London, Ontario played host to the Country Music Association of Ontario ( CMAO ) New Artist RoadShow on Saturday March 19th. Various events took place around the city for up and coming country artists from across the province, the purpose being to gain knowledge and feedback from industry experts including Jason Blaine, Steve Wilkinson, Jason Barry and many more.
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Marianas Trench – This Means War
Well we had such a good time on Friday night in Barrie we thought we would share Marianas Trench latest video for THIS MEANS WAR. Enjoy!
Mariana’s Trench Never Say Die!
What happens when you have a multi platinum selling headliner, then you add multi platinum selling support act, and then add a relatively “new” act embarking on his first national tour? You get an overload to the audio/visual senses! Mariana’s Trench, in full stride on their Never Say Die national tour held their fans in the palm of their hands Friday night at the jam packed Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario.
Barn Burners – Lucknow Edition
Seems that this one is catching on.. Lots of requests to add some of our readers stuff so next week I will put together a list of some of the suggestions I have been getting. But with the big announcement this week with Lucknow Music in the Fields I thought I would pick my top songs from each of the artists on the lineup. So here they are:
Johnny Reid Woo’s in Kitchener…
Monday night in Kitchener Johnny Reid brought the What Loves All About Tour to the Centre in The Square. Getting a chance to see Johnny in the beautiful venue was a treat as I think the last time I was in the venue was to see the Tragically hip 4 years ago. The 2,000 seat venue was packed for his second performance in as many nights in the city.
Lucknow 2016 Lineup Announcement
Looks like this year’s end of the summer bash in Lucknow, Ontario is setting up to be one heck of a party. And we are happy to be a part of it this year. Over the last couple years we have reported on how great an event has been but this year we are partnering with Lucknow to bring you unprecedented coverage to one of the best parties in Ontario this summer. So here is your 2016 Line Up….
Frankie Ballard – It All Started With A Beer
Have you heard this one from Frankie Ballard yet? It All Started With A Beer is his current single and we gotta say we love it. If you haven’t had a chance to catch our chat with Frankie from last year don’t be shy and check it out here.
The Lovelocks Pour Everything Into CD Release…
I recently had the opportunity to take in The Lovelocks EP release party at the Mod Club in Toronto, and I’m glad I did. I had heard great things about the duo of Ali Raney and Zoe Neumann, but this would be the first time I would catch them live.
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
Getting to the venue a little early I had a casual exchange with a longtime fan who was pretty excited to tell me how she has had them play at her house a couple of times in the past, and went on about how wonderful the girls are as both musicians and people. With the crowd that filled the Mod club it was obvious The Lovelocks have collected loyal fans over time and they’re all just as excited for whats to come as the girls might be themselves.
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
Prior to the show kicking off was a fan meet and greet where I saw how Ali and Zoe interacted with fans, they were so warm and down to earth. A great start to the night for those lucky Facebook contest winners.
SoundCheck Contest Winners with The Lovelocks – Photo: Mike Highfield
SoundCheck Contest Winners with The Lovelocks – Photo: Mike Highfield
The show began with the upbeat title track from their new EP Born To Love. It set the tone for the evening and I knew this was a great night of country music to attend. One thing I love in country songs is a solid harmony and these two really nail it. It just soothes whatever ails you. They played songs off the new EP like Radio, Simple Stuff, I Do not and also threw in some covers of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time, and Dolly’s Jolene. The Lovelocks then got some crowd participation going with their bubbly tune Dance, which they joked that it’s one they have had people dancing to in old folks homes so theres no reason we couldn’t. I would call it a guilt trip but, I think people were already ready and willing to dance.
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
Zoe and Ali seem so comfortable up on stage, they’re just having a lot of fun doing what they do. They were backed by a great band who were flawless. They kept up great energy the whole night, playing the single Home Sweet Home before walking off stage for the inevitable encore. Then taking the tempo way down for Lovely for their first encore song, showcasing beautiful vocals and great lyrics. And, to close it all they ended with their rendition of Cake By The Ocean by DNCE.
The Lovelocks will only continue building on their success with all the talent and personality they carry. Keep an eye out for them over the summer and pick up their new EP at http://www.thelovelocksband.com.
Mike Highfield / @MC_Highfield
MORE PHOTOS…
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Lovelocks perform at The Mod Club for CD Release Party – Photo: Mike Highfield
The Trews Strip It Down In London ON
East coast rockers, The Trews, are wrapping up a coast to coast acoustic tour which has seen them play various venues across the country. Saturday night the tour made its stop in London, ON, at the London Music Hall. Now, let me start by saying, I love this venue; amazing sound, amazing lighting and not really a bad spot to sit or stand in the place. London is lucky to have this world-class venue and it seems more and more acts are signing up to play there.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews brought a powerful show, and any one of the capacity crowd who were there, will likely tell you that it was an amazing night. From the moment they hit the stage, with a thunderous roar from the crowd, they were rocking. As a guy who has covered a lot of country music events lately, it was a refreshing change of pace. Having been a big The Trews fan for many years, I was excited to see how a stripped down acoustic set would be. Not only was I impressed, but I would go out and say this show likely made my top 5 all time concerts, and I have been to a few over the years.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
They opened the show with, “The Power of Positive Drinking”, and the hits just kept rolling from there. Highlights of the show, for me, included all their classics with a different sound to them being done acoustically. “Hope and Ruin”, “Yearning”, “Poor Ol Broken Hearted Me”, all had the crowd singing along so loud, that at times you could hear them overpowering the amazing sound system of the London Music Hall.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
One part of the show that gave me goosebumps was when they took a few minutes to explain the story behind their fan favorite, “Highway of Heroes”, and then played it. This song has become an iconic song in Canada, and particularly Ontario, where the Highway of Heroes saw a lot of soldiers make their final journeys home from serving our country overseas. This particular song truly affected me, as they performed it, letting the crowd sing the chorus a few times. I don’t think there was a single person in the place that didn’t belt out the words. It truly honors our fallen heroes and will for many generations to come.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
@thetrews what an amazing night! @londonmusichall @FM96Rocks @SoundCheckBlg @strutent #highwayofheros #thankyou pic.twitter.com/0T53dKp0v8
— Bill Woodcock (@BillWoodcock) March 13, 2016
After being on the stage for the best part of two and a half hours, they finally gave the crowd the word that the show was ending. Someone yelled out and asked if they could do it again tomorrow, to which they replied, “sure!”. The Trews left the stage but the crowd wasn’t done yet. They chanted and cheered for a few minutes and the boys of The Trews came back out and gave a solid acapella performance of, “Ish and Mag”, to start what would be a two song encore. To wrap up the show it was time for, “Not Ready to Go”, which, judging by their reaction, the crowd was not ready to go! All amazing things must come to an end, however, and we can hope The Trews make their way back to the London area soon.
Bill Woodcock – @BillWoodcock
MORE PHOTOS…
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
Barn Burners – March 11
Another week has come and gone and I have had a few new songs thrown my way this week a couple you may find familiar and a couple you will likely have never heard before.
