Category Archives: News

TTBTGH 20th Anniversary Live Celebration!

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Tell the Band to Go Home, The Park Theatre, and UMFM present:

Tell the Band to Go Home 20th Anniversary Live Celebration!

poster by Stu Reid

ADVANCE TICKETS HERE

No fee advance tickets are available directly from Jeff Robson.

As a celebration of 20 years on the air, some of Winnipeg’s finest songwriters will appear for a special live episode of Tell the Band to Go Home. Host Jeff Robson will chat with the artists, who will also play some songs and tell some stories. JP Hoe, Nicky Mehta (of The Wailin’ Jennys), and Keri Latimer (Leaf Rapids/Nathan) have been frequent visitors since the beginning, and all have gone on to very successful careers. Join them in this unique and intimate setting for a special celebration!

(Tell the Band to Go) HOME

jphoe.com

thewailinjennys.com

leafrapids.org

Scott Cook at The Sunset Saloon Aug. 27, 2021

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photo by Donna Mair

Scott Cook

(scottcook.net)

Friday, August 27, 2021
7:30 pm
OUTDOORS!
We expect that all guests will be fully vaccinated OR medically exempt. Please discuss your status if you have any questions or concerns.

We’re totally considerate of medical exceptions, but if you’re an anti-vax idiot, this probably isn’t the show for you. We’d love to educate you some other time.

Please wear a mask when moving around, using the washroom indoors, or getting close to others. Please be respectful and safe at all times.

Suggested donation $20-25 (price flexible, all proceeds to the artists)

Advance payment is greatly appreciated! Space is limited and the only way to ensure a seat is to PAY IN ADVANCE. We’ll gladly refund you or donate your ticket $ to Scott if you can’t make it (your choice!)

If you wish, bring a drink for yourself. We’ll have some snacks and canned drinks to share, which will be handed out in a safe manner. It won’t be the usual snack buffet that you’re used to at The Sunset Saloon, but we promise to make it worth your while.

Bring a chair or blanket. We’ll have some extras if you forget, but not enough for all.

All are welcome (bring the kids, friends, family, people off the street, whatever)! Our yard is family friendly (we’ve got 3 kids and plenty of room, so feel free to bring the family), easy-going, friendly, and open to all! If you don’t know us yet, come on down and make some new friends!

The Sunset Saloon is a house concert venue in Westwood (near the YMCA on Portage.) We’re open to all. Feel free to pass along the event info, bring friends, bring your kids (our kids will thank you), or just come by yourself and make some new friends! Admission is by donation, which goes directly to the artists. Most folks pay a minimum of $20, but any hard-working performer wouldn’t turn down more and will take whatever amount is comfortable for you to give.

Please RSVP for the address and more information!

Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below! Forward this to a friend!

BUY TICKETS HERE

It’s been an amazing summer, in spite of the madness. We’ve been incredibly lucky in Winnipeg to have ample access to live music courtesy of John Scoles at The Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, who set up the amazing outdoor space at Blue Note Park, next to The Fortune Block. Winnipeg is blessed with amazing local musicians, and we’ve seen plenty of them this summer, but it’s time to import some talent and start visiting with some old friends.

Speaking of Blue Note Park, Scott Cook will be opening for the JD Edwards Band there on August 26! TICKETS HERE

Scott Cook played in our living room June 30, 2019. We’ve been eager to have him back ever since. We’re so glad that the chance is coming up soon, August 27, 2021!

We are as concerned about COVID-19 and the awful Delta variant as anyone, so we’ll be extra cautious and safe. We’re expecting that everyone will be safe and respectful and fully vaccinated if able. We are aware that there are rare medical exceptions, and fully understand those and will accommodate for your safety and ours. Please discuss any exceptions or concerns that you may have!

Scott Cook is a masterful songwriter and one of the warmest and most engaging performers that we know. He’s also a heck of a down-to-Earth, decent human being. He’s able to put heart and soul into song about as well as anyone we know.

If you want an example of songwriting perfection, look no further than “Just Enough Empties,” from his latest masterpiece, Tangle of Souls. It’s as powerful a song as I’ve ever heard. Check it out: (LYRICS and purchase HERE)

This town full of strangers, I remember it back when
How they look at me, they’d never guess that I was one of them
It’s getting rougher by the river, people I never seen
Dropped off by oxycontin, and methamphetamine

But I’m trying to stay sober, trying my best to care
Sometimes at night I catch a whiff of dinner on the air
And I’ve seen the light drain out of every dream I ever had
But Rosa says she’s pregnant, and I might be the dad

Wow! And the guy’s got loads of songs that good! He comes highly recommended by our friend and another Sunset Saloon performer Corin Raymond. On his now-legendary double CD package, Corin and the Sundowners covered, “The Lord Giveth (and the Landlord Taketh Away.)”

Speaking of his first listen to Scott’s album “Long Way to Wander,” on a road trip with Jonathan Byrd, Corin says, “I popped it in and it wasn’t just good – it was great. The writing was beautiful. The songs were seamless… This guy was the real deal. He’d done the work but there was no trace of the effort. Scott’s songs were so well crafted that I’d listen to that same album years later and hear rhymes I hadn’t noticed… I don’t know anyone who writes with the heart and humility that Scott does. I look to Scott’s songs to remind me why I do what I do… They’re like hands being offered to lift us up.”

Alberta’s Scott Cook (www.scottcook.net) has been living out of a van or a backpack for a dozen years now, touring almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and elsewhere, and distilling his experiences into straight-talking, keenly observant verse. His fourth independent release, One More Time Around, was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award, and its opening track “Pass It Along” won the Folk and Acoustic category in the 2013 UK Songwriting Contest, with UK magazine Maverick Country naming him “one of Canada’s most inspiring and imaginative storytellers”. His sixth studio album Further Down the Line won him his second CFMA nomination (English Songwriter of the Year), and comes packaged in a 132-page book containing a look back, in words and pictures, on a decade of full-time travel. He’s currently touring in support of his seventh collection, Tangle of Souls, which comes in a hardcover book of road stories and ruminations, both personal and political. Cook is one of the hardest-working DIY troubadours on the road today, averaging around 150 shows including a dozen festivals every year since 2007. All the hard miles notwithstanding, he still believes that songs can change your life, and your life can change the world.

“As good a modern folkie as we have these days. A voice perfect for the genre. An understanding beyond the norm.” –No Depression

“He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own… Truly one of Woody Guthrie’s children.” –RnR Magazine

Top Artists, Albums, and Songs, episodes 801-899!

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Every once in a while it’s fun to tally up our playlists to see which artists, songs, and albums have been played most on the show up to that point. Previously, I’ve always done it cumulatively, adding on new plays to historic statistics to look at our all-time leaders. Those lists are always skewed toward artists that have been around for a long time, have released a lot of albums, and played in Winnipeg a lot over the nearly 20 years that we’ve been on the air.

But what about the new kids?

That’s why, this time, I thought I’d just look at what’s been played most since the last major tally, looking at our first 800 episodes.

You can view that list here

You can hear the show dedicated to reviewing those lists here

Since I’ll probably want to do another full tally next year when we officially complete 20 full years on the air (!) (assuming I last that long…), this set of standings is just based on episodes 801-899, making for a rather interesting snapshot of the last two years. Some artists high atop the all-time list have been nearly absent over the past couple of years, and some new artists have become mainstays. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about that if you wish, but just for fun, you’ll find lists below of our most played artists, albums, and songs, covering episodes 801-899.

Most-played songs:

Artist Song # of plays
Slow Leaves Miss You 6
Joe Nolan Maybe We Didn’t Get Our Timing Right 5
Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues 5
NQ Arbuckle Love Songs for the Long Game 5
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings King of This Town 4
Corin Raymond Rec Room 4
Jim Bryson Mama Tried 4
Joe Nolan Looking For Your Heart 4
Kathleen Edwards Hard On Everyone 4
Katie Pruitt Expectations 4
Leaf Rapids Dear Sister 4
Sean Burns Gasoline 4

Most-played albums:

Artist Album # of plays
Del Barber Easy Keeper 14
Ben de la Cour Shadow Land 11
Corin Raymond Dirty Mansions 11
Kathleen Edwards Total Freedom 11
Slow Leaves Shelf Life 11
Joe Nolan Drifters 10
Sean Burns It Takes Luck To Get The Best Of Me 10
Chuck Prophet The Land that Time Forgot 9
Melissa Payne Darker Than Your Dark 9
Scott Cook Tangle of Souls 9
Ken Yates Quiet Talkers 8
Leaf Rapids Citizen Alien 8
Lynn Miles We’ll Look for Stars 8
Sean Burns & Lost Country A Bakersfield Half Dozen 8
Stephanie Lambring Autonomy 8
American Aquarium Lamentations 7
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings King of this Town 7
Del Barber Stray Dogs 7
Mike Plume Lonesome Stretch of Highway 7
Sean Burns & Lost Country We Gotta Lotta Truckin’ To Do 7
Suzie Ungerleider My Name Is Suzie Ungerleider 7

Most played artists:

Artist # of plays
Del Barber 38
Sean Burns 35
Joe Nolan 31
Keri Latimer (Leaf Rapids/Nathan) 31
Jim Bryson 27
Mike Plume 25
Kathleen Edwards 22
Matthew Ryan 22
Bob Schneider 19
Skydiggers 19
Spirit of the West 19
Steve Earle 19
Corin Raymond 18
Leeroy Stagger 18
Slow Leaves 17
Scott Nolan 16
Suzie Ungerleider 16
Ben de la Cour 15
Brock Zeman 15
Leaf Rapids 15
Nathan 15
David Francey 14
Paul MacLeod 14
Chuck Prophet 13
John Blek 13
John Bottomley 13
Lynn Miles 13
NQ Arbuckle 13
Alex Dezen 12
Anthony Da Costa 12
Ken Yates 12
Mayhemingways 12
Stephen Fearing 12
Drive-By Truckers 11
Fred Eaglesmith 11
James McMurtry 11
Justin Townes Earle 11
Rheostatics 11
William Prince 11
Willie P Bennett 11
Blackie & The Rodeo Kings 10
Christina Martin 10
Courtney Marie Andrews 10
Elliott BROOD 10
Jon Dee Graham 10
Lucinda Williams 10
Melissa Payne 10
Shannon Lyon 10
The Damnwells 10
The Oldest Forest 10

Podcast: July 25, 2021 – Poor Choices Make Excellent Choices

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Episode #898

Had to slip in some exciting new music and one big concert announcement, but the bulk of today’s show is inspired by a recent trip down to Blue Note Park where I saw Andrew Neville & The Poor Choices tear through a set of stellar songs that had me thinking that Poor Choices sure do make excellent choices, so I stole a pile of classics off of their playlist and threw in a bunch of my own for a pretty solid set of music that’ll have you eager to join me down at the Park this week for another sure-to-be-great Poor Choices show! Tickets are limited but available here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/andrew-neville-and-the-poor-choices-tickets-160294359745

It’s a pretty incredible week all around at Blue Note Park. Hope to see you there! Whatever tickets remain are available here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/times-changed-high-amp-lonesome-club-18256543452

download part 1

download part 2

Artist – Song Title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – MB=Manitoba Artist – WPG=Winnipeg artist

Luke Doucet And The White Falcon – Long Haul Driver – Blood’s Too Rich – CDN
Joe Nolan – Cherry Valance – Scrapper – CDN
Del Barber – Nothing Left To Find – Stray Dogs – CDN – WPG
John R. Miller – Motor’s Fried – Depreciated
Sierra Ferrell – In Dreams – Long Time Coming
Brandi Carlile – Right on Time – In These Silent Days
Colin Linden – Blow – Blow – CDN

Sean Burns & Lost Country – Big Freightliner – Music for Taverns, Bars, And Honky Tonks – CDN – WPG
Hayes Carll – Rivertown – Little Rock
Merle Haggard – The Bottle Let Me Down – Swinging Doors And The Bottle Let Me Down
Junior Brown – Highway Patrol – Guit With It
John Prine – Paradise – John Prine
Waylon Jennings – Lonesome, On’ry and Mean – Lonesome, On’ry and Mean

Fred Eaglesmith – Cryin’ Yet – Things Is Changin – CDN
Matt Masters – Centennial Swell – Centennial Swell – CDN
Shaver – Georgia on a Fast Train – Tramp On Your Street
The Texas Tornados – Who Were You Thinkin’ Of – The Best Of
Fred Eaglesmith – Water In The Fuel – Lipstick, Lies And Gasoline – CDN
Andrew Neville & The Poor Choices – Workin’ Man’s Song – Let’r Buck – CDN – WPG

Brothers Cosmoline – It’s Alright – Songs Of Work And Freedom – CDN
Dustin Bentall – Streets With No Lights – Streets With No Lights – CDN
Blue Shadows – Coming On Strong – On The Floor Of Heaven – CDN
NQ Arbuckle – In Another Time – Hanging The Battle-Scarred Pinata – CDN
Carolyn Mark – 2 Days Smug and Sober – Pros and Cons of Collaboration – CDN

Chris Knight – Banging Away – The Jealous Kind
Chuck Prophet – Rise – The Hurting Business
Mary Gauthier – Good-Bye – Filth & Fire
Gurf Morlix – Fishin’ In The Muddy – Fishin’ In The Muddy
Sturgill Simpson – You Can Have the Crown – High Top Mountain

New Show: Fly with your Shadow!

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You may have heard me talking about this one a lot lately, but in case you missed it, I have a brand new show called Fly with your Shadow, and it’s available now!

The show is named after this fabulous song by the late, great John Bottomley:

I remember the sad, horrible feeling I had when I’d heard that John had died in 2011. I wrote about it here.

That feeling got much worse when I learned that he’d taken his own life. I wrote about that here.

That got me to thinking about a way to honour him and start a public discussion about mental illness. The new show is the realization of that dream. I’m really sorry that it took me 10 years, but I’m glad to finally get things going.

The first episode features a conversation with someone who’s certainly no stranger to this show, Leeroy Stagger. He’s been very open with his difficult past, struggles with addiction and finding his path to maintain his mental health. He had a lot of very interesting things to say and was the perfect guest for the first episode.

You can download the show here
or stream it here:

You can also subscribe to the show’s website here

Listen & subscribe on Spotify

Podbean

and many more outlets to come very soon. I hope you’ll give it a listen and will enjoy. If you do, please help spread the word. Share the info with a friend or two. It would really help get the show out into the world.

2020 Favourites

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Listen to the 4-hour Best of 2020 show here

 

I labour over my annual Best Of lists like I’m trying to cure COVID or something. I stress over it so much and then usually don’t even post it anywhere because I’m still not sure and I don’t want to forget an important release.

Screw that!

Below are a couple of lists I’ve made for publication in a couple of places. I kind of tailor the list to the audience, so they tend to differ in different places. Sometimes it’s not necessarily the best albums of the year, but ones I want to promote in a particular place. All of this is to say… I’m still not sure. There are plenty of other great records, and I’ll get to as many as I can in my upcoming Best of 2020 Tell the Band to Go Home marathon on Sunday, but for now, here are a bunch that I really hope you’ll check out, and if you keep reading, you might just find out more about an upcoming project that I’ve been working on behind the scenes.

Please consider buying some of this amazing music, or sending it to a friend as a gift. This music has really helped me through the 2020 dumpster fire, so I want to help out these talented artists any way I can. Let me know if you do pick up something or if you have favourites that I should hear or have on my list!

Thanks for your support this year. It means a lot!

Penguin Eggs Magazine poll:

Sean Burns, It Takes Luck to Get the Best of Me (self)

Thomas Csorba, Thomas Csorba (self)

Ben de la Cour, Shadow Land (Flour Sack Cape)

Kathleen Edwards, Total Freedom (Dualtone)

Kennedy Road, A Little Fight Left (self)

Joe Nolan, Drifters (Fallen Tree)

Melissa Payne, Darker than your Dark (7th Fire)
Melissa Payne website

Katie Pruitt, Expectations (Rounder)

Slow Leaves, Shelf Life (Birthday Cake Media)

Ken Yates, Quiet Talkers (self)

New Discoveries: Thomas Csorba, Kennedy Road, Katie Pruitt.

 

!earshot year-end picks 2020

Who are you?  

Jeff Robson, host of Tell the Band to Go Home, 2-4 pm central on CJUM 101.5 UMFM in Winnipeg. The show focuses on singer/songwriters, including some of the greatest of all time and some of the many exciting new talents. I specialize in great songs that don’t get heard often enough or widely enough and aim to connect eager and open-minded music fans with songs that might mean as much to them as they do to me. Check out the show at tellthebandtogohome.com or subscribe to the podcast in all of the usual places, except Spotify, which is inherently evil and should be avoided.

https://www.facebook.com/TTBTGH

https://www.instagram.com/tellthebandtogohome/

https://twitter.com/jeffrobson

I’m working on a new show about the connection between music and mental illness and mental health, as well as the COVID pandemic’s effect on all of it. Watch for Fly with Your Shadow, launching in early 2021.

Coming soon: flywithyourshadow.com and @flywithyourshadow on social media

 

Favourite Records of the Year  

Ben de la Cour – Shadow Land – (Flour Sack Cape)

This guy is based in Nashville, the centre of the roots/folk/country world, where there are highly sought-after musicians, producers, and studios just about everywhere, yet for some reason he decided to come to Winnipeg to record an album in the middle of February during a polar vortex, when it was colder than Mars and the North and South pole. That sounds insane, but such is the draw of local hero Scott Nolan’s Song Shop studio, where William Prince, Stephen Fearing, and a long list of talented artists have come to record. de la Cour has made a name for himself as one of the strongest writers around, and he gets better all the time. With a penchant for dark and disturbing tales, accessible melodies, and solid arrangements further drawn out by Nolan and a cast of stellar Winnipeg musicians and some imported special guests, including Ben’s brother Alex, normally the heaviest of heavy metal drummers.

https://bendelacour.bandcamp.com/

https://www.bendelacour.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Bendelacour

 

Kathleen Edwards – Total Freedom – (Dualtone)

This one’s getting rave reviews and landing on Best Of lists all over the place, and for good reason. After a long layoff, Edwards returns stronger and better than ever with a powerful, mature record that lays her life bare with her best writing yet. This one’s an instant classic.

https://kathleenedwards.bandcamp.com/

https://www.kathleenedwards.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kathleenedwardsmusic

 

Joe Nolan – Drifters – (Fallen Tree)

This young guy from Edmonton has toured hard and put in the work on his songs, his career, and himself, and is now reaping the rewards with some of the most powerful and interesting writing around. Most of his records are well-produced sonic wonders, but for this one he and Scott Franchuk kept things sparse, allowing the power of Nolan’s lyrics to really cut through and stand on their own. Boy, do they ever.

https://joenolan1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.joenolanmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/joenolanmusic/

 

Melissa Payne – Darker than Your Dark (7th Fire)

This young talent from Southern Ontario is a much sought after session and touring musician, known for her strong fiddle playing and harmony vocals, but she really shines on her own. She’s grown by leaps and bounds between each of her three full-length records, and this one, produced by none other than Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo introduces a wider soundscape and brings in some stellar guest musicians to create her most interesting and impressive album yet.

https://mpayne.bandcamp.com/

https://www.melissa-payne.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/melissapaynemusic/

 

Ken Yates – Quiet Talkers

Yates wisely teams back up with super producer/musician/songwriter Jim Bryson for a second time, and the results are even more impressive than their last album together in 2016. Yates has a gift for hooks & melodies that’ll grab you right away, a warm, inviting voice, and a way with lyrics. Bryson brings the sounds and stellar playing, and it all works marvelously.

https://kenyates.bandcamp.com/

http://www.kenyates.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kenyatesmusic1/

 

 

Best local release(s)

 

Sean Burns & Lost Country – A Bakersfield Half-Dozen – (independent)

Sean Burns – It Takes Luck to Get the Best of Me – (independent)

Sean Burns & Lost Country – We Gotta Lotta Truckin’ to Do – (independent)

Burns is a hard-working road dog, travelling up and down the Trans-Canada highway playing honky-tonks, concert halls, and house concerts anywhere there’s an eager audience. He had been planning to spend a lot of the year on the road and on stage and had been working toward travelling to Texas to record an album with one of his honky-tonk heroes. COVID had other plans, so he shifted focus without missing a beat and made the best of the “down” time by making three stellar albums of his own, and helping to assemble an all-star tribute to our beloved Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club (see below.) As if that weren’t enough, he hosts a hell of a great radio show of his own on CKUW 95.9 FM called Boots & Saddle, the highest rated country music radio show in the world in the highly coveted Tuesday 11 am to 1 pm timeslot. He even managed to do a bunch of great live shows this year in and around Winnipeg when things were much safer. There’s no question why I named him the indisputable Entertainer of the Year for 2020.

https://seanburns.bandcamp.com/

www.seanburns.ca

https://www.facebook.com/seanburnsmusic

https://www.instagram.com/seanburnsmusic/

 

Various Artists – We Still Gotta Lotta Livin’ To Do – (independent)

The Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club is an unassuming little honky-tonk right on Winnipeg’s Main Street. Across the street and on the other side of the tracks sits our highfalutin’ tourist area, The Forks, where the multi-million dollar Canadian Museum of Human Rights looms large. The tourists and well-to-do folks who hang out down rarely cross the street and make it into this club, and we kind of like it that way. This is the clubhouse where Winnipeg’s incredible live music scene is centred. On stage, you might find one of the best songwriters you’ve ever heard, a mutant bluegrass band, dirty rock ‘n’ roll, or authentic blues from the likes of Order of Canada member Big Dave McLean. This is the heart and soul of a scene that’s second to none in North America. It’ll probably cost you $10 to get in and hear some of the best music in the world, you almost certainly won’t find a place to sit, you’ll be bumping into smiling people all night, and you won’t mind a bit. This 2 CD, 29-track album compiles some of the many amazing talents to grace the stage. Step into a place that’s world-renowned, where we’re all good people with excellent taste in music.

https://highandlonesomeclub.bandcamp.com/

http://highandlonesomeclub.ca/

 

Slow Leaves – Shelf Life – (independent)

Grant Davidson and co-producer Rusty Matyas (Imaginary Cities/Waking Eyes) have assembled one of the best albums of the year, and it would be a damn shame if this COVID crap stopped it from getting the attention that it deserves. Filled with instantly memorable hooks and melodies, strong and powerful lyrics, and killer performances from other local heavyweights like Rej Ricard (Windups/Telepathic Butterflies), Damon Mitchell (New Meanies/Nathan) and more.

https://slowleaves.bandcamp.com/

http://slowleaves.com/

https://www.facebook.com/slowleaves

https://www.instagram.com/slowleavesmusic/

 

 

Other great releases from Winnipeg include:

Figure Walking

Silver Clouds

Richard Inman.

 

Most under-rated record of the year

All of the albums mentioned above are criminally under-rated. Consider supporting these super-talented Canadian musicians. Those famous major label artists will be just fine.

 

Best personal campus/community radio moment or experience of the year.

The show has had to adapt to the new reality, so we haven’t been able to have the guests and in-studio performances that I’d normally be excited about in another year, but more free time allowed me to launch a couple of new shows this year that I’m proud of. In the spring I did a near-daily live broadcast from home for a while called The Shut-In Sessions, where I checked in with a bunch of friends and guests I’d been wanting to talk to for a while. These days, I’m pretty excited about the upcoming show, Fly With Your Shadow, which has been a dream of mine for years. I’m really excited about the potential for this one and making progress on it has been a lot of fun.

 

How did COVID affect you, your show or your station?

Well, we haven’t been able to broadcast live at all since the middle of March, so my show has been pre-recorded from home. I wasn’t able to travel at all this year, so I haven’t aired a rerun or failed to produce an episode in any week. I miss the folks who call in and the folks I got to hang out with at the radio station, but I feel like doing the show and keeping it new and interesting is more important than ever, so I think in a way it’s made me appreciate it all a bit more.

 

Any other thoughts, opinions, rants,

I don’t know about you, but I’m missing live music something fierce. So much of my joy and connection to my community comes through live shows, and I can’t wait to get back into the audience with my friends. In order to do that, we’re going to have to be patient and careful for as long as it takes to kick COVID’s ass. Wear your mask, stay home as much as possible, wash your hands often, and look out for others. We also need to support musicians and music venues, so they’re still around when it’s safe for us to go back out there. Your favourite artists and venues probably have some great merchandise for you to check out, and venues probably have gift certificates or ways to help out. I hope you’ll join me in supporting as many and as much as we can.

 

Other great albums:


A sentimental favourite for sure! I’ve never made it onto an actual album release before. I just wish I’d been smarter and funnier, but who knew it would see the light of day and haunt me later?

Podcast: December 13, 2020

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Episode #867

Hard to believe there’s only one more show after this one before Christmas, so we’ve upped the seasonal content today, but still have a good mix of new and new-to-me music to keep us from Christmas juggernaut territory.

download part 1

download part 2

Artist – Song Title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – MB=Manitoba Artist – WPG=Winnipeg artist

Kathleen Edwards – It’s Christmastime (Let’s Just Survive) – single – CDN
Robert Earl Keen – Merry Christmas From The Family – No. 2 Live Dinner

Leeroy Stagger – Christmas Carol – Dystopian Weekends – CDN
Leeroy Stagger – Christmas In the Year Of Austerity – Dystopian Weekends – CDN
Ryland Moranz – Where Are My Blue Eyes – XO, 1945 – CDN

Tom Waits – Bend Down The Branches – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Julia Jacklin – Baby Jesus is Nobody’s Baby Now – single
Bonny Light Horseman – Clementine – single
Courtney Marie Andrews – If I Told – Old Flowers

Steve Earle & The Dukes – Champagne Corolla – J.T.
Brett Eldredge – Sunday Drive – Sunday Drive
Last Year’s Man – No Eye on the Sparrow – Brave the Storm
Joshua Ray Walker – Voices – Glad You Made It
Frightened Rabbit – Roadless – Recorded Songs

Young Bob & the Peterboroughs – Hey America – single – CDN
The Jayhawks – What Would I Dreamer Do? – Johnny Cash: Forever Words Expanded
Hard Working Americans – Big Hearted Girl – Johnny Cash: Forever Words Expanded

Colleen Brown – What Do You Want For Christmas – Isolation Songs – CDN
Lunch At Allen’s – Spending My Christmas With You – A Lunch At Allen’s Christmas – Zuzu’s Petals – CDN
JP Hoe – Hoe Hoe Hoe – Brighten Up the Night – CDN – WPG
Lynn Miles – High Heels in the Snow – Winter – CDN

Brock Zeman – Pulling your Sword – Pulling Your Sword out of the Devil’s Back – CDN
Mayhemingways – Small Town Crush – Mayhemingways EP – CDN
Christina Martin – Coming Back Home for Christmas – single – CDN

Mike Plume – Merry Xmas To My Ex-Miss – Back Home For Christmas – CDN
Mike Plume – More Than A Game (2014 Version) – single – CDN
John Blek & the Rats – Lord! Don’t Leave Me – Leave Your Love at the Door

Podcast: December 6, 2020

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Episode #866

It is December, and although this year doesn’t seem to hold a lot of joy, we’ll embrace the holiday spirit and let a few new festive tunes slip in to the show today and in the weeks to come. We’ve also got the long-awaited new all-star local compilation as well as a bunch of other great new songs and a lot of other good stuff for you today.

download part 1

download part 2

Artist – Song Title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – MB=Manitoba Artist – WPG=Winnipeg artist

Paul Kelly – How to Make Gravy – Words and Music
Andrew Neville – Honky Tonk Shangri-La – We Still Gotta Lotta Livin’ To Do – CDN – WPG
D. Rangers – Man or a Fool – We Still Gotta Lotta Livin’ To Do – CDN – WPG
Del Barber w/ Grant Siemens – Meantime – We Still Gotta Lotta Livin’ To Do – CDN – WPG

John Blek – Like A Child – Digressions #2 Grounded
Serlin Greaves – The Needle and the Damage Done – single – CDN – WPG
Death Cab for Cutie – Flirted With You All My Life – The Georgia E.P.
Gregory Alan Isakov – Bullet Holes – Evening Machines
Slim Dunlap – Hate this Town – single
Mariel Buckley – No Surprise – single – CDN

The Oldest Forest – Put On A Fuckin Mask Stupid Part 2 – single – CDN – WPG
The Oldest Forest – Let’s Do The Foxtrot – single – CDN – WPG
The Oldest Forest – They Call Me Country – single – CDN – WPG

Skydiggers – Even When You Fall – Road Radio – CDN
Skydiggers – Good King Wenceslas – The Truth About Us – CDN
The Burning Hell – Better King Wenceslas – Mathias Kom’s Holy Hullabaloo – CDN

Liz Longley – One Missing – A Little Magic
Phoebe Bridgers – If We Make It Through December – If We Make It Through December EP
Boreal – Snow Falls Down – single – CDN
Calexico – Peace of Mind – Seasonal Shift
Rodney Crowell – Let’s Skip Christmas This Year – Christmas Everywhere
The Handsome Family – So Much Wine – In the Air

Nathan – John Paul’s Deliveries – Key Principles – CDN – WPG
The Wailin’ Jennys – One Voice – 40 Days – CDN – WPG
Oh Susanna & Michael Johnston – My Christmas Dreams – Decemberly – CDN
Allison Moorer – O Holy Night – Five Holiday Favorites

800th Episode Statistics

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On the monumental occasion of our 800th episode of Tell the Band to Go Home on UMFM, I decided to look back and see which artists, albums, and songs we’ve played the most. Below you can see the leaders in each category.

These statistics always come with a big disclaimer: A lot of episodes from the early days are missing. I make a lot of mistakes. The calculations are sometimes a little wonky. All of this is to say that these numbers are purely for fun and don’t accurately represent reality, but they’re a pretty accurate representation of what our first 800 episodes looked like.

Overall, I’ve kept track of 20293 songs

56.5% of those are Canadian artists

21.9% are local

Our most played songs:

Rank Artist Plays Song title
1 Willie P. Bennett 39 Willie’s Diamond Joe
2 Paul Kelly 29 How to Make Gravy
3 Oh Susanna 24 Home soon (the cherry song)
4 Geoff Berner 23 Light Enough to Travel
5 Townes Van Zandt 21 If I needed you
6 Blaze Foley 20 Clay Pigeons
6 NQ Arbuckle 20 Huntsville Affair
7 Lyle Lovett 19 Step inside this house
7 Nathan 19 Stone
7 Townes Van Zandt 19 Waitin’ Around to Die
8 Robert Earl Keen 18 Merry Christmas from the Family
9 JP Hoe 17 Fine
9 Guy Clark 17 Let Him Roll
9 The Warped 45s 17 Live Bait
9 Scott Nolan Band 17 Rosie
9 Guy Clark 17 The Cape
10 Jim Bryson 16 Feel much better
10 Willie P Bennett 16 Lace And Pretty Flowers
10 Greg Brown 16 Spring wind
10 Nathan 16 Sunset chaser
10 Willie P Bennett 16 The lucky ones
10 David Francey 16 The waking hour
10 Christina Martin 16 You Come Home
11 Julie Miller 15 All My Tears
11 Scott Nolan 15 Bad Liver / Broken Heart
11 Scott Nolan 15 Drive Day
11 Jim Bryson 15 Fleetwood
11 Townes Van Zandt 15 Pancho and Lefty
11 Jim Bryson 15 Somewhere else
12 James McMurtry 14 Choctaw Bingo
12 John Prine 14 Christmas in Prison
12 Blue Shadows 14 Deliver Me
12 Paul MacLeod 14 Giants
12 Neil Young 14 Old Man
12 The Weakerthans 14 Reconstruction Site
12 Townes Van Zandt 14 Tecumseh Valley
12 Greg Macpherson 14 Wide Turn
12 Jim Bryson 14 Without Piano
13 Lynn Miles 13 Black Flowers
13 Tom Waits 13 Christmas card from a hooker in Minneapolis
13 Willie P. Bennett 13 Country Squall
13 Paul Macleod 13 Cruelty
13 Blaze Foley 13 Election Day
13 Jill Barber 13 In perfect time
13 NQ Arbuckle 13 Mixkin Dancehall Blues
13 Brothers Cosmoline 13 Motel 6
13 Carolyn Mark 13 Not a doll
13 Matt Epp 13 She’s High Water
13 Tom T. Hall 13 That’s How I Got to Memphis
13 Corin Raymond 13 Under the Belly of the Night
13 David Francey 13 Wind in the Wires
14 Willie P. Bennett 12 Blackie & the Rodeo King
14 David Francey 12 Border Line
14 Fred Eaglesmith 12 Codeine
14 Willie P Bennett 12 Come on Train
14 Dustin Bentall 12 Crash Hard
14 Skydiggers 12 Even when you fall
14 Sunparlour Players 12 If the Creeks Don’t Rise
14 John Prine 12 In Spite of Ourselves (w/ Iris DeMent)
14 Michael Johnston 12 Katie
14 Jon Dee Graham 12 Laredo ( Small Dark Something )
14 The Weakerthans 12 My Favourite Chords
14 Ridley Bent 12 Nine Inch Nails
14 The Wailin’ Jennys 12 One Voice
14 Bruce Springsteen 12 Pay Me My Money Down
14 The Weakerthans 12 Plea from a cat named Virtute
14 Greg Brown 12 Sleeper
14 Michael Johnston 12 The country north of Peterborough
14 Fred Eaglesmith 12 Water in the fuel
15 Kathleen Edwards 11 12 Bellevue
15 Blackie & The Rodeo Kings 11 49 Tons
15 Darren Day 11 Anne
15 Jason Collett 11 Bitter beauty
15 Mary Gauthier 11 Christmas in paradise
15 Blackie & the Rodeo Kings 11 Driftin’ snow
15 Mary Gauthier 11 Good-Bye
15 Del Barber 11 If I Told You that I Loved You
15 Carolyn Mark 11 It’s All Just a Matter of (Where You Draw the Line)
15 Luke Doucet 11 It’s not the Liquor I Miss
15 Harry Manx 11 Long Black Veil
15 Stan Rogers 11 Northwest passage
15 Robert Earl Keen 11 Not a drop of rain
15 Melissa McClelland 11 O Holy Night
15 Dave Lang 11 She’s leaving town
15 The Handsome Family 11 So Much Wine
15 NQ Arbuckle 11 Sun’s Hangin’ Low
15 Geoff Berner 11 That’s What Keeps the Rent Down, Baby
15 Mike Plume 11 The Best Job I Ever Had
15 Kris Demeanor 11 This old house
15 Justin Rutledge and the Junction Forty 11 Too Sober to Sleep
15 D. Rangers 11 Trois Riveres
15 Kathleen Edwards 11 Westby
15 Kathleen Edwards 11 What Are You Waiting For?
15 Willie P Bennett 11 White Line

Note that some songs have the added benefit of being covered by a number of people, so the plays are not necessarily all the original artist or writer. In fact, coming in at #12 is “Old Man” by Neil Young, but we’ve never ever played his version on the show! Those plays are almost all a cover by The Wailin’ Jennys, who came in to the studio and performed that song early on.

Our most played albums:

Rank Artist Plays Album name
1 Jim Bryson 59 The North Side Benches
2 Del Barber 58 Love Songs For The Last 20
3 Nathan 51 Jimson Weed
3 David Francey 51 Torn Screen Door
4 Michael Johnston 47 Curious Heart
5 Willie P Bennett 46 Tryin’ to Start Out Clean
6 The Wailin’ Jennys 44 40 Days
6 Del Barber 44 Headwaters
7 Matt Mays 42 Matt Mays
7 The Lowest of the Low 42 Shakespeare My Butt
8 Jim Bryson 41 The Occasionals
9 Kathleen Edwards 39 Failer
9 Christina Martin 39 Two Hearts
10 NQ Arbuckle 38 Hanging the Battle Scarred Pinata
10 Blackie & the Rodeo Kings 38 High or Hurtin’
11 Lyle Lovett 37 Step Inside this House
11 NQ Arbuckle 37 XOK
12 Nathan 36 Key Principles
12 The Warped 45s 36 Matador Sunset
12 The Weakerthans 36 Reconstruction Site
12 Paul MacLeod 36 Tell the Band to Go Home
12 JP Hoe 36 The Here in Review
13 Reid Jamieson 35 The Unavoidable Truth
13 David Francey 35 The Waking Hour
14 Blackie & The Rodeo Kings 34 Kings of Love
14 The Weakerthans 34 Left & Leaving
14 Del Barber 34 Prairieography
15 Eliza Gilkyson 33 Land of Milk & Honey
15 Blue Shadows 33 On the Floor of Heaven

And… our top artists of all time!

Rank Plays Artist
1 224 Keri Latimer/Nathan/Leaf Rapids/Special Fancy
2 220 Fred Eaglesmith
3 202 Scott Nolan
4 190 Leeroy Stagger
5 189 Del Barber
6 187 David Francey
7 186 Jim Bryson
8 181 Willie P Bennet
9 171 Skydiggers
10 164 Mike Plume
11 163 Nathan
12 160 Steve Earle
13 156 Paul Kelly
14 155 Blackie & the Rodeo Kings
14 155 Shannon Lyon
15 150 NQ Arbuckle
16 147 JP Hoe
17 135 The Wailin Jennys
18 123 Guy Clark
19 118 Townes Van Zandt
20 117 Lyle Lovett
21 116 Kathleen Edwards
22 110 Oh Susanna
23 107 Stephen Fearing
24 105 Mary Gauther
25 102 Brock Zeman
25 102 Geoff Berner
26 102 John Prine
27 100 Martyn Joseph

 

 

Christina Martin at The Sunset Saloon Nov. 14, 2019!

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Christina Martin w/Dale Murray

(www.christinamartin.net)

Thursday, November 14, 2019
7:30 pm

Suggested donation $20 (price flexible, all proceeds to the artists)

If you wish, bring a drink for yourself, and/or a snack to share, but we’ve always got plenty of all of those on hand!

All are welcome (bring the kids, friends, family, people off the street, whatever)! Our house is family friendly (we’ve got 3 kids and plenty of room, so feel free to bring the family), easy-going, friendly, and open to all! If you don’t know us yet, come on down and make some new friends!

The Sunset Saloon is a house concert venue in Westwood (near the YMCA on Portage.) We’re open to all. Feel free to pass along the event info, bring friends, bring your kids (our kids will thank you), or just come by yourself and make some new friends! Admission is by donation, which goes directly to the artists. Most folks pay $20, but any hard-working performer wouldn’t turn down more and will take whatever amount is comfortable for you to give.

Please RSVP for the address and more information!

Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below! Forward this to a friend!

The current record holders for most appearances at The Sunset Saloon, Brock Zeman and Christina Martin both roll in for their SIXTH visits back-to-back at The Sunset Saloon!

After appearing here for the first five years in a row, Christina took a much-needed break from the long drives across this vast country and focused on a more rocked up sound with her band for a couple of albums and some high intensity shows. Now, she’s back with a new, stripped-back duo style album filled with some really cool covers and some great new originals, and it sounds amazing! You’ll be able to hear those new songs, pick up the new album, and hear some of our old favourites this November!

Christina & Dale are in the area for a while in October doing a Home Routes tour, so if you want to see them more than once (as I hope to,) check out her other dates here: https://www.christinamartin.net/tour-dates

Coincidentally, UMFM’s annual Pledge-O-Rama is happening at the same time as Christina’s Manitoba Home Routes Tour! If the stars align, we may just see her and Dale appear live in-studio on Sunday, October 20, and maybe even in the audience on October 27!

COMING SOON: Christina has been experimenting with online ticket sales for her shows, and we’re going to have that set up and ready to go for this show as well. If it seems like something that you might find useful, we may even add events for our other shows as well, so stay tuned for event and ticket info, coming soon!