Shannon Lyon @ Sunset Saloon – July 18, 2012

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I’ve been a Shannon Lyon fan since I first heard his album Wandered almost a decade ago. Since then, he’s written some of my favourite songs in the world. They’re gritty, dark, often sad, sometimes beautiful and celebratory, always amazing. So it was with great excitement that I put together plans to bring him to Winnipeg for a couple of shows.

Well, things don’t always go as planned. One show got cancelled, and the other got moved at the last minute. There was some scrambling to rearrange the show date, and unfortunately that meant that some folks couldn’t make the show. We also knew that some other friends wouldn’t be able to make the show, because they’re a little too far away.

And so, in an attempt to make all those who missed out feel like they were there, and to have a permanent record of what turned out to be an amazing night for all in attendance, I wanted to record a bunch of the show.

With that in mind, I present the following video and audio of the show. None of the recordings are particularly spectacular. I thought I had all bases covered by using two audio recorders, but both ended up with some problems – one was too distorted and the other (which you’ll find here) has some noise (I think Carter was kicking the table that the recorder was sitting on). Oh well, it’s not meant to be a proper live album or a totally accurate reflection of Shannon’s amazing talent.

For those, I highly encourage you to look up his official sites:
http://shannonlyonmusic.com/
http://shannonlyon.bandcamp.com/ – at this site, you can download a lot of Shannon’s work over the years. Most people download it for free. Good people make a donation in return. Be a good person, eh.

Shannon Lyon
July 18, 2012
@ Sunset Saloon

You Showed Me HOw
Get Over You
Someday Mourning
Olde Freightliner
Pleasing You Pleases Me
Naive
Oh Why
Backyard Song
Carry Me Down
Lake Huron
Barcelona
I Believe In You
Sad Nights
Since I’m Loving You
Three Days of You

Apparently, there were a couple of great songs left over for an encore, but our crowd was a little too polite, and I was a little too quick to jump up and signal that the show was over. For that, I am eternally regretful. Oh well, we’ll do better next time.

download show audio

Episode #452 Sunday, July 22, 2012

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We’ve got some great shows coming up around town this week, so some previews are in order. Today would have been the late great Paul Quarrington’s birthday, so a tribute is also in order.

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30 pm

Del Barber – Soul of the Land That’s Mine – Headwaters – CDN – WPG
Joy Kills Sorrow – Wouldn’t Have Noticed – This Unknown Science
Joy Kills Sorrow – New Man – This Unknown Science
Robbie Fulks – Where There’s a Road – Georgia Hard
Chatham County Line – Chip Of A Star – IV
Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back to Virginia – Carry Me Back

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Corin Raymond – Blue Mermaid Dress – There Will Always Be a Small Time – CDN
The Dustin Bentall Outfit – Three Thousand Miles – Six Shooter – CDN
Geoff Berner – That’s What Keeps the Rent Down, Baby – recorded live on UMFM – CDN
Paul Quarrington – Wherever You Go – The Songs – CDN
Porkbelly Futures – You Gotta Love a Train – Porkbelly Futures – CDN
Paul Quarrington – Lake Effect Snow – The Songs – CDN

3:00 – 3:30 pm

The Mastersons – The Other Shoe – Birds Fly South
Allison Moorer – The Broken Girl – Crows
Allison Moorer – New Years Day – Getting Somewhere
Allison Moorer – Revelator – Mockingbird
Gillian Welch – My First Lover – Time (The Revelator)

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Gillian Welch – Annabelle – Revival
Gillian Welch – Caleb Meyer – Hell Among the Yearlings
The Wailin’ Jennys – One More Dollar – Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House – CDN – WPG
Joy Kills Sorrow – One More Night – This Unknown Science
Steve Earle – Waitin’ on the Sky – I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive
Steve Earle – Tennessee Blues – Washington Square Serenade
Steve Earle – Even When I’m Blue – Copperhead Road

Episode #451 Sunday, July 15, 2012

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We’re pre-recorded today with a recently recorded in-studio session with Martyn Joseph, who was in town for the Folk Festival but found time to come in to chat and sing some of his powerful songs. We’ve also got previews of some great upcoming concerts, some great male/female harmonies.

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30 pm
Jimmy Lafave – Deportee – Ribbon of Highway Endless Skyway The Woody Guthrie Tribute Tour
Shannon Lyon – Carry Me Down – Summer Blonde – CDN
Shannon Lyon – You Showed Me How – Wandered – CDN
Shannon Lyon – Backyard Song – Safe Inside – CDN
Shannon Lyon – Same Old Walk – El Sol – CDN
Shannon Lyon – On Losing Your Friends – Broken Things – CDN

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Joy Kills Sorrow – I Still Miss Someone – Joy Kills Sorrow
Joy Kills Sorrow – Send Me a Letter – Darkness Sure Becomes this City
Del Barber – Love and Wine – Headwaters – CDN – WPG
Rose Cousins – If I Should Fall Behind (w/ Mark Erelli ) – We Have Made a Spark – CDN
Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell – My Baby’s Gone – Livin’ Lovin’ Losin’: Songs of The Louvin Brothers
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson – Sweetest Waste of Time – Rattlin’ Bones
Carrie Elkin & Danny Schmidt – Company of Friends – Together
Carrie Elkin & Danny Schmidt – Swing from a Note – Together

3:00 – 3:30 pm

D.Rangers – Trois Rivieres – The Paw-Paw Patch – CDN – WPG
D.Rangers – Runaway – We Stay High and Lonesome – CDN – WPG

Martyn Joseph interview

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Martyn Joseph – Everything Is Grace – live performance
Martyn Joseph – There’s Always Maybe – live performance
Martyn Joseph – Whoever It Was that Brought Me Here Will Have to Take Me Home – live performance

Shannon Lyon house concert CHANGE OF DATE! Now July 18th!

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Due to some scheduling difficulties, the Shannon Lyon show originally scheduled for this weekend has been moved up to June 18, that’s TONIGHT!

Tell the Band to Go Home and The Sunset Saloon are very excited to present:

Shannon Lyon
Outdoor potluck dinner & entertainment spectacular
July 18, 2012
6:00 dinner, 7:00 show
Suggested donation $15-20 (price flexible, all proceeds to a talented musician making his way across this vast country)
Bring a lawn chair if the weather is nice (perhaps bug spray…)
All are welcome (bring the kids, friends, family, people off the street, whatever)
Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below!

We’re rolling out all the stops this time for a super show at Sunset Saloon, featuring Shannon Lyon. We’re going to try doing the show in the back yard, if the weather and the bugs don’t ruin the party. With that in mind, we want to get things rolling and over somewhat early, so we’re adding in a dinner component. If you want to come a bit early, bring a dish for a good old fashioned pot-luck. In reality, you don’t have to bring a thing, because we’ve always got you covered. But some kind and generous folks usually bring stuff anyway (we love ’em for it), and really, who doesn’t love a good pot-luck? You can opt in or out of the dinner festivities without guilt. We’ll be here. If you show up to eat, we’ll feed you. If not, we hope to see you at the show. It promises to be amazing.

The first time I heard Shannon Lyon was around the time of the release of his 2003 breakthrough album, “Wandered.” He was the first Canadian artist signed to Richard Branson’s V2 label, and as such, his album got sent out to media dorks like me. I hope that most of them had the same reaction as I did, “WOW!” That album remains one of my all-time favourite releases. It’s gritty and worn, but tender and melodic. It’s powerful and intense, but it contains some really beautiful lyrics. I got to see Shannon live once, when he opened for Luther Wright & The Wrongs at The West End Cultural Centre on their big “Rebuild the Wall” tour. I was blown away. I gave him my business card and told him to keep in touch.

Well, that took a while. I can’t blame the guy, I was a dork and he was on a whirlwind promotional tour. He also lived in Holland. Although from southern Ontario, he moved to Europe and spent most of his time making music and touring overseas. He continued to release terrific albums, most of which were distributed in Canada by the wonderful folks at Busted Flat Records, which has been Shannon’s Canadian base of operations throughout most of his singer/songwriter career (he did record a few early albums as “The Shannon Lyon Pop Explosion.” They’re pretty neat too. I’ll play ’em for you when you come over.) He recorded a bunch of neat stuff in Europe, including a DVD and a rockin’ album of Townes Van Zandt covers. He also put out a really strong album called “This Love This Love,” and eventually, he dropped me a line telling me about it.

Then, a while ago, things really started moving. The long-rumoured Townes CD surfaced online, along with another new CD, “XMas in Korea” as well as a career-spanning retrospective collection, simply called “Songs.” And what songs they are. The amazing thing about all of these albums is that Shannon put them online to download, FREE (although, good-hearted folk are encouraged to pay anyway. Once you hear these songs, you’ll know that they’re worth some money.) He moved back to Canada, ending up in BC, and he started making plans to head across the country this summer, camping and singing along the way. He was looking for places to stop. You can’t get to one end of the country to the other without passing through Winnipeg – it simmply can’t be done – so, probably thanks to Allison Green, he dropped me a line asking if I knew of a place he could play. Uh, YEAH!

He also put up a brand new recording, “Broken Things,” which is definitely one of his best. We made plans to get him to Winnipeg and it’s all happening Wednesday, July 18.

July 15, 2012

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As we wrap up Folk Fest 2012, we’re pleased to present a live session with one of this year’s highlights, Martyn Joseph. He dropped by the studio just before the festival to chat and sing some live songs. Also, we look ahead to a couple of very special house concerts that we’re presenting, featuring Shannon Lyon and Joy Kills Sorrow, and we spin some great new music.

playlist
part 1
part 2

Steel Belted Radio – July 12, 2012

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Prerecorded goodness. Tonight, we look back at Folk Fest 2012, spin some great new music, and look ahead to some exciting upcoming shows.

playlist
part 1
part 2

The Comfort Zone, Canada Day 2012

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You’ve heard me chat about our pal Gail Comfort, who hosts the Comfort Cafe, Sundays from 6-7 on UMFM. She also hosts a show called The Comfort Zone on a station in the UK called CMR Nashville. She does her best to educate folks about great Canadian music, and somehow, I’ve convinced her that I’m some kind of expert on the subject (please don’t tell her the awful truth!) so she invited me to be her guest co-host for this year’s Canada Day show.

You can listen or download the show here:
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

And here’s the playlist and info that she wrote up:

Canada Day!

Another one of those times that I get really homesick for London. Living away from Canada, we loved to celebrate our “Canadianess” in a big way over there. Part of the celebration for me was preparing and presenting my all-Canadian Comfort Zone. My friend, Bob Paterson, and I used to go into the studio loaded down with our Canadian albums, all set to outshine each other with our Canadian discoveries (and favourites too of course). We did it for years. And since I was Canadian and Bob was British, I got to be the expert. And I loved that.

Now I’m back in my home town and it turns out I’m not the expert anymore. Lucky for me, I record this show right next door to Jeff Robson who is presenting his “Tell The Band To Go Home” show on Sunday afternoons. I listen to his show, I read his playlists and I know he has great taste in music, and he knows lots of Canadian stuff I don’t know. So one day I just asked him if he would come and present the Canada Day Comfort Zone with me. He said Yes! And he brought in some fantastic music!

If you like the show, let me know because I’m trying to talk Jeff into doing it again sometime very soon.

Jeffs shows: “Tell the Band To Go Home” goes out on Sunday afternoon 2:00 to 4:00 pm and “Steel Belted Radio” goes out on Thursday evening 6:30 to 8:00 pm on UMFM 101.5 (Winnipeg). They stream in real time so you can listen at www.umfm.com and you can also get them through an iTunes podcast. Good Shows Both!

Have a Great Canada Day!

Love
GAIL

THE COMFORT ZONE

UNITED KINGDOM (GMT):
Saturday 30th June: 2pm-4pm
Monday 2nd July: repeated 6pm-8pm
Tuesday 3rd July: repeated 2am-4am and 10am-12noon

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA (CST):
Saturday 30th June: 8am-10am
Monday 2nd July : repeated 12pm-2pm and 8pm-10pm
Tuesday 3rd July: repeated 4am-6am

Listen live http://www.cmrnashville.net/listenlive.php

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

Lynn Miles w/Jim Bryson – Goodbye (Fall for Beauty, True North)
Del Barber – The Waitress (Headwaters, Six Shooter)
Del Barber – Everything is Not Enough (Headwaters, Six Shooter)
Rheostatics w/Kevin Hearn – Northern Wish (Music Inspired by the Group of 7, Green Sprout)
The Weakerthans – Left & Leaving (Left & Leaving, Sub City)
The Lowest of the Low – Under the Carlaw Bridge (Shakespeare My Butt, Universal)

Ladies of the Canyon – Haunted Woman (Haunted Woman, Kindling)
Amelia Curran w/The Once – Love’s Lost Regard (Hunter Hunter, Six Shooter)
Cara Luft – Bye Bye Love (Darlingford, Self)
Sarah MacDougall – It’s a Storm (The Greatest Ones Alive, Rabbit Heart Music)
Rose Cousins – The Darkness (We Have Made a Spark, Outside Music)
Tanya Davis – How To Be Alone (Download from Sandbar Music)

The Warped 45’s – Pale Horse (Matador Sunset, Pheromone)
Stephen Fearing – The Longest Road (The Assassin’s Apprentice, True North)
James Keelaghan – Hillcrest Mine (Then Again, Jericho Beach Music)
Keri Latimer – So Long (Crowsfeet and Greyskull, Self)
Leonard Podolak/JD Edwards/Nathan Rogers – All the Way Home (Dry Bones, Self)

Mike Plume Band – 8:30 Newfoundland (8:30 Newfoundland, Road Angel/Fontana)
John Bottomley – You Lose and You Gain (Blackberry, BMG)
Paul MacLeod – Giant (Tell The Band To Go Home ep, Self)
Lindi Ortega – Jimmy Dean (Little Red Boots, Last Gang)
The Blue Shadows – A Paper N’ A Promise (On The Floor of Heaven, Bumstead)
Willie P Bennett – Country Squall (Tryin’ To Start Out Clean, Bnatural)

July 1, 2012

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Today is the OFFICIAL Winnipeg Folk Fest preview show, as we play some of the artists that you need to see and talk about some of the places that you need to be at next weekend’s festival.

playlist
part 1
part 2

Episode #450 Sunday, July 1, 2012

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Today is the OFFICIAL Winnipeg Folk Fest preview show, as we play some of the artists that you need to see and talk about some of the places that you need to be at next weekend’s festival.

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30 pm

Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle – Canada Day/Toronto – Let’s Just Stay Here – CDN
Jimmy Lafave – Oklahoma Hills (w/Lucinda Williams) – Trail
Eliza Gilkyson – Peace Call – Land of Milk and Honey
Billy Bragg & Wilco – Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key – Mermaid Avenue
Todd Snider – Alcohol and Pills – East Nashville Skyline

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Todd Snider – If Tomorrow Never Comes – The Devil You Know
The Beauties – Hearts Are Down – The Beauties – CDN
Blitzen Trapper – Furr – Furr
Elliott BROOD – Northern Air – Days Into Years – CDN
Madison Violet – Crying – No Fool for Trying – CDN

3:00 – 3:30 pm

Martyn Joseph – How Did We End Up Here – Deep Blue
Willy Porter – Unconditional – High Wire Live
Matt Andersen – So Gone Now – Something in Between – CDN
Mary Gauthier – Mercy Now – Mercy Now
Early Winters – Heaven Help Us – Early Winters
Doug Paisley – No One But You – Constant Companion – CDN

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Bahamas – Lost in the Light – Barchords – CDN
Feist – One Evening – Let It Die – CDN
The Head and the Heart – Down in the Valley – The Head and the Heart
Iron & Wine – Sunset Soon Forgotten – Our Endless Numbered Days
Wyckham Porteous – Jimmy Lafave – In This World – CDN
Jimmy Lafave – Only One Angel – Austin Skyline

Steel Belted Radio – June 28, 2012

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T-Bar’s with us for our official Folk Fest preview show. We’ve also got a tribute to Suzanna Clark, and a special guest, as Jack Marks drops by the station to chat and sing a few of his great songs.

playlist
part 1
part 2