2015 was a big year for Danielle Marie, a young starlet, from western Canada, a CCMA Spotlight Performance at the Canadian Country Music Fan favourite Legends Show in Halifax, 4 BC Country Music Award Nominations, the 2015 BCCMA Ray McAuley Horizon Award and a radio tour throughout three provinces. Plus Danielle’s sophomore album Here Right Now broke the Top 25 iTunes Country Album Chart within 24 hours of release and her current single at radio, ‘Drive Away’, co-written with award winning Nashville writer Byron Hill, is proving to be her biggest yet and recently debuted on the Canadian Country Trax report currently at #74!
Aaron Goodvin – Knock On Wood – Mason Jar Session
We had a chance to have Warner Music Canada Recording Artist Aaron Goodvin perform his current single Knock on Wood for our Mason Jar Sessions last week. And boy can he sing. If you have a chance be sure to catch Aaron on the rest of the Johnny Reid “What Loves Is All About” Tour. And if you love this be sure to head over to iTunes and pre-order his Album that hits the street April 8th, 2016. Pre-order it here.
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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 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.
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.
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.
@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
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Chris Young – Think Of You (Duet with Cassadee Pope)
Here is one that is currently flying up the Country Music charts in recent weeks. Think of You by Chris Young and Cassadee Pope is one hell of a song. What do you think? Don’t miss Chris Young this summer at TRACKSIDE Music Festival Tickets now on sale.
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76
Hangin’ With The Cadillac Three
Last month we had the chance to sit down with Jaren, Neil and Kelby of The Cadillac Three before they hit the stage at the SOLD OUT, Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. The boys have since released the new single Graffiti to radio we love it love here at SCE. Enjoy the interview.
Why You Shouldn’t Miss The Lovelocks Album Release….
So the amazingly talented Lovelocks have their album release this week and we really think you shouldn’t miss this show…
Frankie Ballard Pays Tribute to His Idols at His Historic Surf Ballroom Show
A night of authenticity, honor, heartfelt appreciation and admiration was surrounding the audience as Frankie Ballard performed a memorable show at the historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on Saturday night. This was one of the stops on his National Tour.
Justin Moore – You Look Like I Need A Drink
Big Machine recording artist Justin Moore has a new single out at radio You Look Like I Need A Drink. And this video is a great fit for the song. Only released last week here is Justin’s latest video. And don’t miss him May 7th at Casino Rama. Tickets now on sale here.
Corey Kelly / @CoreyKelly76