Adria Young

“It’s groovy, wacky and noisy in the right places,” says Brett Jarret, vocalist and guitarist of lazy pop indie-rock band Strongboy. Along with Seamus O’Neill, Alex Sheppard and Tyler Popwell, the four best friends from Cape Breton are anything but traditional Island fare, with their modern indie-pop flourishes and jizz-jazzy reverbs. Strongboy is currently working […]

Here’s the scoop on Electric Spoonful: “Rudy [Pace] and I began playing music together after recognizing our mutual love of ’60s and ’70s styles of rock and roll,” says guitarist Brently Campbell. “We have been described as a scrappy rock quartet,” says Pace, guitarist-vocalist. The Halifax-via-Cape Breton band, also with C.J. Hill (bass) and Jesse […]

After playing bass as a hired gun with almost every gigging jazz musician in the Maritimes, St. FX jazz graduate Willem Paynter released City Grit, his debut record of original music (and one jazz standard), in December. “It can be considered hard-bop, a direct descendent of bebop, but there’s a lot of funk, groove, blues […]

After his longtime Halifax three-piece pop-punk band The Fat Stupids split last year, guitarist Matt Grace (Outtacontroller) still had songs kicking around that he wanted to play. He asked his partner Heather Grant to start a new band, and then they added her Crossed Wire bandmate Dewayne Shanks, plus good buddy Coleman Johnson (The Scoop […]

Meeting at jazz master Jerry Granelli’s Creative Music Workshop five years ago, saxophonists Nick Dourado (Eddy, Special Costello) and Andrew MacKelvie released six spontaneous tracks on an album titled oo last year. “Everything you hear is improvised, and I think it highlights the connection that Nick and I have,” explains MacKelvie. “We love songs and […]

“I think we’ve all always had these feelings about smashing the patriarchy, critical sex-positivity and frustrations with being treated differently, especially in certain scenes like music, because we’re women,” says Jess MacDonald (guitar). In January, MacDonald, Camila Salcedo (drums) and Grace Stratton (bass) created Glitterclit, a feminist-punk band inspired by riot grrls, Bikini Kill, Spray […]

This is what inspires Dana Beeler, the vocalist and guitarist of new rock-based outfit Hello Delaware: “Shitty dudes, shitty breakups and t-shirts with fun sayings on them. I was sick of being pigeonholed as a sad-sack songwriter,” she says of her days performing as Dana Beeler, onstage with a guitar. “But I’m not sad, I’m […]

“I would say my biggest influences are the Foo Fighters and Jet,” says Brad Long, the lead guitarist and singer of his first rock project, James Bradley Band. “I listen to a lot of different styles, but rock bands like those, The Sheepdogs, The Trews and Sam Roberts Band are definitely my favourites.” A student […]

“Me and Steve wanted to start something poppy but still have it be punk and fast,” says guitarist Cody Googoo (Alienation, Unreal Thought) of his collaborator Steve Earle. Joined by Bloodhouse’s Alex Mitchell (vocals), Justin Crowe (drums) and Adam LeDrew (bass, formerly Walrus), Booji Boys released an energetic post-punk demo of six songs last month. […]

“I do write a lot about myself, but I love writing story songs,” says folk songwriter Laurenn Marchand, a graduate of music from St. FX and music therapy at Acadia. “Working as a music therapist outside of performance, I have the opportunity to engage with a lot of older people and I love writing songs […]