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 2. This is just one of four parts. The other articles highlighting this festival include: Things We Loved at Newport Folk Festival 2018 Day 1 photo essay Day 3 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 […]

From amusing stories to face-melting rockers to breathtaking ballads, the Weekend Showcase 4.13 edition is the one stop to review some of the best new music of the past week or so. Forty-three (43) songs occupy the mega-playlist, featuring artists from just ten countries this week. They include: Australia, Canada, England, Japan, Netherlands, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the […]

The Matinee ’18 April 3rd is filled with fabulous storytellers and superb musicians. The nine songs will either crush your souls, make you laugh, entice you to take a long drive, or daydream about better days to come. Arctic Lake – “What You May Find” (London, England) RIYL: London Grammar, Portishead, Dahlia Sleeps Since debuting three years ago with the […]

Weekend Showcase 4.05 edition adds some sizzle to the middle of February with 53 songs from around the globe. The artists and bands represent a record 21 countries, including: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, and Wales. The playlist and tracklisting, as […]

The Saturday Sampler February 10th edition is like a day at the amusement park or Olympics. These nine songs will get your adrenaline flowing and make you scream while others let you catch your breath and lose yourself in the moment. We get things started with one of the nicest guys around.   Shakey Graves – “Kids These Days” (Austin, […]

For the past six years, we’ve been attending the Newport Folk Festival, and every year we’re left wondering how Jay Sweet and his team of organizers, curators, and volunteers could outdo themselves. This year, they may have organized the best NFF to date, and this is taking into consideration that it’s nearly impossible to see every artist and band due […]

It was a huge week for new music with several superstar bands and artists dropping new singles. Two of them are on the Weekend Showcase 3.21 edition, which includes 47 other great songs. The artists represent 15 countries, including: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and the United States. The playlist […]

Yesterday we mentioned several songs released this week by some rather popular artists. Well, we’re starting the Saturday Sampler June 3rd edition with one of those songs because A) it’s by the greatest band of the last 25 years, and B) it’s so good. Radiohead – “I Promise” (Oxford, England) RIYL: Radiohead Yes, we know Radiohead is a massive band, and our […]

Unintentionally, the music featured from the past week had two characteristics – songs that either were motivated by current events and those made for road trips. Fortunately, the two went hand-in-hand, resulting in a fantastic Weekend Showcase 3.16 edition. This is one playlist to hear from start to finish. The mega-playlist includes 54 songs by artists and band representing 15 […]

The Matinee April 28th is like a high school reunion, as each of the nine artists / bands featured today have occupied past playlists and/or have had their albums reviewed. This is a first for us. Algiers – “The Underside of Power” (Atlanta, USA) RIYL: TV on the Radio, Benjamin Booker, Leon Bridges Atlanta-based indie rockers Algiers are one of […]

Next week is the official end of summer and the start of a new equinox arrives next Thursday. One of our favorite Los Angeles-based bands, The Rebel Light, though, is here to send us off with an amazing end of summer playlist. Just as a refresher, The Rebel Light have been rocking the West Coast since 2013. We first caught […]

I was lucky enough to see Alejandro Rose-Garcia – a.k.a. Shakey Graves – twice in one week. This time, with his 2-piece band in tow, Rose-Garcia shook down Bodega for 90 minutes with his high-energy blend of blues-rock. It didn’t take long for pearls of sweat to drip off the Texas gentleman’s face, a testament to the energy he brought […]

I was fortunate to have been able to cover more events than ever before this past year. I had media credentials for: Dragonboat Festival, Bluesfest, Osheaga, FolkFest and Beau’s Oktoberfest as well as a number of one of concerts. In addition I did manage to photograph some events where media credentials were not required. From all of these events of I […]

“Psychobilly hoedown” is not a phrase used often – if ever – when referring to Nine Inch Nails. That is, it never was until southern darlings Shovels & Rope covered one of Trent Reznor’s songs on their new album. But that’s exactly how the band described their take on “Last” when NPR Music streamed the album this week. To say that […]

Saturday was amazingly sunny, but also really hot. As someone trekking back and forth all over the festival grounds and being pretty darn hot, one can only imagine what it is like to be up on stage. Today was a nice eclectic mix of bands and the one best option if it’s super hot and you are going to ACL […]

For the concert addict like myself the summer festival season is our playground. Since it is in our backyard the Ottawa Bluesfest is a no-brainer but just two hours away there is another great summer festival called Osheaga that takes place at Parc Drapeau in Montreal. I first attended this festival in 2012 and have been back every year since. […]

Day 4 kicked off the first weekend of Ottawa Bluesfest. This year the festival started a bit later on the weekends and as a full festival pass holder I did not mind too much because I always had to be a little careful not to overdo it on the weekends. This Saturday had a lot of options available to the music lover. There […]

The first two days of the Newport Folk Festival have been wonderful. It’s the most memorable NFF that I’ve attended. Roger Waters supported by My Morning Jacket, G.E. Smith, and Lucius plus appearances by Amy Helm and Sara Watkins made for a special Day 1. Yesterday’s surprises weren’t as dramatic, although to see Gillian Welsh join The Decemberists along with […]