Three New Brunswick bands are teaming up to storm their home province this month. Grand Theft Bus, Force Fields and Share, all from Fredericton, will perform in their home city and in Moncton this month.
It’s been months since these bands have performed in their home province, but with all three groups currently writing and recording new material, these performances will be a rare chance to hear some new material.
Catch the bands in Moncton at The Paramount on June 23 and in Fredericton at The Capital on June 24.
Grand Theft Bus and Share will be performing select east coast dates throughout the summer months, and you can find more information on that here.
Great Big Sea to release 10th album
Embarking on their 18th year as a band, platinum-selling Canadian folk rockers Great Big Sea voyage a little further from their signature Newfoundland-inspired sound to land Safe Upon The Shore with their 10th album due July 13 on Warner Music Canada.
Recorded in “fits and starts” over a six-month period, the album was produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin and Great Big Sea in New Orleans, L.A., St. John’s, N.L. and anywhere that inspiration struck, including tour buses and various dressing rooms along their tour.
“A lot of this was recorded straight onto Alan’s laptop, as soon as we had the ideas,” explains Sean McCann, singer and bodhran player. “As for the rest, for a long time we wanted to record somewhere with a vibe, somewhere with an atmosphere that might seep into the songs themselves. There is nowhere on the continent, really, that has more of a vibe than New Orleans.”
Aside from Great Big Sea co-founders and songwriters Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett and Sean McCann, Safe Upon The Shore also includes co-writes and various acclaimed artists including Russell Crowe and Canadian singer-songwriters Randy Bachman, Jeremy Fisher and Joel Plaskett.
“At this stage, we sometimes all kind of know each other’s ideas too well,” explains multi-instrumentalist and singer Bob Hallett. “It’s too easy to do the obvious. Writing with a big group of people pushed everything into different directions. Of the songs we started there, we ended up using a bunch of them on the album.”
“Some of these songs took a long time to grow up, some of them came to us ready to head out into the world,” added McCann.
Fans can preview 3 new tracks from the album on the band’s website and expect tour news in the not-too-distant future.
Moncton hosts Fête de la musique 2010
On Monday, June 21st, Moncton will host more than 25 musical artists, singer-songwriter and groups for a variety of free performances in Fête de la musique 2010.
From 10:30 a.m., solo performers will wake up the crowds in Oak Park, Robinson Court and Café Clementine Deli. Westcut, Caroline Savoie, Glen Burg, Zax Hackett, Kendra Gale, Andre Saulnier, Denis Michel Haché and Sarah Cormier will offer to passers-by their finest tunes.
At 11:30 a.m., the official opening will take place outside the Moncton City Hall on Main Street. Upbeat musicians will entertain the crowds on their lunch breaks: Craig Wright (bagpipes), the Harmony de l’Odyssée, Lisa LeBlanc, Kendra Gale and ALCAZ.
The main stage is located in Riverfront Park, next to the Petitcodiac River, behind the Blue Cross building. The line-up consists of experienced and emerging artists: Codiac Concert Band, Mario Lebreton, Natasha Richard, Xeno, Adam LeBlanc, Double Vision, Sarah Cormier, Lisa Leblanc, Caroline Savoie, Great Balancing Act, Julie Aubé, Melanie D, Robin Anne Ettles, Mel Keith & the Strombachs and Something Delicious. From traditional music to funk metal by way of folk and jazz singers, there will be something for everyone.
Find out more about the event here and here.
The Stanfields hit the road
Nova Scotia’s The Stanfields will tour Toronto and The Maritimes this summer to support the release their debut album Vanguard of the Young & Reckless (GroundSwell/Warner) on June 15.
The band (Jon Landry, Jason MacIsaac, Jason Wright, Craig Eugene Harris and Mark Murphy) formed in 2008. In March, they were voted by readers of The Coast Magazine in Halifax, “Best Band”, “Band Most Likely to Make it Big” and for the second consecutive year “Best Band to Get Trashed To.”
Upcoming performances include:
June 15 – Toronto @ The Horseshoe (NXNE Festival)
June 18 – Toronto @ The Mod Club (NXNE Festival)
June 19 – Toronto @ The Horseshoe (NXNE Festival)
June 30 – Charlottetown @ Hunter’s Alehouse
July 2 – Liverpool @ Privateer Days
July 4 – Canso @ The Stan Rogers Folk Festival
July 9 – Port Hawkesbury @ Festival of the Strait
July 23 – Halifax @ Halifax Common, Halifax Rocks 2010
August 6 – New Glasgow @ Glasgow Square Theatre, Dragon Boat Festival
August 18 – Quispamsis @ Quispamsis Concert Series
August 20 – Fredericton @ The Capital Bar
August 21 – Perth-Andover @ Hullabaloo Festival
Two Hours Traffic head down under
Charlottetown’s Two Hours Traffic has embarked on a 17-date Australian tour to celebrate the release of its album Territory down under on ABC Music, distributed by Universal. The release includes Heroes Of The Sidewalk, Jezebel, Nighthawks and Backseat Sweetheart from the 2007 album Little Jabs as bonus tracks.
The band is also preparing for the U.S release of Territory on Sept. 7 via Red Eye Distribution and will be announcing U.S. tour dates soon.
Remaining Australia dates include:
June 16 – Canberra – The Front Café
June 17 – Wollongong – The Harp
June 18 – Katoomba – The Clarendon
June 19 – Cronulla (Sydney) – Brass Monkey
June 20 – Sydney- Song Summit Showcase
June 24 – Newcastle – The Cambridge
June 25 – Gold Coast – Sound Exchange
June 26 – Toowoomba – Bon Amici
June 27 – Brisbane – The Toubadour
June 30 – Coffs Harbour – Hoey Moey
July 1 – Central Coast – Lizottes
July 2 – Cronulla (Sydney) – Brass Monkey Headline
July 3 – Newton (Sydney) – Sandringham Hotel
The Sidewalks run into a Detour
Charlottetown’s The Sidewalks are taking a short break from the studio to head out on the road again for the second time since the East Coast Music Awards earlier this year.
Dates on The Detour consist of:
July 15th – Fredericton, NB @ The Capital
July 16th – Montreal, QC @ Hemisphere Gauche w/K-Man & The 45s, The Fundamentals
July 17th – Kingston, ON @ The Merchant Tap House w/Cody Allen
July 20th – Toronto, ON @ Rancho Relaxo
July 21st – Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s Music House w/Cody Allen
July 22nd – London, ON @ The Black Shire Pub
July 23rd – Ottawa, ON @ The Rainbow
July 24th – Ottawa, ON @ The Avant Garde Bar
July 27th – TBA, ON
July 28th – Peterborough, ON @ The Spill
July 29th – Oshawa, ON @ The Atria
July 30th – Hamilton, ON @ Club Absinthe
July 31st – TBA, QC
Aug 6th – Charlottetown, PE @ Hunter’s Ale House
Aug 7th – Halifax, NS @ The Seahorse
