The Yukon Harp Society is hosting a Harp Concert on Saturday February 19 at 4pm. This is a fundraising event for a new Yukon pedal harp. Our visiting harpist Meta Epstein will be playing with Barry Kitchen and Ben Johnson-Urey.
On Halloween weekend, the 202 opened its doors once again to Yukoners (in costume). Major Funk took the stage as the cast from Mario Kart.
The Whitehorse Community Choir’s annual Christmas shows are happening Dec. 2-3, and won’t be scaled down due to pandemic restrictions.
Joey O’Neil is on tour with her dog, Oblio, playing songs from her album Ever Ahead, in dog parks across Canada.
Patrick Jacobson at Whiskey Jack’s every Monday with a weekly “feature performer” for the last set.
After nearly a decade in the Yukon, Paris Pick is moving away to pursue music school and then her career as an music artist.
Fridays are live music days in Dawson, this summer, with concerts at Riverside Park Gazebo and at the KIAC (Dënäkär Zho) Ballroom.
A new live-streamed concert series features artists from rural parts of Canada, including Yukon musicians.
As a musician, you put yourself out there in the public and you have to be ready to appease your fans. That means answering questions after the show. The most common question I get is, “How long have you been playing?” Well, I’m here to tell you, I don’t know. It seems music has always …
The cast including shepherds, angels, wise persons and citizens. PHOTO: Dan Davidson What would Christmas Eve be without carols and a pageant. All are invited—shepherds, angels, wise persons, citizens, family and friends—to St. Paul’s Anglican Church A traditional Christmas Eve in Dawson City begins with an ecumenical carol and pageant service at St. Paul’s …
The time-honoured English tradition of the Christmas pantomime (known affectionately as just “panto”) was not part of my childhood. For the benefit of those of us who weren’t weaned on this particular theatrical fare, it’s important to bear in mind various traditions, tropes, and stereotypes of an English-style panto.
After more than two decades as a jazz guitarist, Sheryl Bailey still invokes the name of a player who first inspired her love of the genre, but who died when she was just two years old. “I got into jazz when I was about 15. I heard Wes Montgomery on the radio. I just fell …
Christmas —’tis the season to be jolly, for many; but for others, not so much (think “Grinch”!). Perhaps … just maybe … a little balance to the celebrating is in order? This year on Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1, the Whitehorse Community Choir will take the stage, at the Yukon Arts Centre, to …
The MacBride Museum of Yukon History has been hosting [email protected], a series of evening shows by local musicians, for 12 years, and will continue this winter in the newly renovated MacBride Museum Aurora Hall. “I started [email protected] about 12 years ago because I wanted to share Yukon’s stories through songs and music, with the audience, …
Bohemian Rhapsody is a 134-minute chronicle of the formative years of Queen, and a loosely based bio on the late Freddie Mercury. It is directed by Brian Singer and stars Ramie Malek, Lucy Boynton and Gwilym Lee. First Thoughts … It’s all the greatest hits of Queen … how can you not love this. The …
There hardly seems to be a local show these days singer, musician, songwriter and enthusiast of all things tack, Paris Pick.
After two acoustic solo albums, Bluesman’s Plea (2011) & Here on Earth (2014), Brandon Isaak’s Spiritual Undertones marks a departure.
Fate has a habit of steering flute and saxophone player Jane Bunnett in unexpected directions. If tendinitis hadn’t forced a break from her intense piano practice regime, for instance, she might not have gone to San Francisco and met Charles Mingus’s pianist, Don Pullen, who would become her mentor, friend and musical collaborator. If she …
The 2018–19 season of Home Routes Concerts kicked off in September with a tour by country singer Tim Hus, accompanied by his sideman of 15 years, Spider Bishop. Hus, on vocals and guitar, is reminiscent of a younger incarnation of Stompin’ Tom Connors, with whom he did tour at one time. In a live performance, …
Martin’s solo career launched when The Tea Party went on a hiatus in 2005, before getting back together in 2011. The break provided an opportunity for the three bandmates to reset and explore different opportunities after a long stint together. Martin and Burrows had a band when they were 10 years old, and met Chatwood …
For a two-night gig this past July in Beaver Creek, Larry Berrio and his band shut the town down! Berrio, from Sudbury, Ontario, travelled 5,000 kilometres with his bandmates to the most westerly community in Canada. With open arms, the town of Beaver Creek welcomed the band.
‘Cause I can use my bass fiddle for a canoe. ‘Cause I can use my fiddle for a paddle. ‘Cause I can use my fiddle strings for snares. ‘Cause I can use my fiddle bow for a cane. ‘Cause I can use my guitar case for a suitcase. ‘Cause I can use my fiddle case …
Cory Weeds credits the influential jazz label, Criss Cross Jazz, for his initial introduction to long-time friend and musical collaborator, David Hazeltine. In the mid-’90s, the Vancouver sax player, impresario and Juno-winning producer had finished his studies at the University of North Texas and returned to his home roots. Before long, he was spearheading a …
The Queer Songbook Orchestra is a Toronto-based 12-piece chamber pop ensemble making their Yukon debut on September 30. The group formed in 2014 and has been dedicated to exploring and elevating queer narrative in pop music. “I was at loose ends after several years freelancing in the indie pop music scene in Canada,” said Shaun …
The time has come to at least take a shot at disregarding the speaker market entirely and focus on headphone-specific technology.
From Friday, August 24 until Sunday, August 26, musicians and filmmakers are invited and encouraged to take part in the creation of a music video that will be completed in only two days.
As I was growing up in northern Canada, music was as much a staple as frying pan bannock.
A fundraising concert for the Yukon Literacy Coalition, with original songs inspired by Beowulf, will take place on August 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Well Read Books.
This August, Whitehorse heavy metal music enthusiasts will be treated to a blast from the past, augmented with an infusion of new blood.
Haines Junction is gearing up for the second-annual Augusto Children`s Festival. It’s the Yukon’s only arts and music festival for children.
Aurora, a Canadian company that produces and distributes medical marijuana, is putting on a national series of free concerts to celebrate cannabis culture and the imminent legalization of marijuana through music and arts.
The Yukon’s annual electronic Paradise Music Festival is back and is set to take off July 27–29 at Kettley’s Canyon, at Marsh Lake.
It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock ’n’ roll, but British Columbia’s famed tribute act to legendary rockers AC/DC, aptly named BC/DC, is already there.
There is a new sound in town! On Thursday June 21, Lucie D and the Immortals will debut their new EP, Les Thèmes de la Vie (Themes of Life), from 7 to 9 p.m. at Baked Café.
Over 10-million people across the globe have been part of an art project that placed 1,890 street pianos at 75 installations in 60 cities. Local musician Grant Simpson saw that there was an opportunity to do a made-in-the-Yukon version.
Any Yukon music fan should be familiar with Major Funk—the raw live energy and mechanical tightness the band boasts often makes them the talking point of shows and festivals in the territory.
Beginning on May 31, guest DJs will perform on the Whitehorse Wharf, providing a summer dance floor for Yukon families and dance music fans.
Teslin will again be hosting an electrifying country-rock concert called Teslin Rocks Country, featuring a slate of excellent contemporary Canadian country artists. Headlining the show will be two artists from from British Columbia: Aaron Pritchett and The Washboard Union.
The good, the bad and the absolute crazy : here is an overview of the top summer music festivals in the Yukon.
This year’s Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival, June 8 to 10, in Haines Junction, will feature a lineup of world-class acts.
“When we first came to Canada in 1953 [from Friesland, Netherlands], we couldn’t read or write. I went down to the local bookstore and found this book.”
For 22 years and going strong, LePage Park has become a hub for arts and culture during the summer months. The new season of Arts in the Park launches on May 22 with a free barbecue.
Here are some tips and tricks to starting out in Whitehorse as a Cheechako (which is the name for being new to the north of 60th parallel).
What do you like about beats? I like that our heart is one. Also, they seem to grow well in the Yukon. Daniel Mackenzie started Free the Beat Foundation with a mission to “encourage people to express themselves through the art of rhyming, singing, beatboxing, freestyling, playing musical instruments, producing, recording [and] scoring, on a …
On May 18, the Indigenous Music Awards will return to Winnipeg with awards in 19 categories that honour music that has been created by First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples of Turtle Island.
Manfred Janssen and Jordy Walker recorded the bulk of the album in Walker’s basement studio in Hillcrest, hence the title, Basement Tapes.
The Vanier Junior Jazz Band won first place in the Under 16 category of BYTE’s Battle of the Bands – again!
Passion – that’s the word that comes to mind when I reflect on my recent Cuban holiday in January. The passion of our tour guides throughout our travels. Their devotion to sharing their love of Cuba and how Cubans are working to build a more equitable country.
54-40 has been described as Canada’s answer to REM, hyper literate, alt-rock, conscious with tight hooks, left coast intel and killer musicianship.
Students from Holy Family Elementary School wrote, performed, and produced their very own CD.
Multilingual Quebec musicians Andrée Levesque-Sioui and Kyra Shaughnessy are in the Yukon this month for a series of workshops with high-school students. The workshops are aimed at promoting bilingualism in the Yukon and are conducted in French and the Huron-Wendat First Nation language.
Delhi 2 Dublin, a multi-talented group from Vancouver that have made a name for themselves on the world music scene are the main act at this year’s St. Patrick’s Day party happening at the Coast High Country Inn Convention Centre.
When a band calls itself Peripheral Vision, you might be excused for thinking it’s a rock group, or possibly a folk/roots, or even bluegrass ensemble. But you’d be wrong.
Kevin Kane (left) and Bryan Potvin on a break during a Northern Pikes recording session in Calgary earlier this month. Kane & Potvin will perform at the YAC on March 2. PHOTO: Don Schmid If he hadn’t been so exhausted from a 23-hour train ride, Kevin Kane might have joined forces with fellow singer/guitarist Bryan …
The Frostbite Music Festival returns in 2018, on a new date, and has embraced the theme of rising from the ashes.
Al Oster plays in Hougens in 1961 – PHOTOS: courtesy of Rolf Hougen This article uses information and content shared by Rolf Hougen from the HougenGroup.com website to commemorate Al Oster.Our Yukon heritage is a mix of different traditions and different eras, including First Nations history, gold rush stories, the construction of the Alaska Highway …
The Skookum Jim Folklore Show has become an annual tradition that celebrates First Nation traditions, community and culture.
The annual BYTE Battle of the Bands, which will feature up to 10 groups, has been taking place for over a decade and has teamed up for the second year with Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous as an affiliated event at Shipyards Park.
The Chinese New Year is the celebration of the Lunar New Year and considered the beginning of spring. Due to the Chinese calendar’s reliance on the lunisolar cycle, which is based on the exact astronomical observations of the sun’s longitude and the Moon’s phases, the new year is a floating date and usually occurs between …
Ask most people what they do during the cold month of January, and they would say, “Stay inside and keep warm.” The (s)hiver Arts Society, however, wants to change that.
Jen Hodge had just spent five hectic days in Asheville, North Carolina, rehearsing every day and performing late into every night as part of the massive celebration of swing music known as Lindy Focus XVI. Despite the grinding schedule, the Vancouver jazz bassist and singer considered the Christmas-week event “a really incredible experience” that allowed her …
The Dawson City Music Festival (DCMF) will be holding its annual general meeting on Thursday, January 18, at Yukon College. The meeting was to have been before Christmas, but analysis of the topics raised at a well-attended membership meeting in mid-October caused the board to decide to refine its thoughts a bit more before presenting …
Dawson City Music Festival aims for sustainability Read More »
According to the Yukon Commissioner’s office, the New Year’s Levee is an old tradition that dates back to King Louis XIV of France and was first introduced in Canada when fur traders would pay respect to their government representatives on New Year’s Day. The annual event has evolved from these beginnings and the levee this …
When Barry Bellchambers acquired the Whitehorse Lions Pool in 2004, filled it, and created the Yukon Convention Centre, he had a vision of bringing live music to the Yukon. Classic rock bands like April Wine, Nazareth, Randy Bachman, Steve Earle, and Dr. Hook all performed in Whitehorse as part of Bellchambers’ efforts. That era of flying …
Musical ear candy – that’s how Daniel Janke describes the Problematic Orchestra. “It’s pretty wacky music,” he said of the 20-person chamber music group he directs. “Some of it is very playful, as the title implies. “It’s not often you get a chance to enjoy such a large ensemble, and one that performs in almost …
Bob Williams knows the residents and staff at Copper Ridge Place quite well. That’s because the longtime Yukoner, musician and volunteer has been playing music at the continuing care facility since it was built eight years ago.
Anyone who has attended a Kim Beggs concert, or listened to one of her CDs, knows that the subject of death often shows up in her lyrics. It certainly did on October 12, during the sixth of 41 stops on her current two-month marathon tour. Earlier that day, the Whitehorse singer-songwriter and her tour partner, …
The email said Jeremy Pelt was between engagements in Europe and China, with just a “sliver of time” of time for a phone interview from his New York City home. For the first few minutes, the answers were terse, non-committal, perhaps a bit jetlagged. Or maybe he just wasn’t into it. Asked about his earliest …
Dakhká Khwáan Dancers new album is called Deconstruct/Reconstruct, and it is a double CD.
Making his seventh album was the most fun Gordie Tentrees has had as a musician, but it didn’t start out that way.
The 20-year-old Whitehorse All-City Band Junior and Senior Wind Ensembles have been honoured to receive their first invitation to compete at MusicFest Canada, a national music competition in Toronto next May.
Blue Feather Music Festival is entering its 17th year and is still holding true to its roots, providing healing, sharing culture and providing positive opportunities for youth to grow.
Have you heard the one about the farmer’s daughter, the music teacher, the composer and the jazz singer? It’s not a joke. They’re all the same person: Karin Plato. Although she has called Vancouver home since 1985, Plato grew up on a grain farm near the tiny (current population: 129) community of Alsask, Saskatchewan. That’s where …
Prep your pipes: Klondike Karaoke is back. And even if you’re not onstage at the finals, you could be cheering from the crowd. For the second time this year, the Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) and the Canadian Filipino Association of Yukon (CFAY) are co-hosting a sing-off that will see one Yukoner crowned karaoke king or …
This project gives Yukon audiences another opportunity to create a new and beautiful memory of what Edwards can do with music.
Tamir Hendelman’s list of players who have inspired him as a performer and composer includes unsurprising names such Evans, Davis, Corea, Hancock and Peterson. But how many other jazz musicians could also such early influences as a grandmother continuously humming everything from Yiddish songs, to opera, to Frank Sinatra in the apartment below? Or, for …
Special Olympics Yukon will introduce an event of the season and it’s looking hip! Two hours of Tragically Hip by cover band The Hip Show.
Ross River musician Dennis Shorty grew up in a musical family that spoke Kaska and performed at social events. Now he is sharing his love of the language through the musical duo he formed with his wife, Jennifer Froehling, is called Dena Zagi, meaning “people’s voice”. In August, they toured in Germany with their first …
It’s been 30 years, or thereabouts, since I first ran into the iconic Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet who goes by the simple – but exotic-sounding – name of Ferron. There was no reason she should remember me. I was just a volunteer driver for the Edmonton Folk Festival, shuttling performers to and from the airport. But I …
Yukon musician Jona Barr is pumped. He’s going to Germany – and he’s going to be playing his first set outside of Canada. “I’ve traveled to a few upper American states while touring Canada, but this is my first international festival,” says the Old Cabin frontman. “It’s surreal being 30-years-old and never having been somewhere …
“You’re Doing Great Work” reads the massive block letters on the front of Splintered Craft’s building on 4th Avenue. Other messages, pictures and tags cover nearly the entire exterior, and all have been made by local youth. The arts studio is a place where the youth of Whitehorse can discover, practice and hone their artistry …
Local Artists Team Up for a Night of Live Hip Hop Read More »
Every week in the Yukon I fall more in love with this Northern magical place. This week was the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival.
Which brings me to one of Canada’s neatest little music festivals. To protect my sources, I won’t identify it, except to say it has been an annual event in southeastern Ontario for more than four decades. But this year, the festival’s very existence may hang in the balance. Not because of financial irregularities. Not because …
“The best place to view the ride is from up high,” says Inge Sumanik. “But, for me, it is standing next to the fence and feeling the ground shake.” “The ride” that she refers to is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. Since 1876, the RCMP have displayed the riders’ abilities to control the …
“Come as you are, bring a friend or a parent or a daughter or a nephew, and be prepared to be blown away by NYO Canada’s talented and passionate young musicians,” says Blanche Israël, external relations manager at the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) of Canada. The August 10th concert at the Yukon Arts Centre will …
“We want people to come out and express themselves and who they truly are,” says DJKJ. “Creativity is welcomed and everyone is accepted.”
Starting July 24 and running until August 5, The Keno City Music and Art Workshop will be taking place. One of the featured musicians is Yukoner Kim Beggs. Thirteen years and five solo albums have earned Beggs a solid place among Canadian musicians. This fall, Beggs will be launching her fifth solo album, called Said …
From antique carousel and ferris wheel rides, to wearable art and cake bake off contests, to beer and wine gardens, to beach wrestling and the Fisherman’s Rodeo, the Southeast Alaska State Fair really does have something for everyone. The longstanding annual festival, which takes over the 25-acre fairgrounds in the small town of Haines, Alaska, …
Baby Driver is a popcorn action movie written and directed by Edgar Wright. The 113 minute flick hosts a star studded cast including Kevin Spacey, Jamie Fox and Jonn Hamm. First Thoughts: What did I just watch? Seriously I have been here for almost two hours and I have no idea what just happened. This …
It may be the 39th year of Dawson City’s beloved annual music festival, but this tried-and-true summer favourite is always sure..
They decided it would be fun to spend the summer playing as many of the Yukon Parks cook shacks as possible. Music in the campground.
Looking for something interesting to do on a Saturday afternoon? Look no further than the Watson Lake Farmer’s Market held at Historic Mile 635 in the famous Watson Lake Sign Post Forest.
It’s a summer Friday night in Haines Junction, and almost anybody who loves good food, good music and the spectacular St. Elias Mountains knows right where they’d like to be. As the dinner hour draws near, so do the patrons of the Village Bakery and Deli, tucked into a tree-lined corner just a stone’s throw …
A Quarter Century of Fusing Delicious Food and Great Music Read More »
On July 1, the community choir, along with the Persephone Singers and the Chamber Choir, will take their sound to Ottawa. As part of the annual Unisong Choral Festival, they will sing with and for choir members and audiences from around the country and the globe.
Among Whitehorse’s talented music scene are Madi Dixon and Sarah Ott. Since their early teen years, Dixon and Ott have been staples of the local artistic community, performing as part of grand scale events and intimate gigs alike, and each possessing a multi-stylistic skill set. The duo will be playing selections of indie, folk and …
La Saint-Jean, qu’est-ce que ? À l’origine, une fête païenne célébrée, le 24 juin, depuis quelques siècles, qui a, par la suite, été christianisée. On y faisait des feux de joie, on chantait et on dansait, le tout pour célébrer l’arrivée de l’été et le jour le plus long de l’année! Depuis une cinquantaine d’années, …
Meet Lee Campese, Yukon’s most recent import and the latest addition to the groovy rhythmic assemblage, Major Funk and the Employment.
Bluegrass music goes back to the Appalachians. The 2017 Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival headliners are The Boxcars from east Tennessee.
Multifaceted, multicultural and full of ingenuity – the arts and music community of the Yukon is widely appreciated, well-funded and extensively advertised. At least, some parts of it. At the colder, less hospitable edges of the creative community, less radio-friendly fringe groups vie for funding, airplay and stage-time. Among these groups is the raucously passionate …
The first volume of Lewisohn’s trilogy The Beatles: All These Years. The main drawback is that at only about 800 pages, it’s over too soon.
It is a typical Sunday evening in Whitehorse, and the Whitehorse two-piece alternative rock band Soda Pony is hard at work rehearsing and perfecting material for their upcoming CD release show in June. They have just finished the recording and mixing process of their second full-length album, aptly called Sophomore, and are eager to showcase …
McColeman and Desaulniers perform as a duo. Lucie D and the Immortals with Paul Lucas, Lonnie Powell, Paul Bergman and Olivier de Colombel.
After several vocal jazz workshops “There was no outlet for the singers to practice what they’d learned.” said Simpson. Enter Café des Voix
Songs are almost like children, having a little life of their own. Thorin Loeks on his second album, Shine Through The Dark.
As I was trying on new glasses a few weeks ago at Northern Lights Optometry, fashion specialist Katie Pope helped me. I liked her instantly and I complimented her on her extraordinary sense of style. On my next visit (according to Katie many people take choosing a new pair of glasses very seriously, and come …
John Stetch was already part of the New York City jazz scene when he first played in front of classical pianist and teacher Burton Hatheway in Fairfield, Connecticut back in 1993. Hatheway, who is still teaching at the age of 87, didn’t mince words. “Do you want to be serious?” Stetch recalls the maestro asking. …
Guthrie would take melodies that were common – in the folk tradition of learn and do – and put his definitive twist on them.
“I don’t mind the snow/cause you make me warm/I don’t mind the dark in this romantic cold”– Paris Pick & The Ukes of Hazard
On some days, the wind blows from the north. A Whitehorse legend that drifts down the road is this: music and art are taught with passion and respected for their true value. Are there really open mic nights happening all over town? Was it true that graffiti doesn’t get covered up after two days? After …
The sun is shining, the flag snaps proudly in the south- east wind as the “MV Queen of Prince Rupert” pulls out of Bella Bella this morning. It’s another stunningly beautiful day out on the northwest coast and Inland Passage. We’re about halfway on our ferry ride from Prince Rupert — at the top of …
There is a bit of Murphy’s Law happening when it comes to reviewing live acts. Last weekend I was ready to let off some steam, when ole Murphy gave me a sharp poke in the back and declared, “You shall miss two big shows”. All right, it wasn’t that dramatic but I did …
Got knocked down, got back up, then was blown away Read More »
From Tomaso Albinoni to Django Reinhardt, by way of Led Zeppelin? It’s all part of guitarist Marc Atkinson’s musical journey. The 48-year-old Atkinson grew up on B.C.’s relatively remote Quadra Island, without YouTube, or even television, but with access to the major music source of the day, vinyl records. “I didn’t know that humble peasants …
Caroline Drury sings “Love Potion #9.” That’s all anyone needs to know before deciding to buy her newest CD, Loving You, Loving Me. “Love Potion #9” was popular two decades before the 24-year-old former Yukoner was born. It is a fun song … but it can be something entirely different once Drury’s crystal, clear voice …
Caroline Drury takes that voice in a new direction Read More »
A nun, another nun, and a mystery illness all contributed to the development of Lucie Desaulniers as a singer. Growing up in the small Manitoba community of St. Jean Baptiste, not far from the U.S. border, Desaulniers attended a Roman Catholic school attached to a Grey Nuns convent. That’s where she met a “really cool” …
Regardless of what else may be happening, on 1st Saturday of the month during a school year, these open mic events are a regular occurrence.
“It’s sort of like a straightforward country approach to old-school, ’30s vocal jazz,” she says. “I would say it’s got folk roots, a bit of blues and bluegrass, but jazz is sort of where I draw inspiration from and is probably the top of my influences.” Producer Bob Hamilton of Old Crow Recording Studio selected …
Nicole certainly mixes it up with genres including Jazz, Gospel, Rock, Roots, and the Latin sounds in “Lychee Martini” and “Second Thoughts”
This Rendezvous, The Battle of the Bands is going down, bringing together youth bands from across the territory to battle for top dog honors of the Yukon Music scene. BOTB is presented each year by Bringing Youth Toward Equality (BYTE), and this year for the first time, in conjunction with Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. “They are …
Memphis, Tennessee has been dubbed both the “Home of the Blues” and the “Birthplace of Rock and Roll”. But it’s no slouch in the jazz department, either. In a four-year span from 1934 to 1938, at least half a dozen future jazz luminaries were born there. That mid-’30s crop included trumpeter Booker Little, as well …
“If this show is revealing something about me that’s touching people and moving them, then I have to pursue it,” he decided. The burning personal question Heins originally set out to address came from the fact that he was an only child, and grew up wondering what it would be like to have a brother …
Trying to provide professional-calibre orchestral music in a small northern city can be … well, problematic. Just ask Daniel Janke. “The main problem is we don’t have an orchestra. We live in a community where the demographic doesn’t really provide for all the players we need.” Still, skilled performers continue to move to the Yukon, …
With December well underway, I’m finally inured to the barrage of seasonal music that assails us whenever we set foot outdoors. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a total Grinch on the subject. In fact, there is a great canon of Christmas-related music that I actually enjoy. Most of it falls under the rubric of …
On Saturday, Dec. 17, Yukoners will have a chance to immerse themselves in an uplifting show Bhangra: The Dance of the Punjab, which will feature bhangra dancing to traditional Irish and Scottish music by the Whitehorse band Crooked Folk, as well as group dances from Gurdeep’s bhangra dance class students. The evening has been organized …
On June 20, 1819 the composer who was destined to pen the cancan theme song was born. His name was Jacques Offenbach. Born in Cologne, Germany, he grew to be a virtuoso cellist. At 14 he was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire and travelled there to begin his studies. The year was 1833 and a …
Full disclosure: Steve Maddock and I have a few things in common. We’re both PKs (preacher’s kids) who grew up in southern Ontario adding our piping, angelic treble voices to the choirs in our fathers’ churches. Point of departure: I struggled through the guy-hood change of voice as a scholarship student of an Ursuline nun, …
“There’s a lot of performing opportunities within the French community, but it’s not necessarily places where artists can try new things and take that risk. Onde de Choc – that’s exactly what it’s for. It’s for artists to not just perform but also create and feel that they have the space to do something completely …
Take a moment to think about your favourite film. What is the soundtrack like? Besides music, what other sorts of sounds are used to create a unique world? Subtle, yet essential, soundtracks can become afterthought in the visually-oriented world of film, particularly at an amateur level. The workshop will take place on Nov. 7 and …
If you go by way of Laos and the U.S. East Coast, the journey from France to Yukon is anything but a straight line. But a brief reunion of two lifelong friends in Paris two summers ago proves you can get from there to here. “We had a great time together, and I told him …
When Jolie Angelina McNabb was buried 16 years ago, Kwanlin Dün elders gave her the name, Blue Feather Eagle Woman. The Bluefeather Music Festival started in 2010 as a tribute concert to Jolie, who committed suicide. She had a dream, that she wanted to do something for youth, something to give them hope so they …
WaRRmAuth is one of the most intriguing bands at the forefront of the Whitehorse metal scene revivalt. These teenage stars rock hard.
A few years ago, Teagan Johnston sat in her kitchen, her face covered in fake blood. Her husband took the photo in their Toronto apartment for the cover of her second EP, Blood and Bones, released in 2014. When they were barely out of high school, the two moved to the big city from Victoria …
The folk/roots duo Twin Peaks, comprised of Naomi Shore and Lindsay Pratt, opened Dawson’s Home Routes season on Sept. 26. The show in Dawson City was their second-last stop on a tour that had seen them perform in Dease Lake, Atlin, Teslin, Crag Lake, Whitehorse, Haines Junction, Faro and Mayo, with one more concert planned …
Basia Bulat is returning to the Yukon. Bulat is a multi-instrumentalist – she plays guitar, autoharp, banjo, ukulele, charango, hammered dulcimer, saxophone and flute – and has a powerful voice. She comes by her musical interests naturally, having a mother who was a music teacher who taught both piano and guitar. She has said the …
“I want to hear something different.” These six simple words were an unexpected call to action that local promoter and musician Joel Gilchrist received from Karla Watts, a bartender at the Jarvis Street Saloon. “I want you to put on a metal show,” she told him. “You’ve gotta bring the metal scene back.” Live heavy …
Rising From The Ashes: Heavy Metal Returns to Whitehorse Read More »
If you’re doing a stage show about a highly-admired guitarist, being able to render the music is a big help. Fortunately, Whitehorse musician Nicholas Mah has been playing the music of his dramatic subject, the late Lenny Breau, for decades. Mah was 12 when he first encountered Breau at a guitar society meeting in his …
Have you always wanted to get on stage and strut your stuff? If so, then CFYT Talent Night is for you. Taking place on September 30 at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall in Dawson City, Talent Night welcomes all types of performers on stage. In partnership with the Klondike Visitors Association (KVA), this event is …
Add a fruity kick to your fall with a lychee martini! Try the cocktail at the CD release party and concert for Yukon musician Nicole Edwards. On Sept. 23 the songstress releases Genre Bender at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse. The first single off her new CD is called “Lychee Martini” and was co-written …
Katelyn Clark and Julie Ryning , as musica fantasia, released their first album. They stopped in The Yukon as part of the album tour.
Musical talent is over-rated, and taste is under-rated. At least, that’s how Canadian-born sax player Grant Stewart sees things. “I know many, many, many players who can play anything they hear, and that’s kind of what you’re told is the ideal to shoot for,” he says. “But if you don’t develop the things that you’re …
Gabriola Islander Bob Bossin brings his one-man musical Davy the Punk to The Old Fire Hall next Thursday, Sept. 22 and to Dawson City the following week. The show is based on Bossin’s 2014 book of the same title. They tell the story of his father’s life in Canada’s gambling underworld of the 1930s. Both …
We Found Roads is their latest album – and also the personal story of Cie and Karisa Hoover. They are a two-person indie rock band called You Knew Me When, currently singing, playing and camping their way through Alaska and the Yukon. Their road trip is one of growth for their music, their relationship and …
Over two days, 20 DJs, local dance troupe BoSo and a live painter will perform at the 11th annual Paradise Electronic Music Festival.
It may not be on the scale of the Atlin or Dawson music festivals, but the second annual Keno City Music Festival has a cachet all its own. First, it’s casually organized. Second, there’s no charge. “It’s a free festival for the community, by the community,” says Cud Eastbound, one of the organizers. “We’re just …
“They just don’t stop!” That’s the coordinator of the Yukon Cello Project, Nico Stephenson, describing the energy and enthusiasm his students bring to music class each day. “Whether that’s playing cellos, or playing outside, they just don’t stop.” While it means that some youngsters struggle to sit still, it also means there is a collective …
From July 28 to 31 the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation will welcome everyone to their traditional territory. The First Nation is hosting the 13th biennial Moosehide Gathering, taking place at Moosehide Village, which is located 3 km downriver from Dawson City by boat, or 4.5 km by forest trail. Entry and camping is free. During …
Claire Ness wasn’t even born in 1969, when the most famous rock festival in history took place. It’s possible her then-20ish parents, Roy and Penelope, have regrets about not joining the throngs of music-loving hippies who flocked to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel, N.Y., for three days of musical magic known affectionately as Woodstock. …
From her cabin on her parents’ farm near Fort St. John, B.C., Jody Peck can see the broad, meandering Peace River, not far from where her family first settled in 1924. On a recent Friday afternoon, Peck was about to start assembling the merchandise she and her band, Miss Quincy and the Showdown, hope to …
By the time Danny Fernandez was 10, he had visited over two dozen countries during six years spent aboard a floating hospital that provided free surgeries and medical care to some of the world’s poorest people. “I don’t think I realized how cool it was at the time. Looking back, I definitely feel being immersed …
Next week sees the triumphant return of a woefully under-represented genre in the Whitehorse music scene – heavy metal – brought in the form of the progressive metal four-piece Bushwhacker. The group has been hard at work in Vancouver over the past five years; they will be returning to their home turf on July 16th …
The Return of Bushwhacker: Wiser, Stronger, And Ready to Party Read More »
The music scene in Whitehorse is really something. Full of fresh, creative musical sounds that come straight from the heart and soul of artists who discovered their own voices inside the warmth of their homes in the dead of winter. The diving board for many of these discoveries is Peggy Hanifan and her Wednesday open …
Director Daniel Cross visits the southern United States with his latest documentary I am The Blues (2016), highlighting living blues legends in the heart of American music origins. As it became more ingrained into the South’s economy during the antebellum years in the early to late 1800s, the cultivation of cotton brought a heavy concentration …
The Atlin Arts and Music Festival, music, visual arts, film and food, is about building community through music and art.
Ping pong might be what prevents Shawn Hall from harpooning Matt Rogers, or keeps Rogers from dismembering his musical partner with an axe. The duo known as The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer discovered the stress-relieving game in London, England during a recent tour. “We went to a night club and there were 75 ping …
2016 Adӓka Cultural Festival: Kaska drummer Dennis Shorty , Gwich’in fiddler Boyd Benjamin, & Inuit throat-singer Kathleen Merritt
Music-industry types mingled with arts funders and a few musicians at the Yukon Transportation Museum on June 15 for a different kind of brown-bag lunch event – a team from the Polaris Music Prize was in town to announce its long-list of 40 candidates for this year’s win. The prize aims to recognize “artists who …
I would like to revoke the claim I made in my introduction about being a seasoned traveller, because I have made an embarrassingly rookie mistake. Today I write you from a vibrant cultural hotbed, as per the plan. Unfortunately, it is not Reykjavik – my expired passport has necessitated that my three-day layover in Montreal …
Friends of the Palace Grand Theatre presenting A Klondike Cabin Companion, a live radio performance, bring community theatre to Dawson City.
When Oliver Jones was a mere 65 years old, he and his wife both felt it was time for him to retire after years of playing piano on concert stages throughout the world. So he did. Briefly. Now, 16 years later, the legendary jazz pianist is about to retire again, insisting his current tour of …
Mayo Arts Festival offers a unique way to celebrate Canada’s birthday with artists, workshops and musicians from the Stewart River Valley
Having a ringside seat at an Aaron Pritchett concert might just get you one of his trademark cowboy hats simply for being there. “When I get excited about having a great show, I tend to throw them out into the crowd to give them a little memento,” the country crooner says. “I’ve been through hundreds …
The Teslin Arena is going to be rocking on June 25. Canadian country acts Aaron Pritchett, Cory Marquardt and Roger Gabriel are coming to town to put on a country music show. It benefit the Teslin Minor Hockey Association and the Teslin Recreation Society. About 450 people live in Teslin. This is the biggest event …
Look around. The birds are singing, canoes and kayaks are back on Subaru roof racks and my neighbour seems to have an urge for gardening at 11:30 p.m. These are signs of summer. It’s a change from spending much of our time inside, sipping hot tea and feeding the woodstove to living the wild and …
Scott Wilson doesn’t credit either ’50s TV host Arthur Godfrey or campy falsetto Tiny Tim with the current popularity of the humble ukulele. Instead, the Whitehorse musician thinks it likely stems from a few years back, when Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s hauntingly beautiful medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” became …
Major Funk and the Employment is a big band with a big sound. It has some big changes since bassist Etienne Girard put the group together.
The Foggy Hogtown Boys will make their Yukon debut at this year’s Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival, June 10-12, 2016
In the pines, in the pines, the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Music Festival will take place June 10, 11, and 12. It is held annually at the St. Elias Convention Centre and St. Christopher’s Log Church in beautiful Haines Junction, Yukon. The mostly volunteer-run festival is the first of many music festivals held throughout the Yukon …
Saturn is somewhere in its grand orbit when you’re born. When it comes round again, 29.5 years later, astrologers say it can mean big changes in your life. For Whitehorse musician Jona Barr, it was during his own period of Saturn returning that he wrote the songs for the new Old Cabin EP, Saturn Return. …
Hvernig segir maður, “I’m completely lost” á íslensku? What’s that, you say? Icelandic is one of the most difficult languages to learn? On second thought, perhaps I’ll just fall back on the old standard; hand gestures and a confused, perpetually apologetic expression. Hi, I’m Willow, a fairly well-travelled Yukoner who will be guest-writing this column …
It’s a gathering where you may sip the tingly bitterness of a pale ale, sample salty snacks from the “bacon booth” and lock eyes magically with your future spouse. No wonder tickets to the Haines Beer Fest have sold out faster than ever this year. The event takes place May 27 and 28, in Haines, …
He’s only 24 years old, but American pianist Matt Savage has had a 15-year professional career as a jazz musician, playing with some of the biggest names in jazz including Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis and Chaka Khan. People Magazine described Savage as a “…jazz phenom (who) unlocks a door to genius using 88 keys.” Savage …
Amongst them, the members of Winter Trio have probably racked up around 120 years of performing. As a distinct musical entity, though, they’re just hitting their stride. The group consists of pianist/composer Daniel Janke, bassist Paul Bergman and drummer Ken Searcy. Searcy moved here about 20 years ago and made his way into the Yukon …
The Folk Society of Whitehorse has been hosting the famous Yukon-Alaska Coffee House for more than 25 years. This event features two coffee house evenings, back-to-back, in Skagway and Whitehorse. The Yukon evening of talent, which takes place on Saturday, will also serve as the finale to a series of Whitehorse coffee houses that happen …
If a musical shindig at the Old Fire Hall this Saturday puts you in mind of a New Orleans street party, Ryan McNally won’t be the least bit disappointed. The event is intended to introduce Yukon audiences to the Whitehorse singer-songwriter’s newest CD, Steppin’ Down South. The bulk of the album consists of nine tunes …
Alex Goodman doesn’t really cross borders so much as straddle them. Although the Toronto-raised guitarist and composer has made his home in New York City for the past three-and-a-half years, he seems to keep one foot planted in the musical soil of his homeland. “I think of Toronto as a very vibrant music scene. The …
“The play was inspired by the shooting of a young man named Freddy Villaneuva,” Vancouver-based playwright Omari Newton tells me. “A young man that was apparently unarmed, had no previous criminal record. He got into some kind of altercation with the police, and he ended up getting shot. He died.” His play, Sal Capone: The …
Whitehorse is a hotbed of artists, dancers and performers brewing with ideas and creativity and this weekend we’ll have an opportunity to see what’s in their minds. On Friday and Saturday the Brave New Works show will be presented at The Old Fire Hall. This year co-artistic directors Mellisa Murray and Zoe Verhees have invited …
If you’ve got a yen to hear some some good old-fashioned country fiddle playing, you won’t want to miss April Verch. Verch, along with bandmates Cody Walters (banjo and electric bass) and Alex Rubin (guitar and mandolin) will be stomping, singing, fiddling and strumming their way into Whitehorse Friday, March 4th. A self-described “Ottawa-Valley Girl,” …
“You know how kids like to pretend and tell stories? My story was that I was Dinah Washington.” { legendary jazz singer who died in 1963}
Donnell Leahy remembers exactly how he felt when he made his stage debut as a fiddler at the age of four. “Mom and Dad had a band when we were growing up as kids. They played locally at round dances and square dances and weddings and things,” he says. “One night they took me up …
Canadian singer-songwriter Louise Burns just completed a month’s residency in Dawson City as the songwriter in residence.
Bring family, friends, or even a date, because the All-City Band Society is hosting the 16th annual Dessert and Dance. The evening will start off with some sensational tunes provided by All-City Jazz Band, with the lights dim and the jazzy sounds of saxophones alongside the trumpets and trombones, controlled by the beat and rhythm …
Yukon’s winter music festival, Frostbite is back for 2016, finally. A small group of volunteers have been working hard to make this happen.
By La Compagnie L’Immédiat/Camille Boitel Jan. 27-29, 8 p.m., Yukon Arts Centre Co-presented with the Yukon Arts Centre, this European classic comes all the way from Paris, France. Perhaps more exciting than the distance travelled, or the point of origin, is that its Yukon debut will also be its North American premiere. Yukon audiences will be …
The Must-See Guide to the Pivot Theatre Festival Read More »
Steve Maddock owes at least part of his resumé to the bad judgment of another singer. In 1998, the crooner/actor/voice teacher from Burnaby, B.C., got an unexpected call from a cruise ship line, asking him to fill in for its previous male vocalist, who had been fired for having marijuana in his cabin. “I kind …
Whether you’re throwing a small dinner party, holiday event or New Year’s eve rager, your playlist can make or break the event. You’ve spent the time and energy on the perfect decorations, food, and outfit – don’t underestimate your playlist. Music sets the tone for a party, creates an ambiance, and can be the deciding …
Craving a dose of good old fashioned Vaudeville fun? Yukoners looking for something new and adult to do this holiday season have the opportunity to find it at Furlesque: A Northern Cabaret. The variety show will feature, among other things, belly dancing, old-style song and dance numbers, burlesque, gymnastics, actors, musicians and comedians. Each evening …
Brett Kissel, rising star in country music, is happy to include the Yukon on his 2015-16 tour. “I wanted to make this a truly Canadian tour”
James Danderfer didn’t intend to be a clarinet player. In Grade 6 he selected the drums as his preferred musical vehicle, but the band director overruled him. “He looked at my choice, then he asked to look at my hands, and then he asked to look at my teeth,” the Vancouver musician says. The verdict: …
Whitehorse-resident Selina Heyligers-Hare, or as she’s billed in the upcoming Blue Feather Music Festival, Selina H., is only 18 years old. She just graduated from high school. However, she has 13 years of experience making music and can hold her own on a big stage. When Heyligers-Hare was five years old she started playing the …
Gary Bailie has taken a personal tragedy and turned it into the fuel that powers him to produce the popular Blue Feather Music Festival. Now in its 15th year the annual music event was never meant to be the large-scale music festival it has become. It initially began as a celebration of life for Bailie’s …
Brenda Berezan was an aspiring songwriter when she moved to the Yukon wilderness. Having taken a break from music to run a business and raise her family, she has recently returned to performing and recording. She’s now releasing her second album, called Blue Through the Trees. It’s an indie-folk album that veers away from her …
On Friday, October 23, the Yukon Arts Centre will be presenting a multimedia experience that weaves together dance, video, music and costume. It’s called Eunoia and is based on Canadian poet Christian Bök’s book of the same name. Denise Fujiwara, of Toronto-based Fujiwara Dance Inventions and a veteran of the Canadian contemporary dance scene, heard …
Local musician Ryan McNally really does have himself a Mercury, which he definitely does cruise up and down the road.
Your first perception of Duncan Sinclair may be of a reserved, buttoned-down guy – a civil servant, most likely. You wouldn’t be wrong. Sinclair spent decades in the territorial public service, rising through the ranks before retiring in 2002 as top dog of the Yukon Development Corporation. Next time you see him, he has …
Every seat in the Yukon Arts Centre costs the same. Yet the sound is not the same in each seat. That is why some people choose seats away from the speakers while others have figured out that there is “muddy sound” in the centre of the house. “Right now, there are four spots,” says Al …
Homegrown singer-songwriter Gordie Tentrees is releasing his sixth album, Less is More, with a Northern tour this month. Tentrees is playing in Skagway, Dawson City,Keno City, and two shows in Whitehorse. This Northern tour follows his recent tours through British Columbia, the United States and Australia. In the next six months he plans to tour …
The Midnight Sons Band is fresh off a tour and ready to rock. On Saturday, October 3, the band is presenting – and performing at – Rock the North, which is an all-ages dance at the Yukon Convention Centre featuring the rockabilly/psychobilly band Ryan McNally and his Red Hot Ramblers, and Victoria bluesman Jesse Roper. …
Forget the metronome, and don’t even bother trying to play like someone else, no matter how much you admire them. “When I was young, I figured that out real quick, because it was uncomfortable; it didn’t work,” says legendary drummer Louis Hayes. “You’re influenced by all sorts of things, and you can do certain things …
Jonathan Steel, known by his nom-de-rap MC TurMoiL, has released his first CD, Black and Green. He’s also released a video for the album’s hit track, “Mr. Myagi.” I must approach this review with caution, since despite Steel being a friend of mine, his brand of music isn’t. This is entirely my fault: I suffer …
Summer may be drawing to a close, but there is still a great music festival that you can catch. Taking place in Victoria, B.C., the Breakout West festival takes place Sept. 17-20. The festival has been going for 13 years strong. It started as the Western Canadian Music Awards. Now the performances have broken away …
Blues band Black Iron Blossom came out of nowhere. I hadn’t even heard of them before the normally quiet Sam Gallagher stopped me in Mac’s Fireweed Books, told me he’s in a band and asked me to listen to their CD, called Full Moon Over Whitehorse. What I heard completely floored me. With a raw …
The term tomboy usually refers to a girl who has “male”interests, and has a preference for “male” clothing. You know, the type of girl who likes to wear sweats, plays soccer with the guys and wants be an auto mechanic. That was then. Now, gender fluidity is becoming more common. Some people don’t even want …
Howard Chymyshyn (aka Chymy) was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta in 1946 (my mom was born in the very same town 10 years later). His parents were both in the Army, and when Howard was young, the family moved to rural Manitoba. At that time, everyone was afraid of the atom bomb so they kept …
Near the end of his memoir, Chronicles, Volume I, Bob Dylan recalls the seismic effect of hearing Robert Johnson’s album, King of the Delta Blues Singers, for the first time, in the early 1960s. “From the first note, the vibrations from the loudspeaker made my hair stand up. The stabbing sounds from the guitar could …
A few years back, Craig Cardiff noticed he was only going through the motions at his shows. The folk musician from Waterloo, Ontario says he was on autopilot. He thought to himself, ‘This isn’t how it should be going.’ He says no one should be on autopilot, and a musician performing live, especially, should be …
Evan Chandler spent his first 27 years in Brisbane, Australia, before he started thinking it would be “cool” to see what life is like in another country. But two years ago, when he decided to move to Canada, expanding his musical reach was just one element in the mix. “I chose Vancouver because it’s right …
“Welcome to paradise,” Kevin Jack says. Thus begins my tour of a property that edges onto the swampy back of Marsh Lake. An old gold mining site, it is a refuge for old gold mining things: a tiny log cabin with grass growing out of the roof; metal drums sunken into the ground on a …
After playing harmonica for more than 40 years, Harmonica George McConkey finally feels he is getting to the venerated status “old blues guy”.
Nadine Landry describes Louisiana’s Cajun culture as a ‘holy trinity’ of food, music and dancing. “People invite you over to dinner, so there is food, and that’s hugely important in Cajun culture. And it takes so long for the food to get ready, you start playing tunes, and then people start dancing,” she says. “So …
Ian Tyson, iconic minstrel of life in the West/North. 68yr old hearing an 81yr old singer at Atlin Arts and Music Festival felt young again.
The Slocan Ramblers often get asked how it happens that four lads who live in Toronto came to be interested in bluegrass music. Bass player Alastair Whitehead says there’s a fairly vibrant bluegrass scene in Toronto and even a lot of interest in really old time bluegrass. “There’s been a weekly gathering with groups at …
Rambling North for the Dawson City Music Festival Read More »
As the famous Alice Cooper song says, “School’s ouuuuuut for the summer!” But for kids of various ages whose passion is music, classes are set to resume next Monday, when the Yukon Summer Music Camp begins. The week-long annual event offers instruction in a wide range of musical forms and styles, for students of varying …
Type Thing — available on the Bandcamp website — is a full length, home-recorded, independent rock n’ roll record by the artist known as Kitten Puppy, who I believe to be Whitehorse mailman Tom Pritchard. It is the sophomore release for this one-man band and improves upon his first album, Good, You?, with surprising lyrical …
“It will be a special week in a very special place. Lots of one-on-one time with mentors and lots of cowriting,” says singer-songwriter Kim Beggs. That special place is Fort Selkirk, on the Yukon River, about half way between Whitehorse and Dawson City. Kim Beggs’ first trip to Fort Selkirk was in the summer of …
We decided to go back to where it all began. The first jam night that Peggy Hanifan ever hosted was at the Kopper King and that is where we found ourselves on none other than a good old “Thirsty Thursday”. Barry “Jack” Jenkins moved from Newfoundland to Whitehorse 16 years ago to live with his …
Playing a show to open for a musician is a first for Whitehorse bornand-raised Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton says, “I’ve been a professional musician since I was 18,” and he means that he’s been very involved in multiple music projects since that time. He’s a member of the band Soda Pony, and he co-owns Hamilton Guitars …
An ambitious pan-Northern ensemble of seasoned musicians from all three territories will make its debut in Whitehorse next week as one of the performance highlights of the fifth annual Adäka Cultural Festival. The New North Collective will bring together the songwriting and performing talents of four Yukoners, two residents of the Northwest Territories, and a …
Paris Seymour, better known by her stage name Paris Vagabond Gypsy, is one of a kind. In the year-and-ahalf since the pirate-costumed, bass-playing, ukulele-strumming, singer-songwriter (and one-time burlesque dancer) arrived in the Yukon, she’s formed the Ukes of Hazard and is releasing her first full-length album, Mine to Creep. Born in Vancouver but raised in …
“You feel it to your core; it is a heartbeat; so uplifting; it just goes right through me.” Steve Smith, the chief of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, is trying to explain what drumming means to him and his First Nation. “It was dormant in me for quite a while,” says Chief Smith. “But …
Whitehorse is about to get a dose of Japanese culture from the upcoming Festival of Taiko Drumming. June 11 to 13 will see the Japanese Canadian Association of Yukon host the world-renowned drumming group, Uzume Taiko, for a series of workshops and concerts. Canada’s first professional taiko drumming group, Uzume Taiko has released four CDs, …
When “The Pink Floyd” released their 1967 experimental psychedelic classic, Piper At the Gates of Dawn, the term “Swinging London” had just been coined by Time magazine. Art school dropouts and all manner of urban Anglos were exploring music and film and staging mixed-genre “happenings”. At the centre of the aural maelstrom for a brief …
Cover Me Badd VII is back this summer for another evening of rocking good fun in Dawson City. On June 5, from 7 to 11 p.m., Dawson City Music Festival (DCMF) and the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC) will co-host this evening of music and entertainment. Emily Farrell, Executive Director of DCMF, emphasizes …
If you haven’t met Saxophone Freddie up in Dawson City, you should. He is, after all, the first face you see when you fly into Whitehorse — if you enter through the new side of the airport. There is a huge photo of him playing… you’ve got it, the saxophone. When Fred was in Grade …
The second annual Whitehorse Nuit Blanche is set to transform the downtown core into an all-night art playground. Inviting the audience to become the artist, this art crawl will bring installations, performances, and other participatory exhibits to life for 12 consecutive hours during the solstice. With eight commissioned artists, a free breakfast, and numerous indie …
Geneviève Doyon came North in 2010. Her first job in the Yukon was assisting Steve Slade with Arts in the Park. She says it was an amazing way to be introduced to the community. “I didn’t know the community at all when I started because I’d just moved to town — spending that summer with …
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Amelia Merher, also known as the ukulele-slinging songwriter Big Mama Lele, has ambitious plans for her 30th birthday. “I’m putting a new spin on fatbiking,” she says. On May 26, her birthday, Merher kicks off a 16-gig bicycle tour of the Yukon and B.C., including stops in Atlin, Carcross, Haines Junction, and then Vancouver, Surrey, …
According to Marc Paradis, it’s starting to resemble a mini-music festival. He should know. The Whitehorse drummer has performed at pretty much every major music function since he arrived in the Yukon 35 years ago. “We don’t have an Alsek festival any more, which used to be the highlight of early summer for a lot …
The closest I’ve come to being in a band was brought about through my love of the Spice Girls. When I was eleven, my friends and I entered a big impersonation contest at the mall, practicing our dance moves and lip-syncing for weeks beforehand. As we grew older and our tastes evolved, we began visiting …
Jazz has come a long way over the decades. What started as a call-and-response song though the cotton fields of the south, has now become an uptempo beat familiar to most. In edition to its evolution, it has sparked the creation of many sub-genres: Latin jazz, classical jazz, funk, b-bob, acid jazz, and vocal jazz, …
I dream of my hometown. Walking through these streets again, listening to music floating from open windows like light. Harmonica, accordion. Walking these streets where I know every corner Like my own body, where I left my thoughts hanging on walls, buildings Like a pair of shoes tossed into a tree I dream taking harmonica …
Whitehorse-based, Swedish-Canadian songwriter Sarah MacDougall has a new album, Grand Canyon, with some dark, intense lyrics, mixed against pop-inspired folk music. It’s not a departure from her previous music, so much as a progression. MacDougall says, “I think the last album [the West Coast Music Award-winning The Greatest Ones Alive] was on its way to …
In an interview, Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist for the Grateful Dead, admitted somewhat sheepishly, that yes, it was a bit embarrassing learning how to play the slide guitar on stage. All his mistakes were out there for the audience to see. Judging by the success of the Grateful Dead’s live shows from the mid ‘60s …
Beer hockey is not a sport for the faint of heart. Although it substitutes much of the grace, skill, and teamwork of our nation’s icy pastime for a grittier skill set, it lacks none of the glory. To the casual observer it may seem a frantic melee, a cartoonish fray of scabby elbows and greasy …
Two weeks before my open mic appearance, I begin learning my first song on the banjo. Although it’s far from my first choice, I settle on a song that meets my basic skill level: “Old Joe Clark”, one of those traditional folk songs that repeats the same simple melody over and over. The lyrics are …
My van died the day that I learned that Elliott Smith had put a knife through his chest. “Maybe it’s time to lighten up,” I mused. Some songwriters of that generation, and those who came slightly before, couldn’t muster the wherewithal to cope with the slings and arrows of life. Is there a genre for …
Nicole Edwards was raised on the Muppet Show, and she dreamed of duetting with Kermit since she was a kid. As an adult, she decided to make her puppet dreams a reality. She debuted her new video, Lychee Martini, to a packed house at Epic Pizza last month. Diagnosed with scleroderma, an autoimmune disorder that …
Campbell Ryga has a thing about saxophones. When he’s not playing them, chances are you’ll find him at a workbench repairing one, or conducting clinics to teach others to do it. “Saxophones and clarinets always kind of interested me. I like to take them apart and I have an aptitude for the repairing of those …
Brigitte and Caroline Desjardins-Allatt were well into elementary school before learning about their father’s musical past — and the instruments stashed in the family garage. “Before he met my mother, he used to play a lot of music with his ex,” Brigitte Desjardins explains. “Then she had an accident and died, and I think my …
The Midnight Sons Band is making a mark on the Whitehorse music scene and is now looking to build a national fan base.
Leela Gilday recognizes how First Nations performers can inspire aboriginal youngsters, who seldom see “indigenous heroes”
Building an orchestra in a city as small as Whitehorse poses a variety of pesky challenges. How do you fill the bassoonist’s chair, for instance? More dauntingly, can you corral enough qualified — and available — players to form a string section that can hold its own against the more forceful brass and woodwinds? Henry …
Cancer Fundraiser produced by Brandon Isaak with performers Hank Carr, Ed Isaak & The Midnight Sons Band is a tribute to Johnny Cash.
Jim Holland knows music like nobody’s business; not only is he a musician, he’s also an accomplished sound technician. Over the next few months Holland will be teaching full day courses from a series called Capturing Sound. Courses will take place at Holland’s studio, Green Needle Records. Sure, we all hear music on the radio and …
Building on last year’s boot camp for musicians, this month Music Yukon is offering its two- part Music Survival Camp 2.0, focusing on entrepreneurial and artistic development. The boot camp begins with a showcase on Friday, January 23, followed by a two-day intensive workshop, called the Artist Entrepreneur Boot Camp, offered by Coalition Music, one …
The two songs Tristan Whiston sang constantly during his transformation from a female into a male were, “Water is Wide” and “I am Sailing”. Both are about the ocean. Whiston recorded the changing quality of his voice during his gender change. He had been a soprano singer; he had been training his voice since he …
The summer of 2015 will see the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival, which went on temporary hiatus last year, returning to Haines Junction.
When your first public performance is a solo recital in New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall, it can be pretty heady stuff. That’s exactly what the Chicago-based classical saxophone player who goes by the single name of Ashu learned when he was 16 years old. “People work their whole lives to be able to play …
According to Tim Tamashiro, there’s “thinky” jazz and then there’s “drinky” jazz . “I’ve always had a bit of a problem with the serious nature of jazz, so I wanted to come up with some sort of a name to put it into a bit of a context for the greater population,” he explains. Oh, …
Why settle for karaoke night in a bar when you can parade your singing talent at the Yukon Arts Centre? “I think people miss singing in their lives, or miss music in their lives,” claims Whitehorse composer and filmmaker Daniel Janke. “It can just slip away if you don’t make the effort to get involved …
Twenty-five years ago, the Folk Society of Whitehorse (FSW) began as an event for people of all ages to enjoy. Today, it is on a roll — hosting monthly events. Paul Davis is the president of FSW, but he admits that he can’t do it on his own. “ We have about 20 volunteers, which …
I’ve been listening to a lot of cassette tapes lately. You remember those things; they appeared between vinyl records (making a comeback) and CDs (fading away as the world goes digital). Our collection of taped music isn’t as obvious as our shelves of vinyl, which got admiring glances from adults accompanying their kids trick-or-treating. “ …
Imagine a pleasant home filled with convivial souls, good food and drink at hand, and professional musicians to provide the evening’s entertainment. No, it’s not an 18th-century soirée on the estate of a European aristocrat. It’s a modern house concert, the sort that Barrett and Carol Horne frequently host in their hilltop home overlooking the …
At the moment, the Ukes have a steady gig at the Dirty Northern Bastard on Wednesday nights, opening for The Midnight Sons.
First, she says, it allows artists, performers and cultural sector workers “to come together once a year to share inspiration, to share ideas, to learn new skills, to inspire each other.” Alexander is a co-founder and executive producer of the four-year-old festival, which runs this year from Friday, June 27 through Thursday, July 3 at …
When Morgan MacDonald closes his classroom door a few weeks from now, he’ll hit the road-less-travelled to gauge how far an alternate career path might take him. The 32-year-old math, science, social studies, and health teacher at Del Van Gorder School in Faro is also a burgeoning singer-songwriter, about to embark on his second Canadian …
Amelia Merhar, better known in the Yukon music scene as Big Mama Lele, ended her Graduation Tour on May 10 in Fairbanks. The occasion? She’s finally graduated university. Those familiar with her “FOMO Song” know why her graduation warrants an international tour. “I’ve been changing the major of my bachelors since 2004,” she jokes. “Ten …
Beginning next week, Dawson City residents will have something to sing about – literally. The Good Times Community Choir will start up on May 6 for people of all levels who have always wanted to learn how to sing, read music, harmonize and, well, have a good time. Noosa, a Dawson City resident since 2012, …
With Kim Barlow’s recent departure from the Yukon, the local music scene appeared to have lost its most well-known singer-songwriter. However, Blue Hibou, Barlow’s collaboration with Hélène Beaulieu and Micah Smith, suggests that we may not know her as well as we thought. Blue Hibou began in 2010 after Beaulieu, a classically-trained guitarist, started taking …
The Sixties are making a comeback in Whitehorse this week, complete with musicians ranging from Pete Seeger to Led Zepplin. On May 2 and 3, the Whitehorse Community Choir will offer its take on hits songs of the 1960s in its Songs of Peace and Protest concert at the Yukon Arts Centre. Choir director Barbara Chamberlin is …
The Classically Yours concert series will feature the world-renowned Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGC) this week in Whitehorse. The LAGQ has been performing its soulful music all over the globe for the past 34 years. This will be the group’s first time in Whitehorse, and quartet founder Scott Tennant couldn’t be more thrilled. “I am super excited …
Jazz Yukon is delivering yet another one-of-a-kind show next week. On April 23, Toronto bass player George Koller will perform alongside Yukon percussionist Ken Searcy and muti-instrumentalist Daniel Janke in a concert dubbed George Koller: Jazz Reunion. It has been decades since the three musicians have played together. “I have been trying for quite some time …
From the Scottish Highlands to the Dawson City Music Festival (DCMF), 22-year-old folk singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni has been sharing her craft throughout the world. Sermanni grew up in Carrbridge, a small village in the Scottish Highlands, where she learned the fiddle and traditional music in school, and Radiohead and Bright Eyes from the local boys. …
“The blues and country music were the same. A lot of what I play comes from that time when they were one.” Isaak
Songs tell the stories of places, and the Whitehorse Community Choir Yukon Song Project reflects the stories of the North. The WCC choir director Barb Chamberlain, and Susanne Hingley are collecting poems and writings of the Yukon. The goals: to compile a library of Yukon songs, and to set Yukon poetry/writing to music. “We really …
On March 11, at the Old Fire Hall, the local francophone band Soir de Semaine will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their very first gig. “We played at Steve’s music store,” Marie-Maude Allard says. “The place was packed and all we had was two original songs and a few covers.” Actually, Soir de Semaine …
Sexy, smart, sassy, sultry, superfragilisticexpialidocious: five words Big Mama Lele uses to describe her music, and it’s pretty spot on. With titles like “Dirty Old Man” and “Montreal Boys,” as well as soulful pipes to go with her twangy ukulele tunes, it’s hard to stop listening. Big Mama Lele, a.k.a. Amelia Merhar, started singing and …
A whirlwind of optimism, energy, and passion is coming from Annie Avery and Grant Simpson regarding their new album, Two Piano Tornado. After playing music together for years they finally decided to go to the studio together, following a particularly successful Arts in the Park concert in Whitehorse last summer. They’ll be celebrating the accomplishment …
Young or old, you can see it in the dancers’ eyes – the mood is one of romance. It is one of the finest date opportunities in the Yukon — the annual Dessert and Dance, hosted by the All-City Band Society. Duncan Sinclair’s tenor sax solo weaves melodically over the walking bass, through the beating …
Barnacle Bob Hilliard is ubiquitous on the Dawson City music scene. Since arriving in the early 1990s he’s been a fixture in the bars around town, starting at the Westminster, and also playing in the bars of the Eldorado and Downtown Hotels. Dawson has two annual parades, Canada Day and Discovery Days, and Bob can …
This February finds Whitehorse music aficionados scratching their heads in a manner not seen since the Trudeau administration. After 35 years of jams and jingles, the Frostbite Music Festival will fall silent this year. But while some see disappointment, others sense an opening. Enter Josh Paton and Marcus Steiner. Paton is the proprietor of Epic …
At the monthly coffee house events in Whitehorse, it’s all about the music, not the drinks. Anyone of any age is welcome to get up on the stage. Taking place in the Whitehorse United Church,t They provide an alcohol-free, smoke-free environment, opening up the possibility of young musicians practicing their art, and allowing audiences to …
‘Feels Like Woodstook Organized by Canadian Army Engineers’ Read More »
2014: Frostbite and the Kluane Bluegrass, are taking the year off, Dawson City Music Festival (DCMF) soldiers on.
Whitehorse resident Daniel Janke has two passions: film and music. Janke has been writing and directing his own films in addition to creating music for theatre, dance, and concerts. He’s also toured Canada multiple times with different groups, including his own Daniel Janke Quartet. Recently, Janke combined his passions by composing music for the short …
The Yukon holds a certain charm in the eye of an artist. It could be the simple beauty of the place, or perhaps the opportunities it provides. Whatever the case, the arts community is strong here, and the music scene is perhaps the biggest of all. Get involved with the local music crowd, or just …
How often do jazz musicians point to the Beatles as their inspiration? It may be evidence of their broad interest in music, and their versatility. That’s the case with Vancouver jazz guitarist Bill Coon. “Let it Be is the first pop record I ever owned, and that’s when my interest started in pop music,’ he …
Brandon Issak releasing a new album and travelling to Memphis, Tennessee to participate in the largest blues gathering in the world.
“Marketing is a hated part of the music business that musicians need to get right,” says Steve Reed, executive director of Music Yukon. But he and Music Yukon want to help. They have organized a weekend of seminars that promise to deliver practical advice for musicians to amp up their careers. The conference is called …
Question: What do you get when a pedal steel guitar player of many years puts his considerable musical abilities toward creating a CD? Answer: A sizzling, yet subtle group of 10 songs that has echoes of the many types of country music that have permeated the airwaves since the inception of the genre. Right off …
As winter approaches and the Yukon River finally begins to fill up with ice, it’s pretty clear that there’s a lot of music on tap for Dawsonites over the next few months. We normally have the pleasure of the Home Routes musicians on what they call the Yukon Trail circuit. So far we’ve been blessed …
While Martha Wainwright began her current tour a year ago to promote her latest CD, Come Home to Mama, she says the North American portion of the tour has evolved into something a little more wide-ranging. “At this point we’ve moved from promoting the latest album to doing songs from the previous two or three …
A Subversive Singer-Songwriter Comes to the Yukon Read More »
“Wake up from your slumber sleeping beast. It’s time breathe again, it’s time to see again. You were born, you were born to be the greatest of all… It’s time to roar, like you did when you were king.” These are some of the lyrics from the title track of Diyet‘s new album, When You …
Pain, Compassion, and Hope: Diyet releases second album When You Were King Read More »
The Mennonites are known for their love of singing. And that is exactly why the West Coast Mennonite Quartet will be performing at the Yukon Arts Centre March 1. This is not part of a tour and it is not a money-making venture … unless you count the CD sales, but all of that profit …
“There is no political message as we are not a political group,” says Thomeki Dube, a singer with Black Umfolosi. Then he adds, “That way we stay out of trouble and stress.” From Zimbabwe, an African country that is ravaged by 80 per cent unemployment and an inflation rate of 1,700 per cent, a Yukon …
If there were a word to describe Automat6n, it would be “luxuriant”. If you have a taste for simple production, this may not be the CD for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy being slathered in audio butter and look forward to sound weeping from every frequency your speakers can produce, you may …
“They are clean drinking songs,” says Barbara Chamberlin, half laughing and half pleading. “There is such a thing.” The conductor of the Whitehorse Community Choir was explaining the name of the spring concert, All Hands On Deck, and wanted to ensure audiences knew that this would be clean fun. Chamberlin, who collects songs throughout the …
“The Last Potluck. Catchy isn’t it?” The man behind the cluttered desk utters this phrase while framing an invisible marquee with his hands. “I wish I could afford a marquee,” says Morty Mungden, manager for roots/folk/emotronic Yukon supergroup Dandelion Wreath. “Those things are classy. Right now I got my car parked in the abandoned parking …
Yukon Supergroup, Dandelion Wreath, Says Goodbye Read More »
I’m calling you out. A great theme and a great refrain from a jam-packed CD from the National Microphone Association, an experiment in collective activism and cooperative creativity. The CD, muse-licks, is a cleverly produced effort that contains 25 tracks from various artists that have come together under the banner of the National Microphone Association. …
Sonnet 1 The grace of she who moves like silken water, her feet the slaves to wild demanding beats. The master of motion and most pleasant to watch, her dance to leap to fly with sky she meets. A twist, a flick, a painter is painting quick, with red, with black, with orange a colour …
Two weeks: that’s all Hank Karr came for, and that’s when his love affair with the Yukon began. But, as a clock chimes (his wife, Pam, likes clocks), the Saskatchewan-born singer/songwriter rewinds just a bit, to an earlier time — to his musical journey “before Yukon”. “I guess it really started in about 1955 … …
Montréal native Ryan McNally has loved the blues since he was nine years old … although if you grew up in his hometown you might not know it. With a background playing in bands dedicated to hip hop, metal and rockabilly music (all the while he was playing blues on his own) it’s only recently …
Kyle Cashen, part of the Whitehorse power trio Friend Called Five, has released a long-awaited, full-length CD of original songs under the banner of Crash the Car. A comparison, albeit unfair, to Neil Young’s Harvest album, rose to mind while I was listening to They Built Houses Here for the first time. There is something …
The year was 1798 and the place was Helgoland. Helgoland is located in the North Sea, 70 kilometres off of the coast of Germany. This is important, since it is the remote location that made Helgoland, in 1798, the birthplace of the beer bottle organ. The church that was located on Helgoland in 1798 had …
From the gritty, primal rhythms to the lingering, sweet slide of steel guitar; and from the soulful roots of jazz to the vintage romance of classical guitar – and so much more – the music of Fathers & Sons takes you places you never thought you would go. “Sometimes it sounds like you’re kind of …
George McConkey has a new album out that displays his song writing ability and features some great classic tunes. More on that later, first, a digression. I’m a humble little bit of tin and horn/I’m a byword, I’m a plaything, I’m a jest; The virtuoso looks on me with scorn/But there’s times when I am …
George McConkey Breathes Life Into the Harmonica Read More »
Here’s a new game for the territory’s impending dinner party season. Next time you trudge over to the neighbours — gluten-free pasta salad in tow — have a look at your host’s CD rack. Or, if they’ve advanced into more modern areas, skim their iPod playlist. Scrutinize enough music libraries in the Yukon and you’ll …
Music To Your Ears is in the Eye of the Beholder Read More »
As you may know, the poetry of the blues is full of metaphors that allude to acts involving one’s naughty bits. Often lyrics will allude to acts of defiance that, as in the case of Jim Crow-era America, name the oppressor in an ambiguous manner. As to the former, witness if you will a recording …
What goes together even better than peanut butter and chocolate, Laurel and Hardy, or ice cream and dill pickles? We think it is beer and music. We have been a long-time supporter of music in the Yukon, starting with our very first sponsorship of the Frostbite Music Festival. The brewery was three weeks old when …
It has been many years since the music I worshipped was at the altar of black and silver. In those days, I had really big hair and a large collection of black T-shirts. Today, while another day older and, like a hard cheese, aging to a desired ripeness, I still have an ear for loud …
Rap and hip hop has been repudiated by some for being overtly violent and misogynistic. While some of this reputation may be deserved, I think sometimes a cigar is just a smoke. I’m not an expert when it comes to hip hop. I do understand, as with most musical styles that, once popularity sets in, …
There are actually two stage shows at the Guild Hall: Cabaret, the variety show and Cabaret, the play. The variety show is a blast with fantastic music and great dance performances that are raunchy and fun. The play itself, however, only briefly rises to the level of a story that the audience can care about. …
The first question had him stumped. Justin Haynes didn’t know the combined number of CDs that he, Jean Martin and Ryan Driver have produced. “Oh boy, that’s a tough one,” says Haynes over the phone. “Jean has been running a record label so, him alone, it would be at least 20. “Me, the same; and …
The album gave me a flashback, if these things are possible. The way a smell might trigger a powerful feeling of nostalgia, the sound brought me back to a time when music was a catalyst for possibility, and social change was its focus. There is a lot of funk wrapped in soul on this CD. …
Daniel Tlen sang our national anthem at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The event was viewed by one of the largest television audiences ever assembled. “There were some estimates that two-billion people were watching,” says Tlen, though he admits he is a little skeptical of that figure. Tlen’s performance of …
Are you ready? Have you done your lunges? Assembled a method of attack? Bought your tickets? Studied the various MySpace sites? Another music-festival month has arrived in the Yukon and, while you don’t necessarily need to be a yoga master or have a stringent preparedness plan, it is highly recommended. After all, you don’t want …
The intimate “anti-stadium” music festival, that is the Atlin Arts & Music Festival, has gotten even smaller this year, July 10 to 12. The performing arts director, Rick Newberry, says this is a good thing as organizers were responding to the wishes of performers and audiences. “They both said they want to spend more time …
There’s a certain magic in the air when a living room full of people tune their ears, minds and hearts towards a soulful musician. That’s the scene at Barrett and Carol Horne’s place four times per year. And they’re gearing up to host another concert on February 9, when Celtic duo Qristina and Quinn Bachand …
Yukon musicians will be entertaining Vancouverites this week, which is nice, but … “I see this as a huge marketing initiative,” says Debbie Peters of Magnum Opus Management, the event producer. “A lot of these performers see this as a launching pad.” And such a nice launching pad it is, too. The Railway Club is …
Interruption after interruption—welcome ones—grab Bruce Johnson’s attention as students seek him out. One student strides in, snapping her chewing gum while looking confident and comfortable in an “I feel right at home” kind of way, to which Johnson, the band teacher at F. H. Collins, responds, “You can take your theory and go work.” She …
“I’ve loved singing since I was a little girl.” says Edwards “I remember singing on the back of my mother’s bike, on the swing set”
In an interview, two weeks before Longest Night 2009, director Daniel Janke said the evening was still a mystery to him. “I’ve been writing new material – we are all writing new material – so there is not much that anyone has ever heard before,” he says. “And that’s a nice, fresh energy.” Celebrating the …
The community that sings together … My personal songbook is getting bigger every month. That’s thanks to the energy of a departed Dawsonite educator, named Nijen Holland (or just, Nijen, as everybody called him), who thought up the idea of having monthly coffee houses at various locations around town and encouraging local musicians to contribute …
This is a story about the omnichord. It was manufactured by Suzuki as a toy version of an autoharp. It has a touch plate for major, minor and diminished chords. As the advertising tells us, “Anyone can learn to play it!” “Yeah, and it can be incredibly annoying, too,” says Jenny Mitchell (a.k.a. Jenny Omnichord). …
Producer/artistic director Tim Jones is feeling satisfied with this year’s Dawson City Music Festival. 2010
“Every song is a love song,” says Tim Naylor. Long-time professional musician, best known locally for his band, Mr. Vein, that haunted the stages of Whitehorse pubs, from the Kopper King to Coaster’s, Naylor’s blend of classic rock with a soul is coming back — with enhanced solo action. “I’ve been performing in Whitehorse on …
For Russell Braun, the accompanist’s role is not to play second fiddle. Figuratively or literally. The Frankfurt-born lyric baritone will share the Yukon Arts Centre stage this Sunday with his favourite accompanist -– and his wife – pianist Carolyn Maule. “We’re both soloists,” Braun stresses. “It’s like a marriage, you know. You don’t become one, …
So what is it about a style of music, swing music, that goes back almost 80 years that still appeals to modern audiences?
Arlette Alcock is a storyteller. Her stories are hard truths told in song, unapologetic and bare. “I’m a vessel for the stories. I like the narrative. The stories are truths that come from the earth.” In her second visit to the Yukon, Alcock will be one of the featured performers at the 38th annual Skookum …
For seven years, Digging Roots’ lead guitarist, Raven Kanatakta could not pick up an instrument. “My arms and hands weren’t working,” he says. “I was worried.” In 1996, halfway through his degree in jazz composition and performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Kanatakta developed arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome in his hands. He …
When Randy Rutherford was 15, his mother realized she could no longer afford to take care of him. So she packed him onto a bus and sent him 3,000 miles from their Ohio home to Medford, Oregon, to live with an older step-brother he had never met. What happened after that is the stuff of …
It took a lot of coincidence and a lot of miles for concert pianists Lucille Chung and Alessio Bax to cross paths. At the age of six, the Montreal-born Chung persuaded her non-musical parents to let her take piano lessons, “because I wanted to be cool” and fit in with other girls in her school. …
Dawson Music Festival (DCMF) is billed as a music event, but there happens to be a lot of beer action in the midst of it. My friend Lee, who didn’t have the foresight to purchase music tickets beforehand, kept calling it Dawson beerfest from his vantage point in the beer gardens. And arguably, beer does …
Yesterday was Jimmy D. Lane’s 47th birthday. At home in White Rock, British Columbia, the blues musician comments that aging is an opportunity to “observe” and “let things soak in”. “As I get older, you learn to smell the roses, you stop and you take a pause, and you might want to observe a flower,” …
I must be getting old: asleep in my hotel room by 10 p.m. the night of Haines Beer Fest this year. A poor display of anti-beerfest behaviour. The first year I went to the Great Alaskan Craft Beer and Home Brew Festival it was 2001 and it was held on the Fort Seward grounds. I …
Here in Dawson we’re into the second year of working with the Home Routes organization to stage a series of House Concerts. These help to tide us over between music festivals by bringing festival quality acts into town. They’re called house concerts because, with a few rare exceptions, they take place in peoples’ homes and …
The members of Whitehorse’s newest band, Abscess of the Dog (AOTD), sit in a comfortable Riverdale living room and drink scotch. Matt Larsen, the band’s drummer, is a new father, and that is cause for celebration. Larsen, Lars Jessup and Kinden Kosick were friends long before they were ever bandmates. Jessup and Larsen are both …
If you’ve been to a concert or stage performance, recently, and admired the crisp sound or the well-lit stage, then chances are you are already a fan of Bill Charron’s, the owner/operator of Omni Productions. Charron has been a mainstay of the Yukon entertainment industry since his arrival on the scene in September of 1979. …
Rodger Thorlakson cuts a unique figure amongst the early Christmas-season shoppers. He wears a hat that would look affected on a lot of people but, on him and Indiana Jones, it looks perfectly in place. His belt buckle is the shape of The United States — complete with red, white and blue background colouring — …
Kyle Cashen spends most of his time making noises in his basement. “I play a bunch of different instruments … if there is something around, I’ll make noise with it. “Music is noise, some of it is pretty, some of it is not,” says Cashen. “You can make music with pots and pans as easily …
Five years ago, Amanda Stott was that young, farm girl with the powerful voice. Today, her voice is just as powerful, but it now has more texture and taken new directions as musical influences have reached her beyond the farm.
The Southern Tutchone language CD, entitled Dakwanjenaats u al, has a purpose: The English translation is “Let’s Pick Up Our Language Again”.
