Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Ombiigizi, Haviah Mighty, Keb' Mo', Birds of Bellwood, Canyon City, Avi Kaplan, Gov't Mule, Louie Short, Mike Block,

By Will McGuirk

"These ideas around perceived value got me thinking about the Stock Exchange. Seeing parallels between the way it flows - the constant rising and falling – all dictated by the general public’s perception of an entity’s value, and ultimately how that influences the moves that we make as individuals." - Haviah Mighty

“Whether it be anxiety or depression, anger or addiction, there are parts of ourselves that can lead us down a path that is detrimental to our being. This song is about acknowledging that part of oneself and overcoming it.” - Avi Kaplan

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Tragically Hip, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Gold and Youth, Brandon Wolfe Scott, Mike Plume, T. Buckley, James Sullivan, and Nation of Language

By Will McGuirk

“Blush is about saying 'sure, the world we've created is full of bullshit, but that's not some inevitably, it doesn't actually have to be this way, and we have an antidote, and it's each other.” - Matthew Lyall, Gold & Youth

“I wanted to write a song to myself as a reminder, almost like a mantra, to stay in the present and accountable.” - Brandon Wolfe Scott

“. . . I feel like the song is universal with its message that it’s the little things and moments that matter, the time we’re able to spend with one another.” - T. Buckley

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Nation of Language, Kaia Kater, D.W. Waterson, Cherry Blaster, The Davenports, The Gertrudes, Francois Klark, and Jeremy Dion,

By Will McGuirk

“As I was working on the lyrics I had a kind of fixation on terrible tax policies, our cultural addiction to meaningless consumption, and it all got swept together into this punchy, kind of fun track.” - Ian Devaney, Nation of Language

“It’s about ripping out harmful beliefs that have grown and taken root inside many of us like weeds. I wanted to create a sense of sonic chaos—as if anything could happen—because mine and my friends’ experiences in the last few years have been to show up and care for each other amidst the chaos of job loss, financial instability, mental health crises, environmental disasters and more.” - Kaia Kater

“Within hetero society, it’s typical to hate your exes, but in the queer community, exes are viewed differently. When collaborating on the track, Casey and I had the inherent understanding of having queer exes; who frequently run into each other, can end up as close friends and will always be within the same circles as one another. That’s where All The Girls With The Boys Names came to be; a dedication to our former lovers, but still appreciating where we landed." - D.W. Waterson

“Despite the luxury of time to 'breathe in the terpenes', the song also describes our ongoing and underlying levels of anxiety about not having enough time to help make the changes needed in our community and world.” - Greg Tilson, The Gertrudes

“Music is a chance to tell stories of pain and beauty. I want my songs to make people feel something unexpected.” - Jeremy Dion

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Ghostkeeper, Real Estate, Frazey Ford, All We Are, Milan André Boronell, Jacob Weil, Ehsan Matoori, and Clinic,

By Will McGuirk

"’U Kin Be the Sun’ explores the vast and eternal within us, the reoccurring ancient mythology of the individual as the universal, as light, as the sun..” - Frazey Ford

“What is to live, if not to eat and drink and breathe and to love.” - All We Are

"Love is Love! When you saw someone and fell in love with them, it did not matter what their sex is. Love comes from the heart. The soul only demands love and takes peace from it.” - Ehsan Matoori

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Jacob Weil · The Next Show

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Charlotte Cornfield, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Kyle McKearney, Cat Power, Robert Glasper, Hot Kid, The Brandy Alexanders, ModernFolkRevolution, Mary Jennings,

By Will McGuirk

“Sometimes desire betrays logic, and you end up at somebody’s door even after you’ve talked yourself out of it, in all of the ways. And that feeling can be intoxicating. And it can be painful.” - Charlotte Cornfield

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Fretless, Absolutely Free, Homeshake, Nation of Language, Chin Injeti, Lexxicon, Clever Hopes, and The Ruddy Ruckus

By Will McGuirk

“‘Remaining Light’ expresses the frustration felt towards invincible and corrupt institutions that uphold structural inequities, including police brutality and manufactured poverty experienced primarily by racialized communities. Written during a heat wave in the summer of 2016, the song dishearteningly remains as relevant as ever today.” - Absolutely Free

“‘Sparrow’ is my little ode to freedom. It was the perfect ‘escape’ when I was held ‘prisoner’ in my basement, as I wrote it in my home studio while I was in quarantine.” - Chin Injeti

“The song touches on the blinding love that you feel when you’ve found the ‘one.’ It’s like nothing else matters because they are all you see, want, and care about. Almost as if, they have this divine control over you.” - Lexxicon

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The Ruddy Ruckus · Lake Of Rage

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Kacey Musgraves, Mimi Webb, Sam Weber, Alex Cuba, Samantha Fish, Mastiff, Terouz, Handsome Jack, Matthew E. White, and Flossing

By Will McGuirk

“Through confronting my deepest, heaviest truths through these songs I am able to see the world in a new way. 'Here's To The Future’ was that song for me, but also a toast and a prayer to the better and brighter days ahead.” - Sam Weber

“When I began to imagine this album, I knew I didn’t want it to be small in any way. Neither did I want it to be known forever as the album that was born out of the pandemic. I was convinced that it definitely was the moment to aim at creating something very special, unique and vibrant, fuelled by the very deep emotions that this time has brought out of all of us.” - Alex Cuba

“If you need cheering up, this may not be the best place to start. Unless, of course, the sound of the world consuming itself from the inside out and spitting in the face of humanity is your idea of a good time” - Mastiff

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Chastity, Ekelle, Charlotte Day Wilson, Ada Lea, Joy Crookes, Alex Cuba, Fleece, Graham Wright, Talleen, Mary Jennings, Jon Stancer, and Rise Carmine,

Ekelle

By Will McGuirk

“‘When You Were Mine’ is a song I wrote about an ex-partner that ended up being with a man after we broke up. It’s a song about accepting their love, but wishing the same for myself. I wrote it with the backdrop of Brixton because that is where their love unfolded and where I spent a lot of my childhood. We recorded a brass section (it was my first time recording brass and excited was an understatement); we wanted it to sound messy so Japanese whiskey was involved and listening to lots of Ebo Taylor.” - Joy Crookes

“My social media feeds are crammed with dire and insistent warnings from scientists, experts and activists, and newsreels showing floods, fires, hurricanes and other horrific, climate related catastrophes. All of this chatter and imagery were swirling around in my head at the time of writing this song.” - Jon Stancer

“We wanted to reflect how our society can sometimes be shrouded in mystery and symbolism, money being the driving force behind the illusion.” - Alex Crow, Talleen

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with K-Os ft. KAGE E, Common, AHI, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Miloe, T. Buckley, Alias, Flossing, and The R Train

By Will McGuirk

“What does a new day, a brighter day feel like being told through an emcee and some gifted musicians? How could this music be an example of the beautiful aspects of revolution that include joy, self-love, compassion, dreams, peace and good times? “ - Common

“This universe can often leave us feeling small and insignificant. But I truly believe that our lives are part of something bigger and more meaningful than we understand. You and I are the prospect, and it’s important to live our lives like they’re worth something because our impact on each other is far more immense than we can ever imagine.” - AHI

“When I was writing the record we were in the middle of a pandemic and our future looked pretty bleak. I just continue to try to write from a place of hope. Then my own neurosis, and maybe being a libra gets in the way, and I can’t make up my mind.” - Nathaniel Rateliff

"American statistician Edward Tufte once said, 'There are only two industries that refer to their customers as users: illegal drugs and software.’” - Flossing

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Strumbellas, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, The Lovely Eggs, The Record Company, Nation of Language, Samantha Fish, and Niz Wiz

By Will McGuirk

“The song is really about ego, and it's that inner ego that everyone holds within them." - Snotty Nose Kids

“We are all morons. In a world of moronic things. In a world of moronic ideas. You are moron. I am Moron. We are Moron.” - The Lovely Eggs

“To watch someone quietly working a craft with their hands, taking their time and allowing themselves to focus in a way that hopefully quiets the mind and blocks everything else out can be incredibly calming and hypnotic. Whether at a professional level or just channeling energy into a personal hobby, there’s a lot of power in having a pursuit that requires attention and finesse.” - Nation of Language

"It's about flipping the power structure, the power dynamic, in your life. The world or a personal figure might be putting you down; it's about taking control and owning your life and owning the situation." - Samantha Fish

“I remember pontificating these thoughts in my basement studio before looking up and saying, ‘Hey! Am I the only one feeling this?! Am I the only one thinking about this change? This undertow of a tide sweeping us all potentially under water? And how we don’t know when we can come up for air?’” - Niz Wiz

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band, Suzie Ungerleider, bigmcenroe, Kodiak Arcade, Sandeep Das and Mike Block, and The Blips,

By Will McGuirk

“Ecstasy is perverse and sacred. To display ecstatic joy like we do on this album is a vulnerable thing. - Jarvis

"I’ve grown up with a voice in my head telling me to cheer up and to bury my feelings. Music is the place where I can go “deep into darkness and weep.” - Suzie Ungerleider

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Kodiak Arcade · Dumb

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Cots, Nation of Language, Clinic, Orminston, daysormay, Jessicka, and Myranda Christi,

By Will McGuirk

“‘Flowers’ is a meditation on death—death as essential, awful, tragic, beautiful, mysterious.” - Steph Yates

“When the air in the room suddenly feels like it changes in an undefinable way. It’s a kind of celebration of that certain joyous panic, and the uncertainty that surfaces right after it.” - Ian Devaney, Nation of Language

“My goal was to be as un-Aidan as possible” - Aidan Andrews, daysormay

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Slowcity.ca Open Mic Spotlight: Ehsan Matoori

By Will McGuirk

"I wrote ‘Nostalgia' when I watched a video of Syrian men and women drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. People who left their homeland because of the war. The nightmare of drowning has haunted me for a long time. But there was nothing I could do, except to make music about the death of immigrants who were looking for a peaceful land.” - Ehsan Matoori