By Will McGuirk
Oh man who doesn’t love Kingston? What a great city, and a great music scene, and sure you know all the names from the past, Sarah Harmer, the Hip, Glorious Sons, but even today our pals in Kasador are continuing on with the goods - anyway this is the time to get out of Dodge and get thee to Kingston.
The Spring Reverb by KPP Concerts is happening June 1 to 4 and it's got some great bands and great panels, and dollars from sponsors such the city itself, the city’s Arts Council which obv then gets a budget, SOCAN, Factor, the Ontario Arts Council, and Ontario Creates (note to anyone planning fests or award shows !!)
Headlining is Dizzy, who are really kicking it up this year, great to see and looking forward to the new record which drops in August; Gord Sinclair, of the aforementioned Canada’s five band, who has a new album out; Status/Non-Status, a project by Adam Sturgeon, no stranger to us; as well as Fucked Up the progy punky act from TO, plus so much more, Zoon, Hotel Mira, Texas King, and then some more - its packed.
One of the things to Kingston is its ability to retain talent - (not something the great city of Oshawa is any good at) and thus better known names are in the area, working, living, and involved
Thus a panel such as Album Art and Music Marketing features Rob Baker also of Canada’s fave band.
“Our guests will share insights on the significance of album art in capturing the listener's attention, and how social media, NFTs, and other technologies can be leveraged to promote music and create unique experiences for fans.” - interesting stuff, how tech and tunes converge.
And there’s one titled Local Music x Local Film which features Paul Langlois also of Canada’s fave band. Paul also has an album out and is playing some gigs, Mariposa being one of them.
There are panels on touring, including to Australia, mental health challenges, income opportunities, innovation, climate change, and more, plus more. It's packed.
Many of the panels have members of the bands playing the festival onstage as well as moderators of experience, some academic, some industry.
There are multiple venues involved, including my fave spot the legendary Toucan Pub where Wolfe Island records has a couple of free showcases.
So yes get outta Dodge, get thee to Kingston!!
