Author Archives: kelownalivemusic

Lots of great upcoming shows at Habitat

February 27th, 2012 – Royal Canoe

w/ Little Jungles & Oceans Apart
$10 Advance – Buy tickets for this event here!

March 1st, 2012 – Bend Sinister

w/ Paperboy & Windmills
$10 Advance – Buy tickets for this event here!
$12 Door
19+

March 7th, 2012 – Islands

w/ Idiot Glee
$15 Advance – Buy tickets for this event here!
$20 Door
19+

March 20th, 2012 – Daniel Wesley

w/ Kim Churchill
$12 Advance – Buy tickets for this event here!
$18 Door
19+

March 28th, 2012 – Bahamas

w/ special guests
$12 – Tickets on sale soon
$15 Door
19+

April 28th, 2012 – Said the Whale (19+)

w/ Chains of Love & Oh No! Yoko
$15 Advance – Buy tickets for this event here!
$18 Door
Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm
19+

April 29th, 2012 – Said the Whale (All Ages)

w/ Chains of Love & Oh No! Yoko
$15 Advance – Buy tickets for this event here!
$18 Door
Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm
All Ages

Jordan Klassen Announces Kindness Coast To Coast Tour Dates – Kelowna, April 28th

Vancouver based songwriter follows up 2010’s St. Brigid with a five song EP Kindness in advance of  full length album later in 2012 and takes the show coast to coast across Canada. Kindness was released on February 6th and tour dates are listed below.

“Klassen has a rare knack for making a song sound like nothing is missing despite vast changes in instrumental configuration between songs.” Grayowl Point

“It’s the accompanying music to slow motion running scenes through tall meadows. It’s deeply calming, an effect best produced by strings and soft male falsetto. It sounds clean. It sounds good.” Friends With Both Arms

Go To Me MP3 + Media Materials: http://www.killbeatmusic.com/jordanklassen/

Jordan Klassen makes music built out of pure imagination. A truly alluring voice, laid upon beds of shimmering strings, caressed guitar, and coaxing percussion. His latest work takes such a foundation, and continues to build.

With four new songs on the physical release and a Teen Daze remix of the previously released Ask Me Not, Astronaut included on the digital version, Kindness, introduces rich and full-bodied singing alongside Jordan’s now ubiquitous falsetto. The first single from the EP, Go To Me provides a glimpse as to what his upcoming LP might sound like. The song has been critically celebrated, with ChippedHip.com calling it a “cinematic pop rocker” and Holeytonal dubbing it a “gracefully dramatic little masterpiece.”

Gracefully dramatic enough to be featured in ‘Catch .44’, an upcoming film starring Bruce Willis & Forrest Whitaker, joining other Klassen creations which have found their ways onto television series’ including USA Network’s ‘Royal Pains,’ and the upcoming iTunes version of late 90’s TV show ‘Felicity’.

It has been over a year since his 2010 release, the subdued St. Brigid EP. The spring centered album was the second in Klassen’s chronicling of the seasons, the first being Tempest & Winter, an album which put him on the map with appearances at Calgary Folk Music Festival and Rifflandia, along with a live performance on CBC Radio 1 and extensive airplay on CBC Radio 2.

After 4 years spent in Calgary where he established himself as an emerging artist, Klassen returned to British Columbia in 2010, settling into his hometown of Vancouver. The return to the west coast allowed for the fruitful collaboration with Jonathan Anderson (Aidan Knight, In Medias Res) at Buena Vista Audio where Jordan Klassen’s new material has taken shape.

Jordan Klassen Kindess Tour Dates

February 17 – Vancouver @ The Media Club with Bed of Stars & Northcote
March 15 Canmore, AB – COMMUNITEA ^
March 16 Caronport, SK – BRIERCREST COLLEGE *
March 21 Toronto, ON – The Dakota Tavern – Canadian Music Festival
March 23 Oakville, ON – HOUSE SHOW * #
March 27 London, ON – CALL THE OFFICE * #
March 28 Hamilton, ON – CASBAH LOUNGE * #
March 30 Montreal, QC – LE CAGIBI * #
March 31 Woodstock, NB – HOUSE SHOW * #
April 3 Charlottetown, PEI – BABA’S LOUNGE *
April 4 Halifax, NS – TBA * #
April 5 Quebec City, QC – TBA *
April 9 Ottawa, ON – ZAPHOD BEBBLEBROX *
April 10 Orangeville, ON – AARDVARK MUSIC *
April 12 Sudbury, ON – THE TOWNEHOUSE *
April 13 Sault Ste Marie, ON – LOPLOP LOUNGE *
April 14 Thunder Bay, ON – CROCK’S *
April 16 Winnipeg, MB – AQUABOOKS *
April 17 Brandon, MB – NORTH HILL INN *
April 18 Estevan, SK – COFFEE COMFORT *
April 19 Regina, SK – CREATIVE CITY CENTRE * %
April 20 Saskatoon, SK – LYDIA’S PUB * %
April 21 Calgary, AB – THE HUB * ^
April 22 Lethbridge, AB – THE SLICE * ^
April 23 Edmonton, AB – WUNDERBAR * ^
April 25 Nelson, BC – THE ROYAL *
April 27 Kamloops, BC – THE ART WE ARE *
April 28 Kelowna, BC – STREAMING CAFE *

* with Andy Shauf
# with The Mountains & The Trees
^ with Boreal Sons
% with Fisticuffs

Global Music Fest expands with world beats

Andrew Allen and En Karma headline the third annual Global Music Festival in Kelowna. After selling out last year, the festival is expanding to two nights this year, Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Laurel Packinghouse.

Vernon’s Andrew Allen brings his globe trotting experience and joyful pop songs to the stage as Friday night’s headliner. Andrew is joined by Vancouver’s experimental pop band, Behind Sapphire and Yukon rockers, Speed Control.

Saturday night has more of a world music bent to it with a bill topped by North America’s pre-eminent Bhangra group, En Karma. The Surrey band wowed crowds at Robson Square during the Vancouver Olympics, the 2009 Salmon Arms Roots and Blues Festival, Surrey’s Party for the Planet in 2011, and the Vancouver 125 celebrations. Warming the stage for En Karma is Radio 3 darlings, Rococode, who just released their first album. The baroque inspired indie band from Vancouver is no stranger to Kelowna, having played its debut show at BreakOut West 2010. Local celtic rock band Cod Gone Wild adds its world sound to Satuday night as the openers. The dance floor will be prepped for this energetic night of Canadian world music.

Friday’s event is all ages and Saturday’s event is 19+.

Tickets are on sale now. Advanced tickets are $15/night or $18 at the door (limited number) and available in Kelowna at Leo’s Video, 2680 Pandosy St. or here.

Global Music Fest is a Global Citizen Kelowna event and kickstarts Global Citizen Week 2012. The goals for the week are to entertain, education and inspire change.

Reading Week Riot! Canadian Songwriters Hit the Road for Western Tour

Hot on the heels of a hit single and viral video, singer-songwriters James Struthers will team up with Lilith Fair artist Kate Morgan for a western Canada tour, reaching British Columbia just in time for Reading Week February 18-24, 2012.

 Sat. Feb. 18 @ 7 pm    Java Jive, Salmon Arm, BC                                         $7 cover charge
Sun. Feb. 19 @ TBA     Globe Café & Tapas, Big White, Kelowna, BC           $8 cover
Mon. Feb. 20 @ 6 pm The Den Bar & Bistro, Silver Star Mountain, BC      Free
Tue. Feb. 21 @ 8 pm   The Minstrel Café, Kelowna, BC                                $5 cover
Wed. Feb. 22 @ 8 pm The Art We Are, Kamloops, BC                                  $7 Cover
Thu. Feb. 23 @ TBA    Globe Café & Tapas, Sun Peaks, Kamloops, BC         $8 Cover
Fri. Feb. 24 @ 9 pm    Joe’s Apartment, Vancouver, BC (Tall Poppy Showcase) $10 adv., $12 @ door 

British Columbia music fans may be familiar with James Struthers work, following the success of his recent single, Blue Christmas, which hit the Top Ten in the national Adult Contemporary radio charts.  Struthers’ cover version of the song popularized by Elvis Presley, peaked at #8 in December, putting the 23-year-old Winnipeg musician in the radio charting ranks of Michael Buble and Justin Bieber.

In the meantime, Struthers’ video for his Transformers-inspired, self-written song You, Me and Optimus Prime has reached more than 177,000 YouTube views. The video was also recently featured by famed radio host Alan Cross, and gadget news site, Gizmodo (one of the Top 50 most visited websites in the world).

Songwriter Kate Morgan, who resides in Vancouver and grew up in Kamloops, has already accomplished many feats in her 18 years. Kate has opened for high profile acts like The Sheepdogs, K’naan and Fefe Dobson; performed at the 2011 Grey Cup Festival and 2010 Olympic Games; and is the youngest headline performer to ever play Lilith Fair; where she shared the stage with her heroes Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow.

“I was really, really lucky getting to play Lilith Fair. I had an in. One of the girls who sang backup vocals on my single at the time, Lovin’ You, worked at Nettwerk Records. She ended up playing the song for Lilith Fair co-founder Terry McBride and he called me in for a meeting,” says Kate.

Opportunities keep popping up for Kate, who will showcase at Canadian Music Week in Toronto this March, then travel to New York and LA to work with some high-profile writing/production teams.

This is the second major tour for James and Kate, who met while performing at the same Kamloops concert in August 2011. Kate then joined James for the remainder of his summer Coast-to-Coast tour. “We definitely took a risk having Kate jump in the station wagon with me. There are a lot of variables at play when you’re on the road, but we got along famously, especially considering the fact we shared as small a space as that for a month. I think I can speak for both of us when I say it was an incredible experience,” says James.

Touring together led to the discovery of joint interests: James and Kate share an undeniable passion for music and songwriting, childish things like Smurfs and Transformers, neither has a favorite colour, and they both have chicken pox scars in the same place (above the left eye).

While James and Kate play their own independent sets during each concert, they also join each other for some duets – and have recently started their own side project, called James And Kate. They will be showcasing some of their joint tunes during their BC tour stops.

To learn more about James Struthers and Kate Morgan, please visit:

http://www.jamesstruthers.com

http://www.katemorgan.ca

http://www.jamesandkate.net

Global Music Festival – Songs for Charity by Local Songwriters

Six local songwriters have banded together to support local non-profits. They have each written a song for their selected local non-profit organization.
Its all part of this years rendition of Global Music Fest. Part of Global Citizen Week the music festival will be showcasing local talent, locally based non-profits and a few headlining acts. This years headliners are Andrew Allen (Feb 24th) and N. America’s pre-eminant Bhangra band Enkarma (Feb 25th).
To add a unique flair to promoting our local non-profits six songwriters agreed to compose songs based on  six globally minded locally based non-profits.  The hope is to draw attention to our amazing local talent in our community while also shedding some light on some amazing initiatives.

Another new music festival!

The Rock the Peach Festival has been getting some press lately with the release of the first round of artists – RONNIE DUNN, WALK OFF THE EARTH, COLLECTIVE SOUL,  SAM ROBERTS BAND,  BLACKIE & THE RODEO KINGS,  WAR and THREE DOG NIGHT.  The event takes place in Penticton on July 27-29th, 2012.  Now, another new Festival, the Keloha Festival will take place in Kelowna on July 6-8th, 2012.  See you there!

Great weekend to check out live music in Kelowna

Are you going to see Hedley, the OSO or Louise Petrie this weekend?  Maybe you’re going to one of the 15 other options for live music in Kelowna!

Fri Feb 10
Hedley, Karl Wolf, Classified – Prospera Place
Anna Jacyszyn – Vintner’s Poolside Grill
Okanagan Symphony: Pops Concert ~ OSO AT THE MOVIES – Kelowna Community Theatre
the ROWDYMEN – The Minstrel Cafe
Steve Todd & Dana Barnes the Dueling Pianos – Pheasant & Quail Pub
Cruel Young Heart and Oceans Apart – Flashbacks
Hambone – Dakodas Sports Pub
Natasha Williamson – Grateful Fed
Wheelhouse – The Blue Gator
Classified & Karl Wolf After Party – Sapphire Nightclub

Sat Feb 11
Alex Buck Trio – Duncan’s Bistro and Bar
The Keith Price Trio – Streaming Cafe
Louise Pitre~ From Broadway to Paris – Rotary Centre for the Arts
Anna Jacyszyn – Vintner’s Poolside Grill
Steve Todd & Dana Barnes the Duelling Pianos – Pheasant & Quail Pub
Ash Grunwald – The Minstrel Cafe
Red Eye Empire –  Doc Willoughby’s Downtown Pub
Hambone – Dakodas Sports Pub
Wild Son & Guests – Grateful Fed
Wheelhouse – The Blue Gator

Get your tickets for lots of upcoming shows at Habitat including Bend Sinister, Islands, Daniel Wesley and Said the Whale!

And for listings for shows in the North and South Okanagan, check out this great site –http://oook.ca/ (Facebook Page)

 

Cruel Young Heart, Oceans Apart and Nuuka – Friday at Flashbacks

Cruel Young Heart is a Dance Pop/Rock band, hailing from Vancouver, B.C. similar to bands like the Killers, and Dragonette.Cruel Young Heart contains thick drums and catchy lyrics, with a smooth blend of dance synth and guitars. The band is described as pop rock with heart.

The three-piece band includes James Blackmon on vocals, Andrew Blackmon on drums and Mark Armstrong on guitar. Cruel Young Heart is becoming known as a band whose style and character are as appealing as their music. With their aesthetically enjoyable live shows and catchy hook driven songs they are poised to take pop music for a joyride.

Recently they have been reviewed by the Province for their performance at the Judas Priest After Show as the band with “the carefree energy with which the catchy music broaches matters of the heart evokes a male- led Dragonette or a young, unpolished version of The Killers.”
Facebook event 

Vernon’s Andrew Allen to headline Global Music Fest in Kelowna

By Jennifer Smith – Kelowna Capital News
Published: February 01, 2012 5:00 PM

After four years on tour, it will be a nice reprieve for Vernon’s Andrew Allen to take the lead on the second annual Global Music Fest at the Laurel Packinghouse this month.

Announced as the headliner on Wednesday, Feb. 1, the active Twitter bug let the odd hint fly via social media prior to the big drum roll with a brief promo plug for the event mid-January.

Either way, the choice should have been obvious according to event founder and organizer Ryan Donn.

“Andrew has always been on the radar,” he said. “He’s the perfect person to headline it. Andrew is a person whose always had a connection with his community, but he’s also our global musician. He’s our ambassador for Canada, so we thought lets bring him back and have him play and bring in that ‘how do you want to engage with the world around you?’ element. As he walks the streets of Nashville, he’s representing Canada.”

“That’s right,” Allen chimed in during a joint interview with the pair. “I have a large Canadian flag tattoo on my body and I walk around naked.”

Characteristically lighthearted, Allen is every bit the ambassador for the event, though he’s been rubbing some pretty highfalutin shoulders of late, opening for big acts like Bruno Mars, The Script, Barenaked Ladies (at the Kentucky Derby) and OneRepublic (in Golden Gate Park).

Following on the heels of last year’s main act Shane Koyczan, Allen gives Global Music Fest some big name pizzazz and the artist himself gets a brief dalliance in the headlining limelight after several years as wingman to some of the biggest names in the business.

Now a full weekend event, Global Music Fest is all about acting locally to have an effect globally and kicks off Global Citizen week in the Okanagan. As such, it draws the non-profit sector together, using artists to attract attention for causes. And Allen appears to be the perfect prototype.

Sporting a Flex Watch, with different wristbands colour-coded to support causes, Allen said he plays a Duncan Africa guitar built in Africa to help support a village (it’s tweaked by a guitar master in the Lower Mainland for fine tuning).

In January, he stopped in Vernon and treated his hometown to a concert, allowing local high school students to get some experience by joining him on stage. He’s a huge believer in the school band program, he said, noting he came through the system himself.

Come Global Music Fest, local singer/songwriters will reap the benefits of this benevolent style. Six songwriters—Dan Oig, Brent Taylor, Leah West, Mark Irving, Jeff Piattelli and Jeff Pike—have all been selected to write a song for six local non-profit organizations. The organizations receive a little publicity and a final product they can use in future marketing initiatives and the artists get a chance to compete on their skills, write a radio-friendly song and fire a few tough questions Allen’s way.

Spins on the radio and media attention are critical in the Canadian music business, Allen said.

“Especially in the Canadian music industry, we need to have heard that somebody is qualified,” he said. “So if you have songs on radio, then all of a sudden people go: oh, okay, he’s alright. We need somebody to tell us it’s good.”

As someone who once offered himself up for living room sessions in an artist-for-hire routine, Allen has blazed the trail from small town B.C. starving artist to gigs opening for big bands like Train and says marketing, connections and, above all else, radio play will ensure a musician makes it to the top of the pile.

What one chooses to do with that success is really the wild card.

Ask Allen where he would like to go and he’s got the layout for his first major headliner show all dialed in.

“It would totally be movements. The show would start off with a big explosive bang and party section and then I love to, in the middle of a set, bring it way down and get very intimate.

“And I know for sure I would have a really cool horn section,” he added, noting he played the saxophone in high school, learned guitar from Vernon’s Neil Fraser and started piano at age five.

Andrew Allen plays Global Music Fest in Kelowna February 24, followed by En Karma, Rococode and Cod Gone Wild Feb. 25 at the Laurel Packinghouse. Tickets are $15 available at Leo’s videos or online.