From the 4,000-plus entrants in Searchlight 2014, judges have narrowed it down to the top four, which were announced this morning on CBC Radio's Q. There were three acts selected by judges, and one based on the most votes from listeners.
Jofo, from Glace Bay, N.S., moves onto the top four for receiving the highest number of popular votes for his song "Regular Joe." For the judge-selected finalists, Torquil Campbell went with Erin Saoirse Adair, a singer-songwriter from Ottawa, and her song "The Ugly Song." Sara Slean is championing Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk, a folk-pop act out of Calgary for their song "I Lost Myself." Kardinal Offishall went for Fitness Club Fiasco and their dance-pop track "Goldmine."
The grand prize winner will be announced on Friday, May 9, with the judges deliberating now on who will take the crown, along with $20,000 worth of gear from Yamaha Music Canada, a professional recording with CBC Music and a spot on the CBC Music Fest with Tegan and Sara, Spoon and more.
Legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan has just released her latest album Shine On, and has announced a cross-Canada tour.
The album, McLachlan's first since 2010's Laws of Illusion, tackles death, heartbreak and loss, inspired in part by several personal losses she suffered, among them the death of her father, the split from her long-time manager and a divorce.
“All the male anchors. Every one of them. All at the same time,” McLachlan told the Globe and Mail. “So it was interesting – the next couple of years of just sorting through that: Who am I now? And where am I at? And what am I going to do with this?”
But while it tackles difficult subject matter, from struggling to live up to one's family name to the pain of bullying, Shine On is one of the happiest records McLachlan has ever released — and the songwriter says it's no surprise.
“I’m a whole lot happier and I’m a whole lot wholer, too," she said. “We get to our 40s and it’s inevitable: You can’t help but experience loss and suffering. … The recognition of the process of life is very much in this record,” said McLachlan, who is 46.
“It’s what we do with it. That’s where we really find out who we are – when we have to push up against something that’s really hard.”
McLachlan's cross-Canada tour kicks off in Victoria on Oct. 18, and touches down in cities across the country, including Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and more, before wrapping up in St. John's November 21.
Chicago-based Warped Tour for adults, Riot Fest, will be touching down in Toronto for the third year this summer. The lineup is almost unreasonably good.
It will feature Canadian acts including Death from Above 1979, Metric, PUP, City and Colour, Billy Talent and the Beaches, as well as a completely unreasonable international list of headliners. That list includes the National, the Buzzcocks, Social Distortion, Taking Back Sunday, Dropkick Murphys, Thurston Moore and, somewhat incongruously, Die Antwoord.
The song was already haunting enough — an irresistibly catchy R&B hit that also foreshadowed singer Amy Winehouse's worsening drug problems and eventual death.
But when you hear the isolated vocal track from "Rehab," it packs and even bigger wallop and highlights the uniqueness of Winehouse's deep, soulful voice.
Speaking on CNN, Kidjo — whose Batonga Foundation is dedicated to the education of African girls — talks about how girls in Africa are often treated like property, and that allowing girls an education threatens their oppressors.
"First of all my heart is broken for those girls, and as a mother of a daughter I can only just imagine the pain that the parents are going through," says the Grammy-winning African music star, who was named one of the African continent's most iconic figures by the BBC, one of the Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World by the Guardian, and one of the 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa by Forbes.
"The issue here is that girls in Africa are considered as property that can be sold and transferred to another man," says the Benin-born singer. "Education is a threat to Boko Haram and other groups that think that women who are educated are going to go away from the power. And it's true that when you educate a young girl in Africa you cut off violence, sexual abuse, and you increase the GDP of the country."
"The governments of the African countries have to start realizing that investing in girls' education will stop the violence."
It's a tale so incredible that it landed an Academy Award and thrust a Detroit musician-turned-labourer into the international spotlight — and now a lawsuit might just sort out where the money went.
Singer-songwriter Rodriguez recorded two albums in the U.S. in the 1970s, but found little fame and began doing construction work to support his family. But in the years that followed, those two albums took off in the tightly-controlled apartheid-era South Africa — to the point where Rodriguez became an icon on the same level as Elvis or Jimi Hendrix.
Only problem was, nobody told Rodriguez — and nobody sent him any of the royalty cheques for the half million records they sold, either.
The incredible story became the subject of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which won an Oscar for best documentary in 2013. Since then, Rodriguez has returned to music, and is touring extensively.
And now, according to the Detroit Free Press, a lawsuit is being launched by Gomba Music and producer Harry Balk, who say that another producer, Clarence Avant, withheld royalties from the record's significant sales. (Rodriguez himself is not a party in the suit.)
The lawsuit contends that Avant devised a “fraudulent scheme” to credit the album’s compositions to others — including the musician’s brother — rather than to Rodriguez himself.
Avant, a longtime Motown producer, has denied any wrongdoing.
"I think I’ve really been painted as the bad guy… It really bugs me that I have to go through this, when I’m the one guy who believed in [Rodriguez]," Avant told the Detroit Free Press. "I wish him nothing but the best, because I think he deserves it."
In the film, Avant also discouraged the filmmakers from pursuing the money trail, saying that it was so long ago that it was, in effect, water under the bridge.
Last year Rodriguez told Rolling Stone he was planning to record a new album, his third, and that he was looking at working with Steve Rowland.
"He told me to send him a couple of tapes, so I’m gonna do that," Rodriguez said. "I certainly want to look him up, because now he's full of ideas."
"I’ve written about 30 songs, and that’s pretty much what the public has heard. Musicians want to be heard. So I’m not hiding. But I do like to leave it there onstage and be myself, in that sense. Because some people carry it with them."
Upcoming tour dates include Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, the Sasquatch! Music Festival and many more.
Toronto powerhouse indie label Arts & Crafts is bringing back the Field Trip festival for a second edition this summer, and it looks like it will once again be a highlight of Toronto's festival season.
This year, CBC Music is proud to sponsor Field Trip, which expands to be a two-day event over June 7 and 8 at the Fort York and Garrison Common, featuring headliners Interpol and Broken Social Scene, along with the Kills, Constantines, Chvrches, Half Moon Run and F--ked Up.
Check out the gallery above for the five things happening at the festival that you should not miss. Buy your tickets here.
Are you going to Field Trip? Which artists are on your must-see list? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @CBCRadio3.
You may know his face (and body) best as the oft-shirtless werewolf Alcide on True Blood, or as the oft-shirtless stripper who throws his back out in the hit movie Magic Mike, but Joe Manganiello is more than just a dude who's oft-shirtless. He's also a filmmaker — a filmmaker who happens to have great taste in sexy music.
Manganiello's new documentary, La Bare, takes him deep inside the oft-shirtless (and pants-less) world of male strippers in the famed Dallas joint of the same name.
The doc makes its Canadian premiere in Vancouver at the Rio Theatre on May 8, and Manganiello was game to provide CBC Music with his personal playlist of the five sexiest slow jams. On the list? A cover of an Arcade Fire song and Toronto's very own the Weeknd, so at least consider our national pride seduced.
Click through the gallery above to get the scoop on why each song gets Manganiello in the mood, and press play below to keep the music going while you read.
Come hang out with me on Twitter: @_AndreaWarner
Every week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days. This week, Jimi Hendrix and "All Along The Watchtower."
What's your favorite Bob Dylan song? His is such an enormous and varied body of work that choosing a favorite can be very difficult. But what about Dylan himself? What's his favorite Bob Dylan song? One clue may be the song from his catalog he's performed the most over the years. And that song is "All Along the Watchtower".
Listen to Rich tell you the story behind "All Along The Watchtower."
The song appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding, which was written while he recovered from his infamous 1966 motorcycle crash.
As soon as critics heard "All Along the Watchtower", they swooned. Many called it a masterpiece. Perhaps the song's biggest fan was guitar god, Jimi Hendrix. He said:
"Sometimes, I play Dylan's songs and they are so much like me that it seems to me that I wrote them. I have the feeling that Watchtower is a song I could have come up with, but I'm sure I would never have finished it. Thinking about Dylan, I often consider that I'd never be able to write the words he manages to come up with, but I'd like him to help me, because I have loads of songs I can't finish."
Hendrix recorded a version of the song for his Electric Ladyland album. Hearing Hendrix's interpretation was a big eye-opener for Dylan. Since its release, Dylan has consistently performed the song in a style much closer to Hendrix's version than his own original recording. And he performs it a lot. According to his official website - he performed it over 2,000 times between 1974 and 2012, more than any other song. Dylan said he was "overwhelmed" when he heard Hendrix's version. And in the liner notes of his 1985 Biograph album, he wrote: "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."
Here's the Jimi Hendrix version that in turn, inspired the man who wrote it. This is "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix on Rear View Mirror.
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
This week, we officially announced the four national finalists from across Canada for the 2014 edition of Searchlight: the hunt for Canada's best new artist. This final voting period will last until Thursday, and on Friday, May 9, we crown the winner!
Here's how the final four was decided:
Three artists were chosen by our panel of celebrity musician judges — Sarah Slean, Kardinal Offishall and Torquil Campbell, of Stars— based on each song's artistic merits. The artists chosen include:
Voting on the final four continues all week. The winning artist will be chosen by our judges and will be announced on Friday. Your votes will be used in the event of a judges' tie.
In the gallery above, you'll find the final four's answers to four very important questions that I have asked them.
More than 4,500 artists from across the country entered an original song in Searchlight 2014, and now we're down to just four. The winning artist will receive $20,000 in new music equipment, a recording session here at CBC, plenty of airplay and a coveted slot at the CBC Music Festival in Vancouver.
Click through the gallery above to meet our Final Four national finalists in Searchlight 2014, and discover an exciting and talented range of artists from across the country!
Each day, Rich Terfry and Radio 2 Drive wraps up your day with music and stories about the interesting things going on in the world.
REAR VIEW MIRROR:
Every week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days. This week, Jimi Hendrix and "All Along The Watchtower."
What's your favorite Bob Dylan song? His is such an enormous and varied body of work that choosing a favorite can be very difficult. But what about Dylan himself? What's his favorite Bob Dylan song? One clue may be the song from his catalog he's performed the most over the years. And that song is "All Along the Watchtower".
Listen to Rich tell you the story behind "All Along The Watchtower."
The song appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding, which was written while he recovered from his infamous 1966 motorcycle crash.
As soon as critics heard "All Along the Watchtower", they swooned. Many called it a masterpiece. Perhaps the song's biggest fan was guitar god, Jimi Hendrix. He said:
"Sometimes, I play Dylan's songs and they are so much like me that it seems to me that I wrote them. I have the feeling that Watchtower is a song I could have come up with, but I'm sure I would never have finished it. Thinking about Dylan, I often consider that I'd never be able to write the words he manages to come up with, but I'd like him to help me, because I have loads of songs I can't finish."
Hendrix recorded a version of the song for his Electric Ladyland album. Hearing Hendrix's interpretation was a big eye-opener for Dylan. Since its release, Dylan has consistently performed the song in a style much closer to Hendrix's version than his own original recording. And he performs it a lot. According to his official website - he performed it over 2,000 times between 1974 and 2012, more than any other song. Dylan said he was "overwhelmed" when he heard Hendrix's version. And in the liner notes of his 1985 Biograph album, he wrote: "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way... Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."
Here's the Jimi Hendrix version that in turn, inspired the man who wrote it. This is "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix on Rear View Mirror.
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
This isn't Victoria band Current Swell's first time at the rodeo. Current Swell came together in 2005, gaining popularity with local music fans, which quickly spread online. Since then, the band released four albums independently. Their new album, Ulysses, released this week, is their first major studio release.
Current Swell were on hand to kick off the first night of Canadian Music Week at sweaty Toronto venue the Rivoli. If you didn't make it there, here are seven things you missed.
1. Current Swell superfans
If there's one thing you could glean from attending a Current Swell show, it's that their fans are rabid. Not a shy group, they huddled up near the stage, eagerly anticipating the band's set. A down-to-earth surf-inspired group of mostly dudes, these guys were ready to rock.
2. Multiple vocalists
The interesting thing about this band is that there wasn't a singular star, per se. All the band's members had their time to shine, with Scott Stanton and Dave Lang sharing lead vocals. Drummer Chris Petersen wasn't shy about singing, either. The end result: a really tight band with an impeccable performance.
3. Sick basslines
Not to overshadow the valiant efforts of the rest of the band, but the standout performance of the night goes to the band's bassist, Ghosty Boy. Clearly passionate about the bass, this guy can jam.
4. An honest-to-God rock show
These days, there's always a tinge of irony expected, especially when attending a showcase gig at a prominent national music conference. Not here. Guitar solos, several guitar pedals, moshing, headbanging and a general air of authenticity encompassed the crowd. The band's excitement was palpable. Not a cool indie kid with arms crossed waiting to be impressed could be found. Influenced by rock from the '60s to the '90s, the band's sound draws on everything from CCR to Sublime.
5. Speaking of the '90s
I might be aging myself here, but this show definitely felt like I'd bought a ticket to the '90s. Ghosty Boy's Kurt Cobain-inspired hair, Serj Tankian beard and ragged jeans were just the start. Dudes in surf wear, a guy wearing a leather jacket and a plaid shirt tied around his waist and a general grungy attire was de rigueur. The music itself could have been comfortably plucked from the early to mid-'90s.
6. A sound that will appeal to everyone
The audience of the show was pretty varied age-wise, and it didn't seem like that was a CMW thing. Current Swell's music is so layered, with so many influences, it will appeal to a lot of different rock fans of all ages, in the way that the Black Keys does.
7. A tight, high-energy show
Current Swell is clearly a band that's comfortable onstage playing together. They genuinely seem like friends and they really enjoy playing. Whether they're playing a slower folk ballad or a song laden with guitar solos and a grittier rock feel, it's no surprise that the band gained their audience while playing shows in backyards and on beaches.
But until this week, legendary comedy troupe Monty Python had never released the hilarious track "Lousy Song."
First recorded in 1980, the track was shelved, but now the group is re-releasing their 1989 album Monty Python Sings (Again) on June 9, and with it several bonus tracks — including this one.
The song was conceived and performed by Eric Idle and the late Graham Chapman, and was recorded during sessions for the group's Contractual Obligation Album.
You can't hear "Lousy Song" on its own just yet, but the group has released a teaser video of people's reactions to the track.
She's a pop chanteuse known for her cinematic music, and that dark, moody tone continues in Lana Del Rey's film noir-style video for her new single, "West Coast."
In it, she frolics on a beach with a tattooed rock 'n' roll paramour, then rides in the back of a convertible with a stern-looking older man.
The song was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys; del Rey's new album Ultraviolence is expected to be released next month.
To say 2014 will be a busy year for Bry Webb is an understatement. The frontman of Constantines will release his second solo album, Free Will, May 20th. Webb will also be touring his new solo effort around North America amid the great excitement of the Cons’ reunion celebrating the 11th anniversary of the beloved album, Shine a Light.
Webb is also the programming coordinator of Guelph’s campus and community station CFRU. He scored the film Beautiful City, which earned him a Genie nomination, and was also commissioned to write a song for This American Life. Webb has collaborated with many artists, including Feist on her last release Metals. Perhaps she sums him up best "I saw him play solo at the Rivoli at one of Jason Collett's songwriter circle nights maybe eight years ago...I felt like I was seeing Bruce Springsteen do Nebraska or Jeff Buckley, or Dylan, but of my own time."
So, what does Bry Webb listen to? Flip through the gallery to check out 10 songs he thinks you should hear. He’ll be on air to explain his picks and answer your questions this afternoon.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR BRY WEBB?
Post your questions in the comments below, he will be online to answer them at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
There aren't many couples who become new parents and decide a bus is the perfect place for a baby, but if you're touring musicians like Grammy Award-winning banjo master Béla Fleck and acclaimed singer/banjoist Abigail Washburn, it's the most natural way to keep your family together. Why not hit the road and instill a sense of wanderlust in the under-one crowd?
It's not without its challenges, particularly as this is the first time the husband-and-wife team are touring as a duo (well, trio, including their 11-month-old son, Juno). Fleck told CBC Music all about making music as a family in this email Q&A before the pair's stop at Vancouver's Chan Centre on May 10.
Alice Cooper has said a lot of things against banjos in his time, including this past week when he told the Detroit Freepress, "Rock is so anemic right now — I keep telling everybody if you have an accordion or banjo in your band, you’re not rock." What do you think of Cooper's stance?
Well, I've played with Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Hornsby and the Range in the day, and they felt pretty rocking to me. But the hardest I've rocked was sitting in with Spinal Tap on their Break Like the Wind tour. That was rock, or crock possibly. I loved it. That being said, I understand his point of view, and would have to take it on a case-by-case basis, rather than carpet bomb it.
Taking to the road as a duo is quite different than being a quartet, and not just the obvious mathematics of it, but you've chosen to take it a step further and are something of an unofficial trio what with Juno joining you. Did people try to warn you off this plan or look at you like you were crazy, or did this seem like the perfect solution?
Some of our wise friends seemed a trifle worried about us making this move, and we appreciated their concern for our relationship. But we actually do great on tour with Juno, it's been a great joy, and it keeps us together. Otherwise whenever I worked, or Abby worked, we'd be separate.
How has the reality of being on the road together differed from your expectations?
More fun than I expected, and actually more sleep than home for us. The key is taking a bus on tour. Then it all makes sense. Except of course the financial side — them things are expensive! But in our case, worth it.
What is it about Abigail's music that excites you? Has playing with each other changed your approach to your instrument?
I love working with a deep, soulful voice — something I haven't done much of. And the double banjo whammy of old time and three-finger styles combined is awesome. Working with a singer and an old-time player makes me want to put more emphasis on depth and groove, and less on technical playing.
Can you two tell me about when you first met? Was it really at a square dance, or is that the stuff of myth-makers?
Yes, we did meet at a square dance. It was in Nashville, and it's the only square dance I've played in the band at since the ’70s in Boston. A friend had asked me if I wanted to play, and I happened to be home. After that we started to run into each other often in the Nashville scene, and eventually the time was right for us to get together.
What can audiences expect from your shows as a duo?
We will rock you.
Come hang out with me on Twitter: @_AndreaWarner
Before Nirvana was the band that changed rock music for a generation, it was just three sort of unhygienic guys in their early 20s, playing Blue Cheer covers in the far northwestern corner of the United States.
This version of the band featured Chad Channing on drums, better known as "the drummer before Dave Grohl" or the Pete Best of grunge. (That's how we know it's 1988, even though the date stamp on the video tells us otherwise. Channing didn't join the band until 1988.)
The footage was shot by Krist Novoselic's brother, Robert, in December 1988.
Garry Benfold, aka "garfielduk", is from Durham, England. He's a longtime member of the Radio 3 blogging and listening community (listening each day from the Shaggy Pony Pub on the last bar stool beside the lotto machine). Garry is our current reigning Bucky Award winner for Fan of the Year and knows more about Radio 3 than I do.
Garry's mother very sadly died recently, so he decided to commemorate her passing and celebrate his Fan of the Year award with an epic tour of North America, visiting all the friends he's made through Radio 3, many for the first time.
When he arrived at the airport in Vancouver, he was picked up by another Radio 3 listener, though they had never met. He stayed with another while in Vancouver, again, never having met in person beyond our blog. Earlier this week he took the outrageously long bus trip to Nelson BC to spend time with yet another R3 fan he has never met, and onwards he goes.
Check out our photo gallery above to see a few of GarfieldUK's adventures so far!
Thanks to all who have already shown Garry a great welcome to Canada, and to all those who will continue to do so. He's a kind, friendly and gentle guy, and on the adventure of his lifetime on a wing and a prayer and $20 a day.
What is the most epic journey you've ever taken? Where did you go? Where do you want to go? Let me know if the comments below or tweet me @grantlawrence.
I'll have an interview with Garry about his trek on my show on today.
