Randie O'Neil

 

Randie O'Neil's storytelling comes from a sincere place. Her work as an adolescent intervention specialist brings a real-world perspective to her lyrics. Drawing on her own life story of having to survive an abusive alcoholic environment as a child, she helps students navigate a complicated world. Through her songs, she conveys a message of understanding and courage to face problems that almost all of us experience at some point in our lives.

Full Moon Rising really explores finding your way through tough times and explores relationships during those tough times.  During the dark times of  Covid 19, Randie found a way to stay connected to her friends and community.  She found a way to explore and expand and even inspire.  Full Moon Rising deals with being cooped up and isolated but determined to stay connected to those who matter most. She felt like every day was full moon and Randie was restless to go out and be able to explore.  She used that energy to write.  “Queen (of the Barstool Two-Step)” examined the nightlife that had changed during covid.  Going to bars was not an option for people and what do you do with the loneliness.  People go out to be with people and not feel so alone.  Some people were brought together during this time and others found a distance between them. “Whispers takes a look at people who were together yet not able to quiet connect.”  “Treat me Right is an infectious  song with a lot of sass that just lays it out what a girl wants from a relationship.”  “Sidewalks” is a catchy singalong.  What Randie missed most was her ability to go out and meet people, to follow the sidewalks to where she wanted to go.  “Daddy’s Pride” is a powerful song that explores her relationship with her abusive alcoholic stepfather.  A parent should nurture and instill pride in a child, Randie was able to find it on her own.

https://www.randieoneil.com

Caroline Parke

 

 " I wrote my first song in 2008, and have been jotting down lines in spurts and starts ever since. Most of the time I use real life experiences, using songwriting to revive all sorts of emotions. There are also songs where I completely make up the entire story line, allowing myself to just let go and dream for an afternoon! (Its a Great Escape!)  

​I am quite isolated on a farm in the middle of cattle country in western Canada. My daily interactions are with my husband and four young children, and my husband`s parents. Thank goodness for the internet, to allow for more visiting! I am always busy with cooking and cleaning and laundry and have a big garden each summer, preserving much of our food, and cooking (almost) every meal from scratch (if you need a recipe, just ask!).

It`s difficult to find any stretch of time to concentrate, but as my friend Tammy says, you can`t get diamonds without pressure. While I am sometimes overwhelmed with simple daily tasks, I find that my mind can often find a glimmer of a small crack, and squeezes out something refreshing, creative, and beautiful, through words and melody."

https://www.carolineparkemusic.com/

Northeast Music Festival

 

 

The countdown is on; North by Northeast Music Festival (NXNE) has announced its initial list of Showcasing Artists invited to perform at this year’s music festival June 14th - 19th in Toronto.

  

The annual cultural explosion featuring music and more is set to feature over 300+ of the world’s best artists of today and tomorrow — including Omega Mighty, Osé, Balto, Dallas, Broken Islands, Vicky R, Jeremy Voltz, and hundreds more! 

  

“We’re back and taking over more than 20 of Toronto’s top live music venues,” NXNE Founder and President Michael Hollett reveals. “We want to make it very easy for people to come back to live music and experience stage-hopping like festivals used to be.”

  

The festival is committed to gender equity and BIPOC representation, boasting a diverse lineup that reflects the festival’s core theme, ‘Talent is Everywhere.’ NXNE also makes great music accessible and inclusive to all; no artists are asked to pay to apply, all performers are paid, and admission to Club Shows in 2022 is extremely low-cost. 

  

Full festival five-day passes are just $20 — an inflation-defying $9.99 less than in 1995 when NXNE launched. “That’s actually cheaper than when it first started,” Hollett notes. “Given the pummeling the live music scene has taken over the last two years, we wanted to remove financial barriers to attending NXNE to best connect artists with audiences. You can see live music all week for the price of a movie ticket and popcorn.

  

“We can’t wait to present these great acts to the world,” Hollett continues. “It’s time to experience live music again – and listen to the future at NXNE.” 

  

While further announcements of NXNE’s full lineup will follow, passes are currently available for sale at nxne.com.

  

A partial list of artists invited to perform include: 

  

3409- Toronto, ON

Ana Lía- Toronto, ON

Anna Smyrk- Melbourne, Australia

Atay & JAX- Halifax, NS

B.Knox- Toronto, ON

Balto- Los Angeles

Bealby Point- Vancouver, BC

Big Smoke Brass Band- Toronto, ON

Black Pontiac- Vancouver, BC

Broken Fires- London, UK

Brooklyn Doran- Peterborough, ON

Buffalo Bill- Toronto, ON

Cam Maclean- Montreal, ON

Chad Price- Toronto, ON

December Rose- Montreal, QC

DESIIRE- Toronto, ON

Diane Coffee- Indiana, Usa

Dover Lynn Fox- Toronto, ON

dwi- Vancouver, BC

Emma Campbell- Toronto, ON

Erez Zobary- Toronto, ON

Faeya- Canada

Fjord Mustang- Toronto, ON

Foolproof- St Catharines, ON

FRANKIE FLOWERS- Waterloo, ON

GETCHNAH- Toronto, ON

GROWERS- Toronto, ON

I, the Mountain- Kitchener, ON

INNR CIRCLE- Toronto, ON

Jeff Beadle- Niagara, ON

Jeremy Voltz- Toronto, ON

Jhyve- Toronto, ON

Joan Smith & the Jane Does- Toronto, ON

Jordan Astra- Toronto, ON

Just Costa- Montreal, On

Kingdom Of Birds- Toronto, ON

Kyara Tetreault- Toronto, ON

Kydd Jones- Austin

Late Night Thoughts- Brooklyn/NYC

Late Night Trouble- Montreal, QC

Lexxicon- Toronto, ON

Lindsey & The Lonelies- London, ON

LOR- Toronto, ON

Luxe- Toronto, ON

Maddisun- Vancouver, BC

Majo- Toronto, ON

Mattie Leon- Hamilton, ON

Mear- Toronto, ON

Mélissa Vales- Ottawa, ON

Michaela Slinger- Vancouver, BC

Mighloe- Toronto, ON

MY ØWN MØNEY- Toronto, ON

Newby- Toronto, ON

No Tourists- Toronto, ON

Olivia Khoury- Montreal, ON

Omega Mighty- Toronto, ON

Osé- Toronto, ON

Paige Warner- Owen Sound, ON

Peter Peres- Toronto, ON

prettyboys- Montreal, QC

Pyramid Theorem- Richmond Hill, ON

Raeshaun- Mississauga, ON

Rise Carmine- Toronto, ON

Sabby Sousa- Toronto, ON

Sleepy Gonzales- Vancouver, BC

Spitty- Brampton, ON

TAKAAYLA- Toronto, ON

Talking Violet- Windsor, ON

The Broken Islands- Vancouver, BC

The Crease Rule- Toronto, ON

The Free Label- Toronto, ON

The Holy Gamblers- Toronto, ON

The Midnight Echo- Vancouver, BC

The Redhill Valleys- Hamilton, ON

The Sarandons- Toronto, ON

Toebow- Brooklyn/NYC

Tripper and the Wild Things- Hamilton, ON

Twice Bleached- Cambridge, ON

Victory- Toronto, ON

Vintage Boring- Toronto, ON

  

NXNE is proud to work with their supporting partners of this year's festival including Slaight Music, Indie88, Gladstone House, Steam Whistle, Bulova, White Claw Hard Seltzer, Long & McQuade, Yamaha, Exclaim, Grassroots, along with showcase sponsors KW TheMuseum, The City of Brampton, Music Manitoba, and WKBO The Bridge — with funding made possible by FACTOR, Canada Summer Jobs. 

 

NXNE will take place Tuesday, June 14th - Sunday, June 19th in Toronto. 

www.ThatEricAlper.com

Katar Kustom Kuitars from Finland presents a signature guitar for the legendary Duke Robillard

Katar Kustom Kuitars from Finland presents a signature guitar for the legendary Duke Robillard

Duke Robillard, four times voted the US best blues guitarist, will have his own guitar model, the Katar Bluesmaster, made by Katar Kustom Kuitars in Finland. Katar Kustom Kuitars founder Jukka Kattelus from Seinäjoki, Finland has been a luthier for 30 years.

Duke Robillard, who has performed and recorded with Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and others, recently toured Finland with Finnish group Wentus Blues Band. In his free time, the team visited the musical instrument fair at Veturitallit in Jyväskylä, where various guitar builders presented their instruments. Robillard fell in love with a Katar Popmaster guitar made by Jukka Kattelus.

“I was touring with my friends the Wentus Blues Band in Finland and they told me on the way to a show we would stop at a guitar show with several different guitar builders. I tried a few interesting guitars but when I came upon the Katar Booth I was blown away by how cool Jukka's guitars were and how beautiful and well built they were”, says Duke Robillard, and continues:

“Of course the look got my attention first. I think as a player you have to be drawn visually to a guitar first. The Katar guitars are visually pleasing and the beautiful orange color and wood grain made my guitar look very special. When I play it people always comment on how beautiful it is and how great it sounds!”

“Over the last 50 years, I have owned over a thousand guitars and my Katar is certainly one of the best I've owned”, Robillard praises Kattelus and his craftsmanship.

The Katar Popmaster guitar is also featured in the Duke Robillard Band's new "Outta here" music video.

Robillard: Katar is of an amazingly high quality

Duke Robillard describes the Katar Popmaster guitar he owns as an instrument of amazingly high quality. According to the musician, of all the instruments he owns, "no other guitar sounds the same". This inspired Robillard to negotiate with Jukka Kattelus for his own Katar model.

“We talked with Duke about the guitar I had made and he suggested a collaboration, changing the Popmaster name to Bluesmaster. At the same time, I could have used his name for marketing. But I didn't want to change the already established name.”

“After further discussion, we decided to create a signature model for him, based on the guitar he bought from me, with his additions. Limited Edition of 12 guitars will be available”, says Jukka Kattelus, explaining how the collaboration came about.

The legendary musician looks forward to the new model.

“I am very excited about the new Duke Robillard Bluesmaster model! The wood will be the same as my Popmaster. The neck and fretboard will be made of the same wood as my guitar now and shaped to my specifications. It will be a very special guitar built with the same incredible workmanship that makes these guitars so special! I am proud to have my name associated with such a fine instrument.”

Katar's sound comes from wood and handmade microphones

Duke Robillard says the woods of Katar guitars contribute to their unique sound. The Bluesmaster uses the same wood as the Katar Popmaster he already owns.

“The fretboard is an African wood that feels great and is unique to Katar. It's a special wood that feels harder than rosewood and softer than ebony - which is just right in my opinion. The woods used in this guitar make a special sound.”

Finnish birch and alder have also been used in the guitars.

“The top is Finnish birch and the rest of the guitar is made of beautiful Finnish alder. It is a beautiful wood. Birchwood was used in guitar making in the US in the 1920s and 1930s. Alder has always been a great solid-body guitar wood and I believe the birch top must add something special to its tone”, Robillard says.

The sound of the Katar Bluesmaster comes also from Veijo Rautia's hand-wound microphones, which Rautia made to Robillard's specifications. The microphone maker, who was recommended by Kattelus, is an old fan of the guitar legend.

“I had a couple of Robillard records in the 80s and he was one of my guitar heroes along with Jimmie Vaughan. It's great to be involved in this project”, says Veijo Rautia enthusiastically. 

30 years of building musical instruments

Jukka Kattelus of Katar Kustom Kuitars has been working as a luthier and repairer since 1992. Kattelus has also been teaching musical instrument building and maintenance since 2007 at a community college. Jukka has made many different guitar models, researched their characteristics and combined the best of them into the Katar Popmaster guitar, which was introduced in 1995.


https://www.kustomkuitars.com/bluesmaster/
https://www.dukerobillard.com/
https://www.facebook.com/duke.robillard.1
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050618703593

Hillsome South

 

Marieke started singing at the age of 11 and simply never stopped anymore. At the age of 20 she signed a record contract with Phonogram and released several singles as ‘Felicity’. She worked with Rob van Leeuwen (Shocking Blue) on a solo album but ultimately chose to sing in the allround band ‘Real Company’. For about 10 years she performed with this band in the Netherlands and abroad. Later she made  a transition to ‘Valentino’s Entertainment’ with whom she performed for 15 years, singing not only the common top 40 songs but also a wide repertoire of Spanish and Italian songs. With Hillsome South Marieke returns to the music where her heart lies.

 Keep on reading...  http://www.hillsomesouth.com

Ghost Town Blues Band

 

Horns, harmonies and homegrown instruments combined with an energetic and roots rich festival set makes Ghost Town Blues Band one of the “must see live bands on the festival scene today.” Both Andrew McNeill behind the drums and Matt Karner on the bass guitar are a punishing rhythm section behind multi-instrumentalist/frontman Matt Isbell with raunchy cigar box guitar licks and raspy "Dr. John-like, whiskey and gravel-soaked vocals." With the addition of Trombonist Suavo Jones, Cedric Taylor on B3 and Taylor Orr on lead guitar, the grooves go from fresh to funky as the band gains more notoriety in the blues festival and jam circuit. Ghost Town Blues Band has performed all across US and Canada at over 100+ festivals and will perform more than a half-dozen international tours in Canada and Europe in 2019.

 http://www.ghosttownbluesband.com/

The Juke Joint Pimps

T-Man and Mighty Mike live in the Cologne area in Germany. They had been playing blues for years in various bands before joining forces in the Silvertones in 2003, playing Chicago blues with an attitude. They recorded an album in Belgium and played two tours in Russia. It seems impossible to clearly define just exactly when the Juke Joint Pimps came into being. Maybe some time in '04. Mike and T-Man had been teaming up with an upright bass player to rock some private students parties, got hired for a couple of shows in local bars, picked up hitting the drums while losing the bassist along the way and suddenly they were there, two blues guys wearing white pin stripe suits, red shoes and jewellery, blasting rough juke joint music for everybody who cared to dance or listen. A two-man band with drums, harmonica, guitar and a voice that can shatter glass – pretty much all you really need to play music sounding like Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, North Mississippi Hill Country Blues and Reverend Charlie Jackson. Within very little time the Juke Joint Pimps have evolved into a unique act. "Black" enough sounding to cater to a traditional blues audience while being so wild, loud and raw that the punk rockers and garage freaks dig them just as much. And they're really truckloads of fun to watch!

 http://www.juke-joint-pimps.com/