Music News Digest, Oct. 9, 2019

By Kerry Doole

Billboard reports that Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes has just broken the record for the most No. 1s among solo males in the history of Billboard's Adult Pop Songs radio airplay chart. That feat was achieved when Señorita, his smash duet with Camila Cabello, took over atop the list (dated Oct. 12). This marks Mendes' sixth No. 1, surpassing Ed Sheeran's five. 

– CIMA, through Music Export Canada, is now accepting submissions for its 2020 Canadian Blast BBQ at Austin’s SXSW. This year’s mission will mark the 15th year of CIMA's attendance at the most influential and largest music festival & conference in North America. The BBQ is set for March 18, at The Venue (on 6th Street). Apply here by Nov. 8.

Mundial Montreal, North America’s World Music Summit, has announced the full program for its 9th edition, happening Nov. 19-22. Over 30 artists from Canada and beyond will showcase their work to the public and professionals alike. Those appearing in the Indigenous Sounds series include Murray Porter, Mimi O’Bonsawin, Midnight Shine, and Digawolf. International acts performing include VILDÁ, Kim Yul-Hee & The Soul Sauce, Sousou & Maher Cissoko,  Grupo Rebolu, Rafiki Jazz (UK) and Ember Swift, with Kiran Ahluwalia, Zaki Ibrahim, Moskitto Bar, Tri-Continental, Kelly Bado, Vishtèn, and The East Pointers amongst the domestic notables.

– The complete conference schedule for Nova Scotia Music Week 2019 is now available here. Of note are two topics, Professional Wellness and Developing and Export Artist Training, with a focus on how to achieve success as an artist, and what to do to maintain your health and happiness once you get there. NSMW runs Nov. 7-10 in Truro.

–  After a long absence, acclaimed electro-pop artist Dan Snaith, aka Caribou, has released a new track, Home, his first new music in five years. The song premiered yesterday on Radio 1 as Annie Mac's 'Hottest Record in the World.' Snaith also announced tour dates in North America and Europe, beginning March 16 with a hometown Hamilton show at The Studio, followed by gigs in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and the US, to March 27. A UK and European tour runs March 30 to April 30. Dates here

– On Oct. 13 (at 8 pm ET), CBC Gem presents Canada's first-ever livestream of a professional opera. The broadcast is of Puccini's classic La Bohème, staged at Toronto's Tranzac Club by Against the Grain Theatre. La Bohème has been performed in western Canada over the past two weeks, and a Tranzac Club residency runs Oct. 11-25, followed by shows in Whitehorse and Dawson City.

– The monthly list supplied by record marketplace Discogs of the Top 30 Most Expensive Items sold in a month always makes for interesting reading. The latest, for Aug. 2019, is headed by a rare Rolling Stones radio promotion album from 1969 that fetched US$5333. The second place was taken by Krautrock pioneer Can, whose 1969 Monster Movie album brought $4222. Check the entire Top 30 here.

– After 17 years in operation, Clark Drive Studios, one of Vancouver’s oldest rehearsal spaces, shut its doors Oct. 1. The Vancouverisawesome site states, "the studio’s closure follows all the precursors that have killed numerous creative spaces in Vancouver: rents that rise beyond control, leases that don’t exceed two years and landowners happy to cash in on speculation galore." About 250 bands, mostly from Vancouver, have recorded albums at the studio since its inception - including Bif Naked, Econoline Crush, Los Furios, Pride Tiger and members of DOA. Clark Drive has been home to about 100 groups over that time.

– REM frontman Michael Stipe released a debut solo single, Your Capricious Soul, this past weekend, but it is not yet on any of the major streaming or download services. Stipe has made the track exclusively available from his website as a US$0.77 download, although fans can choose to set their price as a donation to the climate-emergency activism campaign, Extinction Rebellion. Given the ‘currently available exclusively’ phrase in the song’s announcement, it seems likely to come to those services at some point. Source: Music Ally

–  The 2019 Legal Guide for Musicians is a valuable source of music industry info. Alberta Music members can receive a free copy by e-mailing info@albertamusic.org

–  Hamilton roots rocker (and club booker) Ginger St. James has logged serious miles of late. Joining with comrade SnowHeel Slim as the duo The Trainwreck Two, she travelled "16,000 kms by trains, trucks and two feet" via a recent VIA train tour out West. Next year the pair head to Memphis, Tennessee, as representatives of the Grand River Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge 2020. A fundraiser show to help them get there is set for Nov. 2 at Bobby O'Brien's in Kitchener. Donations here