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Colin James Announces New Studio Album – Miles To Go – Out September 21

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With his 19th album, Miles to Go (out Sept. 21, on Stony Plain Records in the USA and True North Records ROW), Colin James is getting back to the blues.

Miles to Go, Colin James’ ambitious sequel to the critically acclaimed Blue Highways, continues James’ story with a collection of carefully curated songs handpicked from some of the greatest blues artists.

In the months leading up to the recording, as James was reflecting on songs for the album he decided to reacquaint himself with a beautiful red Gibson ES-335. It was just like the guitar he played as a teenager but regretfully had to sell for rent money.

While James reconnected with this guitar, Miles to Go seemed to just flow onto the studio floor.

This album blends songs old and new, some of them completely reimagined and some almost perfect homages. But all are unified by a theme of undying love for the blues and the highest respect for the creators that led the way.

Known as one of Canada’s best blues musicians, it wasn’t until 2016’s Blue Highways that James found himself on a blues chart: the album spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart. It also landed him one of his biggest hits: “Riding in the Moonlight”. A Willie Dixon song that James once covered when busking in the streets and subways of Toronto and Montreal that landed on a Spotify playlist garnering millions of streams.

When James set out to make Blue Highways, an album of blues covers recorded with his touring band, he always intended it to be the first of two installments. Now we have Miles to Go, in which James records nine new covers of his favourite artists (Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Little Willie John, Robert Johnson, etc.) and adds two originals, “I Will Remain” and “40 Light Years.” “Blues has always been a pass-it-forward kind of thing,” says James. “It’s also surprisingly hard to write. You have to be careful how modern you get in your phrasing. Certain writers can write a song that sounds like it was done 40 years ago, but it’s deceptively hard.”

To be a blues musician is to always have a dialogue with the past. As with much blues music, it’s the performances on the original versions rather than the actual song that drew James to them. That said, what could he possibly bring to them in 2018? “You bring what you can,” he says. “If I feel like I’ve brought enough, then I put it out. I knocked a bunch of songs off this record when I realized that I can’t bring anything to them that isn’t there already. All my life I’ve tried to bring vitality to older songs. Hopefully my dedication to it is what floats it over the mark. That’s a subjective thing; some people will always prefer the original. However, there’s always a group of people coming up to see me after a show who might say, “Oh, I never would have heard ‘One More Mile’ by James Cotton—nothing in my life would have pointed me there.”

So much of Colin James’s career has pointed him to this moment: joyfully tangled up in the blues, which, as he notes, “is the only genre where you can maintain a young profile at the age of 53.”

07/13/18 Windsor, ON Bluesfest Windsor
07/14/18 Ottawa, ON Ottawa Bluesfest
08/17/18 Grande Prairie, AB Bear Creek Folk Music Festival
08/19/18 Salmon Arm, BC Salmon Arm Roots & Blues
08/25/18 London, ON London Bluesfest
09/08/18 Blue Mountain, ON Blue Mountain Village

Fab 5 Freddy on The Creation of Yo! MTV Raps

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Fab 5 Freddy: It was a guy named Peter Dougherty, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, he was a friend on the downtown scene in New York. He knew moves I was making with the movie Wild Style, like, just doing my art, making moves on the downtown scene; having linked Blondie to the culture and that turned into a No. 1 record [“Rapture”] for her. So when the music was selling crazy with no marketing and no promotion, Peter was a big fan and he got with another dude that worked at MTV, named Ted Demme, who was also a fan of the music. And they were basically like ‘we should do something’ and MTV finally gave them a shot and Peter said I got just the person, I know him. He explained all the stuff I did, so they said ‘give it a shot.’ And that guy was me and the rest, they say, is history. It was the highest-rated show the minute it went on the air and that started the ball rolling.People tuned in, they liked what they saw. At that point in time – I like to point out – rap radio, where you could hear rap records on the radio all day, every day was nowhere in existence, except maybe AM radio in California, a station called K-DAY. But in New York, the shows were on the weekends for a couple of hours, so it was a revelation and people tuned in. The concept of my show, from the beginning, was I didn’t wanna be cooped up in the MTV studios like the other VJ’s that were on the air cause I just thought it was corny how that looked and they was on for real long spectrum of times. And Peter said, ‘How would you wanna do it?’ I said ‘Man, well I would be more comfortable being on the street, going to the basement, whether artists is making music in Harlem or the Bronx.’ See where they live, let’s go to Compton, let’s go to Liberty City in Miami, that’s what I did. I went to the 5th Ward [in] Houston with the Geto Boys, so I traveled around and took it to the streets and that was the blueprint and the formula that actually worked and spread the culture around the world.

https://vimeo.com/35643246

Via

Pianist Plays Classical Music For Blind Elephants At Thailand’s Sanctuary

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Paul Barton, an artist and musician living in Thailand performs classical piano piece for a blind elephant named Lam Duan at Elephant World. Just watch how the soothing music comforts the sightless elephant, who swayed happily with the tempo of the music. I wonder if there are any Spotify playlists to play for other blind animals?

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Prime-Time Special Following Robert Kennedy’s Assassination

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In response to Robert Kennedy’s assassination, Fred Rogers produced this primetime special to help parents with this difficult tragedy and to give them ways to talk with their children about tragic events in the news.

Bob Dylan’s Hofner Harmonica and Neckstand From 1961

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Check out Bob Dylan’s Hohner “Marine Band” harmonica and metal neckstand, similar to the one used by Folk Rock paragon Bob Dylan at his very first paid gig, at Gerde’s Folk City on April 11, 1961, where he supported Blues legend John Lee Hooker.

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Jess Moskaluke and Brett Kissel Tie For Lead With 6 Nominations At Canadian Country Music Awards

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The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has announced the full list of 2018 CCMA Award nominees. Leading the race with six nominations each are three-time Female Artist of the Year winner, Jess Moskaluke and reigning Male Artist of the Year, Brett Kissel.

Moskaluke is nominated for the Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, FORD Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Video of the Year and Songwriter(s) of the Year. Kissel will be competing for wins in the Apple Fans’ Choice Award, FORD Album of the Year, Interactive Artist of the Year, Record Producer(s) of the Year, Video of the Year and Male Artist of the Year categories.

Reigning SiriusXM Rising Star and Female Artist of the Year Meghan Patrick has earned five 2018 CCMA Award nominations. Patrick is competing for top honours in hopes of taking home the FORD Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Video of the Year and Songwriter(s) of the Year Awards.

Taking home three awards in 2017, Dallas Smith has earned four 2018 CCMA Award nominations today: Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year and Video of the Year. Smith has also been announced as a performer for the 2018 CCMA Awards show which will broadcast live from Hamilton, ON on September 9.

The Apple Music Fans’ Choice Award, the most honourable award for many country artists as the winner is chosen by Canadian country music fans, was announced late last night. Nomination leader Jess Moskaluke goes head to head with Canada’s biggest names in country music — Gord Bamford, Dean Brody, Chad Brownlee, Tim Hicks, Dallas Smith, James Barker Band, High Valley and Canada’s country powerhouse and 2018 CCMA Awards host Shania Twain.

The 2018 CCMA Award Show will broadcast live from Hamilton, ON on CBC and cbcmusic.ca/ccmas on Sunday, September 9 at 8:00 p.m. EST. Tune in this September to see the winners live in action!

Tickets to the 2018 CCMA Awards Show are available for purchase in-person at the FirstOntario Centre Box Office and online at ticketmaster.ca. For each ticket sold, $1 will go directly to the MusicCounts in support of their year-round music initiatives.

ARTIST AWARDS

APPLE MUSIC FANS’ CHOICE AWARD

Gord Bamford
Dean Brody
Chad Brownlee
Tim Hicks
High Valley
James Barker Band
Brett Kissel
Jess Moskaluke
Dallas Smith
Shania Twain

FORD ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Country Music Made Me Do It – Meghan Patrick
Past The Past – Jess Moskaluke
The Project – Lindsay Ell
We Were That Song – Brett Kissel
What We’re Made Of – The Washboard Union

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Lindsay Ell
Madeline Merlo
Jess Moskaluke
Meghan Patrick
Shania Twain

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Gord Bamford
Chad Brownlee
Brett Kissel
Dallas Smith
Bobby Wills

GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR

High Valley
Hunter Brothers
James Barker Band
The Reklaws
The Washboard Union

ROOTS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

The Lovelocks
Jessica Mitchell
Lindi Ortega
The Washboard Union
Donovan Woods

SIRIUSXM RISING STAR

Dan Davidson
Aaron Goodvin
Hunter Brothers
Leaving Thomas
The Reklaws

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Chills – James Barker Band
Country Music Made Me Do It – Meghan Patrick
Drive Me Away – Jess Moskaluke
Lonely Drum – Aaron Goodvin
Side Effects – Dallas Smith

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

The Bad Guy – Meghan Patrick
Drive Me Away – Jess Moskaluke
Hometown Kids – The Reklaws
Sky Stays This Blue – Dallas Smith
We Were That Song – Brett Kissel

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR

Dean Brody, Matt Rovey   
Song: 8th Day (Performed By: Dean Brody)
Dan Isbell, Meghan Patrick, Jeremy Stover 
Song: Country Music Made Me Do It (Performed By: Meghan Patrick)
Zach Abend, Corey Crowder, Jess Moskaluke
Song: Drive Me Away (Performed By: Jess Moskaluke)
James Barker, Gavin Slate, Travis Wood 
Song: It’s Working (Performed By: James Barker Band)
Alexander Black, Aaron Goodvin, Cathy Gravitt
Song: Lonely Drum (Performed By: Aaron Goodvin)

INTERACTIVE ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

Tenille Arts
Hunter Brothers
Brett Kissel
Leaving Thomas
Nice Horse 

MUSICIAN AWARDS

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kirby Barber
Chris Byrne
Lisa Dodd
Justin Kudding
Travis Switzer

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

Matthew Atkins
Ben Bradley
Flavio Cirillo
Rich DaSilva
Chad Melchert          

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Denis Dufresne
Ali Raney
Mike Sanyshyn
Tyler Vollrath
Mark Whitehead

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Derek Caven
Paul Chapman
Matt McKay
Darren Savard
Geoff Torrn

KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Scott Galloway
Mike Little
Bart McKay
Dale Wallace
Brendan Waters

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR

David Barber – Banjo
Denis Dufresne – Banjo
Shane Guse – Mandolin
Mitch Jay – Dobro
Connor Riddell – Banjo

STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Chris Altmann
John Ellis
Mitch Jay
Doug Johnson
Mark Whitehead

RADIO AWARDS

MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR- LARGE MARKET

Larry Donohue – CFCW – Edmonton, AB
Steph Hansen – CISN-FM/CKRY-FM – Edmonton, AB/Calgary, AB
Amanda Kingsland – CKBY-FM – Ottawa, ON
Peter Walker – CJKX-FM/CHKX-FM – Oshawa, ON/Hamilton, ON

** Less than five nominees

MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR- MEDIUM OR SMALL MARKET

Shilo Bellis – CJXL-FM – Moncton, NB
Jenn Dalen – CKGY-FM – Red Deer, AB
Paul Ferguson – CHCQ-FM – Belleville, ON
Cal Gratton – CJVR-FM – Melfort, SK
Cory Noel – CKFM-FM – Olds, AB

INDUSTRY AWARDS

BOOKING AGENCY OF THE YEAR

APA Agency
The Feldman Agency
Invictus Entertainment Group
Sakamoto Agency
United Talent Agency

COUNTRY CLUB OF THE YEAR

Cook County Saloon – Edmonton, AB
The Dakota Tavern – Toronto, ON
Gabby’s Country Cabaret – Langley, BC
Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall – Calgary, AB
The Roxy – Vancouver, BC

COUNTRY FESTIVAL, FAIR, OR EXHIBITION OF THE YEAR

Big Valley Jamboree – Camrose, AB
Boots And Hearts Music Festival – Oro-Medonte, ON
Calgary Stampede – Calgary, AB
Cavendish Beach Music Festival – Cavendish, PE
Rockin’ River Country Music Fest – Merritt, BC

COUNTRY MUSIC PROGRAM OR SPECIAL OF THE YEAR

Canadian Coast To Coast – Fabmar Communications
The Casey Clarke Country Countdown – Casey Clarke Productions
The Casey Clarke Show – Casey Clarke Productions
The Dungarees Christmas Special – Rogers Media and The Dungarees
Jess Moskaluke – Home Movie – Corus Entertainment

MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR

Big Loud Management LLC.
Invictus Entertainment Group
MDM Artist Management Services
RGK Entertainment Group Inc.
Starseed Entertainment Inc.

MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY OF THE YEAR

ole
Royalty Music Publishing Inc.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
Universal Music Publishing Canada
Warner/Chappell Music Canada

RECORD COMPANY OF THE YEAR

MDM Recordings Inc.
ole red dot
Open Road Recordings Inc.
Universal Music Canada
Warner Music Canada

INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR

Steve Coady – Vice President, Radio Promotions – Warner Music Canada
Jim Cressman – President – Invictus Entertainment Group
Mike Denney – President – MDM Recordings Inc.
Shannon McNevan – Director of A&R – Universal Music Canada
Robert Ott – Chairman, CEO – ole

CREATIVE DIRECTOR(S) OF THE YEAR
Design Team: Rory Gardiner, Loren Stevenson Photography: Doyle Smith
Interactive Video Brochure, Associate Booklet, Album: Be You (Artist: Rory Gardiner)
Design Team: Jason Graham, Photography: John Gaucher
Album: In Comes The Night (Artist: Bobby Wills)
Design Team: Mitchell Nevins, Photography: Margaret Malandruccolo
Single: Loud (Artist: Tim Hicks)
Design Team: Antoine Moonen (Mediavandals) Photography: Delaney Royer
Album: Past The Past (Artist: Jess Moskaluke)
Design Team: Mitchell Nevins, Photography: Phil Crozier
Album: The Squeeze (Artist: The Road Hammers)

RECORDING STUDIO OF THE YEAR

Barrytone Studios – St. Clements, ON
Bart McKay Productions – Saskatoon, SK
MCC Recording Studio – Calgary, AB
OCL Studios – Chestermere, AB
Revolution Recording – Toronto, ON

RECORD PRODUCER(S) OF THE YEAR

Gord Bamford, Phil O’Donnell
Album: Neon Smoke (Artist: Gord Bamford)
Spencer Cheyne, Brett Kissel, Justin Kudding, Bart McKay, Matt McKay, Luke Wooten
Album: We Were That Song (Artist: Brett Kissel)
Jeff Dalziel
Album: What We’re Made Of (Artist: The Washboard Union)
Danick Dupelle, Tebey
Album: Love A Girl (Artist: Tebey)
Dan Swinimer
Album: Downtown Kids (Artist: David James)

RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Apple Music
Spotify Canada Inc.
Sunrise Records

**Less than 5 nominees

RON SAKAMOTO TALENT BUYER OR PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

Paul Biro – Sakamoto Agency
Jim Cressman – Invictus Entertainment Group
Emmanuel Patterson – Live Nation Entertainment
Julia Rambeau – MRG Group
Denise Ross – Live Nation Entertainment

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Stephano Barberis
Video: The Bad Guy (Artist: Meghan Patrick), Video: Coming Clean (Artist: Shirley Gnome),  Video: Dirt Covered Rhinestone (Artist: Jade Mya), Video: Heart Of A Woman (Artist: Johnny Reid), Video: Hold The Line (Artist: Jesse Mast), Video: Might As Well Be Me (Artist: Chad Brownlee), Video: Neon Smoke (Artist: Gord Bamford), Video: Out Of The Blue (Artist: Chad Brownlee), Video: Sky Stays This Blue (Artist: Dallas Smith), Video: Something To Wrap My Heart Around (Artist: JoJo Mason), Video: What We’re Made Of (Artist: The Washboard Union)
Gavin Michael Booth
Video: Born and Raised (Artist: Hunter Brothers), Video: Slide Over (Artist: Tim Hicks), Video: Sombrero (Artist: Scotty James), Video: Those Were The Nights (Artist: Hunter Brothers), Video: You Get To Me (Artist: River Town Saints)
Ben Knechtel
Video: Chills (Artist: James Barker Band), Video: Drive Me Away (Artist: Jess Moskaluke), Video: Hometown Kids (Artist: The Reklaws)
Travis Nesbitt
Video: Anywhere With You (Artist: The Dungarees), Video: Ring The Bells (Artist: The Dungarees), Video: Say We Did (Artist: Dan Davidson), Video: Shine (Artist: The Washboard Union)
Joel Stewart
Video: All About Her (Artist: Paul Brandt), Video: In Comes The Night (Artist: Bobby Wills), Video: Kill Your Love (Artist: Jess Moskaluke), Video: Past The Past (Artist: Jess Moskaluke)

SOCAN Foundation and SiriusXM Launch Young Canadian Songwriter Awards

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SOCAN Foundation awards emerging Canadian musical and audio-visual composers and songwriters producing high-quality original works that deserve to be recognized. A wide variety of awards are available to recognize the remarkable talent we call Canadian music-creators across genres.

SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers – Deadline: 2019 (TBD)

SOCAN Foundation Awards for Emerging Audio-Visual Composers (Sponsored by RBC) – Deadline: 2019 (TBD)

SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Canadian Songwriters (Sponsored by SiriusXM) – Deadline: July 16, 2018 at 11:59 PM EDT

TD Indigenous Songwriter Award – Deadline: 2019 (TBD)

SOCAN Foundation hires renowned Canadian composers to serve as jury members, who meet over several days to review applications submitted for the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, Emerging Audio-visual Composers (Sponsored by RBC), and Young Canadian Songwriters (Sponsored by SiriusXM). Juries for each competition are balanced to ensure representation from the West, Central/East and Quebec regions. Each jury comprises three members, who report their results in meetings with the SOCAN Foundation manager.

Applications for the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers are reviewed anonymously. Applications for the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Emerging Audio-Visual Composers (Sponsored by RBC) and for Young Canadian Songwriters (Sponsored by SiriusXM) are not reviewed anonymously.

Go here to apply.

Apply Now To Showcase at Folk Alliance International 2019

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After 6 years, Folk Alliance International Conference & Festival will return to Canada in 2019. Applications are now open for artists interested in showcasing February 2019 in Montreal, Quebec.

Deadlines

May 1, 2018: Official Showcase applications open

August 15, 2018 5pm CT: Official Showcase applications close

September 17, 2018: Official Showcase Artists notified

October 1, 2018: Official Showcase Artists announced publicly

October 19, 2018: Official Showcase Artists scheduled

Eligibility

Membership is not required to submit an application. All selected artists and accompanying musicians are required to be paid registrants of the conference.

All non-Canadian artists must be legally able to enter Canada and are responsible for acquiring all necessary travel permits including visas when necessary.

INELIGIBLE: Artists who had an Official Showcase in 2017 and a second Official Showcase in 2018 are not eligible to apply in 2019. They may still arrange Private Showcases in 2019 and are welcome to reapply for an Official Showcase for the 2020 conference. This policy ensures turnover and access to Official Showcases for our wide community of established and emerging artists.

Radius Clause

In order not to compete with Folk Alliance International Official Showcases, and to maximize the community and career impact of presenter and industry attendance on-site, artists selected for an Official Showcase or as Music Camp instructors are not permitted to perform concerts within a 24 kilometer (15 mile) radius of the conference hotel between the hours of 4pm – 3am, February 13-16, 2019.

  • This clause does not restrict Private Showcases at the conference, radio performances, media interviews, or in-store signings.
  • Off-site events (within the above conference dates/times/distance) cannot be promoted in any advance communication to the FAI delegate list or in any on-site branding, advertising, announcements, or activity.
  • Any use of the Folk Alliance International name or logo (in relation to an off-site event) must be approved in writing by FAI in advance of all events and promotion.

Official Showcase Application Fee

May 1, 2018 – May 31, 2018

FAI members $15, non-members $30

June 1, 2018 – July 31, 2018

FAI members $20, non-members $40

August 1, 2018 – August 15, 2018 (due by 5pm CST on Aug 15)

FAI members $25, non-members $50

 Official Showcase application fees are non-refundable.

What You’ll Need to Complete the Application

  1. Credit card for application fee
  2. Contact information for the artist and all representation
  3. 50-word bio (3rd-person)
  4. Two different artist/band headshot photos (300dpi, color)
  5. Link to 1-2 audio files (note: the jury cannot review downloads, Dropbox or Google Drive files)
  6. Link to 1 video of a live performance of the proposed showcase format
  7. 2019/20 desired touring territory
  8. Link to highest profile media review received in the last 2 years
  9. Awards & recognition within the last 2 years
  10. Names/roles of all band members
  11. Stage plot (.pdf)

Download a sample application here. This printable copy of the online Official Showcase application is for preparation purposes only. FAI will only accept applications that are paid for and submitted online, NO MAIL-IN APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Disclaimers

If accepted for a showcase, artists are required to post that they are an Official Showcase artist on social media using the FAI provided badge. This action is part of the artist’s contract.

Official Showcases are “festival style” performances, meaning that there are no sound checks and the lighting is set. The performances are 30 minutes long with a 15 minute change over. All performances take place in hotel ballrooms. There is no guaranteed use of in-ear-monitors.

Official Showcase performances are not open to the public. There are no public tickets or guest passes available. All attendees of the Official Showcases must be registered delegates of the conference.

Discounted Registration Fee for Official Showcase Applicants

Applicants are guaranteed a discounted conference registration rate regardless of Official Showcase award status.

Please note that these rates are only for the artists and not for the support team (manager, agent, publicist, etc.). Support team members must register using standard registration rates.

Discounted rates are available to artists from outside North America and Official Showcase acts of 6 or more. Contact FAI for special pricing.

After you complete the Official Showcase application, you will receive an email with a discount code to use when registering to receive the discounted applicant rate.

All prices are per person, in USD.

Discounted conference registration rates are available for members. Become a member of Folk Alliance International here.

APPLY FOR AN OFFICIAL SHOWCASE

Remember The Beatles Vintage Record Player?

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Cool looking The Beatles Vintage Record Player. Only about 5000 of these players were ever produced, and very few of the boxes were kept.

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I Want This: Rolling Stones “Party Pack” Toy Instrument Set

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Going up for auction later this month from Heritage Auctions, is this little beauty. Manufactured in the UK by Selcol, this incredibly rare set is made even more desirable by the fact that it’s still on its original card. Includes a kazoo, miniature bass guitar, and harmonica with “Rolling Stones” printed across the top, on a cardboard backing emblazoned with illustrations of the band members – Mick, Keith, Bill, Brian, and Charlie – playing or holding their instruments.