By Will McGuirk
Birds of Bellwoods at Legendary Horseshoe Tavern Saturday Apr 22 2023. Tickets here.
Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Birds of Bellwoods, Villages, Mimi Webb, Valentyna, Mariel Buckley, Kris Ulrich, and Neil Young
By Will McGuirk
“That moment when you see the mistakes you keep making, but can’t seem to change the pattern like the lyrics say, ‘with all the lights above me, I only see that shadow cast below.’ “ - Birds of Bellwoods
“We all have those moments where you just want to drop everything and leave it all behind. “Love Will Live On” is a daydream on just how good it could be if you actually did it.” - Villages
“It’s a broad stroke of what intolerance and shame can create in a bible-belt, prairie town. Lots of imagery from my childhood, church and the bottom of a glass.” - Mariel Buckley
Pantayo, photo by Sarah Bo
Slowcity.ca Open Mice with Evening Hymns, Zaac Pick, Pantayo, Camelphat, Peter Katz, The Elwins, Birds of Bellwoods, Silver Clouds, Ruston Kelly, Robert Counts,
By Will McGuirk
Are we going to replace gatherings with zoom meetings? Are we going to celebrate without touch, in isolation, alone, on social media? Do we need to see, feel, touch as well as hear music, musicians? Do we need to be in their presence for it to really matter.Do you crave the real thing or are you getting used to degrees of separation, of filters, of replicas of replicas of replicas? Do you want facade or fact? Or have you already been doing that for some years already?
“These songs are about learning to be more present to where I'm at, letting go, and taking responsibility, all themes that have taken on new meaning for me the past few months, as nearly everything has been turned upside down by a global pandemic and a much-needed civil rights movement.” - Zaac Pick
“In this karaoke music video, we imagine an uplifting New Earth where there is abundance and liberation. A hopeful world created as a result of dismantling white supremacy, fighting the lies of colonialism, and ending fascism and the oppression of marginalized peoples.” - Pantayo
“This is a story speaking to how everyone has to deal with the weight of the world in one way or another. That kind of brings us together in a sense. just a friendly reminder that everyone has got this shit feeling from time to time, some more than others, but all you can really do is to try and take it easy on yourself.” - Matthew Sweeney, The Elwins
"Pinebox is an invitation to look yourself in the eyes, let go of who you have been, and move forward. It is a song about self-reflection in a time of stasis, and releasing the weight we carry with us from our early years,” - Birds of Bellwoods
"'It describes a feeling of apathy, paralysis, and a fear of letting go of the known. We feel it's a rather fitting introduction to a band that, until the global pandemic, had remained in a state of self-imposed delay." - Rod Slaughter
Feel It Still - Birds of Bellwoods cover Portugal The Man
The Birds of Bellwoods are the hardest working kats I know - when they break it will be overnight but earned. They have been playing the Old Lady Shwa for sometime and I dig their deep woodsy sound, their harmonies, their ethic and that they use Oh Dear in their lyrics. Kalle Mattson does it too. Always happy to share what these dudes are up to so here's their latest, a cover of PTM... dig it.