Nova Scotia can only hope to be immortalized in one of Michael Feuerstack’s Vines. The folk-pop-magical songwriter has a way with a phone, filming mini videos of The Littlest Hobo, flashing motel lights or the shadows of blowing leaves in the sun. “It’s fun to capture a loop of something. It’s maybe a continuation of […]
The Carleton
Posted inArts + Music
Go Long! is a catch
Ottawa first fell in love with the covers Go Long!—Danielle Allard, Lucas Haneman and Nicolas Crisafi—put its mark on, like T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” which transforms into something sultry. But the jazzy folk trio’s catchy original material is what sticks, lauded by local guitar legend Don Ross as crazy addictive, and you know, little ol’ […]
Posted inArts + Music
All July Talk
You’ve seen it before.m You go to a show, the band dutifully plays its songs, note for note, and you realize you should’ve stayed home and listened to the record instead. There are many bands that do this. July Talk is not one of them. Formed last year in Toronto, July Talk writes its blistering […]
Posted inArts + Music
Grass roots
The Appalachian mountain range, from New York to Alabama, is considered the home of American bluegrass. Just a few miles north of the range, in Montreal, five-piece bluegrass band Notre Dame de Grass has been perfecting the folk-revival tradition for the last 10 years. At The Carleton on Wednesday, NDG hits both the peaks of […]
Posted inArts + Music
A country Rose
It’s a good year to be a girl making country music, from Kacey Musgraves and Ashley Monroe challenging genre conventions to Rayna Jaymes and Juliette Barnes singing through the drama on Nashville. “I think there’s something of a revival happening right now, and I hope it’s not a trend,” says Whitney Rose, calling from the […]
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This Sound Will Save You’s emotional rescue
Halifax’s hard-working electro-pop three-piece, This Sound Will Save You, releases its debut album, Let the Light Lead You, at the Carleton on Monday. With multi-instrumentalist Matt Fudge, vocalist/UK-transplant Chloe Jones and Nico Orengo on drums, the album shows off the emotive depth and wealth of feeling that infuses the band. “We wanted a record where […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Five alive—Happy anniversary, The Carleton
The corner of Prince and Argyle Streets, now home to the The Carleton Music Bar & Grill (1685 Argyle Street, 422-6335), has always been a prime piece of real estate. Halifax’s first governor Sir Richard Bulkeley, a known entertainer, chose this spot to build his mansion. and the doors were officially opened in 1760 to […]
Posted inArts + Music
Freshman guitars and Econoline vans
Aidan Knight’s father, an avid guitar collector, bought him his first guitar—a gorgeous 1958 Guild M-65 Freshman, manufactured in Hoboken, New Jersey—when Knight was still a teenager. It remains his favourite guitar. Small coincidence, perhaps, that one of the character-driven songs off his new LP, Small Reveal, chronicles a lonely clerk dreaming of love while […]
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Into the Wilderness
Toronto-based folk group The Wilderness of Manitoba will be promoting its third album at The Carleton on Tuesday, April 9. In Island of Echoes, Will Whitwham and Amanda Balsys harmonize with newest band member Wes McClintock to create a smooth sound that begs for nostalgia. Along with percussionist Sean Lancaric, everyone in the group has […]
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See the Light
The benefit that’s been rocking the US since the early 2000s, and internationally (including Ontario) for several years as well, is finally making its way east. “It’s the first ever Halifax Light of Day,” says Peter Elkas who will be performing at The Carleton on Sunday to help raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research. “We […]
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Raise the roof
Since 2004, music blog Herohill has posted hundreds of reviews and news about local indie musicians. Based in Halifax, Bryan Acker and Shane Nadeau, the folk-focused creators of the site, are also jurors for the Polaris Music Prize, SOCAN and the Junos. Not bad for a couple of music bloggers. But after years of pro […]
Posted inArts + Music
Someone special
Rose Cousins will be fresh off a tour with Ari Hest when she makes her way to The Carleton for her three-day spread early next week. And touring with Hest was all kinds of awesome. “He’s freaking dreamy,” says Cousins. “I wish his voice was a sleeping bag and I could crawl into it.” It’s […]