Music News Digest, Feb. 4, 2019

By Kerry Doole

Canadian pop singer-songwriter Tyler Shaw has released “With You” (Frank Walker Remix), a new version of his hit track "With You." The original version is now certified Gold by Music Canada and is a Top 10 hit at Canadian radio. The music video has amassed over 10 million views on YouTube. Shaw kicked off the western Canadian leg of his Intuition Tour on January 30 in BC. Tour dates here.

– Bif Naked and K-os have been added to the bill of the 2019 Canada Winter Games, performing at the Gary W. Harris Celebration Plaza mainstage in Red Deer, Feb. 27. This is part of the 52° North Music + Cultural Festival running in tandem with the Games. Other artists set to perform during the Games include Brett Kissel, The Strumbellas, Scott Helman, Walk Off the Earth, Wide Mouth Mason, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, Gord Bamford and Alan Doyle.

– Michael Bublé returns to NBC on March 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with bublé!, his seventh music special on the network. The primetime special takes a musical journey through the career of the multi-Grammy Award-winning artist and features six songs from his new album, love. A 36-piece orchestra accompanies the singer.

– SaskMusic presents five Saskatchewan artists for the annual Folk Alliance International Conference, Camp, Show & Awards in Montreal,  Feb. 12-17. Participating in the BreakOut West showcase this year are Poor Nameless Boy, Rosie & The Riveters, Ellen Froese, Steph Cameron and Annette Campagne.

– The Cold Manitoba Project is a collective of like-minded creatives inspired by Gord Downie’s call for all Canadians to boost the process of reconciliation. It comprises Michael Boguski (Blue Rodeo), Chris Mason and Lucas Goetz (ex-Deep Dark Woods), Jim Bowskill (The Sheepdogs, Blue Rodeo), Chris Sleightholm and Dustin Bentall. A second single, "Hometown Down Heart," has just been released. 100% of the proceeds from the track benefit the Native Addictions Council of Manitoba.

– Prestigious Toronto concert venue Koerner Hall has announced its 2019.20 concert season, comprising 33 classical and jazz concerts. Highlights include performances by pianists Louis Lortie, Helene Grimaud, Daniil Trifonov, and Angela Hewitt; jazz stars like Chick Corea, Chucho Valdés Oficial, Holly Cole, and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, and a rare local performance by the Breithaupt Brothers. The latter concert, Toronto Sings The Breithaupt Brothers Songbook, features vocalists Kellylee Evans, Heather Bambrick, Denzal Sinclaire, Jackie Richardson, and more. Season details here. Tickets & subscriptions are all on sale Feb. 15.

– Musician, label owner and music festival founder Miranda Mulholland, in participation with Music Canada, presents a panel discussion at Folk Alliance International 2019 titled Artist Advocates in Action. The panel is on Feb. 16 at 10 am in the Anne Murray Room at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal. Panelists include artist advocates Caroline Brooks, Zoe Keating, Aaron Myers, and Peter Katz.

– RecordFund Inc. is a PEI business developing an online sales method that will allow artists in the music industry to market and pre-sell a vinyl record before it is produced. Last Thursday, it received a $55K repayable contribution from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to help it develop the online sales website. In September, the company also received a $25K grant from the province’s Ignition Fun. Source: The Journal Pioneer

– 18-year-old Ottawa singer-songwriter Grace Lachance releases a new EP, When Lightning Strikes, on Feb. 8. The night before she has a showcase at The Cameron House in Toronto, then, on Feb. 9, she plays an Ottawa release show at LIVE! on Elgin. In 2015, Lachance was named the winner of the She’s The One contest at Ottawa Bluesfest.

– An all-star cast has been announced for the Titans Of Toronto Reggae concert, set for the Opera House in Toronto on March 2. The lineup includes Leroy Sibbles, Willi Williams, Jay Douglas, Nana McLean, Stranger Cole, Liberty Silver, Pablo Paul, Bernie Pitters, and more. Tix here

RIP

 Alex Brown, painter and guitarist for New York hardcore punk band Gorilla Biscuits, has died following an aneurysm, it was announced Feb. 1. He was 52.

Gorilla Biscuits was formed in 1987 and released only one LP, 1989’s Start Today, followed by several singles and EPs up through 2006. The New York band disbanded twice, reuniting in 2005.

Brown was also well-known as a painter who exhibited at Feature Inc. in New York from 1998 to its closing in 2014. His paintings were often inspired by photographs from travel brochures, postcards,  etc., which Brown would superimpose with patterns, according to Artform.

He was born in Des Moines, Iowa and studied art at the Parson School of Design in New York. A memorial service will be held in Iowa in the coming weeks. Source: Celebrity Access

Harold Ray Bradley, Country Music Hall of Fame guitarist who played on hundreds of hit country records including "Crazy," "King of the Road," and "Crying" and helped create the "Nashville sound" with his brother Owen, died on Jan. 31. He was 93.

The Bradley brothers had a huge impact on Nashville during the 1950s, with Harold serving as a member of the "A Team" of session musicians and Owen leading Decca Records.

Harold Bradley was born in 1926 and switched from banjo to guitar at the urging of his brother. He was a teenager when he started playing professionally, touring with Ernest Tubb and making his debut at the Grand Ole Opry.

During World War II, Bradley served in the U.S. Navy and after his discharge, he returned to Nashville to become an in-demand session player. He played on songs for Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, Brenda Lee, The Everly Brothers, Burl Ives, Red Foley, Anita Bryant and more.

Many consider Bradley to be one of the most recorded musicians ever, appearing on multiple Elvis Presley records.

In the 1950s, the Bradley brothers started a recording studio on what is now Nashville's Music Row, just the second studio to locate there.

Bradley was also the longtime president of the Nashville Musicians Association Local 257 of the American Federation of Musicians. Sources: AP, The Hollywood Reporter

Ayub Ogada, a noted Kenyan musician, died on Feb. 1, age 63.

Ogada was born in 1956 in Mombasa to musician parents. Travelling with his parents exposed him to both Western and African cultures, which have influenced his music.

Ogada favoured the Nyatiti, a Luo string instrument, in most of his songs.

Ayub is known for his song “Kothbiro” (featured in the fiilm The Constant Gardener) and others such as “Dicholo”, “Obiero” and “Ondiek”. He incorporated nature sounds, the Nyatiti and his mellow voice in his music.

Ayub’s music is on the soundtracks of many films and television series, and in the 1980s he also acted in a few films. Source: Daily Nation