'Crop Circles', Dean Brody says, is an album he hopes will take listeners away from the cares of daily life for a while. “When we listen to music, we don’t necessarily want to think about what’s going on in the here and now, we want to go on a journey, and I hope that’s what happens for my fans with this record. ” Job done – On songs like ‘The Old Sandbar’ and ‘Mountain Man’, the Jaffray, BC-born, Nova Scotia-based singer/songwriter celebrates his love of the East Coast and his childhood home at the foot of the Rockies. And, with his Civil War era love story ‘Kansas Cried,’ Dean Brody transports listeners through time and space without missing a beat.
'Crop Circles' covers a lot of miles and nowhere more so than on Brody’s lead single, ‘Bounty,’ a fiery, turn of the century, murder ballad that finds Brody’s characters running from the law on a late night train to Mexico and features a standout performance by fellow Canadian country singer, Lindi Ortega. In its first week of release, ‘Bounty’ held the #1 Most Added song overall and #1 Most Added spot at Country radio for two consecutive weeks and displays Brody’s growth as a writer, lyricist and storyteller in equal measure, with a story that has both substantial emotional weight and a certain amount of levity. ‘Bounty’ recently reached #1 on the Canadian Country singles chart!
Regardless of the topic or whether a song is purely observational or drawn from his personal experience, Brody’s music has a cinematic quality that makes it easy for listeners to put themselves into his songs and to feel as if they’re traveling along with his characters. “I see the world in pictures and I love stories and creating worlds, either using my own background, or by putting myself in other people’s shoes, because I’m fascinated by other people’s perspectives on life.”
Don't miss Dean Brody at this year's RBC Bluesfest!
Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: THE ARTPOP BALL will make a very special festival appearance at this year’s Bluesfest on July 5th. The multi-month tour which has been called a “lavish arena spectacle” with “a dazzling array of wigs and costumes” by the Hollywood Reporter has sold over 775,000 tickets to date and comes complete with latex, tentacles, sequins and more.
Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: THE ARTPOP BALL tour is supporting the multi-platinum-selling artist’s latest album ARTPOP which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 and on May 13, 2014 Lady Gaga became the first female artist in history to achieve the prestigious “Digital Diamond Award” by the Recording Industry Association of American in recognition of her song “Bad Romance” hitting the 10 million sales plateau (for song sales & streams).
The tour will visit 35 cities and festivals, including our very own RBC Bluesfest, throughout North America before it moves to Asia and Australia prior to its arrival in Europe. For complete tour information visit: www.ladygaga.com
In his new song All the Glamour Has Gone, Shantel asks:
“What’s wrong with action,
what’s wrong with fashion,
what’s wrong with passion?”
We ask: What’s wrong with Shantel? And discover the latest metamorphosis by this fascinating artist and producer. In the nineties, he was arguably the most in-demand downbeat act, a master and connoisseur of exotica/electronica fusion. In the early years of the new millennium he almost single-handedly invented a new musical genre with global reach that spawned a whole slew of copycats. Shantel’s most successful album to date, Disko Partizani spent weeks at the number 1 spot in Turkey, went platinum throughout southern Europe and entered the top 20 in many other European charts. He has written film scores for Fatih Akin and Sasha Baron Cohen, played at the Cannes Film Festival and was one of the first German musicians to perform at the legendary Glastonbury Festival, as well as at Montreux (to the evident delight of Prince & Quincy Jones, who were in the audience), at the Milan Fashion Week, the Cerventino Festival in Mexico, the Tim Festival in Rio de Janeiro (co-headlining with Daft Punk and the Beastie Boys) and other major festivals around the world. Shantel’s well-earned international success follows years of tireless graft in Europe, playing more than 1000 gigs with his Bucovina Club Orkestar, connecting effortlessly with his audiences to deliver a spectacularly unforgettable atmosphere. He could easily have rested on his laurels and continued in the same vein. But now we see him reinvent himself once more and are left wondering where it all fits in. Actually, it’s quite simple: Shantel creates a hybrid, bringing together subculture, music history and social history, mixing them with his own creative energy. The end result is an album that reflects his own personal experience and wanders, as he puts it, between pop culture, high culture and street cred. Music history or more precisely the early history of a popular music form that spread internationally, was the thematic focus of the album Kosher Nostra – Jewish Gangsters’ Greatest Hits, an adventurous and ambitious journey through the clubs, cabarets and casinos of the 20s to 60s. Meticulously researched and compiled by Shantel and Oz Almog, the album was highly acclaimed by Martin Scorcese.
DJ ACRO hails from Timmins, Ontario, where he got his start in the music industry. ACRO moved to Ottawa in 2004, quickly infiltrating the local scene by connecting with DJs and gaining a reputation as a keen and versatile artist. His raw talent was noticed and soon he was playing at major clubs in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
DJ ACRO has opened and DJ’d for a number of major Canadian hip hop artists including Kardinall Offishall, Choclair, and Michie Mee. He’s also opened for a slew of legendary and up-and-coming American artists, including XZIBIT, MAC MILLER, BIG K.R.I.T, M.O.P, DAMFUNK, THE BEATNUTS, YELAWOLF, SMOKE DZA, and DJ PREMIER, among others.
Firebelly is a modern Canadian Blues & Soul band formed in 2012 and driven by a passion to create fresh Blues music, while respecting its rich and timeless traditions. Lead singer, harp player and frontman, Mathieu Gagnon, is a captivating storyteller with the rare ability to make you live the song, using his sweet, powerful voice and electrifying harp playing. The smooth and funky bass guitar of Dan Grewal combines seamlessly with the lively drums of Mike McNeil. Add the intense, but fearlessly tasteful, guitar playing of Fredy Carriere and you have a stripped-down, exciting blues sound that is “just right”. In only two years, they have garnered major festival, television and commercial radio exposure. Their hit song “Father to Your Son” has appeared on over 40 Radio stations across five continents.
Bella Cat blues vocalist! A flower child born in a new era. Here, she will change the world with her music and positive vibrations. Bella writes her lyrics passionately about her personal experiences. Outrageous performances, psychedelic band, dancing rhythms and a huge vocal range is what she is well known for. Bella released her first album January 10th 2014, she has a raw original voice and is highly influenced by the GREAT Etta James. Bella has great respect for the past, but her evovling personal style is unique and modern. Expect an outstanding blues show!
"I remember telling friends up North in 1980 that they should go see Stevie Ray Vaughan, but they weren't impressed because he wasn't famous yet. It will give me great pleasure to say, 'I told you so!' about John Németh. You'll see." ~ Bob Margolin, Blues Revue Magazine
John Németh is a rising blues star; a singer steeped in the tradition and reminiscent of B.B. King, Ray Charles and Junior Parker -- his voice is that good -- and a harmonica player of riveting intensity and virtuosity. Performing major music festivals around the world has brought him critical acclaim. His burgeoning career has found him sharing the bill with Robert Cray, Keb Mo', and Earl Thomas among others.
Intrepid Artists International recently announced that their very own, John Németh, took home the 2014 Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year at the 35th Annual BMA's in Memphis, TN. We are proud to present John at the RBC Bluesfest and are thrilled to see him claim what is sure to be his first of many Blues Music Awards. Congratulations John!!!
"Either John Németh is one of the greatest vocalists in the world or this was the best performance of his life, or both." ~ Bob Horn, Washington Blues Society
“Boy, John Németh can really belt it out!" ~ Charlie Musslewhite
"There aren't many soul men left in the world. John Németh is one of 'em!” ~ Esquire Magazine
Ryan Hemsworth is a young Canadian producer with a remarkably productive output in recent years and a totally unique approach to hip hop and R&B production. With an early background as a singer and guitarist, he quickly weaned off rock into hip hop and more software oriented music, diving whole-heartedly into drum loops and samples. In 2011, his first release 'No Plans' was featured on SPIN magazine’s Top 20 R&B albums.
Hemsworth has worked with the likes of Sole, Lana Del Rey, Shady Blaze, and Quadron while maintaining a solo career. In 2012 his solo career took off with the release of his 'Last Words' EP on the Wedidit label. A year later, he dropped his debut album, 'Guilt Trips', on the label Last Gang. The album featured guest appearances from Baths, Lofty305, and others.
Blues With Bite!
Since 2003, Murray Kinsley and Wicked Grin have been rockin' festivals and clubs throughout Ontario and Quebec with their distinctive hard-driving, in your face blues. Murray has a fresh take on gritty blues and killer guitar, and Rod Williams’ harp is raucous and wailing in all the right places; they’re backed up by super-tight bassist Leigh-Anne Stanton and hot young drummer Liam Melville. Together they deliver full-tilt blues with a groove that just won't quit, “memorable as one of the city’s most upbeat blues acts.”
Wicked Grin won the 2013 Ottawa Blues Society Road to Memphis Competition and represented Ottawa at the 2014 International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN.
Their latest record, “Shame On Me,” was released in December 2013. The album is getting widespread airplay and favourable reviews in North America, Europe and in the U.K.
They have a full slate of festival dates this summer and will be touring Western Canada in the fall.