Music News Digest, Nov. 10, 2022
The biggest night in Canadian blues, the 2023 Maple Blues Awards will take place on Jan.
By Kerry Doole
The biggest night in Canadian blues, the 2023 Maple Blues Awards will take place on Jan. 30 at Koerner Hall in Toronto, marking a return to their usual mid-winter time frame after a Covid-related delay last year. Nominees were recently announced, and fans can vote for their favourites here until Dec. 1. Multiple nominees include Sue Foley, Suzie Vinnick, Matt Andersen, Crystal Shawanda, Angelique Francis, Colin James, and Harrison Kennedy. See the full nominees list here. Awards show tix here.
– Twenty-eight Music Nova Scotia Awards were handed out on Nov. 6 over brunch, at Membertou Trade and Convention Centre. DeeDee Austin, Nicole Ariana, and The Town Heroes led the winners list with two trophies each. Guests also enjoyed musical performances by Morgan Toney, Keith Mullins, ShiftFromTha902, Emma Steevenson (Wela'lin), DeeDee Austin, and Music Nova Scotia 2021 and 2022 Artists and Residence Kxng Wooz and Jody Upshaw.
Also celebrated during the ceremony was the a capella quartet Four The Moment that was paid tribute to through a performance by Amariah Bernard Washington, Zamani Miller, Hailey Smith, and Micah Smith, and who received the Recognition of Excellence from the Music Nova Scotia Board of Directors. See a full list of winners here
– Canada’s Music Incubator (CMI) and the National Music Centre (NMC) have announced the 12 participants of the 2022 AE West (Artist Entrepreneur West) program, which kicked off last week at Studio Bell, home of the NMC. The program will also culminate in the AE West Artist Extravaganza Showcase, a free live concert featuring all participating artists, at the King Eddy on Dec. 1. More info here. AE West (Artist Entrepreneur West) is a five-week creative entrepreneurship program designed to help emerging professional artists develop sustainable businesses and careers via customized mentorship, networking, and collaboration with music industry professionals. It is an extension of CMI’s highly regarded, Toronto-based Artist Entrepreneur program
–Congratulations to Donna M. Slaight, recently appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. The official citation notes that "A long-time advocate for human rights, mental health and equality, Donna Slaight represents the best in Canadian humanitarian values. As the leader of Gifts of Light, a volunteer-run program at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, she has effected positive change in the lives of patients and their caregivers. Driven by a deep commitment to her community, she is a generous philanthropist and an influential board member of numerous committees and organizations. Notably, she has served as chair of the Canada Committee of Human Rights Watch." Named as an Officer to the Order is veteran broadcast journalist Lisa LaFlamme.
– Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico has just been accorded a new honour: the Order of Ontario. The province’s highest honour will be bestowed at a Nov. 21 ceremony by Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario Lieutenant Governor. Petrowska Quilico is cited for opening the ears of music lovers through her performances and recordings, her teaching at York University and her establishment of The Christina and Louis Quilico Award at the Ontario Arts Foundation and Canadian Opera Company.
Industry news
– Continuing the celebration of seminal classical composer Glenn Gould’s 90th birthday, Primary Wave Music has announced the worldwide digital release of Gould’s The Young Maverick. The album, launched via CD in 2007 as an Amazon exclusive, will now appear on all streaming platforms for the first time ever. The compilation spans 6 discs, featuring an exclusive collection of 131 early recordings predating his 1956 debut. Recorded throughout the start of his musical career, The Young Maverick includes previously unreleased material during his sessions with the CBC. Most notably, the selections feature the first known demo recording of Gould’s famed rendition of The Goldberg Variations.
– Juno-winning performer and songwriter Paul Murphy (Wintersleep, Postdata) has launched a new record label, Cape Records. Marking the label's debut is a vinyl re-issue of Light, the swan song 2004 album from the Halifax-via-Yarmouth band Kary, featuring Murphy and Wintersleep bandmate, guitarist Tim D'Eon (guitar). It was originally released by the noted indie label, Dependent Music. Following the release of Light, Cape delivers the debut album from Michael Terrance (aka Michael Murphy), Underneath Everything, out Dec. 9.
– The acclaimed music videos of Indigenous roots singer/songwriter Adrian Sutherland continue to be celebrated by film festivals around the world, with two in Official Selection this week at the 47th American Indian Film Festival. Right Here and Magic Hits both screened on Nov. 8, as part of the Music Program at the Koret Auditorium in San Francisco. Both videos were created during the pandemic while Sutherland was cut-off from the rest of the world during two full years of isolation in his remote Northern Ontario home.
– Music·Musique NB (MNB) has announced the launch of INDUSTRY PATHWAYS, a dual-focused initiative that will provide support to New Brunswick live music workers for training, mentorship and skill development. It will see $180K injected into the NB creative sector, made possible by the Government of Canada through the Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund program. Industry Pathways has two components aimed at the live music sector, set to begin in Dec. and run until March 2023. Artists, venues, festivals, and current or aspiring live music workers can access support through two ways: an Internship Component and an Expert Access Component. More info here.
– Shakey Pictures, Trafalgar Releasing, and Warner Records recently announced that Neil Young: Harvest Time will be presented in movie theatres worldwide on Dec. 1 with select encores on Dec. 4. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Young’s bestselling album Harvest, the feature is a never been seen before fan piece including footage from Northern California, London, and Nashville, during its creation.
– Newfoundland Bronze Foundry of Logy Bay, NL, has been chosen to immortalize the late Rush drummer Neil Peart in an art installation in Lakeside Park in the the City of St. Catharines, honouring Peart for his contribution to music, the community, and his overall legacy. The City of St. Catharines’ Neil Peart Commemorative Task Force selected the artist to complete the art installation in Peart’s memory. Source: St. Catharines Standard
– Popular Instagram account @IndieSleaze (109K+ followers) has announced Date With The Night - a dance party series that will take place will take place across multiple cities, beginning in Toronto this month. In partnership with Last Gang Records / MNRK Music Group - who played an integral part in this 00s era of music with a roster of Death From Above 1979, Metric, Chromeo, MSTRKRFT, Crystal Castles and more - and Posi Vibez, the event kicks off on Nov. 30 at Toronto's Dance Cave. It features DJ performances byChippy Nonstop, award-winning rapper, Cadence Weapon, and Indie Sleaze herself. Tix (just $5) here
Artists news
– A now reliable annual Christmas music tradition is a new seasonal single from the Toronto duo of Ali & Theo (Ali Slaight and Theo Tams). They work their vocal magic and sweet harmonies on fresh reworkings of Xmas favourites, and this year's choice is the much-loved Little Drummer Boy. Their take on this 1941 classic features updated production and a beautiful vocal arrangement. It was produced and engineered by Andrew (Marty) Martin, mixed by Howie Beck, and is now available via Slaight Music.
– Hit Toronto R&B duo Dvsn has announced the Working On My Karma World Tour. It kicks off on Jan. 22 with 13 shows overseas, starting in Denmark, with stops in Norway, Germany, France, the UK, and more. The duo will then hit 31 cities across the US and Canada beginning on Feb. 17 in Boston, and ending on April 6 in their hometown, Toronto. Tickets will be available to the public on Nov. 11. at 10 am local. Tickets can be purchased here.
– Juno-winning Hamilton bluesman Steve Strongman has announced his 11th annual holiday show, set for Dec. 3 at Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre, with special guests Ron Sexsmith and Harrison Kennedy. Tix here
– Variety reports that Alanis Morissette says she dropped out of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duet with Olivia Rodrigo due to encountering sexism and disrespect as the Sat. show went into rehearsals. Morissette was set to perform You’re So Vai” with Rodrigo as a tribute to inductee Carly Simon. She was at rehearsals the day before, but Rodrigo performed Simon’s hit solo. On Monday, the singer posted to her Instagram stories that she had spent “decades in an industry that is rife with an overarching anti-woman sentiment” and had “tolerated a lot of condescension and disrespectfulness, reduction, dismissiveness, contract-breaching, unsupportiveness, exploitation and psychological violence” throughout her career.
– Montreal based sextet Longtoe is releasing its first full-length album, Le Banquet, on Nov. 18. It will be celebrated with a performance at Petit Campus in Montreal on Nov. 23. The group's eclectic sound draws upon hard bop, reggae, Afrobeat, and more.
– Much-heralded Toronto songsmith Kyp Harness is releasing a new album, Poverty Line, on CD and Vinyl, and he launches it with a show at The Imperial Pub in Toronto on Nov. 12. An impressive list of guest performers includes Mary Margaret O'Hara, Tania Gill, Julia Hambleton, Victor Bateman, and Nick Burson. Recommended.
