Edmonton sure knows how to plan a party, What do you do when its -8 in northern Alberta? Well you Get Loud and Bring the Heat, and that’s just what Tim Hicks and his Tour did. The Nissan Titan Street Festival had something going on all day for people of all ages and part of that was the Cooper Equipment Entertainment Stage where Andrew Hyatt, Tebey and Tim Hicks Brought the Heat and gave the crown something to remember.

Like the weather, SunFest Day 3 was a scorcher. As the temperatures rose the festival goers avoided the heat and preserved their energy for the night to come featuring Meghan Patrick, Brett Young and headliner Dustin Lynch.

The Islands Folk Festival in Duncan, BC was set on a picturesque farm outside of town.

Logan Staats Islands Folk Festival Duncan BC Photo: Jeremy Mac Knott

Small popups danced across the grounds with festival goers shopping items and clothing that matched the easygoing, flowing vibe of the festival.

As sound check started with Logan Staats, most recently featured on the Launch, the audience settled into the their politely tiered seating while young ones ran and danced in front of the open air stage.

Logan Staats Islands Folk Festival Duncan BC Photo: Jeremy Mac Knott

Despite his recent mainstream presence, Logan has been a part of folk scene for the past decade and it showed with his comfort and crowd interaction from the stage. As Logan’s set progressed his story telling ability became very apparent as he shared a new untitled song written while recently in Nashville that highlighted his reflective nature as he was inspired by a series of interactions in his youth that put meaning to what the lasting quality of love is for those left behind. The simple narrative followed by the moving performance left the audience in tears.

With each passing song Logan shared his story with the crowd, one that he described to feature all but two sad songs. One of the happy ones he shared written in mear minutes on the side of a hotel bed, inspired by his current partner. As the sunset, the open air stage became more and more reflective of Logan’s soulful writing and powerful voice. It truly was a an emotional experience respected and enjoyed by festival goers.

Photos by Jeremy Mac Knott

Review by Haley Campbell

Heavy Metal masters Act of Defiance played The Brass Monkey in Ottawa last week and delivered an absolute stellar performance. Flawless to say the least and a clinic for the guitarist in the crowd.

Opening for Act of Defiance was Ottawa’s own Sings of Chaos treated the audience to their unique style of groove thrash metal-core kicking things off in the right direction.  This isn’t their first time playing  The Brass Monkey and fans of their music knew what they were in for.  If this was your first introduction to them then you’re likely a fan now.  Playing as one cohesive unit these guys demonstrated they can deliver an extraordinary performance in style.   Every song is creatively constructed and carried out in a thrash metal groove style with a moderate harsh heaviness. My favorite song was their 2nd last song “Break You”. Starting with a nice gallop style lick and continuing throughout it had my attention – very catchy.

The headlines of the night  Act of Defiance featuring ex Megadeth members Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover with Henry Derek  and Matt Bachand took the stage and you could just feel their presence almost immediately.  The crowd was pressed right up against the stage making it hard for a photographer to capture the moments but then hell who cares – it a metal show and everyone was into it.  Just standing back taking it all in was spectacular and the crowd was getting precisely what they paid for. I couldn’t be happier being part of it.

Sometimes you know what you’re going to get before you listen to an album or see a live performance by merely looking up the artists or watching past performances but in this case you got so much more; you got to feel that intensity that envelopes you in the moment especially in a group that is experiencing the same feelings that you are.  The vocals of Derek are so strong and precise and thorough that if you closed your eyes you might think you’re listening to the album version of the song but then you open your eyes and realize this is the real deal.  He controls his vocals at will and maneuvers methodically throughout each song and between the passages of the shredding guitar riffs of Broderick.

Broderick has always stated he will stay true to its roots and he certainly did that tonight demonstrating his complete complete mastery fretboard in a style all of his own. The one appealing piece about his playing is that even though he can dazzle and wow anyone with even a remote understanding of guitars he isn’t overbearing in his playing.  His settings and tone are very complimentary to the songs and he mingles ever so sweetly between the parts of the song. Part of being a master is knowing when not to play a note and he’s always understood and shown this to be true. Sometimes it feels as though he’s left you hanging out there but then he picks up and takes you home. You can feel the emotion and confidence in his playing. Ever since Broderick emerged as a technically proficient shred guitarist he has been on a pursuit to fine tune and further develop his craft and I look forward to seeing where he goes next.

The Brass Monkey is the perfect venue for live music with plenty of space, great lighting for photographers and a fantastic staff who represent the establishment extremely well. The performance of Act of Defiance met and exceeded my expectations in every way.  The entire band stepped it up tonight and gave us a special night that for me will not soon be forgotten.  I’d give their performance at 10/10.

More Pics

Night #1 of Ottawa’s New Country 94’s Parking Lot Party 2018 at Crazy Horse Bar Grill kicked off with headliner Maderline Merlo. 

Singer/songwriter, author, humanitarian and straight out icon of rock music Bif Naked makes a tour stop at John Street Pub in Arnprior Ontario on Friday, June 1 and wowed the crowd with her additive style and sound.

Canadian country music singer and songwriter Leah Daniels made a stop at Lone Star Texas Grill on St. Laurent Sunday night to celebrate the release of her new album ‘The Story’.

Ottawa’s own singer/songwriter Danielle Allard held her album release party for her third album Passing Notes at Collab Space in Ottawa on Saturday, May 19/18 with her fans, friends and supporters.

Portsmouth Hampshire, UK’s own melodic death extreme metal band Bloodshot Dawn is made it’s first Canadian cross country tour in support of the release of their latest full length album Reanimation with a stop at Mavericks in Ottawa on April 19/18.