5 Must-See Events at Ottawa International Writers Festival 2017

 The fall edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival is in full swing and there are so many diverse and interesting talks scheduled by some of Canada’s, and the world’s, greatest authors, musicians and intellectuals. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the bi-annual festival, which also runs in the spring,

Six Hip Picks for Chamber Fest 2017

 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

Q&A: Ron Sexsmith and the Last Rider

 Photos courtesy of Warner Music “To use a tired cliché, my career has been a roller coaster,” says Ron Sexsmith a few weeks after releasing his 15th album, one that showed hints that the 53-year-old singer may be looking to sidle off into the sunset, just a singer with his

Fred Penner – 45 Years of Songs, Smiles and Sandwiches – The Ottawa Life Interview Part 1

 (Part two is now here) Some people just exude happiness. It radiates off them like the ‎Aurora Borealis and a few moments in their presence has you brightly beaming right back. Children’s entertainer Fred Penner managed to achieve this daily through a television screen and now continues it from the

Folk Rock Hits the Road to Ottawa

 Shining headlights across the country, Vancouver-based folk rock band The River and The Road are touring Canada in support of their new album. They will be stopping in Ottawa on Thursday, May 14, for a performance at Cafe Dekcuf. The band started off as a busking duo, consisting of singer

Two Beautifully Wild Nights with Jenn Grant

 There is an ethereal quality to acclaimed singer-songwriter Jenn Grant’s music, a familiar feeling that is nostalgic and comforting.  Grant's sound evokes the concept of the home, of the heart, of the tight bonds of community and the even tighter bonds of blood. Though deeply rooted in a sense of

Sarah Slean: Navigating the Mystery on Land & Sea

 Fifteen years on and Sarah Slean's list of accomplishments is as varied as it is impressive. Slean is something of a modern-day Renaissance Woman. During her career, she's released an exhaustive amount of work: her own albums, collaborations with other musicians, painting exhibitions, two volumes of poetry, acting roles in

The Gospel of Nick Drake — Coming to a church near you

 British poet and singer-songwriter Nick Drake was not the kind of musician, admittedly, that I'd had much exposure to, or even had much knowledge of, when my appetite for music first kicked in. My exposure to Drake had always consisted primarily of other songwriters' mentions of him: people like Elvis