Slowcity.ca Open Mic: She & Him, Amythyst Kiah, Valerie June, Mauvey, Will Stewart, Chemical Club, Andrea Nixon, and Mimi O’Bonsawin

By Will McGuirk

“‘Hitchin' a Ride ‘is one of those songs that I loved to head-bang to when I was alone in my room, but I never really gave much thought to what Billie Joe Armstrong was actually singing about. I ended up revisiting it for this project, and when I read the lyrics while listening, I was really blown away to realize that it's a song about a person struggling with addiction.” - Amythyst Kiah

"If you’ve ever found yourself in a completely different place then a friend or partner, CURFEW is for you. Being on different timelines can be the best thing to happen to a relationship. It’s only the worst timing if you don’t do anything about it. “ - Mauvey

“One side striving for positive change and habits in your life, the other pulling you down into things that have short term reward but will leave you worse off. Learning how to care for yourself through actions and habits. Sorting through which impulses are beneficial and which are not." - Chemical Club

“‘Earthquake’ is the transformative tale of a woman scorned. Written by a team that spans the continents and collaborated through Covid, I believe this song has a powerful story to tell and packs a pretty hefty musical punch.” - Andrea Nixon

“I was raised by incredible women and continue to learn from them. They have had a hand in making me who I am and I am always inspired by them. Their strength drives me.” - Mimi O’Bonsawin

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Halluci Nation, David Strickland, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Haviah Mighty, Amythyst Kiah, The Human Rights, Jean-Michel Blais, and Clinic

By Will McGuirk

“We never thought that a song could translate our sound into words like this so well, from beat to voice to instrument. We are in such awe of these incredible artists we are proud to call our family, and the opportunity to all come together on this track”. - The Halluci Nation

“While much of this song talks about the things that I feel I’m on my way to achieving, some of which being those nice-to-have material things - for me, these things are symbolic of something more abstract - a lifestyle that I couldn't fathom prior.” - Haviah Mighty

“I tried to give a moment to every instrument, like solos or bring outs. For example, I did things like giving the Second Violin some moments on their own too. Usually they are there to support and accompany the First Violin, but when the Second Violin player came to look at the music, she thought there was a mistake. She was the only violin playing. I’d have to tell her ‘It’s not a mistake, it’s your time to shine. There’s often been this idea in classical music that one instrument is the chief, the king of all the instruments, and the others are in the background merely supporting.” - Jean-Michel Blais

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Q, Amythyst Kiah, Moonshine, Cadence Weapon, Tom Odell, Stone Giants, Keys N Krates, Ormiston, and Kenny Mason

By Will McGuirk

We are not our faces, we may not even be our voices, we are many, and most of all we are a blend, and more and more we are hearing non-genre music, neither this nor that, hip nor hop, rhythm nor blues, but a blend of voices and faces, nearing the one, hearing the all.

“When I wrote ‘On Me’, I was inspired by reading about how face recognition technology was being used by law enforcement and then that got me thinking about the myriad ways surveillance has become normalized in everyday life.” - Cadence

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Chad VanGaalen, The Strumbellas, Valerie June, Tami Neilson, Amythyst Kiah, Cadence Weapon, Matt Berninger, Tony Joe White, Maggie Szabo, and Art d'Ecco

By Will McGuirk

Big guns, big lungs, big sounds, big ideas showed up for this Open Mic on this night here in ShwaRawk City. We always have room for the emerging voices and always happy to share those voices on this platform, thats the being an all of what we do really, but when the name kats come by, well, there’s just as much room for those folks too and we appreciate the support. Listen and learn kids, and if you haven’t begat a band go begat a band right now.

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“Black Myself is the first song I’ve written that was confrontational. I’d always made it a point to sing songs that anybody could relate to, but this was something that had been welling up inside me for a long time. The reception of the song so far has given me hope that there are people out there who are ready to confront the shared trauma of racism, to look within ourselves and see how we might be perpetuating racist beliefs, and to do what is needed to create equality for all people.” - Amythyst Kiah

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