Tami Neilson, photo by Mary Ellen Matthews
alt image - Killer Mike

Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Killer Mike, Pierre Kwenders, Tami Neilson, Grace Potter, summersets, The Matinee, Victoria Monét, and Big Little Lions

Will McGuirk May 11, 2023

By Will McGuirk

This is a celebration of a BAD ASS BLACK GIRL from the westside of Atlanta. She’s been affectionately called OG Mama Niecy by the many people she helped stay on their path.” - Killer Mike

“Reminding us that curiosity killed the cat, everything requires moderation, and that, in love, no one wants to walk on eggshells.” - Pierre Kwenders

“I wanted ‘Kingmaker’ to feel like a movie theme that plays as the opening credits unfold so that the songs take the listener through the highs and lows of a story unfolding, more like a movie soundtrack than adhering to one genre or style.” - Tami Neilson

“In Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck called Route 66 the ‘The Mother of all roads...the road of flight.’ As I zeroed out my odometer and started west on my road trip across the US, I hoped that driving the road of flight would give me a bird’s eye view of my life. But it didn’t take long to realize that I was not flying; I was running away.” - Grace Potter

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Lowell, Emma Cook, Donovan Woods, Andy Shauf, Geoffroy, AHI, Elise Boulanger, Yukon Blonde

Will McGuirk September 22, 2021

By Will McGuirk

“Caroline is both a nostalgic take on my childhood, while at the same time a cynical view on how wasted my youth was in the hands of my teenage self (an insecure, closet bi, miserable kid trying to fit in- all while pissing off my parents” - Lowell

"It tells the story of a woman who has been completely unseen and unappreciated by her partner for many years. In my imagination, she believes in her own worth and finds the strength to leave, but in reality, I’m not sure she ever will." - Emma Cook

“It’s about learning that someone you still have feelings for is suddenly in the same town as you for the night, and the inevitable thoughts and chain of events that might set into motion.” - Donovan Woods

“I guess it’s a very mature version of myself who wrote this, hah. It’s about accepting and coming to terms with the fact that a relationship has come to its end. It’s about moving on, letting go, and feeling okay about it." - Geoffroy

“You don’t really need to compete with yourself, you just need to challenge yourself.” - Jeffrey Innes, Yukon Blonde

Elise Boulanger · It Started In The Garden

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Arkells, James Blonde, Pantayo, Sorry, Mauve, Wray, Emma Charles Glass Tiger x Pino & Loeb, and the Long Beach Dub Allstars

Will McGuirk February 25, 2020

By Will McGuirk

Slowly the door to the woodshed is being opened, slowly the nose emerges, then cheeks, in time a whole head and slowly the door opens wider and songs flutter out, one by one by two, by three, by five, eight. . .

“You never know when the universe will deliver a tune from the song gods, but “Years In The Making” arrived just when we needed it.” - Max Kerman

“Sometimes love can come to you unexpectedly. I wrote this after thinking back in awe at how suddenly the emotions can come to you. . .” - Mauve

Slowcity.ca Open Mic - the answer is blowin' edition: Melissa Etheridge, Fabrizio Cammarata, Susto, Radical Face, Don Brownrigg and Wintersleep

Will McGuirk February 25, 2019

Slow city is the windy city with all sorts of musical tumbleweeds rolling in. Music can soothe the savage wind, with gusto and none more gusto than Melissa Etheridge, back on the scene with a new album, The Medicine Show, and song, happy to have Mel rise up . The stage is open, let’s see what answers the wind blows in.

Melissa Etheridge , Fabrizio Cammarata, Susto , Radical Face , Don Brownrigg and Wintersleep

Don Brownrigg - April 17, The Burdock, Toronto

'Disgraced In America', new track from Ought released

Will McGuirk January 17, 2018

The Stranglers were able to move from "Do You Wanna" to "Golden Brown" without losing their grip on what made them Stranglers. Montreal's Ought manage the same feat - they move between Television waves and Radiohead nods with some Stranglers' sneer too on the track "Disgraced In America", the latest from their new record, 'Room Inside the World' due February 16 2018 on Royal Mountain. The video is by Heather Rappard and animates the spaces in between the fragments of the track - moving between - I guess somewhat in the manner The Stranglers were wont to do. Ought have a North American/ European tour in March with a date at Lee's in Toronto Mar 7.

Here's the previously released track, These 3 Things