I grew up loving Americana and Country music, but I also grew up following animated tv.  I first combined one of my songs with animation in 2009 for a song called "Another Love"--animated by Nat Dart. It was less expensive to hire an animator than to do a professional video shoot.  It was also something that I would enjoy more than just seeing myself on the…

After listening to many great releases by many talented artists I was afforded a chance to sit back and listen to something I can simply enjoy in the spirit in which it was made. This music was actually recommended to me by another musician I respect and admire.  

Jay Aymar has been mining a stylistic narrative songwriting vein for a few years now but this latest effort – “Overtime” -- while being for selective tastes – and…

The last time I spoke with Pharis and Jason Romero was when they released their last studio album A Passing Glimpse. As an admirer of their banjo-making company, J Romero Banjos, it was exciting to learn the behind-the scenes details of their passion for building instruments and making music. Since our chat last time, A Passing Glimpse has brought international acclaim to the duo, including landing them spots in some high-profile festivals, as well as earning them the…

I always enjoy discovering something special about any new music. So, with this new CD – “Caravan,” I am treated to the refreshing voice of  Terry Burns – the youngest sister of the Burns Sisters – a trio that recorded two albums with Columbia Records in the late 80’s and continue to release great music independently - and Ron Kristy – composer of music for…

After an extended run in the US, The Sheepdogs are heading north to their native Canada for a while.  Their music fits my missing 1970's 8-track collection, while still sounding fresh and not as derivative as some of the seventies-influenced folk rock that seems to be coming from California right now.  Ewan Curry readily shares his love for Humble Pie with a dark-haired Peter…

I'm really pleased to see Kathleen's LP Voyageur featuring in plenty of people's Top 10s for 2012. It's my joint number 1 with The Mastersons to save anyone looking.

She's just played two nights in London at Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush. I was there, last night, for the second of them.

She opened with Asking For Flowers and performed it with rage rather than the sense of resignation that pervades the original version and it is utterly riveting. Kathleen, with her hair…

Garnet Rogers asked me to edit this to make him more human and likable.  Whoa!  This man is one of the most human and likable musician I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet and I told him that there was no need for editing. 

 Garnet Rogers is a presence.  He’s a skyscraper of a man; his baritone voice is a mighty instrument and his guitar playing is impeccably pure.  He sings and plays with conviction.  It’s impossible not to be moved by his music.  Give it a listen.

 For more…

This blog previously appeared in an expanded form on Country Fried Rock.

Kim Beggs may not be recognizable to American roots music fans, but in Canada, her music brings forth luminaries like Ivan Coyote, Dan Mangan, and…

Bryan Adams

Newcastle Metro Arena

Thursday 24th November 2011

Alan Harrison

Just as the last notes from Sheena is a Punk Rocker faded away the house lights dimmed and the roar from the 10,000 strong crowd must have been heard over the river…

Recent music history shows that a substantial roots revival came about a handful of years ago. Today it is still going on, indeed on a larger scale than at its onset, with new and unusual bands and singer/songwriters surfacing from the underground at every turn. One such band is the Calgary-based quartet…

‘Tis the season for inferiority to rear its ugly head here in Canada, or Toronto more specifically.  In other words, it’s Canadian Music Week.  What should be a celebration of locally produced music the week serves to reinforce our eternal notion that we, and our cultural products, are inferior to those emerging from the U.S.  At this stage, when the Canadian music industry has been thriving for the last 50 years, producing world-renowned…

There's a deceptive simplicity to the arrangements on Shawn Clarke's debut full length release. With his clear agreeable voice and a sweetly folky style of finger-picking, the subversiveness of many of Shawn Clarke's lyrics may not be immediately evident. With the exception of the gleefully repeated chorus of "fuck you, I hate you, fuck you, no I don't" on Hurt Before, the caustic emotions behind many of the lyrics are rather more subtle.