Category Archives: News

Trout Forest Music Festival 2012

Our favourite “little” festival has announced the lineup for 2012. If you’ve never been, it’s the most relaxing and enjoyable little festival in the land. Well worth the trip.

The Trout is pleased to announce its lineup for this August 10-12, 2012 in the beautiful waterfront park of Ear Falls, Ontario:

Alex Cuba
Fred Penner
Veda Hille
Stew Clayton
The Magnificent 7’s
Corin Raymond and Jonathan Byrd
Scott Nolan
April Verch
Nathan
The Sturgeons
Bobby Stahr
Federal Lights
Gordie Tentrees
Shy-Anne Hovorka
Jon Brooks
Red Moon Road
The Lions Den
Mary Caroline
HillBilly Burlesque
Still Standing
Rambling Dan Frechette
Christa Couture

Join us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/297473196995649/

Leeroy Stagger returns with a new album and Winnipeg show!

LEEROY STAGGER RELEASES HIS 7th ALBUM “RADIANT LAND”
MAY 15th ON GOLD LAKE RECORDS

CANADIAN TOUR DATES STARTING ON MAY 4th

(Vancouver, BC) – Leeroy Stagger will be releasing his 7th studio album “Radiant Land” on May 15th through Gold Lake Records/Universal Music Canada and he’ll be hitting the road for a string of Canadian tour dates in support of the album, starting in Regina on May 4th. Stagger recently signed a 2 record deal with Danny Goldberg’s Gold Lake Records (The Cranberries, Tom Morello, The Hives) and “Radiant Land” is his first album to be released through Gold Lake.

Recorded in just 3 days during a break in the band’s 2011 U.S. tour at famed Nashville studio Club Roar, Leeroy Stagger continues to prove he is one of Canada’s most prolific and talented songwriters. On “Radiant Land”, Stagger’s subject matter remains solidly based in the human condition. While not abandoning his unique ability to give voice to the rebel kind, “Radiant Land” finds Stagger in a more reflective tone, offering light out of the darkness in the songs “Enough Love to Go Around” and “Message of Love”. The album also includes a sobering political view of his home province of Alberta’s push for nuclear energy in the title track. All of this without sacrificing his ability to pull the best out of his band; who are certainly not afraid to lean more towards rock than roots when needed.

Over the years, Leeroy Stagger has shared the stage with plenty of talented musicians, including The Pixies, Los Lobos, Tegan and Sara, Ron Sexsmith, Joel Plaskett and George Thorogood and his songs have received placement on the hit TV shows Greys Anatomy, Sons Of Anarchy, Degrassi and Heartland. He has garnered an international fan base after relentless touring both home and abroad. It is simply a matter of time before Stagger joins the likes of Ryan Adams, John Hiatt and Steve Earle as an ambassador for North American Roots Rock n Roll.

Don’t miss out on your chance to see Leeroy Stagger perform live is support of “Radiant Land”. Please visit www.leeroystagger.com for the most up-to-date listing of tour dates.

LEEROY STAGGER – CANADIAN TOUR DATES
May 4 – Regina, SK – Artful Dodger
May 5 – Saskatoon, SK – Amigos
May 6 – Winnipeg, MB – Folk Exchange
May 17 – London, ON – London Music Club
May 18 – Guelph, ON – Jimmy Jazz
May 19 – Windsor, ON – Phog
May 20 – Sarnia, ON – Squeeky Hinge
May 21 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah
May 22 – Kitchener, ON – Little Bean
May 23 – Toronto, ON – Dakota Tavern
May 24 – Ottawa, ON – Elmdale Tavern
May 25 – Marvelville, ON – Schoolhouse
May 26 – Montreal, QC – Mile End Guitars
May 29 – Halifax, NS – The Carleton
May 30 – Halifax, NS – The Carleton
May 31 – Charlottetown, PEI – Marcs Studio
June 1 – St. Andrews, NB – Arts Centre
June 2 – Fredericton, NB – Wilser Room
June 3 – Moncton, NB – Press Club

LEEROY STAGGER – RADIANT LAND TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: MAY 15, 2012 (GOLD LAKE RECORDS/UNIVERSAL)
1. Dirty Windshields
2. Enough Love To Go Around
3. Maria
4. Radiant Land
5. For The Love Of You
6. Message Of Love
7. Light That Guides You
8. Nighttime Talks To Me
9. Capitalism Must Die!
10. Summer Storm
11. Travelling Over Water

For more information, please visit: www.leeroystagger.com

Mike Plume Band returns to Winnipeg!

THE MIKE PLUME BAND RETURNS TO WINNIPEG

(Winnipeg) – As the wind rolls across the prairies, so does Mike Plume and his band bringing songs and stories to the stage of the Park Theatre, this June.

Canadian singer/songwriter Mike Plume fronts his roots-based namesake band, which consists of bassist Derek Mazurek, and drummer Ernie Basiliadis. Plume’s bandmates are longtime friends, but his first record, 1993’s Songs From a Northern Town, was recorded with a session band in Austin, TX. Plume didn’t recruit his friends as bandmates until 1996’s Jump Back Kerouac; this album won the band an ARIA nomination for Best Pop/Light Rock Artist on Record. Later that year the Mike Plume band released Simplify, an acoustic set that was recorded in under six hours. Touring with groups like Blue Rodeo built the group’s following, and their 1998 album Song & Dance, Man won them more fans and awards. The album was released in the U.S. a year later.
After some time off for family, and a full time songwriting gig in Nashville, Plume restarted the career with 2011’s 8:30 Newfoundland. This is Mike’s first appearance in Winnipeg in 4 years, and a show that cannot be missed.

Joining Mike & the band is new Edmonton duo of Murdoch & Sparrow (James Murdoch and Jay Sparrow) and local Rambling Dan Frechette. This should be an epic night of songs of loss, trouble, heroes and redemption.

Mike Plume Band
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 – The Park Theatre, Winnipeg
w/ Murdoch & Sparrow
and Rambling Dan Frechette
Tickets at The Park Theatre, Music Trader, & www.ticketbreak.com/parktheatre
ON SALE NOW
presented by The Park Theatre

www.mikeplume.com

More interesting info from the Winnipeg Free Press:

Mike Plume is finally making his return to the recording studio and the highway.

The Alberta singer-songwriter and his band will play the Park Theatre on June 20 during a break while re-recording his first two albums: Songs from a Northern Town and Jump Back, Kerouac. Tickets for the show are on sale now for $15 at the Park Theatre, Music Trader and Ticketbreak.com.

The gig will be Plume’s first time in the city in four years. Murdoch & Sparrow and Dan Frechette will open.

Ticket giveaway this Thursday on Steel Belted Radio!

Our friends at the West End Cultural Centre have once again been kind enough to offer up some tickets to give away on the show. This Thursday on Steel Belted Radio, you have the chance to win tickets to a great show on Saturday, featuring our old pal Dan Frechette and more.

Tune in Thursday, 6:30 – 8 pm central on 101.5 UMFM for your chance to win!

The West End Cultural Centre presents:

Prairie Kitchen Party
feat. Emma Cloney & Patti Lamoureux
w/ Rambling Dan Frechette
and Alex Lamoureux

Saturday April 28, 2012 – Tickets Available now

During the frigid Prairie winter, the howling winds from the North create a unique musical tone when blowing across the moon-lit snow covered fields. In the distance, you may hear the windy whistle mingling with the sweet sounds and aromas coming from a bright, lone, little house on the horizon.

As you come in out of the cold, the scene that greets is one of joviality and warmth. Tasty tunes are in the air, the wood stove is stoked, heads are thrown back in song and harmony, and the driving rhythms of the fiddle and feet ring across the hardwood. Grab a chair, a pair of spoons, sit back, relax, and let the music envelope your soul, your heart singing with joy and fellowship. You’ve just arrived at the Prairie Kitchen Party!

The Participants;

Emma Cloney

Whether it’s performing live to an audience of any size or recording songs for her new, upcoming CD, Emma Cloney says it’s all about a ‘shared mutual experience’ between her and her listener. In her late-twenties, Cloney has already endured a lifetime of experiences: growing up through foster care as a child, raising children as a young mother, balancing music with nursing studies and facing tough materialistic choices that challenge her inner-identity. However, experience is opportunity for Emma Cloney. And through it, she crafts compelling storytelling with meticulous musicianship – coalescing to create an immediate bond between her and whoever takes the time to genuinely listen.

Emma’s last album, Something to Say, encapsulated how people and places influenced her and her music. Now, it’s all about Emma and her personal experiences that are shaping her new album: “Lie to Me” is a song about gripping onto the past, while cognizant of the present reality. And while she covers the iconic “The House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, it is a version that is truly emblematic of Emma as she had only known the song as sung by her father and that’s what you’ll hear.

Patti Lamoureux

Manitoba Fiddle Association Hall of Fame member Patti Lamoureux’s old time fiddle style is described as a little bit Métis, a little bit Québecois, and a whole lot of feel. Patti is a 3 time Grand North American Champion, and in 1994, 1995 and again in 1996, Patti won the prestigious Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship in Ottawa, ON. Patti was the first woman and the first Western Canadian in the history of Canada to ever win.

After being one of the most sought after old time dance players in her home province of Manitoba, Patti has taken that amazing feel and drive, mixed it up with a little humour, and put together a fun and entertaining show that will have you laughing and stomping your feet, with maybe even a tear or two as you allow yourself to remember the good old days of having a kitchen party until the wee hours.

Rambling Dan Frechette

Armed with a harmonica and any number of instruments, Rambling Dan Frechette performs with passion and conviction. His songs and performances are subdued but contain a certain power that eventually presents itself later when people who have seen him find themselves unable to forget songs he sang that are now part of the fabric of their life. Songs that grow on you and as Woody Guthrie said “songs to grow on”. Rambling Dan Frechette has been crafting hundreds of such songs for many years in the prairie city of Winnipeg and Pinawa, Manitoba respectively.

Jeremy Rusu

Whether it’s on jazz piano, drums with a big band, country lead guitar, bluegrass mandolin, or accordion, Jeremy Rusu is right at home on a stage as long as he’s making music. Jeremy joins the Prairie Kitchen Party mostly on guitar and mandolin, but before the end of the show you’ll see him on piano, accordion, and who knows, maybe even the clarinet or harmonica!

Blind since birth, Jeremy’s entire life has revolved around music. When not sharing the stage with Patti, Dan, or Emma, you can find Jeremy laying down the beats on the drums with possibly his reggae band, or with the legendary Ron Paley Big Band, or maybe even with Rambling Dan Frechette’s Dylanaires.

Alex Lamoureux

Born and raised in Manitoba, Alex followed his mom Patti around to old time dances, fiddle camps, and music performances.

By age 7, the passion for music became apparent and Alex started getting “serious” about playing the fiddle. Alex is the 2008 & 2009 BC Fiddle Champ, and the 2010 Manitoba Champ. The highlight of Alexʼs career to date has been the opportunity to perform at the first Victory Ceremony at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Alex is an incredibly charismatic and charming young performer on stage.

The idea for the Prairie Kitchen Party came one night at an actual raucous kitchen party on Emma Cloney’s ranch in Woodlands, Manitoba. “Nothing embraces the kindred spirit of musicianship quite like jamming in the kitchen,” explains Emma. “So many great songs and stories start in the kitchen. We all thought it would be an amazing night of music to share the kitchen party experience with others.”

Expect a great evening of music, laughter, and dancing!

Website: http://www.wix.com/emmacloney/prairiekitchenparty?ref=nf#!

Prairie Kitchen Party feat. Emma Cloney & Patti Lamoureux w/ Rambling Dan Frechette and Alex Lamoureux

Saturday April 28, 2012 @ The West End Cultural Centre
Doors 7:15 pm | Show 8:00 pm
Tickets: $15 advance | $20 door
Tickets available now.
Available at the West End Cultural Centre, Ticketmaster, Music Trader, and Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store

Del Barber “Headwaters” CD Premiere, Sunday on TTBTGH

Recently, I celebrated an important anniversary, the anniversary of the day I fell in love. It was the day that I first met someone who would change my life and infatuate my dreams, someone who gave me hope and joy, someone who I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with. It was love at first sight, and the love is as strong and passionate as ever. It was a magical moment for me, and one I’ll never forget. Sure, we’ve had our ups and our downs, but I’ve remained devoted and always proud of the one I adore. Ahhhhh, young love.

You see, two years ago this April, I first saw Del Barber (what did you think I was talking about?) He surprised me opening up for Old Man Luedecke at the Folk Exchange, a place where there aren’t typically opening acts. (Check out some photos on Facebook) There certainly can’t be many opening acts as surprising and wonderful as ol’ Del. He’s got this charming quirky way about him, and a bunch of songs that should rightfully come from someone older and more world-weary than him. I’m old and bitter and jaded, it’s true, but every once in a while I see someone who’s so damn good, and so damn promising that I feel right about the world again. Del’s got it all.

We cheered along as Del released THE BEST ALBUM IN THE WORLD in 2010. We’ve seen him at concerts and festivals across the land (well, from Chicago to Edmonton, anyway…), all along looking forward to his “big break,” which would prove to the world that which I already know, Del Barber = SUPERSTAR. I’ve done my best to weasel my way in to Del’s inner circle, in an effort to hitch a ride on a shooting star. I’ve offered to let his parents, the amazing Jean and Boyd, adopt me. I’ve had ’em over to my house. I visited the bathroom where Del wrote some of the greatest songs EVER. I even risked life and limb AND got the worst case of food poisoning of my life in order to see him. I’m devoted (frighteningly so), but love’ll do that to ya.

And it’s all led to this. The release of Del’s new album, “Headwaters.” After winning some Western Canadian Music Awards and getting nominated for a Juno, as well as winning hearts across the land, Del’s hit the big time, with a world-class producer, some “professional” players on the CD, and now, a contract with one of this country’s (if not the world’s) coolest indie-labels, Six Shooter Records (home to folks like Amelia Curran, Luke Doucet, The Deep Dark Woods, Justin Rutledge, and NQ Arbuckle. Nice company, indeed.) Best of all, the album is yet another (seemingly impossible) huge leap forward in terms of writing, playing, and overall quality. I’ve never seen leaps and bounds such as these in such a short time.

OK, I know I’m gushing again, and the lawyers are drawing up the restraining order as we speak, but I’m honest and passionate (I think some of you know this about me…). Del’s the real deal, and this album should, if anything is right and fair about this world, make him a REALLY BIG DEAL to a LOT of people. You can pre-order it and hear some new songs online now by visiting www.delbarber.com.

The stuff that’s not online hasn’t been heard by very many people yet (Del, Rob Waddell is mad at you about that…) But you will have your chance to be among the first when Tell the Band to Go Home presents the WORLD PREMIERE of Del’s new CD, this Sunday! Del will visit us to chat live and perform, as well as allow us to be the FIRST anywhere to broadcast songs from “Headwaters.” Believe me, oh, believe me, this CD is amazing. Tune in for yourself, and you’ll hear what I mean.

Breaking News: Del Barber CD Premiere Sunday on TTBTGH

Local boy Del Barber is about to release a new disc called “Headwaters” on Six Shooter Records in May. Tell the Band to Go Home will be the first place to hear the new album and all of the news about the record deal, special guests on the album, and more, when Del drops by the studio on Sunday to chat.

Don’t miss this one!

An Evening with Jane Siberry

Jane Siberry is a singer-songwriter from Canada with 12 recordings. Her best known song is perhaps “Calling All Angels” which has been used in a number of films and television shows. k.d. lang recorded her songs “Love Is Everything” and “The Valley” on her Hymns of the 49th Parallel.

After stepping away from the mainstream music industry while it went through it’s breakdown and re-structuring, Jane has been quietly fashioning a way of living a joyful life as a musician and doing business ‘unto others as I would have business done unto me’. This has generated a sense of trust and community with those who have found her online without the big machinery of the music business. As a performer, she mixes it up with concerts on world stages such as Carnegie Hall and living rooms in the north of Finland.

Her creative spirit can also be found in her paintings and her writings for the Huffington Post. Her recent collection, the Three Queens Trilogy has been released over the past few years. A fourth addition, Consider The Lily, is a gathering of the most universal songs of the trilogy and is being produced by fellow Canadian and first-class musician, Peter Kiesewalter for a late 2012 release.

An Evening with Jane Siberry
Sunday May 6, 2012 @ The West End Cultural Centre
Doors 7:15 pm | Show 8:00 pm
Tickets: $30 advance | $35 door
Tickets available now.
Available at the West End Cultural Centre, Ticketmaster, Music Trader, and Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store

The Return of my good friend Fred

Ol’ Fred’s coming back to town once again, and he’s likely to have some insults to throw my way. That’s becoming an annual event, as is him taking on the Winnipeg Folk Festival, by playing here on opening night. We here at TTBTGH wish him well with that, even though we’ll surely be at the festival. We’ll have our spies in attendance to provide us with a full report.

FRED EAGLESMITH’S ‘TRAVELING STEAM SHOW’ COMES TO WINNIPEG

Rocker/Writer’s New Album 6 Volts Drawing Widespread Praise

(Winnipeg) – What happens when one of North America’s most heralded and adventurous rock songwriters hits the continent in support of a brand new record? Fans and Fred-heads alike will find out as the Fred Eaglesmith Band pulls into Winnipeg on July 4th as part of the Traveling Steam Show tour.

Acclaimed singer, songwriter and bandleader, Fred Eaglesmith is a genuine iconoclast and true original. It’s the natural result of following the cue of his musical career and now 19 albums with the January 2012 release of “6 Volts”. The result is one of the most fascinating and musically rewarding careers in contemporary music. As he has doggedly gone his own way as an independent musical artist, Eaglesmith has also enjoyed such high profile rewards in recent years as having his songs covered by country superstars Toby Keith, Alan Jackson and Miranda Lambert, among many other accomplishments.

6 Volts is yet another landmark on a journey. The album takes its title from the battery that powered the game-changing transistor radio – introduced in 1954, the same year that rock’n’roll emerged into popular consciousness – and embodies the notion of back to the future. Captured live in the studio with one microphone onto a one-track reel to reel recorder like so many enduring classics, 6 Volts also bristles with contemporary urgency.

Fred Eaglesmith
Wednesday, July 4, 2012 – The Park Theatre, Winnipeg
Tickets at The Park Theatre, Music Trader, & www.ticketbreak.com/parktheatre
Tickets are $25 plus applicable service charges
ON SALE THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012 AT 10AM
presented by The Park Theatre

Bruce Cockburn TV special, May 4

Bruce Cockburn Shares a Slice O’ Life, Music and Spirituality

A VisionTV World Premiere!
Bruce Cockburn: Pacing the Cage

An intimate look at the legendary Canadian songwriter and activist
Friday, May 4, 2012 at 10pm ET/7pm PT

In 2008, Canadian music icon Bruce Cockburn set out on tour to make a live, solo album, “Slice ‘O Life”. Cameras followed the man whose legacy includes songs like Wondering Where the Lions Are, If I Had a Rocket Launcher, and If A Tree Falls, as he performed to sold-out crowds in benefit concerts across North America. The filmmakers also followed Bruce to his San Francisco home for candid conversations about his views on topics from religion to new parenthood.

“If I try to understand what it means to be a Christian, I look at the two instructions that were given in the Bible that are paramount, and those are to love God with all your heart and mind, and to love your neighbour as yourself. That’s it.”
-Bruce Cockburn

Bruce Cockburn: Pacing the Cage sheds new light on Bruce’s spirituality, and his thoughts on activism, politics, writing, and his life in the music industry. An Officer of the Order of Canada and Canadian Music Hall of Famer, Bruce Cockburn’s important lyrics and strong melodies have graced 31 albums. He is a Christian, but his spirituality is universal. For over 40 years, he has brought Canada’s attention to causes around the world. He was the recipient of the first ever Humanitarian Juno Award and continues to make music that matters.

Pacing the Cage includes never-before-seen live performances of songs from his 40 year-plus catalogue of music and appearances by:

Bernie Finkelstein
Colin Linden
Michael Ondaatje
Bono
Sarah Harmer
Lt. Gen Romeo Dallaire
Sylvia Tyson
Jackson Browne
Theology Professor Brian J. Walsh
Christian author William Young
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
The Wailin’ Jennys

Bruce Cockburn: Pacing the Cage was produced by BB&J Productions for VisionTV.
The documentary was written and directed by Joel Goldberg and produced by Joel Goldberg and Bernie Finkelstein.

New Video from Ramblin’ Dan Frechette (and ME!)

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be asked to appear in a new video being made by super photographer/music fan, Mike Latschislaw, for Ramblin’ Dan Frechette’s song, Good Time Charlie Blues. Mike invited a who’s who of Winnipeg roots & blues music to appear in the video, and because he owes me money, he invited me too (actually, he doesn’t owe me money, so I’m still not sure why I was there, other than that I’m big and ugly and perfect for a bar fight scene.)

It even comes with a fun game, see how many of the people in the video you can name. Check it out:

Good Time Charlie Blues – Dan Frechette from Mike Latschislaw on Vimeo.

Directed and edited by Mike Latschislaw
Director of photography – Luc Desjardins
Cameras – Addam Carroll, Joey Sentf
Best Boy, Gaffer – Trevor Tomlinson
Make up – Tannis Legary

While we’re watching Mike’s amazing work, I absolutely love this Scott Nolan video he did a while back:

Swing Low – Scott Nolan from Mike Latschislaw on Vimeo.

Scott Nolan – Swing Low

You can check out some of his brilliant photography (or sign up for your own pin up photo shoot): http://latschstudios.com/ (the MUSIC page is my favourite)

And of course, visit Ramblin’ Dan’s site to hear more of his music: http://www.ramblingdan.com/

If you want to book me for a music video or just have me break up a bar fight for you, just drop me a line!