Unveiling the Best of Ottawa’s Festivals and Events throughout the Year

 Ottawa was once nicknamed "The City That Fun Forgot." The mean nickname was coined in the 1960s by the satirist Allan Fotheringham. Canada's capital is a place of countless bureaucratic buildings and offices but historically underwhelming nightlife. Public workers and government officials make up a huge part of the population.

Album Reviews: Dirty Nil, Emma Ruth Rundle, Rhye

 The Dirty Nil — F*ck Art  (Hamilton, ON) To kick off 2021 with a thrash and a yell, The Dirty Nil are having a ton of fun on their new record. Fast, riff-heavy and personal, this record straddles indulgence and catchy energy for music that will be great to dance

Leveling up during a downturn

 The pandemic has closed many doors this year. It has also uniquely spurred the opening of one here in the Ottawa arts scene. With a creative enthusiasm behind it, a growing roster of talent and a game plan set to play off the collective’s strength in numbers, Music.Art.Ppl is primed

4 alternative arts to take up as a hobby

 When you think of “art,” you probably think of the fine arts such as painting, drawing, or something similar. However, the visual arts aren’t the only kind of art out there. There are plenty of different kinds of arts, including writing, music, dance, and theater. Read on to find out

Album Reviews: Cults, Aiza, Fenne Lily

 Cults - Host (New York City) The only thing we seem to keep with Cults between records is moody tones, and infectious harmonies, but that keeps things interesting. The orchestra-informed pop of their latest record lands between sonic experimentation and vintage pop for a weird trip through the dark. "Trials"

Album Reviews: Alison Mosshart, Glass Animals, Sweet Whirl

 Alison Mosshart — Sound Wheel (Vero Beach, Florida/Nashville) While she's usually known for dark and gritty rock between The Kills and the Dead Weather, Alison Mosshart moves to a spoken-word, experimental music mélange in her latest solo release. This is not a music record, but for those into loose poetry, weird sonic

Album Reviews: Jehnny Beth, Vagabon, Krista Hartman and more

 Jehnny Beth — To Love Is To Live (Poitiers/Paris, France) Ever since Savages, there's been a raw intensity in Jehnny Beth's performances that was too shocking to ignore. And firing on her own again, her music is a raw and often pounding listen to assault the senses while saying something

Album Reviews: February 24, 2020

 Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (Vancouver, British Columbia) Grimes has made headlines for ditching albums worth of music and her surprising relationship with Elon Musk, so it's wonderful to finally get a full new release. For fans new and old, this is definitely an evolution sonically but one that hones in

How about a “Blues Christmas”?

 Winter blues? How about "Blue's Christmas" instead? Christmas is just around the corner, and there’s no such thing as getting into the holiday spirit too early. Get into the Christmas spirit this season with Putumayo’s new album, Blues Christmas! “Christmas is generally considered a season of delight, good tidings and cheer.

Alexandria Maillot gets collaborative

 Not every record goes as planned. For Alexandria Maillot's Benevolence, a friend from British Columbia's offer to record in Montreal utterly reshaped a few songs into an album. With new players, songs and a process that went beyond her own creativity as well, Maillot came out with a record outside

Tara Shannon to light up the stage with new album “Where the Light Comes In”

 Tara Shannon is back! She has a brand new album called Where the Light Comes In, featuring tracks written by Shannon and collaborators Tony Zavitson, Kim McLean, and Lori McKenna. It also features a never-before-released song by Jeff Silbar and Carole King, the most successful female songwriter of the late

Q&A: The Oceans in the Streets’ Joe Liska

 Photos courtesy of Joe Liska One of the best parts of this gig is discovering new local music that may have slipped by a radar that’s constantly showing more and more blips. Thankfully, sometimes, those blips get all up in your face, drop a cut like The Oceans in the

Album Reviews: May 1, 2018

 Brazilian Girls - Let's Make Love  (New York) After a hefty break, most would expect a band to have a few stumbling moments on a return record but Brazilian Girls have made one of their strongest records to date. More fearless than ever before, the band bridges worlds of indie

Timeout with Shawn Austin

 WATCH ABOVE: Timeout with Shawn Austin: Timeout with the Twins chat his new single “Get Me There,” working on an EP and the Stanley Cup Playoffs + Quick-fire Questions Photo credit: Timeout with the Twins Timeout with the Twins were fortunate to have a peek into an intimate evening of

Bond at the Opera

 Photo credits: Alexandra Augustine Bond…James Bond. The name has been pulled from the pages of Ian Fleming’s popular spy novels into a cinematic world of action, romance and intrigue since Sean Connery first stepped into the well-tailored suit of what would become a movie icon. But how would the character

The power of music to improve the challenges associated with autism

 by Kathleen O’Grady My son is practicing the piano as I write this and it’s the sweetest sound.  He’s spent two years working slowly through the same level, but it doesn’t matter; he’s improving and the benefits of both music therapy and music lessons have been clear and measurable.  My

Timeout with the Twins talk family, new music and Tessa and Scott with Jim Cuddy

 Photo credits: Warner Music and Daniel Vazzoler / Video by Amanda and Brittany van Frankfoort On Feb. 26, 2018 fans of Blue Rodeo front-man Jim Cuddy were invited to share in new melodic stories of love and loss – delivered in the familiarly plainspoken storytelling style characteristic of Cuddy – on his fourth

Cadence Weapon Reinvents Himself

 Photo Credit: Mark Sommerfeld Through the past decade, Roland "Rollie" Pemberton has been making smart hip hop as Cadence Weapon, but the nerdy aesthetics he was using had become a novelty to Pemberton. After taking some time away from writing in the Montreal club scene, Pemberton ended up in Toronto

Circa Survive and Surviving As A Band

 Photo Credits: Andrew Swartz and Hayley Rippy There's enough troubles with being in a band that any band can easily run into a dead end while trying their hardest. For Circa Survive, trouble with management and addiction meant time away and then figuring out a healthier way to make things

Love Finds a Way for Ron Weiss

 Some people spend a life looking for true love. Ottawa musician Ron Weiss put a life on hold for it. Before there was the heart stopping, time freezing, world changing moment named Debbie, Weiss was on a fairly straight trajectory to becoming the singer-songwriter he'd always wanted to become even

The Arrogant Worms’ Hilariously Long Goodbye

 Photo by Reinier deSmit Decades into their career, The Arrogant Worms haven't lost their sense of humour. Despite what their misleading album and tour names might tell you the band isn't quitting soon, in fact they're quite happy where they are. Whether it's their clever comedy or amazing music the band

Trails’ Productive Year

 While Trails' Allie O'Manique never consciously decided to pursue music professionally, you wouldn't know it by listening to her music. The Ottawa native's lo-fi sound embraces the haziness of the fidelity to create dreamy and rustic recordings that feel deeply intimate. After years of making music on her own, things

Violin virtuoso gets set to descend upon the Alpha Art Gallery

 Drenched in sweat, the crowd noise still ringing in his ear from where he’s just left them dazzled and riotous, the man they call Dr. Draw finally takes a breath and lowers his instrument. He has a moment to remember the words Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora once told him.

The Balconies Step Out of the Spotlight

 Photo credit: Indoor Recess The Balconies have been one of Ottawa's premier live bands since they hit the scene a decade ago. In a career that spanned radio hits, winning the Live 88.5 Big Money Shot, and their two LPs Fast Motions and Rhonda, the band was always out to

Champagne, Guitars and Life on the Road

 Photos courtesy of Daniel Champagne Prodigy, virtuoso and the “finest guitar player of his generation” are just a couple of accolades that have been latched alongside the musical caravan that is Australian-born musician Daniel Champagne. When asked about what he thinks about all that, the twentysomthing doesn’t even pause to