Band: Shovels & Rope Album: Swimmin’ Time Written by: Chiara DiAngelo South Carolina husband-and-wife duo Shovels & Rope offer up homegrown, frill-less, and at times even crass, Americana on their sophomore album, Swimmin’ Time. Appropriately filled with water imagery, the album ebbs and flows, weaving like a river, as it eases back and forth between […]

Date of show: August 30, 2014 Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Toronto’s Dangerband has been pretty quiet this year. That’s because the band no longer exists. The five-piece featuring Rane Elliott-Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Lucas Meilach-Boston (vocals, guitar), Jackson Beyer (vocals, bass), Jacob Stanescu (keyboard, synthesizer), and Chai Elliott-Armstrong (drums) emerged from semi-hiatus on the last long […]

Band: The Gaslight Anthem Album: Get Hurt Written by: Chiara DiAngelo There’s a line in “Selected Poems” that recounts “And all in all I find that nothing stays the same.” It’s true. The Gaslight Anthem’s Get Hurt is not the same. The band’s punk edge of the Sink or Swim days has faded over the […]

Sunday, July 6, 2014 Jon Langford & The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus (East Stage, 12:45PM) Devin Cuddy (South Stage, 12:50PM) The third day of a festival is often tough and can prove difficult to drag yourself to the grounds early. It was however worth the early morning in order to catch Devin Cuddy, whose set […]

Saturday, July 5, 2014 Caitlin Rose (South Stage, 1:10PM) Day 2 of the festival began early in the afternoon, with Caitlin Rose on the South Stage. Boasting a voice more massive than you’d initially expect, a typical country starlet Rose is not. The Nashville native spun tenderhearted Opry-worthy ballads doused in the whiskey and cigarette […]

Friday, July 4, 2014 In just its second year, the Toronto Urban Roots Festival has become one of our favourite weekends of the summer. Once again, Jeff Cohen and Co. at Collective Concerts compiled an extensive lineup that defied the typical boundaries of roots and folk. Taking advantage of one of the hills on location, […]

Saturday, June 21, 2014 Few things are more enjoyable than a rooftop party during North by North East. But Audio Blood found a way to up the ante, making the roof of a furniture store on Dufferin St. the absolute place to be that afternoon. With perfect weather on their side, they took it to […]

Date of show: June 20, 2014 There’s something absolutely electric about Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent), as she exhibits quite a personality on stage. After standing atop a raised platform on the stage, she descended by going down the stairs upside down on her back. Plus, I can’t forget to mention her cornrows and her […]

Thursday, June 19, 2014 On the second day of NXNE, Collective Arts Brewing, Hot for Company, Last Frame Pictures and MUSI Artist Development joined forces to put together an official showcase at Analogue Gallery. The day featured live music, DJs between sets, burgers on the BBQ, and great beer courtesy of Collective Arts Brewing. It […]

Date of show: June 5, 2014 Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Toronto quartet Jane’s Party came out swinging, with the sweetness of songs like “Palm Reading” and “Meet Me Halfway” quickly making the hems of summer dresses flutter as toes started spontaneously tapping. A band well-known to punch you in the face with their prettiness, a […]