Nova Scotia indie-rock act Kestrels tour will tour eastern Canada this month and next in support of its debut LP, Primary Colours. The album will be released on Tuesday, July 7 on Noyes Records.
The only Atlantic Canadian date thus far is July 9 at Halifax venue The Paragon.
In the fall of 2007, Kestrels, made up of Chad Peck (vocals, guitar), Marcus Fiddes (bass) and Adam Hartling (drums), marked their arrival with a 7″ single called, “Seaside,” before ever performing a live show.
In their short time together the band has opened for Jay Reatard and was named Best New Band in The Coast’s 2009 Best of Music reader’s poll.
Two years and six recording “studios” after their first show, Kestrels has delivered Primary Colours.
The Got To Get Got release debut
Led by North of America’s Mark Mullane, The Got To Get Got will release its debut LP, Sahalee (Noyes Records), on Tuesday, July 14. On this swirling collection of pop songs, the seven-piece band stacks violins, guitars and powerful rhythms over intricate arrangements and memorable melodies.
While The Got To Get Got started as a bi-coastal collective (with outlets operating simultaneously in Halifax and Vancouver, B.C.), the band trimmed down to its east coast line-up only for the recording of Sahalee. The album was tracked in December 2008 in various studios around Halifax and Montreal. Aside from the group’s own extensive cast, Sahalee also features special appearances from Samir Khan (Weights & Measures), Jennifer Mecija (Ohbijou), Annisa Hart (Ohbijou), Warren Spicer (Plants And Animals), Angela Desveaux, Ron Bates (The Memories Attack) and Leon Taheny (Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains).
“Sahalee was three years in the making but recorded in four short weeks,” Mullane says in a press release. “The philosophy behind the album, much like our band, is to have as much fun recording as we do playing live and somehow capture that on the record. I wanted to make a pop record with some atonal/structural influences that I still hold dear.”
The Got To Get Got’s debut EP, Canadian Arts Collective Blues/Huge Zig Zag (Noyes Records), was released in the summer of 2006.
SappyFest announces 2009 line-up
Early bird passes are on sale now and until June 19 for Sackville N.B.’s SappyFest. The festival’s 2009 line-up features Wintersleep, Women, Destroyer, Eric’s Trip, Ladyhawk, Timber Timbre and Ohbijou, among many others.
The event takes place July 31 to Aug. 2.
SappyFest is the “happy child of its disgruntled parents at Sappy Records,” a press release for the event describes.
Now in its fourth year, it’s produced collaboratively alongside the Ok.Quoi?! Arts Festival and the good people at Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts Centre in Sackville. The festival’s main stage is a large street tent in downtown Sackville with an old movie theatre, church, tavern and decrepit music hall serving as satellite stages.
In addition to an extensive list of bands, SappyFest is happy to host its very own Writers Block, Zine & Craft Fair, which will feature a diverse collection of productive artists.
Early bird festival passes will be on sale until June 19 for $50. Sappyfest will also be offering accommodation packages in partnership with Mount Allison University. For more information, visit: SappyFest’s website and TicketPro.
