All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
Photo Gallery: Lemin with Valley at Live Nation’s Ones To Watch Northside Sessions
The Fine, Lost Art Of Cassette Tapes
Well, these just brought back a few hundred memories. Ah, the time when I fully embraced my skill at crafting a sequence with timeless songs with pitiful artwork on a mixtape. These designs are much better, including the lost art of cassette tape spines.
The Spirit of John (Mann) a Benefit Concert for The Toronto Alzheimer’s Society
A few years ago, when Spirit of the West’s singer and main song co-writer John Mann was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s, a ripple went through the fairly close-knit Canadian music community. While it was clear that performing music would recede from John’s personal endeavors over time, his love of music has not diminished.
The Spirit of John (Mann) concert is a benefit for the Toronto Alzheimer’s Association Music Project, which provides iPods free of charge to people living with dementia. Loaded with music from each patient’s “soundtrack”, they are able to listen to music connected to meaningful experiences over their life.
Listening to personalized music can be a powerful activity for those with dementia: music has the potential to increase physical and social activity; reignite older memories; and improve sleep, mood, cognition, communication, and overall quality of life.
For the past few years, a core of wonderful musicians have come together to celebrate John’s personal soundtrack in an evening of music and gaiety lovingly dubbed “The Spirit of John“, in support of The Music Project. This year it will be at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, a wonderful venue which we dearly hope to see full to the rafters of fans and supporters on January 31, 2019.
The stellar House Band and Guests will be performing selections from John’s list of favourites, and Spirit of the West will take the stage for a set of SotW chestnuts with various singers in John’s place. We are thrilled and excited to be a part of this event. We’ll be dusting off a setlist and lining up some rehearsal time in anticipation.
Performers include:
Andrew Cash
Jim Cuddy
Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers)
Royal Wood
Dayna Manning
Dustin Bentall
Miku Graham
Chris Tait (Chalk Circle)
Damhnait Doyle (Shaye, The Heartbroken)
Jessica Mitchell
Danny Greaves (The Watchmen)
Kevin Kane (Grapes of Wrath)
Serena Ryder
In a moving promotional video, the viewer is asked to fill in the lyrics on Spirit of the West songs, we are asked to sing the songs – and if you know the words then you know more than the musician who wrote them. Come sing the songs because John can’t.
Earth Day Network Launches Earth Day 2019 Campaign to Protect Our Species
Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, has launched its Earth Day 2019 campaign, Protect Our Species.
Working in partnership with thousands of organizations, the campaign identifies 2019 as a crucial year to advance and protect laws, policies, regulations, and international cooperation agreements for species protection from threatened rollbacks. Protecting the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are top priorities. EDN’s campaign also embraces the concept that nature has value in and of itself.
Today’s world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago. But unlike the fate of the dinosaurs, the rapid extinction of species in our world today is the result of human activity.
The theme of Earth Day 2019 grew out of the recognition that human activities (climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution, and pesticides) are the leading causes of what Elizabeth Kolbert calls the Sixth Extinction.
Studies estimate that we are now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the normal rate. Insect populations have decreased by more than 45% worldwide; 40% of the world’s bird species are in decline; beekeepers report annual hive losses of 30% or higher, and the list goes on.
Many species will disappear before we learn about them or the benefits they bring to our eco-systems and our planet. The loss is so great that the welfare and future of the human species are threatened.
“The good news is that the rate of extinctions can still be slowed, and many of our declining, threatened, and endangered species can still recover if we work together now to build a united global movement of consumers, voters, educators, faith leaders, and scientists to demand immediate action,” says Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network.
Earth Day (April 22) 2019’s Protect Our Species campaign will:
• Educate and raise awareness about the accelerating rate of extinction of millions of species and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.
• Achieve major policy victories that protect broad groups of species as well as individual species and their habitats.
• Build and activate a global movement that embraces nature and its values.
• Encourage individual actions such as adopting a plant-based diet and stopping pesticide and herbicide use.
Earth Day Network is particularly focused on species whose populations are being decimated by human activities (bees, giraffes, coral reefs, whales, and others).
“We must educate and mobilize on a global level if we are to protect our species. If we do not act now,” notes Rogers, “the Sixth Extinction may be our own.”
Why Don’t We Unveil “Big Plans” For 2019
Atlantic recording group Why Don’t We have premiered the music video for their latest track “Big Plans,” which arrived last week and instantly shot to #1 on the iTunes all genres chart. The release is only the beginning for what is poised to be a massive year, already seeing single “8 Letters” continuing to climb at Top 40 radio and boasting over 130 million global audio and video streams to date.
The breakthrough group is currently prepping for their largest headline trek to date, the 8 Letters Tour, kicking off in March 2019 in Phoenix, AZ. The routing includes a stop at New York City’s legendary Radio City Music Hall which sold-out in under two hours, along with additional sold out shows in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston and Chicago.
Amassing more than 200 million global audio streams, 3 million Instagram followers, and total You Tube views exceeding 250 million with over 2 million subscribers in under 2 years, Why Don’t We has become one of pop music’s biggest breakout stories. Taking an innovative and unconventional approach towards releasing new music and actively engaging their rapidly growing fanbase, the prolific young group – the quintet ranges in age from 17-20 years old – put out four EPs in under 12 months. The group closed 2017 on a high note, performing on the entire iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, including the NYC stop at Madison Square Garden where they shared the stage with Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Camilla Cabello and more. Their debut full length album, 8 Letters, debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 at #9 and immediately shot to #1 on US iTunes’ Overall Albums chart (along with topping charts in over 20 more territories around the globe). The band has sold out back-to-back North American headlining tours, including their biggest trek to date earlier this year that was highlighted by multiple nights in NYC, LA, Chicago, and Toronto. High profile national television appearances include performances on NBC’s TODAY (including their summer concert series in Rockefeller Plaza), ABC’s Good Morning America, nationally syndicated Live with Kelly and Ryan, CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden and more. Press highlights include features in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, and TIME among others.
Cat Power Announces 2019 Shows With Mumford & Sons And Her Own Headline Dates
Cat Power today announces 2019 North American tour dates. The Spring 2019 shows will see Cat Power a.k.a. Chan Marshall play across America in support of Mumford & Sons, with additional headline dates throughout. All shows are detailed below.
The new album Wanderer marked the return of a beloved American voice, with the New York Times exalting Marshall as “too vibrant a songwriter, with too extraordinary a voice”. Accolades from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, the New Yorker, NPR, New York Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly followed, along with appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Live From Here with Chris Thile, and Song Exploder. Sold-out live performances across America and Europe followed, with Australian dates to come next month.
Cat Power Tour Dates
Sat Feb 9 – Parkville, Australia @ Zoo Twilights – Melbourne Zoo
Sat Feb 10 – Parkville, Australia @ Zoo Twilights – Melbourne Zoo
Mon Feb 11 – Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theater
Thurs Feb 14 – Perth, Australia – Chevron Gardens
Wed Feb 27 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center *
Thurs Feb 28 – Hartford, CT – XL Center *
Fri Mar 1 – Portland, ME – State Theater
Sat Mar 2 – Albany, NY – Time Union Center *
Mon Mar 4 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre *
Tues Mar 5 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre *
Thurs Mar 7 – London, ON – London Music Hall
Fri Mar 8 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center *
Sat Mar 9 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena *
Mon Mar 11 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena *
Tues Mar 12 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena *
Wed Mar 13 – Cincinatti, OH – Bogart’s
Thurs Mar 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena *
Sat Mar 16 – Charlottesville, VA – John Paul Jones Arena *
Sun Mar 17 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena *
Mon Mar 18 – Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum *
Wed Mar 20 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena *
Thurs Mar 21 – Chattanooga, TN – Tivoli Theater
Fri Mar 22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena *
Sat Mar 23 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC *
Mon Mar 25 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Field House *
Wed Mar 27 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena *
Fri Mar 29 – Chicago, IL – United Center *
Sat Mar 30 – Madison, WI – Kohl Center *
Sun Mar 31 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum *
Mon Apr 1 – Minneapolis, MN – The Varsity Theater
Tues Jul 16 – Lorrach, GER – Burghof Lorrach GmbH
* with Mumford & Sons
Oscar-Shortlisted Stop-Motion Short ‘Lost & Found’ About A Crochet Dinosaur Is Now Available Online
Lost & Found is a stop motion short film that tugs at the heartstrings. The 7-minute clip is an Oscar contender, and shows a clumsy crochet dinosaur who must unravel itself to save the love of its life.
Watch The Muppet Show without The Muppets…Wait…What?
At the close of the first season of The Muppet Show, the crew of successful television show performed the opening song and a few skits without the Muppets. So THIS is what happens when the behind-the-scenes folk decide to have a little fun.
Queen in the ’80s
Highlighting some of Queen’s most epic moments of the 80s, their official YouTube channel celebrate the group now playing stadium shows and their sound adapting to match. Including the legendary Wembley concerts and Rock in Rio where they performed to the largest paying crowd in concert history. Also including official videos for Don’t Stop Me Now and Under Pressure, among many other gems.
Bryan Ferry announces 2019 world tour celebrating Roxy Music’s classic Avalon album
British music icon and soon to be inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Bryan Ferry has announced the U.S. leg his brand new 2019 World Tour playing songs from Avalon, solo & Roxy Music hits.
Since the release of his first record with Roxy Music in 1972, Bryan Ferry has been internationally acclaimed as one of the most innovative and stylish musicians, songwriters and singers to emerge in pop and rock music. Widely regarded as the embodiment of the glamorous and romantic worlds evoked by his songs, Ferry is also lauded as an icon of sartorial and personal cool.
A former student of Fine Art, Bryan Ferry remains as involved in the visual aspects of his work as he is in the composition and performance of the music and has conceived and directed some of the most original, controversial and critically applauded album artwork of the last four decades.
Bryan Ferry is an artist and musician that possesses the rare distinction of being regarded as both classic and timelessly contemporary – an accomplishment achieved by both his recordings with Roxy Music and the range and intensity of his solo albums.
Bryan Ferry Avalon tour 2019
2/14–Cape Town, South Africa–Grand Arena
2/16–Pretoria, South Africa–Time Square Arena
2/21–Perth, Australia –Kings Park & Botanic Garden
2/23–Yarra Valley, Australia–Rochford Wines
2/26–Melbourne, Australia–Margaret Court Arena
3/1–Sydney, Australia–ICC Sydney Theatre
3/3–Mount Cotton, Australia –Sirromet Wines
3/5–Wellington, New Zealand –TSB Arena
3/7–Auckland, New Zealand–Spark Arena
3/11–Osaka, Japan–Namba Hatch
3/13–Tokyo, Japan–Bunkamura Orchard Hall
5/20–Groningen, Netherlands–De Oosterpoort
5/22–Eindhoven, Netherlands–Muziekgebouw Frits Phillips
5/24–Amsterdam, Netherlands–Royal Theatre Carre
5/26–Frankfurt, Germany–Alte Oper
5/28–Essen, Germany–Theater Und Philharmonie Essen
5/30–Hamburg, Germany–Elbphilharmonie
6/1–Berlin, Germany–Tempodrom
6/3–Wroclaw, Poland–Narodowe Forum Muzyki
6/5–Prague, Czech Republic–Forum Karlin
6/7–Vienna, Austria–Stadthalle
6/9–Linz, Austria–Brucknerhaus
6/11–Munich, Germany–Circus Krone
6/13–Lucerne, Switzerland–KKL
6/15 –Brussels, Belgium–Palais des Beaux-Arts
6/–London, United Kingdom–Royal Albert Hall
6/20–Vejle, Denmark–Byparken Vejle
7/30–Toronto, Ontario–Sony Centre
8/1–Chicago, IL–Chicago Theatre
8/3–Detroit, MI–Fox Theatre
8/5–Boston, MA–Boston Opera House
8/7–Port Chester, NY–Capitol Theater
8/9–New York, NY–United Palace Theater
8/11–Philadelphia, PA–The Met
8/13–Washington, DC–The Anthem
8/15–Atlanta, GA–Tabernacle
8/17–Nashville, TN–Ryman Auditorium
8/21–Dallas, TX–Majestic Theatre
8/23–Austin, TX–ACL Live at the Moody Theater
8/25–Denver, CO–Paramount Theatre
8/27–San Diego, CA–Copley Symphony Hall
8/29–Los Angeles, CA–Greek Theatre
8/31–Oakland, CA–Fox Theatre
9/3–Seattle, WA–Moore Theatre
9/5–Vancouver, British Columbia–Queen Elizabeth Theatre