Rose Cousins is a Halifax music scene fixture, a musical MVP. Her brand of folk-pop singer-songwriter is the kind that critics adore and awards stream in for: Fresh yet familiar, honest and real, driven by melody and backed up with airy arrangements. For proof, look no further than the fact that, this weekend, Cousins won […]
junos
Posted inArts + Music
The pop life of Ria Mae, from shy radio listener to hit singer
“Do you like this song?” Ria Mae turns up the radio in her car. She repeats the pattern at least a half-dozen times through the next couple hours: Breaking off from what she’s saying, asking that question, turning it up, stating a fact about the song, then respectfully returning it to just-audible. “I’ve always been […]
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2014 Juno nominees you could see at Salim’s
The 2014 Juno nominees were announced today and I am not going to list them all here because I’m not made of internet so click here if you are so inclined: CANADIAN MUSICIANS! Some local (or basically local) folks made the list, click around and get familiar: Matt Mays (rock album of the year for […]
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Juno joy
Way to go, team. As they flocked to the red carpet—or at least Canada’s lacklustre version of it—our musicians received some well-deserved recognition at the Juno Awards. And heck, our Nova Scotia representatives sure did us proud. With a lengthy list of Nova Scotia nominees, homebred singer-songwriter Feist stole the show, racking up a few […]
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Free Luedecke
scott blackburn In celebration of his second Juno win for his fourth album My Hands Are On Fire and Other Love Songs, the perennially lovely Old Man Luedecke has offered up his first EP Mole in the Ground for free download starting May 1. Long out of print, the album was recorded in three hours and features songs about burgers and artwork by Luedecke’s wife Teresa. Cuuuuute. You can grab it at oldmanluedecke.com beginning this Sunday (also my birthday! Old Man Lang!) And you can catch him on the heels of a cross-Canada tour on May 19 at the North
Posted inArts + Music
Meaghan Smith is a Winner
The other day we got ahold of Meaghan Smith to talk about what it feels like to win a Juno. The “New Artist of the Year” was in Halifax at the Carleton doing some press about the win before heading out to play a couple of shows in Quebec. Smith is a genuinely delightful person. A week later, she’s still blown away by the win, but also happy, proud and ready to work. In a climate where, to poorly paraphrase Yeats, many musicians either lack conviction or are filled with passionate (fake) intensity, she is a breath of fresh
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Meaghan Smith and Old Man Luedecke Win Junos
This past weekend Meaghan Smith and Old Man Luedecke both took home Juno awards. Smith took home Best New Artist, while Luedecke won Roots and Traditional album of the year for My Hands Are On Fire and Other Love Songs. GREAT JOB.
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Ghettosocks Nominated for a Juno
Ghettosocks‘ album Treat of the Day has been nominated in the “Rap Recording of the Year’ category alongside some pretty estimable artists, including Shad, D-cisive, Drake and Eternia & MoSS. Also, Meaghan Smith was nominated for New Artist of the Year, Classified got a Song of the Year nod for “Oh Canada” and Old Man […]
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Last Flickr Update – Now with Awards Photos
Check out Scott Blackburn’s photos from the entire crazy Junos weekend above. Red carpet, after-parties and everything in between. Think good thoughts for our hardworking shooter – he waits in St. John’s along with other cloudy-headed revellers for the fog to lift.
Posted inArts + Music
They Did It
wooooooot! We are ecstatic to report that last night Amelia Curran took home the Roots and Traditional Recording of the Year statuette for Hunter Hunter, while Joel Plaskett captured Adult Alternative Recording of the Year for Three at the Junos award ceremony in St. John’s. We think it’s particularly sweet that Curran was awarded her […]
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Twitter Roundup: A Whole Bunch of Bands Are Stuck At The Halifax Airport
let’s hope Justin Bieber can get around this. We were tipped off that a number of bands and industry folk scheduled to attend the Junos have had their flights delayed today due to fog in St. John’s. Josie Dye, the midday announcer for Toronto rock station 102.1 The Edge, has issued a volume of live Tweets on the issue, starting yesterday when she was on board a Porter flight to Halifax “For every “down” there is an “up” bump. The “downs” are just more easily noticed,” she posts. An hour later: “Stuck in Halifax, not getting out of here. I
Posted inArts + Music
Peanut Butter Juno-Time
photo by the lovely Julé Malet-Veale The Juno nominations were announced this morning, and although the list features the usual suspects (Nickleblegh, Billy Talent, Michael Bublé and yes, despite the fact I quite like him, Joel Plaskett is ubiquitous enough at these award ceremonies that he, too counts as a usual suspect) there are some […]