Ringside for Youth XXIV packs a punch

 Photo credit: Timeout with the Twins WATCH ABOVE: Timeout with the Twins were invited to attend Ringside For Youth, an evening of amateur boxing, a celebrity appearance, a silent auction, a live auction and a three-course meal, benefitting the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.  Their video includes highlights from

Sultans Return to Put More Swing into Your Christmas

 We know what you’re thinking, it’s a day after Halloween which inevitably means the flood of Christmas music will soon be pouring out over the speakers of your favorite mall and grocery stores. Hark, those herald angels shall sing forth an often repetitive mix of standards, auto-tuned coves, some scatterings

Weaves Cover Pop in Grime

 Photo by Brendan George Ko With the current state of affairs life has become a roller coaster no matter who you are. Turning all that chaos into some amazing rock is Toronto band Weaves. After over a year on the road, with Juno and Polaris nominations in their pockets, the band

The Sheepdogs Riding the Wave of Success Into Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival

 Ottawa Life’s Festival City Series is back! We'll provide a unique look at some of your favourite events. We’ll go beyond the music with artist interviews, volunteer profiles, concert reviews and spotlights on the tastes, sights and sounds of the festival season.  Your city! Your festivals and events! Like a good sunscreen,

Ron Sexsmith Charms at National Arts Centre Performance

 It’s always refreshing when a well-known artist with considerable talent strays from the norm, forgoing the bells and whistles of flashy lights or costume changes and making the music the center of attention instead of themselves. Even more so when said artist is self-effacing to a fault, which only ends

Learn Laugh and Listen at Recovery Day Ottawa Benefit

 Images courtesy of Recovery Day Ottawa People with addictions are weak. They bring it on themselves. They are just lazy.  They need to grow up. These are the types of stereotypical misconceptions people like Gord Garner strive to remove every day. As the Festival Producer for Ottawa’s annual Recovery Day, Garner

JUNO Spotlight: A Tribe Called Red

 Nominated For: Video of the Year (R.E.D.) Jack Richardson Producer of the Year (Sila, R.E.D.) Electronic Album of the Year (We Are the Halluci Nation) When art meets activism something amazing is bound to happen. When that includes an exultant dance party set to pulse pounding dubstep, house, and hip

JUNO Spotlight: The Dirty Nil

 Nominated for: 2017 / Breakthrough Group Of The Year The Dirty Nil have been rocking Dundas, Ontario since their days back in high school as a band singer Luke Bentham described as "A place to blow off steam." Since pursuing the band seriously they've put plenty of 7" singles, EPs

JUNO Spotlight: Warren Dean Flandez

 Nominated for: 2017 | Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year (Eternally Grateful) In the first of our JUNO Awards spotlight pieces leading up to the big show on  April 2, we chat with eclectic Yellowknife born vocalist Warren Dean Flandez. Flandez may be rooted in R&B and Soul but he

Double Shot of the Blues in Orleans

 Photos by Andre Gagne ALL-POINTS BULLETIN All units (and blues lovers) be on the lookout! An Axe Murderer was seen (but mostly heard) lurking about Orleans last evening in the vicinity of the Shenkman Arts Centre. Sometimes referred to by alias Matthew Rogers, the subject is known to be traveling

Jazz Up Your Winter with Dream Lineup

 Images supplied by the TD Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival. Jazz music may bring to mind smoky lounges and the rain drenched city streets of Film Noir before you think of snowstorms, -20 weather and ice skating but for the last six years the TD Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival has been

Rebecca Noelle’s Soul-Soaring Soulstice

 Feature image by Paolo Ceritano. Standing on the edge of the end of a year, when singer-songwriter Rebecca Noelle looks back she sees behind her days full of song, frenetic choreography and various neon hairstyles that could possibly be seen from the International Space Station. And that’s just her work with

From 12 to 20,000, The Hip Returns to Ottawa to Say Goodbye

 All photos by Andre Gagne ‘Til the men they couldn’t hang stepped to the mic and sang and their voices rang with that Aryan twang -The Tragically Hip (Bobcaygeon) On May 24 a collective gasp went out of a sucker punched nation. Gord Downie, frontman to The Tragically Hip, announced

Alyssa Reid’s Flaming Phoenix

 By Katie Hartai As enchanting as the mythical bird itself, Alyssa Reid’s new album Phoenix will surely set fire to the hearts of fans when released on November 27. It may also spark a pleasant surprise. With Juno and MMVA nominations under her belt, the 22-year-old singer songwriter is no stranger to Canada’s

The Journey of ‘Five Crooked Lines’

 Finger Eleven has made a bold return to the Canadian music scene with the release of their sixth studio album, Five Crooked Lines. For the new record’s launch, the band has lined up a full summer tour across North America which includes a stop in Ottawa on August 13. Five Crooked

Don’t Miss Craig Cardiff this Summer

 Craig Cardiff is coming back to Ottawa this summer! The Canadian, Juno nominated, singer-songwriter from Arnprior, Ont., known for his steady and smooth folk rhythms, is hitting the Ottawa festival circuit with performances on June 13 at Westfest and June 28 at the Tim Hortons Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival. Don’t

Fast Forward to the Weekend with Boogat’s Newest Album

 Photo credit: Guillaume Simoneau It’s everything you need on a Friday night after a long week: catchy, danceable and totally infectious music! Montreal MC Boogat’s newest album release, Neo-Reconquista, is enough reason to celebrate on its own. He’s been recognized for constantly evolving his music. Boogat’s unique mixed Latin-urban-electro-pop sound will instantly

Ottawa Celebrates Diverse Cultural Roots

 Photo Credit: Connie Kaldor Embrace a return to your roots by taking part in the fourth annual Ottawa Grassroots Festival. The Grassroots Festival plans a spring weekend of family-oriented concerts and workshops each year thanks to its 100 per cent volunteer-run organization. The festival particularly focuses on folk music, dance

Pilar’s Picks: David Vest

 According to the Cascade Blues Association, David Vest is “Blues Piano Perfection.”  It’s safe to say that anyone would agree with this statement upon listening to this impressive  Maple Blues Award winner. Roadhouse Revelation is David Vest’s brand new album, released on April 29. The album contains 11 catchy, upbeat