There possibly couldn’t be a better time to write a Canadian update for my friends across the pond! After hectic adventures at both South by Southwest Festival and Canadian Music Week in the past week, my brain is basically fried. So much music all the time! I have been able to reflect and pool together my top Canadian picks right now before shipping off to Ottawa for the JUNOs this weekend (think the Canadian version of The Grammy’s).
So here you have it:
If you haven’t heard enough about The Sheepdogs yet then you probably should have been in Toronto last week for CMW. They pretty much owned the festival, swept up all the awards at The Indies and played a surprise set at the El Mocambo that was mega-packed! Below is a video of them performing with Paul Rodgers at The Indies (CMW’s awards show).But don’t worry, it’s not all long hair and riffs over here!
The record I seriously can’t stop listening to though is Bahamas’ new output – Bar Chords. Bahamas is a true gem. He has a way of turning the simplest pop melodies in to massive hooks. His new deal with Brushfire records will surely take him out if the “oh he’s Feist’s guitarist” spotlight and in to a whole new rank of his own. See a silly video of him wearing lots of hats below while sining my personal favourite track “Caught Me Thinking.”
If you’re a sap for slow sad folk songs a la Bon Iver, then Revelstoke is your new obsession. Warm and enchanting, this Toronto based artist has started to turn heads with his orchestral one-man-on-stage live shows. Now working on a new album, his debut Espirit d’Escalier EP is worth your time, so curl up with a glass of wine and let it sink in! Here’s a preview of a new track you won’t find on that EP:
And lastly, The Inbreds reunited for a special CMW show and it made me realize how much they’ve really given to Canadian music. Even though largely a cult following, they managed to slip under the radar while giving so many young Canadian rock bands the in roads on how to write songs that stick and most importantly how to engage an audience. They reminded us all of this at their Lee’s Palace performance last week. So here’s an ode to a great almost forgotten Canadian band – thank you for your contributions!
And with that I will leave you with your homework. Let m eknow what you think of these acts and other Canadian artists by tweeting me at @SARIDELMAR!
Thanks for reading!
s.
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Sari Delmar is president of a Canadian artist development, marketing, and management company called Audio Blood. Delmar spent years freelance writing before moving over to the industry side. Audio Blood has helped kickstart careers for some of Canada’s favourite exports and includes many major and indie Canadian labels on their impressive
client list. http://audioblood.com.
Photo by Matt Dunlap