News Full House, Full Heart (My Afternoon at Empress) I played Empress Ale House for the first time on October 13 and it went so well that I hope it won't be my last. This little neighbourhood pub is oozing with charm and short on pretense. It really feels like a "come one, come all -
How I Learned Courage from 91 Year Old Dancing Ted Once I’ve lugged my guitar across 12 blocks of early-winter downtown Calgary, I’m going to play. Probably. I’ve never been to Mikey’s on 12th (used to be Mikey’s Juke Joint) so I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know that the open
Listen Local - Major Love This week’s Listen Local brings you an indie super-group fronted by Edmonton’s hometown hero, Colleen Brown. Brown’s voice has been compared to Joni Mitchell for good reason – her ability to shift gears with a mid-note lilt brings life to her delivery. Her songwriting ain’t half bad
News How I Learned Courage From 91 Year Old Dancing Ted This is an early post for Patrons only until Wednesday :) Once I've lugged my guitar across 12 blocks of early-winter downtown Calgary, I'm going to play. Probably. I've never been to Mikey's on 12th (used to be Mikey's Juke Joint)
Listen Local - Joe Nolan When I first heard Joe Nolan in a shuffle-stream of local music, his haunted voice snapped me to attention. The album was 2014’s Tornado, produced by Colin Linden. I wondered when we’d hear from him again. Nolan has finally returned with his followup record, Cry Baby. Don’t
October Shows and In-Betweens After a few shows in September, I’m taking on a more manageable pace on the way to Halloween (and before things get real hairy in November!) I’ve got just one show this month here in Edmonton, so I’ll be throwing all my musical eggs into that sweet
Listen Local - Braden Gates Braden Gates is often referred to as a ‘troubadour’ or ‘raconteur’. These are old words chosen to distill what makes Gates special. Something to do with time and timelessness. With lineage and dipping one’s feet in the ancient stream of song. With Gates, I get the impression he soaks
YEG Falls - a New Spotify Playlist for Your Fall Feels With every new season comes a new vibe. New feels. New music. For me, fall is foreboding and solemn. A sign of things to come. Things like winter. Months of winter. Fall is also, without a doubt, the most beautiful season. A fireworks finale before the dark night (before we
Feature Wall Feature Featuring Von Bieker I recently got to visit local videographer, drummer and music-enthusiast Daryl Payne in his beautiful downtown apartment. We looked over the Brewery District, peppermint tea in hand. The sun shone in and cast a golden glow across his barn wood Feature Wall. While folk songstress Maddie Storvold waited — mouse-quiet in
My Good Neighbour in the Bowtie Monday night I’m sitting in the Princess Theatre holding back tears until I finally give in. The battle starts with the opening scenes and is lost long before the closing credits. Nearly all of us watching are hesitant to leave when the movie ends. We don’t want to
Sing me something I can feel, Dan Mangan Monday night I find myself in the basement of El Cortez, a grotto-turned-speakeasy packed with fifty sweaty fans of Dan Mangan. We’ve all been tipped off to a secret show, starting at midnight, in one of the most intimate concert spaces I’ve been in. Mangan plays tune after
So many shows I wrote a song about 'em This week I have so many shows I may be feeling a little lightheaded. That’s likely the exact right state of mind to write a song you’ll only ever sing once (because it is about said shows and it is VERY specific). Here’s the song, as posted
The Lies We Tell About Local Music The lies we tell about local music. “If they were really good, I’d hear them on the radio” This is just one of the lies we believe about local, independent artists. Since I entered the scene in earnest in 2015, I’ve discovered how false and insidious this lie
Jammin' in the Jungle with Joel Kleine If you get the obscure ‘Tarzan Dan’ reference in the title of this post, my hat goes off to you. If not, let’s move on. This week I got to join Joel Kleine in his basement studio for a ‘very special episode’ of my Facebook Live performances. Joel is
Drawn Into Bizarre Love Triangle Sometimes life gets in the way of art. I often feel this way as chores, doctors appointments and grocery shopping choke out my schedule. Day-to-day duties are not my go-to creative catalysts, but maybe they should be. Monday through Friday I drive my kids to school. This can stall the
The Electric Yellow Woman The electric-yellow woman I’m sitting in the waiting room of a medical lab. The space is brand new, decorated in a style I’d call “cold-nice”. It’s all grays and washed out wood-veneers. I feel like I’m in a soulless show-home where pleasing everybody has washed out
You're Not Bored Enough I’m don’t spend enough time bored. I’m talking about time without plans and time without entertainment. Time without a phone – or even a book – in my hands. Meandering, wandering time. With entertainment at my fingertips at all times, I’ve forgotten my need to be bored. Having
On Being Rejected Ah … rejection letters. I imagine every artist will read these terrible few words one day in their career; “we regret to inform you …” I got a matching set of rejection letters last week. I applied for two grants to record an album this year and just found out I received
Cross-Post: So Long and Welcome to the Future The following is a personal letter I shared today with the Bleeding Heart Art Space community – a non-musical endeavour I’ve pursued for over a decade. Until now. Read the original piece here. I have big, exciting, and difficult news for you today. And the end of June, I will
Reconciling art and faith - a conversation with Timotheories Tim Kuefler, founder of arts-and-culture channel Timotheories interviewed me a couple of months ago and the magical work of editing is now complete. Our hour and a half conversation has been boiled down to its 30-minute essence and uploaded for your enjoyment. Hear me tell Tim about why I don’
Brand new song from the railroad tracks A couple of weekends back I found myself listening to the bits of beauty friends had gathered during their time at an art and faith retreat in Calgary. I was retreating, too, so when I heard poet Stephen T Berg mention the “exquisite sorrow” of a “tritone train whistle”, I
What I Do When I Don't Want to Work This is what I do when I don’t want to work. Sometimes I get stuck. Weekly. Daily. I sputter and stall out. I find myself staring at the screen and refreshing the feed. Waiting for who-knows-what. In limbo. It was Karin Berquist, powerhouse songstress half of Over The Rhine,
Facebook Live Performance: Brought to You By The Letter 'B' I go live on Facebook every Monday at 12:30 MST. I love it when you drop by and especially when you comment so I know you’re there and I can say hello. Today’s setlist is brought to you by the letter ‘B’: Babylon (David Gray Cover) Broken
