Slowcity.ca Open Mic: The Gertrudes, Sarah Hiltz, Busty and the Bass + Cadence Weapon, Scott Hardware, Skeggs, The Night Owls, Harrow Fair, and Wet Leg

Will McGuirk February 3, 2022

By Will McGuirk

"... The Gertrudes' "Boys' Town" music video reflects on the 1969 documentary "Dear Landlord", Directed by Dennis Crossfield and featuring nationally renowned activist Joan Kuyek, who analyse Kingston's housing crisis at that time. Unfortunately, not much has changed. Kingston's housing continues to be in short supply — historically, the city has had some of the lowest vacancy rates in the province." - Greg Tilson

“We are all human beings meant to experience the breadth of human emotion, including anger. That doesn’t have to be negative or even divisive. It’s true it might be uncomfortable, but discomfort and danger are not the same thing." - Sarah Hiltz

"finding a way to allow yourself to truly relax and disconnect in the age of the notification." - Cadence Weapon

“The night I wrote it, I was in a mad rush against my own urge to self-censor, the lyrics bare no mystery or even much poetry. More than that, they're honest in a way that STILL makes me uncomfortable. Being able to get them out before I could stifle this loud and proclamation of love was a big deal for me as a songwriter and as a person." - Scott Hardware

"I think I wrote it a while ago, being in a mood where it's epic to try and ride out your ambitions and try and always look back when you kook it at life, and say I will try to be better, be a better friend, better partner, get better at getting better,” - Ben Reed, Skeggs

“We like to play music at night. The only thing that matters is each other, because in those times we feel like there’s only the two of us in the universe.” - the Night Owls

Broken Social Scene, photo by Richmond Lam

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Mad Ones, Broken Social Scene, Sarah Hiltz, Tennyson King, Scott Hardware, Sam Weber, AHI, Particle Kid, and Misfire

Will McGuirk January 12, 2022

By Will McGuirk

"It's a poem for time and distance and whether or not peace and prosperity are possible amidst chaos. It is a meditation on our proximity to circumstances and our enduring love for those who contribute something powerful in our lives.“ - Andrew Devillers, Mad Ones

“Life isn’t easy in the music industry or with any dream you want to achieve. It’s full of ups and downs, people who don’t believe in you, but we need to acknowledge this, step out of our comfort zone and keep at it.” - Tennyson King

"My mom lived near this lake for a while, and whenever I’d go to visit her, I’d want to walk along the shore and have a moment. She’d always tell me before heading out to watch out for the water snakes.” - Scott Hardware

“This track is about quitting everything you’re passionate about and trying something else - and the process of returning to that first thing with a new perspective and taking stock of all your changes.” - Sam Weber

‘Fractured’ unearths the feelings of uncertainty and dread we were faced with in 2020. Inspired by the current state of the world, it delves into the madness that is the pandemic. The song poses the question, ‘What’s left of who we are?,’ as we are left with humanity divided and fractured. - James Nicademus, Misfire

Slowcity.ca Open Mic: Jadea Kelly, Geoffroy, Frazey Ford, Favours, Lumineers, Scott Hardware, Ellyn Woods and Baile, Riches, and Sloan,

Will McGuirk November 17, 2021

By Will McGuirk

"Escaping" is a song about the secrets that you keep inside. Forget the past and leap forward. Don't look back, it's not worth your time.” - Favours

“This idea of coming home to yourself after losing yourself in a world of disillusionment. The point when you realize everything you need is already within yourself. Letting go of all that isn't you, to rediscover who you are.” - Ellyn Woods, Baile

“This song marks a deep dive into my changing thoughts about nostalgia, seeing it change from cozy romanticism to toxic waste." - Scott Hardware

Live Slow Die Wise - Geoffroy

Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Slow Leaves, Scott Hardware, Alex Izenberg, Ada Lea, Kadeema, Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real, and 100 Mile House

Will McGuirk April 1, 2020

By Will McGuirk

Say you survive, most will, so say you’re a lucky one, say we get back to something resembling what we had, say you are talking to your grandchildren about this time, what will you say you did? You have time now, for all the projects, for all the records, for all the lessons, to learn a language, to birdwatch, to stargaze, to knit, too cook, to slow down and look at your neighbourhood and your neighbour, say you don’t die, then what? Did you help or hinder, grow or standstill like time.

“This song is a defence of my fears, conceits, and contradictions. Some of us were born with broken hearts and find comfort in slipping into sentimentality as though into an old pair of slippers. The video intends to be as transparent as the song.” - Grant Davidson