studio TD
Sept 29, 2022 St. John’s, NL St. John’s Arts & Culture Centre
Oct 2, 2022 Moncton, NB Capitol Theatre
Oct 5, 2022 Charlottetown, PE Confederation Centre
Oct 6, 2022 Halifax. NS Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
Oct 7, 2022 Annapolis Royal, NS King’s Theatre
Oct 8, 2022 Fredericton, NB The Fredericton Playhouse
Oct 15, 2022 Hamilton, ON Bridgeworks
Oct 21, 2022 McDonald’s Corners, ON The Festival of Small Halls
Oct 22, 2022 Spencerville, ON The Festival of Small Halls
GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today released an new video interview with Grammy winning music superstar and LGBTQ ally Maren Morris in support of GLAAD’s annual #SpiritDay campaign on October 20, when millions will join GLAAD to show support for LGBTQ youth by wearing purple.
In the interview with GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos, Morris shares why supporting the LGBTQ community is so deeply personal to her, especially when it comes to trans youth. Morris recently defended trans youth on social media and raised more than $150,000 for GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program and Trans LifeLine by creating and selling a shirt inspired by her recent comments and media attention. In the new interview she tells GLAAD, “You definitely have to let people know where you stand on really important subjects.”
Watch GLAAD’s interview with Maren Morris below:
https://youtu.be/BFpKIuyofL8
In honor of #SpiritDay, Morris has launched a new shirt where 100% of the proceeds will go to GLAAD’s work to support LGBTQ youth and sends a powerful message. The shirt reads “You Have A Seat at This Table.” Purchase Maren Morris’s Purple #SpiritDay Shirt HERE
Morris is also partnering with digital fundraising platform Fandiem and with Bandsintown on a special sweepstakes supporting GLAAD to give her fans a chance to be her guest in Nashville for the final show of her “Humble Quest” tour, including a flyaway for the winner and a guest, 2 VIP tickets, an exclusive virtual meet-up with the singer, and more specially chosen experiences. Fans can Donate To Win at fandiem.com/marenmorris
This year, #SpiritDay will be observed on Thursday, October 20. Participants are encouraged to wear purple or go purple online in a united stand against bullying and show of support for LGBTQ youth. Since the inaugural Spirit Day in 2010, GLAAD organizes hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign and united show of support for LGBTQ youth. Purple symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Previous participants include President Biden, Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Laverne Cox, Wanda Sykes, Reba McEntire, Sterling K. Brown, Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Jake Gyllenhaal, Andy Cohen, Billy Porter, Dan Reynolds, Christina Aguilera, all Major League Baseball teams, the Empire State Building, and hosts of Good Morning America, TODAY, and CBS This Morning, CNBC, The View, and many more.
