Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Yves Jarvis, Rachel Beck, Storry, Dirty Projectors, JR JR, The Rentals, Bretton Lee John, and American Grim,

By Will McGuirk

The rainbow of a bruised eye.

The hues and cry of a riot. The stretched and ripping of separation. The birth of a rebellion. Identity is only won through a violent act. Anger is an energy. Nurture the righteous rage. Arm up with facts and dance moves.

“a tightrope walk between victor and victim,” - Yves Jarvis

---

“We hear the cries for change, but we just turn up the music and keep dancin' while the earth burns around us”. - Rachel Beck

---

“Be free, my friends, and watch how assortments of all kinds of love spring up all over the place. This song is for all queer love.” - Storry

---

---

“We were put up in a truly depressing casino, which featured an oxygen/IV fluid bar in the lobby, next to a tattoo parlor.” - Josh Epstein, JR JR

---

---

---

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Denise Chaila, Rachel Beck, , Lynn Jackson, Liza Anne, Grace Potter, and Jehnny Beth

By Will McGuirk

Waves of karma lap the edges of the gilded palaces. Gate keepers shovel heaps of broken promises trying to stem the tide, trying to buy some time but the palaces crumble still from within.

---

“We are now living in a different world than we were when I wrote these songs and captured these sonic vibrations, these soul vibrations. It has been a challenging year, yet all around me I see people stepping into their power, finding their voices, and discovering their strength.” - Rachel Beck

---

---

“This song is about feeling the weight of someone else’s sadness and feeling it, inevitably, bring you down too because when you love someone, sometimes you wear their emotions like your own.”  - Liza Anne

---

Slowcity.ca Open Mic wit the Jerry Cans, Rachel Beck, Grace Potter, Monica Lee, Carmanah, Jehnny Beth, Lost Frequencies and Joy Invincible

By Will McGuirk

‘You are stronger than you know’ a new song by Rachel Beck but also a call to arms, stay home, stay still, you can do it , be it - we are learning that - for many of us we are not being asked to do much it seems but staying still is still not natural, mobility is at the essence of being - we are beings who move, who migrate, but meditate mmmmm. . . but you can do it, you can go in, deep, and listen to the stillness between the rushings, the sounds in the silences. Rachel Beck’s voice is thrilling as the transitions, her song thrives in the liminal, we are stronger than we think if we can think of the gaps as bonds.

---

---

“For me, music has been a safe haven in these strange times. As we learn to adapt to a new human condition, I wanted to share a couple of new recordings that feel timely.  It’s so important that we not feel alone right now. More than anything else, I just wanted to send a little musical comfort out to the world.” - Grace Potter

---

---

---

---

---

Slowcity.ca Open Mic - Storry, Rachel Beck, Skye Wallace, Whyte Horses, Marcus King, Sarah Harmer, Holy Fuck, Mute Choir and Best Coast

By Will McGuirk

“the robots are smarter than ever, and the algorithm knows more and more what we like as individuals, but we have to remind ourselves that there is music in the margins that can go missing and that that music is more important than ever.” - Holy Fuck

I wonder what a world made entirely of music would look like.

---

“I believe as creators, the art doesn't always come from us, but sometimes it is channeled through us from a higher source.” - Storry

---

“Warrior is most directly inspired by my four-year-old daughter, Nora,” reflects Rachel. “…imagining the kind of woman she will grow up to be. It is also influenced by badass women throughout history – the ground-breakers and the change-makers. Amelia. Greta. Rosa. Malala.”

---

---

---

"Beautiful Stranger is a story about longing, searching for love. We tried to paint a picture of a dim lit bar, lost souls finding one another before last call.” - Marcus King

---

---

---

“When the future is wide open, it can be easy to overthink your present decisions in the face of who you might become. You can never know for sure if life will turn out the way you hope when you go with your gut instinct. There is always a possibility for failure, and fear of failure can be overwhelming enough to drive you to the wrong kinds of compromises.” - Mute Choir

---