June is upon us already, and that means we’re into the busy spring/summer concert & festival season, and we couldn’t be happier! Here are a few reminders & pleas to check out some amazing shows that are coming up.

I’m selling tickets for all of the following, because they’re all shows that mean a lot to me. I really want to get tickets into your hands. Buy them from me (or Stu or Eugene) and you don’t pay any ticket fees of any kind, and I’ll be glad to bring tickets to you wherever you might be. If you’re heading out to a show that I might be at (Whitney Rose? C.R. Avery?) let me know and I’ll bring some along. If you want to drop by the U of M, come to The Sunset Saloon, or if it’s easier to bring tickets to you at home or at work, please do say so! It’s no trouble! We just really want big crowds at these shows, and we’ll do almost anything to ensure it.

June 24 at Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, it’s the return of the Mike Plume Band featuring Grant Siemans! Mike is amazing, this you should know by now. He’s assembled a top-notch band for this tour, including long time (amazing) drummer Ernie B, as well as his usual bassist for the past bunch of years (Ben) and this time out a talented keyboard player and a pedal steel player. Of this lineup, Mike says, “It’s easily the best lineup I’ve ever had. Nice full sound. Not a far cry from Blue Rodeo. Oh yeah, Grant Siemans is playing with us in Winnipeg and in Dauphin.” We’ve convinced John Scoles that we’re too damn old to stay out late on a weeknight, so he’s putting Mike on first at 8:30. There’s an exciting young band called Sun K on after that, and you’re welcome and encouraged to stick around for their set, but free and clear to get a good night’s sleep instead. This night will be amazing, I GUARANTEE! Tickets are $15.
http://mikeplume.com/
http://www.sunkofficial.com/

June 27 at The Sunset Saloon, it’s Mike June and Jess Klein! This is a double bill as solid as they come, with Mike June, an exciting up-and-comer who you surely fell in love with last year, and past Winnipeg Folk Festival and West End Cultural Centre performer Jess Klein, who’s been making records and wowing crowds since the turn of the millennium. This one will be special! (Mike and Jess will also be playing at The StuDome on June 28, but we strongly encourage you to check out our show or both!) We encourage at least $20 donation for this one, but house concert rules apply.

​July 15 at The Park Theatre – Lynn Miles with Scott Nolan! Last year’s Sunset Saloon show was so legendary that we just had to bring this combo back together, but now we want to get a lot more people in on the magic, so come to Winnipeg’s best all-around music venue ​and enjoy this amazing night of powerful songs. $20 is a small price to pay for something this great.

Tell the Band to Go Home & Steel Belted Radio proudly present, the long-awaited return of:

Jory Nash
House Concert (Westwood)
Sunday, April 19, 2015
2:00 matinée
Suggested donation $15-20 (price flexible, all proceeds to this talented musician)

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!
Speaking of snacks, by special request from the artist himself, we will once again be serving our exclusive homemade ice cream, Heavenly Nash!

All are welcome (bring the kids, friends, family, people off the street, whatever)! Our house is family friendly (we’ve got 3 kids, a trampoline, 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!

Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below!

Forward this to a friend!

Jory Nash website

A bit about this show:

When CD submissions started rolling in to me in 2002 or so, one of the first discs that really caught my ear was Lo-Fi Northern Blues, by Jory Nash. The second song is called “The Ballad of Easy Chair;” Jory calls it “a semi-autobiographical tale of hope, perseverance and grand theft candy.” It’s a lighthearted song with a great lyric and an instantly memorable melody. It showcases Jory’s tasteful guitar playing and his unique, wonderful voice. In short, it’s everything I look for in a song, and I love it still. He’s put out three albums since then (as well as a great one before) and each one shows great skill, dedication, and growth.

The primary goal Tell the Band to Go Home is to bring you amazing music that you might not otherwise hear anywhere else, and match you (the open-minded music lover) with talented musicians looking to find an audience. Jory is just the kind of super-talented, hard-working, DIY musician that we love to promote, and I know that once you see and hear him (especially live), you’ll fall in love.

Of course, you can hear plenty of his songs on upcoming episodes of Tell the Band to Go Home, or you can visit one of his homes on the web for samples:
Jory’s website (jorynash.com/music)
CBC Radio 3 (music.cbc.ca/#!/bands/JORY-NASH)

Wherever you go, you’ll hear right away that this guy is interested in writing thoughtful, intelligent, interesting lyrics and it’s all presented with tasteful, memorable melodies. He walks a musical line between Gordon Lightfoot and Paul Simon with many stops in between. It’s magical music that will capture your heart and your ears.

And he’s won over plenty of critics, too. His album “New Blue Day” was voted Album of the Year in a poll conducted by Penguin Eggs Magazine, voted on by artists, industry folk, and radio dorks like me. That might not mean much to you unless I told you that previous winners include Fred Eaglesmith, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Bob Dylan, Lynn Miles, David Francey & Harry Manx.

Jory is very busy touring most of the year, visiting spots across Canada and into the U.S. He regularly sells out Toronto’s hallowed hall “Hugh’s Room,” (kind of like their version of the West End Cultural Centre), and has appeared at festivals and special events all over. BUT, he almost NEVER comes to Winnipeg! He played a house show in our city in 2003, stopped by UMFM for a quick visit, visited us in 2011, and now this! Since our last amazing show, I’ve been bugging him for a return visit, but it hasn’t happened… until now. Heck, one of the reasons I wanted to do house concerts in the first place was so I could convince him (and others like him) to come to town, knowing that there would be a room full of eager and attentive folks waiting to be entertained and enlightened.

So, don’t miss out on this opportunity to see Jory Nash, live in my living room!

Shannon Lyon
House Concert
Friday, April 10, 2015
8:00
Suggested donation $15-20 (price flexible, all proceeds to a talented musician making his way across this vast country)

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)

Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below!

Forward this to a friend!

Shannon Lyon website

Download Shannon Lyon music (pay what you want, but we highly encourage you to pay!)

For the fourth year in a row, we’re excited to welcome Shannon back to The Sunset Saloon! His shows have been such a treat to get to see and get to know, so it’s wonderful to have him back. Since we last saw Shannon last April, he has released TWO new albums. Last year he released The Lights Behind, a career-spanning collection of re-recorded songs, blended seamlessly together with some new songs. That album was a more acoustic, introspective affair. The album ended up being my most played, and favourite album of the year. Earlier this year, he put the finishing touches on a new collection, Lost Creek, named in honour of his recording studio cabin in the woods, which he recently shut down as he is about to move back to Ontario and set up shop again there.

As his updated bio says: Lost Creek (Lyon’s 12th studio album), launched in January 2015 reveals Lyon’s vintage sound revealing his Lou Barlow / Neil Young influences.
“After recording ‘The Lights Behind‘ in 2014, which was mostly a solo acoustic affair, I had the urge to strap on the old Gretsch and turn up the amps again.”

Lost Creek is a collection of 12 songs put together in Lyon’s cabin studio (a log cabin set inside the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia, Canada).

“I live in a remote area on a dirt road which is prime cougar country. When the sun goes down you wouldn’t walk down my road without a rifle, so I got a lot of work done in my studio.”

Lyon penned and recorded the collection in between working and producing other artists this past year. He also performed most of the instruments himself (including drums) but did invite his cast of musician friends Elly Kellner, Steve Wood, Kolja Lieven, Mike Roelofs and Bj Baartmans to join in.

“I started playing drums when I was 15 and bought a guitar at 17. It’s been a lot of fun sitting behind the kit again.”

When Shannon visits, you’re sure to hear songs from those two recent albums, as well as classics from his vast catalogue of amazing songs. This is a show not to be missed!

“When I hear Shannon, I hear the rhythms of the Midnight Cowboy, the harmonies of an earth-bound angel, the acoustic guitar that knows the pain of a heart, the steel guitar that stirs the lonely and restless lovers. But most of all I hear the voice that echoes Earle, Farrar and Buckner, a voice that haunts you like a heavy fog on a barren field on a cool October morning.”
Bob Egan (Blue Rodeo, Wilco)

Shannon put together this fun video for the first single off of “Lost Creek”

His friend and talented collaborator Elly Kellner put together a Netherlands version as well!

Here’s Shannon performing the title track from his brilliant 2014 album, “The Lights Behind.”

Some highlights from our 2013 show:

Here’s a live clip, shot outdoors with lots of mosquitoes

Here’s a live performance of the title track to his release, “Broken Things.”

Here’s a rockin’ live track featuring his great Berlin band:

The first time Shannon visited us, I blew it and interrupted before Shannon could play this as an encore. Believe me, I won’t do that again!

Here’s a beauty we did get to hear:

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