Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Hayden, Braids, Sunnsetter, Abigail Lapell, Alex Whorms, The Matinee, Jacques Greene, and TEKE::TEKE

By Will McGuirk

“Reminding myself that surely everything is alright, even when I’ve tricked myself into believing otherwise.” - Sunnsetter

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Slowcity.ca Open Mike with K.D.A.P., Wet Leg, Art d'Ecco, Slow Death Lights, Nick Ferrio, Cowboy Junkies, Bobbo Byrnes, and Bad Waitress

By Will McGuirk

“It's about understanding the obstacles we set up in front of ourselves. Personal deception and self-sabotage. It's about opening up and trying to figure out how to be a better human being, be more vulnerable.” - Nick Ferrio

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Clea Anaïs, Jessica Pearson and the East Wind, POSTDATA, Results of Adults, Riley Michaels, Andrew Gabbard, Howard Lee Naylor, and Jay Swinn

By Will McGuirk

"reminds us that strong voices have preceded us, that we can draw upon. Although outcomes aren’t always visible or immediately positive, it is still worth showing up for who and what you believe in.” - Clea Anaïs

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Riley Michaels · ONE MORE HEARTBREAK - RILEY MICHAELS

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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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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Weather Station, Scott MacKay, TV Priest, Kandle & Kendel, Rhye, POSTDATA, Virgil Abloh, Devan, Triptides, The Neighbourhood Watch, and The Barettas

By Will McGuirk

I wonder how they do it, hang on until years from now another discovers the work, lying there in a bin, or back of a library or in a box in a storage locker, or perhaps on an old hard drive in the back of a drawer, and then Eureka! Shared gleefully at the discovery - Christopher Columbus like one would imagine… Its a marvellous place I am in where I get the gems, they sail across my stream, they are intimate to me, but one can only do what one can and I can only urge you to listen and marvel. The Weather Station, there with Sarah Harmer and Kathleen Edwards in my canon. . . if you need some door propped open. Open, you will not be disappointed, there has never been any disappointment from the Weather Station, there has only been song after song, soul after soul edifying moment, album after album of change-ups and growth and journey and a hand held out to journey along and no disappointments only soul after soul edifying moments evermore.

“Trying to capture something of the slipping feeling I think we all feel, the feeling of dread, even in beautiful moments, even when you’re a little drunk on a sea cliff watching the sun go down while seabirds fly around you; that slipping feeling is still there, that feeling of dread, of knowing that everything you see is in peril,” says Lindeman. “I feel like I spend half my life working on trying to stay positive. My whole generation does.”

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Once upon a time there was a man named Handsome Ned who stepped onto the stage of the Cameron House and I wasn’t there. However records had been invented. I imagine Ned would have been happy to have Scott MacKay open for him or even open for. Or perhaps one could hear in Scott MacKay Orville Peck if he didn’t go for Baroque.

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“Press Gang” is about the shifting role in the dissemination of information and ideas, and how the prevailing narrative that the “Death of Print Media” has contributed to a “post-truth” world.

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“We wanted to be somewhere else for a spell and it was granted by whiskey, reverb and 6 beautiful, dark tunes from the early 70s. We boarded his silver spaceship looking for respite from the pandemic…”

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Artist, architect, engineer, creative director, artistic director, industrial designer, fashion designer, musician, DJ, and philanthropist, Virgil Abloh, can very much be described as a multi-hyphenate man. For Abloh, who is also the Chief Creative Director and founder of Off-White™️ and Men’s Artistic Director at Louis Vuitton, music has always run deep.

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“Writing songs for me is a way to uncover my underlying feelings about something –putting elusive emotions into tangible sentences, and coming to terms with them. My only guideline for writing these songs was to try to be as honest with myself as possible, and follow my instincts without all the self-inflicted barriers that I usually let get in the way.” – Devan

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Ben Rogers, Zoon, METZ, Sylvan Esso, Ellyn Woods, Grace Gillespie, Hen Ogledd, and Steven Wilson

By Will McGuirk

Some great tunes today on the Open Mic, musicians are not on stage but they are still working hard creating. In particular we welcome Ben Rogers back. He will be live-streaming an acoustic show from his BC base on Sep 27, 2020. Tickets here. Rogers is a mix of Andy Maize of the Skydiggers, Matt Mays and whole lot of empathy. He has a new video for an older track.

“During this pandemic that has affected us all, we can’t forget those hardest hit. Since the public health emergency there has been an increase in overdoses in Vancouver. This song is dedicated to the people of the streets of East Van who have lost their lives and those who are struggling to survive. They cannot be forgotten or abandoned." - Ben Rogers

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First Nations musician Zoon (Daniel Monkman) has released his latest single and video, “Brokenhead,” from his debut album, ‘Bleached Waves’ issued on Paper Bag Records. back in June 2020 The song’s title comes from the Ojibway reserve where Monkman grew up and is a reflection on how he felt leaving family behind.

"I could see my dad and my uncle in the rearview mirror waving goodbye as distance between us grew further and further away. I felt a kind of Triumph and yet a rush of sadness/happiness. When I was recording the guitars, I kept focusing on that feeling." - Zoon

Buy the vinyl here ->

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Monster noise-rockers METZ have announced a live-stream performance of their new album, ‘Atlas Vending’ plus they have released their new single and video, “Blind Youth Industrial Park.” METZ will be taking the full album live from the Opera House in Toronto on Oct 15 and 17, 2020. The album drops Oct 9 on Sub Pop and Royal Mountain Records.

“Something that is intrinsic to who we are as people has been taken away. We want, so badly, to find that feeling again, to forget the world for a moment, and share a brand new album that we love very much (plus some oldies) with you” - Alex Edkins

Buy the livestream tickets here ->

Buy the vinyl here ->

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“It’s the centre of the record - a song about being obscured by someone’s loving impression. A mirror on a mirror.” - Amelia Meath

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House of Youth · Ellyn Woods - Tangerine

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Grace Gillespie · Hoppers

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