DiSCourse & Whitewater Wednesdays Columnist Barry “Jack” Jenkins keeps close tabs on the Yukon music scene.
If you are producing a Yukon CD, please contact him at music@whatsupyukon.com
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Barry "Jack" Jenkins
Issue: 2016-01-14 PHOTO: Jeffery Care
It’s All About the Jazz
Whitehorse jazz singer and songwriter Fawn Fritzen recently returned from Toronto and is ready to get back to business. While in Toronto, Fritzen participated in Coalition Music's ten-week Artist Entrepreneur program, learning more about business... Read more
Issue: 2015-10-22 PHOTO: courtesy of Brenda Berezan
Riffs through the Wilderness
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, ... Read more
Issue: 2015-10-08 PHOTO: courtesy of Gordie Tentrees
Taking His Music Around the World
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.. Read more
Issue: 2015-10-01 PHOTO: courtesy of Jesse Roper
Ready to Rock the North
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... Read more
Issue: 2015-09-24 PHOTO: courtesy of MC TurMoil
Homegrown Hip Hop
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... Read more
Issue: 2015-09-17 PHOTO: courtesy of Black Iron Blossom
Blues under the influence of pneumonia
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. Read more
Issue: 2015-07-16 PHOTO: Patrick Jacobson
Patrick Jacobson releases Patrick Jacobson
A recent arrival in Whitehorse, Patrick Jacobson is already making waves. Having moved from Vancouver just a couple of months ago, Jacobson has released his self-titled debut solo EP of melodic indie guitar rock. Read more
Issue: 2015-06-18
Pirate Rock
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... Read more
Issue: 2015-05-21 PHOTO: Rick Massie
A Biker at 30
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... Read more
Issue: 2015-04-30 PHOTO: courtesy of Sarah MacDougall
Grand Canyon
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. Read more
PHOTO: Barry “Jack” Jenkins
Puppet Dreams Coming True
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... Read more
Issue: 2015-03-19 PHOTO: Alistair Maitland Photography
Katie Avery Prepares to Release Solo Album
Katie Avery is a classically trained violinist, but folk and traditional fiddle music is in her blood. She's just recorded her first solo album, which she describes as being, “inspired by all the beautiful people I have known in my life.” Read more
Issue: 2015-03-05 Art: courtesy of The Midnight Sons Band
The Midnight Sons Band: Working Hard and Going Far
From its formation and early gigs at jam nights and open mics in 2012, to a residency at the Dirty Northern pub, to last year's performances at the Dawson City and Blue Feather music festivals, to a sold out release concert for the debut album, ... Read more
Issue: 2015-02-26 PHOTO: Christian Kuntz Photography
Johnny Cash For Cancer
For anyone who has fallen into a burning ring of fire, who are boys named Sue, or who have been to Folsom Prison, in real life, or just in song, A Tribute To Johnny Cash, on Friday, February 27, at the Yukon Convention Centre, is for you. Read more
Issue: 2015-02-12 PHOTO: courtesy The Naysayers
Honest, Aggressive Rock n’ Roll
The best album I heard last summer, and probably all year, came out of Dawson City. Hope, the debut album by The Naysayers, totally rocks. Led by singer-songwriter Drea Nasager, the band fuels its folk rock songs with a heavy punk edge. Read more
Issue: 2015-02-05 Photo: The Wooden Sky
The Wooden Sky Kicks Off ALFF
For Yukoners who miss having a music festival in February, the Yukon Film Society has stepped up. This year, the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) has expanded to include musical performances. Read more
Whats Up Yukon January 29, 2015
Dan Mangan is Back in Town
Dan Mangan is almost as excited to see the Yukon again as Yukoners are to see him. In 2010, Mangan played both the Frostbite and Dawson City Music Festivals and was impressed by the local cultural scene. Read more
PHOTO: Thinkstock.com
Music Survival Camp 2.0
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. Read more
Matthew Lien’s Powerful New Album
Matthew Lien's new album, Headwaters: Music of the Peel River Watershed, isn't a protest album. “What I felt about this project from the very beginning is that we're not protesting anything, we're celebrating,” he says. Read more
Mushing Around the Vastness of the World
Listening to Kate Weekes' new solo folk album, Frost on Black Fur, is like mushing around the vastness of the world at great speed as the scenery constantly changes, from Irish islands, to mountain villages in China, to remote rivers in the Peel Read more
Issue: 2015-07-02 PHOTO: courtesy of Barry “Jack” Jenkins and Peggy Hanifan
The Continuation of an Era
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... Read more
Issue: 2015-03-19 PHOTO: Alistair Maitland Photography
Katie Avery Prepares to Release Solo Album
Katie Avery is a classically trained violinist, but folk and traditional fiddle music is in her blood. She's just recorded her first solo album, which she describes as being, “inspired by all the beautiful people I have known in my life.” Read more
Issue: 2015-03-05 Art: courtesy of The Midnight Sons Band
The Midnight Sons Band: Working Hard and Going Far
From its formation and early gigs at jam nights and open mics in 2012, to a residency at the Dirty Northern pub, to last year's performances at the Dawson City and Blue Feather music festivals, to a sold out release concert for the debut album, ... Read more
Issue: 2015-02-26 PHOTO: Christian Kuntz Photography
Johnny Cash For Cancer
For anyone who has fallen into a burning ring of fire, who are boys named Sue, or who have been to Folsom Prison, in real life, or just in song, A Tribute To Johnny Cash, on Friday, February 27, at the Yukon Convention Centre, is for you. Read more
Issue: 2015-02-12 PHOTO: courtesy The Naysayers
Honest, Aggressive Rock n’ Roll
The best album I heard last summer, and probably all year, came out of Dawson City. Hope, the debut album by The Naysayers, totally rocks. Led by singer-songwriter Drea Nasager, the band fuels its folk rock songs with a heavy punk edge. Read more
Issue: 2015-02-05 Photo: The Wooden Sky
The Wooden Sky Kicks Off ALFF
For Yukoners who miss having a music festival in February, the Yukon Film Society has stepped up. This year, the Available Light Film Festival (ALFF) has expanded to include musical performances. Read more
Whats Up Yukon January 29, 2015
Dan Mangan is Back in Town
Dan Mangan is almost as excited to see the Yukon again as Yukoners are to see him. In 2010, Mangan played both the Frostbite and Dawson City Music Festivals and was impressed by the local cultural scene. Read more
Reviewers under review
Like mushrooms after rain, interesting mini-discussions pop up spontaneously from time to time on the ArtsNet list serve. A recent one that caught my eye concerned the age-old topic of arts reviews/critiques: what are they, what purpose.... Read more