Playing the Concert Hall May 25 2025
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Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Donovan Woods, Kyp Harness, Matt Berninger, Middle Kids, Laila Biali, Paris Pick, Ormiston, LAL, and Gift of Tongues
By Will McGuirk
Vibrations, waves, across the universe, billions of years, then you appear, vibrating, making more vibrations, disrupting the flow, pushing out, pushing back at the noise of the Big Bang with your own voice. So keep going, keep voicing, keep being here, and going there.
(from PR)
In 2020, Donovan Woods released Without People via his own Meant Well label. It’s an album that ranks as Woods’ most successful release with more than 10 million streams and climbing. Due March 26, a new deluxe edition of Without People adds four bonus tracks (two new originals and two alternate mixes) and is available for pre-order now.
A new piano rendition of “Grew Apart” cuts right to the bone, and an acoustic interpretation of “Whatever Keeps You Going” pairs Woods with the pure voices of the J.P. Robarts Public School Music Project in London, Canada.
The school’s choir (consisting of grades 3-8) formerly sang with Woods in 2019 at one of his concerts in London. Woods always knew he wanted to feature the choir on a project, but during the pandemic, Woods learned that while the schools had reopened, the children were only allowed to hum during choir practice due to the nature of health and safety protocols. He then, with the help of their parents and choir director, Jane Kennedy, enlisted the children’s choir to individually submit homemade cell phone videos of themselves singing the song. All 19 students were able to share the “stage” again with Woods through this video.
Middle Kids, photo by Ellen Virgona
“I want to make music that loves its listener. Music that makes people feel seen, seen in the tiny little places that hide away in their hearts. I want people to hear our music, and feel a sense of love. And when I say love, it can be challenging, intense and tough. But it’s in the guts.” – Hannah Joy, Middle Kids
“Ciel is someone who we have watched grow and develop into a global talent at the same time embodying a local Toronto spirit. Her remix for us speaks to a Toronto that had no musical genres in clubs. It bends and weaves into an expression that is well known to the darkest clubs and most cavernous warehouses. We employ you to join in the vision of this remix in solidarity with the community and all that came to take part.” - LAL’s Nicholas Murray
“‘The Art Of Loneliness’ is a dance-pop song which sounds triumphant, but upon closer listen feels tragic.The lyrics here are the closest I get to a private monologue with me trying to convince myself that loneliness isn’t such a painful situation. I’m trying to trick myself into thinking being alone isn’t so bad and the artful way I do it." - David Johnston, Gift of Tongues
Chad VanGaalen, photo by Sebastian Buzzalino
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Chad VanGaalen, The Strumbellas, Valerie June, Tami Neilson, Amythyst Kiah, Cadence Weapon, Matt Berninger, Tony Joe White, Maggie Szabo, and Art d'Ecco
By Will McGuirk
Big guns, big lungs, big sounds, big ideas showed up for this Open Mic on this night here in ShwaRawk City. We always have room for the emerging voices and always happy to share those voices on this platform, thats the being an all of what we do really, but when the name kats come by, well, there’s just as much room for those folks too and we appreciate the support. Listen and learn kids, and if you haven’t begat a band go begat a band right now.
“Black Myself is the first song I’ve written that was confrontational. I’d always made it a point to sing songs that anybody could relate to, but this was something that had been welling up inside me for a long time. The reception of the song so far has given me hope that there are people out there who are ready to confront the shared trauma of racism, to look within ourselves and see how we might be perpetuating racist beliefs, and to do what is needed to create equality for all people.” - Amythyst Kiah
Partner, photo by Lesley Marshall
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with The Dears, Kate Boothman, Partner, POSTDATA, Dirty Projectors, Matt Berninger, Wolf Saga, and Yes Nice,
By Will McGuirk
“When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear”
~ Maya Angelou
“We wanted to avoid some clichés like chestnuts and sleighs or whatever. Instead it’s a very simple love song about how sometimes that time of year can highlight who you really want to be with and how that brings a huge smile to one's face as well as the warmest feeling. This is what we hope happens when people hear this song.” ~ The Dears
“It's about that confidence and arrogance that comes with being a spicy youth, and then all of a sudden you're an adult and you realize you knew nothing. You look back and can't help but examine everything you've learned and lost.” ~ Kate Boothman
“Every time I put on Future Islands my impression of the human condition improves. Their remix of One More Second kills me.” ~Matt Berninger.
"Fall Out" is a song about leaving a toxic relationship, of any kind, and being able to keep your head up. Getting away from that and not getting caught up in the falling out”. ~ Wolf Saga
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Kate Boothman, Jack De Keyzer, Matt Berninger, Austra, Sylvan Esso, Rhye, the Blue Stones, Figure Walking, Flara K,
By Will McGuirk
Kate Boothman, has released her latest single, the brightly breezy “My Next Mistake”. May be just what one needs to hear on this morning, scratch that, it is what you need to hear. Up and at them folks, up and at them.
Blues guru Jack De Keyzer has a new album dropping Sept 15, 2020. "Titled “Tribute” this is Jack’s twelfth album and features twelve original tracks. The first single “Lets Do It” is now available with video by Steven Frank.
Matt Berninger of The National will release his debut sole album, ‘Serpentine Prison’ on Oct 16 2020. The album will be on Book records/ Concord records. The first singe is “One More Second.” There’s a beauty tippy-tapp organ break provided by the legendary Booker T Jones, who also is the album producer.
“I wrote “One More Second” with Matt Sheehy (Lost Lander, EL VY) with the intention for it to be a kind of answer to Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You’, or sort of the other side of that conversation. I just wanted to write one of those classic, simple, desperate love songs that sound great in your car”. - Matt Berninger
Austra’s new album ‘ HiRUDiN’ is now out and available on Pink Fizz records. A remix for the track “Risk It” has been released. And its a banger!!
“India Jordan recently put out one of my favourite records in a while (complete with a very on point Tipping The Velvet reference) so I was very honoured they agreed to do this remix. The new track is sunny and euphoric and everything I dreamed it would be!” - Katie Stelmanis (Austra)
Electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso have released “Frequency”, the third single from their new album, ‘Free Love’, coming out September 25, 2020, on Loma Vista Recordings. The song is accompanied by a new video directed and styled by Moses Sumney.
“We had a fantastic and rewarding time collaborating with our friend and fellow North Carolinian, Moses Sumney, on building a visual world for Frequency. He had such a beautiful vision for the project, one that ran parallel to the song's initial source in a way that showed us new spaces it could inhabit. It's a beautiful exploration of being together and apart at the same time – we feel it rings clearly in this moment.” - Sylvan Esso
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Julia Stone, Summersets, Matt Berninger, Ruston Kelly, The Hello Darlins, Sailmaker, Enterprise Earth, Devarrow, Lexxicon, Hollow River
Beautiful tropical night here in Shwarawk City, sending you good vibes from the porch on the Snobbery Patch with the Neowise comet on the rise on the horizon. It may be all helter skelter shelter in place, stay home, play home but we say stay with us home crew as we tune in turn on and drop the needle on tune and tune and tune . . .