Just like every other year, picking the highlights of a jam-packed Newport Folk Festival is a difficult task because each performance usually has at least one. Given that the schedule is filled with conflicts, it is nearly impossible to see them all. The four of us – Ben, Darren, Dina, and our latest addition Adam – will attempt to do […]

A photo essay from Newport Folk Festival 2018 – Day 3. This is just one of four parts. The other articles highlighting this annual event are: Things We Loved at Newport Folk Festival 2018 Day 1 photo essay Day 2 photo essay Photos by: Darren Boucher, Dina MacLeod, and Adam Shanker.     MORE PHOTOS IN SLIDER

This year marks the 53rd year of the prestigious Newport Folk Festival (July 27th to 29th), which every music lover must attend at least once in their life. This is easier said than done, of course, because NFF sells out in about 2 minutes when tickets go on sale in late November. The Festival only accommodates 10,000 people around Fort […]

More than 2,500 songs shared, some 200 LPs and EPs reviewed, thousands of photos from concerts and festivals, and dozens of premieres later, we’ve arrived at our annual tradition of sharing our favorite songs of the past 52 weeks – also known as The Mega, Mega Playlist of 2017. This year’s playlist is the biggest yet. The 2015 version had […]

Seems like the number 53 is magical because once again our weekly mega-playlist – the Weekend Showcase 3.45 edition – has that many songs for the fourth consecutive week. This week’s version feels like winter with darker and more melodic numbers, so grab a warm beverage like a hot toddy and enjoy the music. As always, the playlist features the […]

The Melodic Tonic ’17, November 16th edition features powerful American voices with equally powerful messages. But sprinkled between the well-known names are two new bands with unforgettable sounds. Today’s playlist begins with one of music’s finest (and fiercest) voices. Brandi Carlile – “The Joke” (Seattle, USA) RIYL: Indigo Girls, Patty Griffin, Ingrid Michaelson American singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile is one of […]

Ottawa’s RBC Bluesfest can be a logistical challenge thanks to all the talented artists on the lineup. With the number of performers featured on the multiple stages at one time, schedule conflicts are inevitable. Since we couldn’t attend every gig, here are some quick highlights of memorable sets from the first four days of the fest. Day 1 – Thursday, July 6th […]

The first weekend of RBC Bluesfest 2017 has arrived, and it’s a pretty busy day with plenty of variety. We’ve offered four must-see performers plus give you the rundown on the local musicians playing today. If none of the below appeals to you, then see the full schedule here to see who else is performing. In case you’re wondering, 50 […]

This past week in new music has been incredible, and the Weekend Showcase 3.08 edition reflects the quality with 52 songs. From dizzying psychedelic to intimate dream-folk, raucous punk-rock to energizing indie pop, and cinematic electro-pop to searing indie rock, the last seven days had it all. The playlist also reflects the the global nature of music today, as the […]

The Saturday Sampler March 4th reflects the month’s famous slogan – “in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”. Hear nine songs that will be buzzing in your head for days if not weeks to come. Bring on March and the oncoming spring! Beach Fossils – “This Year” (Brooklyn, USA) RIYL: Real Estate, Craft Spells, Wild Nothing It has […]

Welcome to this week’s fresh serving of new music cocktails, American style. Since 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of two classic American albums (Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, today we’re pleased to share covers of two artists paying tribute to them both. Also on tap is a trio of songs from artists whose modern folk and sunny […]

Over the past year, we’ve listened to thousands of singles – way too many to count. Throughout the year, we’ve shared many of them through three regular features – The Melodic Tonic, The Matinee, and The Weekend Showcase. While we could have rolled up all those singles into one mammoth playlist, that would have meant a playlist of nearly 1,500 songs, not to […]

For ease, here is the complete list of our Favorite 50 Albums of 2015. Click on the sub-heading below to be taken to the original post and hear tracks from the artists. Thanks for reading and here’s to another great year of music ahead of us.   The First 15 Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color Algiers – Algiers The […]

We’ve come to the last week of the year, making it the perfect time to reflect on our 50 Favorite Albums of 2015. We’ve collectively heard well over 1,500 albums, but we fully are aware that this represents probably 2% or 3% of all the albums released this year. As such, we never could produce a “best albums” list, but […]