Come Together Boys, the newest single by indie artist Blue Blue Satellite is not only beautifully haunting, but very engaging both musically and lyrically. Come together boys! Join the battle boys! Horses saddled boys! Hear the battle noise! We’re defined by the way the way that we stand and we fall Compromise catches up to the best of us all Twist […]

I love finding out about great new bands, being able to do a Q&A and reviewing their recently released EP all at once.  That great new band for me today is Maybelleen who are from Montréal and are comprised of Peter and Charles Camiré, a young brother duo. The boys have been raised surrounded by the music of their dad, a […]

Peter D. Harper is an Australian-American singer-songwriter who specializes in blues and roots music. Actually, Peter was born in England before moving to Australia as a young child and now he calls Detroit home. Together with his band Midwest Kind, Harper makes foot-stomping, hand-clapping music. Harper, by the way, doesn’t just sing, but he’s an accomplished didgeridoo and harmonica player. […]

I have been following Made Violent for a while now and each single they end up releasing stays in rotation on my popular playlists.  The trio are from Buffalo, NY and started officially playing as Made Violent toward the end of 2013 and are definitely ones to watch. Their short description on Facebook reads “WORLD FAMOUS AMERICAN ROCK BAND” and I […]

I live in Austin, TX and always love finding out about a new band from my current place of residence. Austin touts itself as the Music Capitol of the World so there is no surprise that even if I dedicated all my time on bands with Austin connections only, I could be writing for quite a while. I happened across Texas […]

There are musicians around the world whose sole goal is to make you want to dance. There are those who want to challenge how you perceive sound. Then there are those that want to entrap your mind and take you to places, sometimes to an unknown landscape, sometimes above the clouds, or sometimes even to dark places that you did […]

John MacDonald doesn’t let many people enter his guitar workshop. It’s small and messy, but it’s also everything you’d expect from a room where guitars are built – filled with all types of wood and tools. Since assembling his first guitar about twelve years ago, he’s provided some of Ottawa’s finest musicians with a unique look and sound. But apart from constantly searching for ways to improve his […]

  The award-winning, Toronto indie band, The Strumbellas, are set to play Mavericks on Friday, December 12. I spoke with lead singer Simon Ward to get some insight on how 2014 was for them and on what we can expect in 2015. KSP: Simon, you just won a Canadian Folk Music Award for contemporary album of the year and earlier this year […]

I first met Kate Weekes in mid-October. It was still dark outside as I pulled up to her parents’ house in Ottawa around 6:45 am. She needed a ride to Toronto to attend a music conference and since I was driving down, I offered a lift. She had just come back from the Yukon where she’d been living for more than a decade. […]

As I drove up to the Old Mill at Ashton just off Highway 7 southwest of Ottawa, I didn’t know what to expect. The building is reminiscent of England’s pubs with its black and white siding. The Ashton Pub, as it’s commonly known, is actually the first original English pub in the heart of the Ottawa Valley. That afternoon, the room […]

Beware of Darkness in my opinion is an underrated rock band that hasn’t quite gotten the recognition they deserve. They originally formed in Santa Barbara, CA in 2011, but they now call Los Angeles home. Beware of Darkness is fronted by Kyle Nicolaides. Last year their debut album Orthodox was released and garnered some buzz with their first single “Howl” peaking at #6 on the Billboard US Hot […]

It’s been several years since Lynne Hanson‘s last album. Four years to be exact. Going that length of time without releasing a new record can be daunting for an artist, especially in today’s industry. But Hanson had no other choice. An alcohol addiction had taken over her life. Hanson is now back refreshed and stronger than ever. River of Sand, her […]

Beautiful Boy has beautifully captured the essence of perfectly composed pop/rock that you want to keep going back to. They only have a few available tracks and each one of them continues to prove the depth and range of this up and coming band. Beautiful Boy have already gotten some great recognition for their live shows and the ability to sing some really great acoustic […]

Gold & Marrow, formerly known as Shannon Rose and The Thorns, released their new album Forever in early fall. The ten-song album proposes a new departure for the band, with captivating melodies, luscious instrumentation and a new-found emotional strength in Rose’s voice. I met up with Rose and Steve Matylewicz on a sunny Sunday afternoon in late September to talk about their new name and record.   Check the […]

Astronauts is a solo project from UK artist Dan Carney, previously of East London alt-folkers Dark Captain. I first heard the single ‘Skydive’ and knew that Dan was onto something. The Skydive single from the Hollow Ponds LP garnered numerous views on soundcloud and also with the video on youtube.  There are some notable remixes of the track as well, most recently posted by Broke […]

I Am Harlequin is an artist I definitely have on my radar. She is originally from Germany but is now based in London. In 2012 she released “Wild One” which gained a lot of recognition. She has such a lovely and unique voice with some great songwriting, too. I was excited when “Wild One” was released and was hoping to […]

In our continuing series of interviews and other events with artists at this summer Ottawa Bluesfest, we (which includes the gents at Tacklebox Productions and me) had an opportunity to sit down and hang out with Deltron 3030 before their set. What’s not shown in the video is that after the interview, Del hung out with the gang from BlakDenim […]

MOATS hail from the UK – Biggleswade, Liverpool and Leeds to be exact. They have been playing together for a few years now. MOATS just recently won a spot to play the ACL Music Festival this year courtesy of a contest held by NME Magazine. MOATS beat out many other unsigned bands for a slot to play in Austin, TX at the festival. I […]

During the RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, we walked around with Canadian indie star Mac DeMarco, asking people if they knew his given first name. We even gave hints in our Pick-4 for that day’s Bluesfest lineup. If they responded correctly, they got a hug from Mac (and those who didn’t respond correctly still got to embrace the goofball of indie rock). […]

At this year RBC Ottawa Bluesfest, we had a chance to meet with all 32 Ottawa acts performing at the 10-day festival. Today, we present to you the first of four videos. In this video, you’ll find: Hip hop, producer, and entertainer extraordinaire Atherton Veteran blues-soul band Firebelly Singer-songwriter James Leclaire The alt-country rock of Jonathan Becker & The North […]