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FYI

Royal Canoe: Feels Good

An appealingly laidback cut reflecting on pandemic times.

Royal Canoe: Feels Good

By Kerry Doole

Royal Canoe - Feels Good (Paper Bag Records/Birthday Cake): The Juno-nominated and World Music Award-winning indie rock band from Winnipeg releases its fourth full-length, Sidelining, on July 9. This comes after the successes of 2019 album Waver and subsequent RC3PO and Glacial (Live) EPs (where all instruments played were made out of ice!).


This advance self-produced single has a rather woozy, laid-back feel, with a touch of trip-hop in there, while frontman Matt Peters' vocals possess an airy quality. The mood rather matches the sentiments of the song, a reflection upon pandemic-plagued times. Sample lyrics: "I’m done with the lockdown groaning, tired of all the brain-dead search bar roaming. When did I get so boring? It’s time to remember how it felt."

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In a press release, the band explains that "We wrote Feels Good during the middle of the summer last year, imagining what that first real hang with our friends will be like when things finally get back to normal. Things are still pretty crazy here in Manitoba, so we’re still just dreaming about that stuff, but if you’re out there where things are normal, and you’re living the fully-vaxxed life, this song is about how you’re probably feeling."

Sidelining features guest turns from NNAMDÏ (Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, also known as Nnamdi) and the wonderful Canadian alt-diva Begonia, and we're keen to hear more.


Links

Website

Publicity: Julie Booth, Freshly Pressed

Management: stu@mightycypress.com

Booking (North America): bucky@firstdatetouring.com

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Blue Rodeo at The Kee To Bala.
Courtesy Photo

Blue Rodeo at The Kee To Bala.

Concerts

Nelly, Cypress Hill, Billy Talent, The Beaches Highlight Muskoka Venue The KEE To Bala's  2025 Lineup

A musically diverse group of major international and Canadian stars will take to the historic stage in Ontario cottage country this summer, including Billy Corgan, Shaggy, The Reklaws, Down With Webster and more.

A historic and popular music venue in the Muskoka cottage country region of Ontario for the past eight decades, The KEE To Bala was taken over by Live Nation in 2023, and the clout of the international concert behemoth has upped the ante.

That's evident in the bookings. Today (May 5), this season's lineup was announced, and it again features major international and Canadian artists as headliners. Heading the international names are R&B superstar Nelly, fast-rising young American country star Dylan Gossett, alt-rockers Billy Corgan and The Machines of God with Collective Soul, reggae hitmaker Shaggy, rock veterans The Wallflowers and hip-hop stars Cypress Hill & Ja Rule.

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