Access Winnipeg

Cassidy Mann
2022-03-24 20:00 - 23:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, R3C1A8, Canada
Cassidy Mann plus Taylor Jackson.

CASSIDY MANN
By entwining her acoustic roots with gentle electronic textures, singer-songwriter Cassidy Mann finds her true voice on the upcoming debut EP, If It’s Not Forever. As a lyricist, she often reshapes a small moment into a powerful and poetic song that feels both personal and relatable. What makes these recordings stand out, though, is the way the sonic approach enhances the storyline, allowing her to share her most intimate memories in a singular way.
Co-producing with her friend Roman Clarke, Mann wanted to find a cinematic yet wistful sound to complement these emotionally driven pop songs. They achieved that effect through reverb and delay on the guitars, along with crafting lyrics about specific moments in past relationships.
“My favorite thing is to write about tiny things that make the bigger picture more important somehow,” she says. “I was wondering a lot about how two people can be in the same situation and have different memories attached to those times. It’s interesting to me how memories are interpretable that way.”
TAYLOR JACKSON
More info coming soon :)

Match #14 de la LIM - Rouges v Verts (suivi d'une soirée Trivia)
2022-03-25 20:00 - 21:30 | Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain, 340 Provencher Blvd, WInnipeg, MB, R2H 0G7, Canada
Venez rire avec nous à la LIM chaque fin de semaine au CCFM. Le match d’impro sera suivi par une soirée trivia de 21h45 à 1h du matin.

Venez rire avec nous à la LIM chaque fin de semaine à 20h au CCFM. On a tellement hâte de vivre de l’impro ensemble encore une fois. Le match d’impro sera suivi par une soirée trivia de 21h45 à 1h du matin organisé par muvmãte et le Conseil jeunesse provincial.
Adultes 8 $ | Étudiants.es 5 $ (+frais de service)
Portes à 19 h 30 | Match à 20 h
Achetez votre billet d’avance pour garantir une place jusqu’à 20 h 15.
Consignes COVID-19:

La double vaccination est nécessaire pour toutes personnes désirant entrer sur le site. S’il vous plaît présenter votre code QR ainsi qu’une pièce d’identité à l’entrée.

Le port du masque est obligatoire lorsque vous ne mangez ou buvez pas.

La distanciation physique reste nécessaire lorsque vous êtes debout.

Ne venez pas au spectacle si vous êtes malade, même avec des symptômes mineurs.

Vous allez vous asseoir avec d’autres gens dans la salle. La distanciation physique entre les places n’est pas garantie.

Merci à nos commanditaires de la saison:

Bleus – Caisse Groupe Financier
Jaunes – Société de la francophonie manitobaine
Rouges – Conseil jeunesse provincial
Verts – Université de Saint-Boniface

An Evening With Ron Sexsmith
2022-03-25 20:00 - 23:00 | West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B1Z8, Canada
Ron Sexsmith – Saturday, May 9th at the West End Cultural Centre

Every ticket for this show includes a digital download of Ron Sexsmith’s forthcoming album, Hermitage (available April 17, 2020). Approximately 7 days after purchase, you will receive an additional email with instructions on how to redeem your album. Canadian residents only. Not valid for Fan to Fan Resale
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At 56, Canada’s foremost well-heeled troubadour has made a most unlikely discovery: domestic bliss. All it took, it turns out, was leaving the city he loved.
Following 30 years as an emblem of Toronto’s west end, Ron Sexsmith reluctantly uprooted to the serene hamlet of Stratford, Ontario, and the melodic, playful, theatrically vivacious Hermitage came gushing out.
“Almost immediately after arriving here I just felt this kind of enormous stress cloud evaporate and all these songs started coming,” recalls Sexsmith. “I’d walk along the river every day into town and feel like Huckleberry Finn or something. It had a really great effect on my overall state of being.”
This new zen can be heard from the first moments of Kinks-esque album opener, “Spring of the Following Year,” as the serene sound of birds situate the listener into Sexsmith’s state of grace.
“We’d moved in the winter time and I was imagining how pretty it was going to be in the spring,” he explains. “We have this sort of idyllic kind of existence — we have bunnies in the yard and are surrounded by trees on all sides, so we get tons of birds. Every morning I hear these cardinals and we had a duck in the yard; I’d never really noticed birds in Toronto.”
It’s not like he was planning to write his 16th long player as soon as he arrived, he adds. After all, Sexsmith was already quite busy turning his first novel, Deer Life, into a prospective musical. But when melodies as infectious as the Chi-Lights-inspired “You Don’t Want to Hear It” or the ear-worm inducing “Lo and Behold” entered his mind, he had to get them on record. Adding his signature mischievously astute worldplay (in “Dig Nation,” for example) to ground the album firmly in the Sexsmith oeuvre. Even the album’s title is a coy subversion of the 15 time Juno nominee’s own expectations upon arriving in Justin Bieber’s hometown. “I felt I’d reached the age where I could be a hermit finally, but it didn’t really work out that way,” he laughs.
Further reflecting Sexsmith’s new confidence, Hermitage is the first album on which he played nearly all the instruments, an idea he credits to producer and longtime drummer Don Kerr. “Don said ‘Why don’t you make one of those sort of Paul McCartney-type records?’ and it’s like a light bulb went on over my head,” he says. “That had never occurred to me.”
The result is the songwriter’s most self-assured collection, still charmingly subtle yet increasingly full of musical vigor, as on “Chateau Mermaid,” an ode to his own Stratford Graceland, or the surprisingly hopeful “Small Minded World,” (originally penned for the Addams Family film), in which Sexsmith croons, Oh now don’t feel blue ‘cos they don’t get you, you’ll win this small minded world.
“I think it’s a very upbeat album, lyrically,” he confirms. “It’s reflective of the sort of peacefulness that I’d recently felt. I’m getting more comfortable in my own skin.”
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

The Darkness
2022-03-25 20:00 - 23:00 | MB
The Darkness – Presented by MRG Live

The Darkness
MotherHeart Tour 2022
w/ The Dead Deads
Friday, March 25th, 2022

Attica Riots - TWO NIGHTS - FRI & SAT MARCH 25/26
2022-03-25 21:30 - 2022-03-26 23:59 | Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, R3C1A8, Canada
TWO NIGHTS with Attica Riots. Powerhouse rock and rollers from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada!

The members of Canada’s Attica Riots have what can only be described as a cosmic musical connection. Any musician will tell you that’s not always the case in a band scenario, where democracy can fail when egos, opinions, and dominant personalities do battle, thus sinking a band before it even sets sail. So, when you have that type of “on the same page” connection, you hold on to it. And that’s just what Attica Riots are doing. You can’t argue with the results, which are the fiery and infectious alt-rock anthems this trio creates.

James Vincent McMorrow
2022-03-28 20:00 - 23:00 | The Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2B9, Canada
WFF Presents James Vincent McMorrow

Doors: 7:00 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Tickets: Available on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 10:00 AM
PLEASE NOTE: Any purchase of concert tickets through third-party sites or resellers is at your own risk. Tickets should only be purchased through winnipegfolkfestival.ca or someone you know and trust to reduce risk.
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ABOUT
“There’s a particular lyric on James Vincent McMorrow’s forthcoming fifth studio album which works as a skeleton key for the entire record. It comes at the beginning of the sparse and rhythmic “Gone,” when an animated McMorrow sings, “I give less fucks than I used to, still give a lot of fucks.”
It’s a sign of belligerent intent: known as a cryptic vocalist whose poetic lyrics often needed a second or third analysis, the line is a provocative uppercut. “I’ve always written in a truthful way,” says McMorrow, “but I’ve grown a lot in these last few years and now I feel less fearful than ever.” On this album, he’s come to understand and accept himself on a deeper level. It’s not about how everything in life suddenly makes sense; it’s about making peace with the fact that nothing does.
Over the last decade, Dublin-born McMorrow has established himself as a multi-faceted songwriter with a vast spectrum of styles. He sings, produces, plays everything, and has a network of collaborators that stretches around the world. He’s crafted a home for himself in the worlds of hip-hop and textured r&b even worked on Drake’s 2016 album, Views. It’s fair to say his early days of being pigeon-holed as an ‘indie folk singer-songwriter’ are long dead.
He’s remained resolutely independent this whole time, self-financing his artistic ambition. But for his new record, Grapefruit Season, he felt it was time to push things up a level. “I’ve always made albums to the degree that I could afford, and they usually hit a wall. A point would come where you’ve maxed out your budget and you have to compromise,” he says. This time, he wanted no compromises. For Grapefruit Season, he signed to a major (Columbia Records), flew out to LA, rented a big studio and started bringing collaborators in.
But things didn’t work out the way he’d planned. The LA instinct is to move fast and get things made and out so that more can be made. The sessions were energized and fruitful, and he created a bank of special moments, but McMorrow quickly realized that the album in his mind — the album that wanted to be made — would require much more patience, detail, and specificity than LA would allow it. “I like to find something small that is amazing and blow it as wide as possible, then rip it back to square one,” he says, “that’s how I love to make music.”
He’d also just become a dad, which made him look at his craft in a whole new way. “In the past, I used to equate productivity with working as much as physically possible,” he says. “But once I had a kid — and I had this small person I wanted to be around as much as possible rather than being in the studio — I realized that it isn’t about how much you work but what you create. I realized that if I didn’t want to be in the studio, then it was because the work wasn’t as good as it needed to be.”
He went back home to Dublin. In LA he’d created the bare bones of something unique, but he didn’t know what. He got back into his usual patterns: working on his laptop at home, or at his studio five minutes down the road. It swirled in his head, a million avenues he could walk down. He wanted to bring someone in to discuss the work, someone who could give him clarity. Then one day Lil Silva told him that the Grammy and Academy Award-winning music producer, Paul Epworth, was a big fan. “This was someone I’d admired since I was a kid,” says McMorrow.
In Epworth’s studio, a big refurbished church in North London, the pair explored their musical imaginations for a while. “I would play him something,” says McMorrow, “he would run around the room, jump on some synths, or whip out a guitar and start playing something. It was super infectious. He energized me. He basically said: you don’t need anyone’s help on this, you got it. And when one of the best producers in the world is telling you that, it means something. I’d lost a little faith in my workflow and methods. But he helped me realize my brain would make sense of this.”
McMorrow’s internal journey of the last ten years underpins the lyrics of the album. “I have more responsibilities, people and expectations around me than ever, and the world is constantly telling me to change and grow as a person,” he explains. “But I don’t feel any more responsible or capable than I did when I was 18 years old. The record is about embracing the idea that it’s okay to not have things figured out. It’s about embracing the chaos and belligerence of life, rather than bending or changing yourself to suit what society expects of you,” he says. “I see so many people trying to preach about some higher plane of thinking, but I wanted this record to just be like: I’m a mess, we all are, and that’s okay.” This feeling inspired the title of the record: Grapefruit Season.
“As a kid, I used to watch my mum eat grapefruit, she’d say it’s good for you. I started eating it a lot, even though I didn’t enjoy it,” he says. “I feel like there are so many things in life that people tell you to do because it will be ‘good’ for you or it will ‘change’ you in some way. You can spend your life trying to have these revelations, and wait for everything to click into place or make sense. But life is chaos, nobody is in control, there is no big revelation. But there is magic. I finally feel accepting of who I am and at ease.”
This idea that life is chaos spreads across the entire album. Epworth produced a handful of songs, and other collaborators include Lil Silva, Kenny Beats, Patrick Wimberly (Chairlift), and more. But the bulk of the album was written and produced by McMorrow himself. The result is myriad and intoxicating. Delicate acoustic songs sit alongside dancehall bangers in between tender r&b ballads. There’s rap beats, emo-sounding live drums, and alt-country.
A perfect example of this is the enormous sounding “Headlights.” The song opens with a vocoder reminiscent of French bloghouse, before evolving into a soaring gospel-tinged track filled with drum breaks that propel it forward. “I wanted it to start in a plaintive humble place and finish in this huge place,” says McMorrow, whose crisp and glowing vocals, by the end of the song, turn strained and impassioned. “Everyone could start to leave,” he sings, threading together bittersweet imagery of things around you fading away.
At the complete other end of the spectrum is “I Should Go,” a sparse and soul-inflected jam with a thick bass line — that was started with Tim Suby in LA and finished with Kenny Beats in between London and LA.
The song “Paradise,” which was produced by Paul Epworth and Lil Silva, features a children’s choir. The lyrics are about pretending everything is fine when it really isn’t. “It features a children’s choir because it needed to feel naive and sincere,” says McMorrow. “I’d assumed this song wouldn’t connect with a bunch of kids, but when they arrived in the studio they had learned every single line and couldn’t stop singing it. It reminded me why we make music: it’s not a selfish endeavor, it’s for everyone.”
There are no recurring motifs on Grapefruit Season. Every song stands alone, a group of islands, between which only connection is McMorrow’s diverse musical imagination. “The album is completely disconnected, and I love that,” says McMorrow. “I didn’t want a sonically consistent album, because that’s not how I listen to music. When I was a kid, I had 200 CDs in my car and would change songs mid-way, from Deftones to Justin Timberlake to N.E.R.D without any irony or concern. I’ve never brought that energy to my own work because I was afraid to. But I’ve lost that fear now. The result is a record that is by its very nature chaotic because that is how life is to me.”

Mardi Jazz - Suzanne Kennely
2022-03-29 20:00 - 21:30 | Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain, 340 Provencher Blvd, WInnipeg, MB, R2H 0G7, Canada
Mardi Jazz – Suzanne Kennely

Depuis 1986, le Centre culturel franco-manitobain fait vibrer la culture jazz à Winnipeg au travers de son programme « Mardi Jazz ».
Après une pause forcée due à la pandémie, le CCFM offre à nouveau le Mardi Jazz, en présentiel.
– LES PORTES ET LE BAR OUVRENT À 19H00!
– LES BILLETS SONT ÉGALEMENT DISPONIBLES À LA PORTE!
L’auteure-compositrice Suzanne Kennelly jumelle ses deux grandes passions, le jazz et langue française, dans un spectacle qui offre à la fois chansons originales et un hommage aux géants de la chanson francophone. Sa voix, comme le bon chocolat, est intense et riche et sa personnalité chaleureuse.
Son premier mini-album SUZANNE KENNELLY JAZZ a récolté une nomination aux prix Trille Or (2019). Avec ses talentueux musiciens, elle prépare présentement un deuxième album dont vous entendrez des extraits en primeur. Une soirée qui fera du bien à ne pas manquer!
Singer-songwriter Suzanne Kennelly combines her two great passions, jazz and the French language, in a show that offers both original songs and a tribute to the giants of Francophone song. Her voice, like good chocolate, is intense and rich and her personality warm.
Her first mini-album SUZANNE KENNELLY JAZZ was nominated for a Trille Or award (2019). With her talented musicians, she is currently working on a second album of which you will hear excerpts. An evening that will do you good, not to be missed!

Consignes COVID-19:

La double vaccination est nécessaire pour toutes personnes désirant entrer dans le site. Merci de présenter votre code QR ainsi qu’une pièce d’identité à l’entrée.

Le port du masque est obligatoire lorsque vous n’êtes pas assis.

La distanciation physique reste nécessaire lorsque vous êtes debout.

Ne venez pas au spectacle si vous êtes malade, même avec des symptômes mineurs.

Merci de noter que la distanciation physique quand vous êtes assis n’est pas garantie.

Au plaisir de vous y rencontrer!

WINTERRUPTION - The Lytics
2022-03-30 20:00 - 22:30 | Good Will Social Club, 625 Portage, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2G4, Canada
WINTERRUPTION – The Lytics – Saturday, January 29, 2022 at The West End Cultural Centre

Born in a South End, Winnipeg basement in 2008, The Lytics started more as a pipedream than a possibility. Growing up on a steady diet of early nineties hip hop and R’n’B, the three youngest members of the group, Andrew ‘Andrew.O’ Sannie, Anthony ‘Ashy’ Sannie and Mungala ‘Munga’ Londe honed their rhyming skills on torrented Pete Rock, J.Dilla and Dj Premiere instrumentals downloaded on to an old family computer. Their early recordings, rapped through salvaged microphones — stolen and scavenged from school media rooms — glued back together and taped to coat racks mimicking mic stands were crude, muddled and amateur, yet showed the youthful exuberance that they would eventually hone and garner critical acclaim for.Meanwhile, eldest of the group, Alex ‘B-Flat’ Sannie — brother to Anthony and Andrew — was a burgeoning young producer, making beats for some of Winnipeg’s best rappers and providing the aspiration and inspiration to his younger brothers’ perspiration.
As all good stories go, Alex would join his brothers and newly adopted cousin Munga with the goal of taking the group to the next level. They would eventually add local Dj and family friend, Lonnie ‘Ce’ Compayre and their pipedream all of a sudden had legs.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

WINTERRUPTION - Frannie Klein / Two Crows for Comfort / Bobby Dove
2022-03-30 21:00 - 2022-03-31 23:59 | X-Cues Billiards, 551 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1W4, Canada
Winterrutpion 2022 – Frannie Klein / Two Crows for Comfort / Bobby Dove – Wednesday, March 30th at X-Cues Cafe & Lounge

Unfortunately Diaphanie is under the weather and unable to make the show tomorrow at X-Cues Cafe & Lounge We wish her a speedy recovery.
The wonderful Frannie Klein has stepped up to help us out and it will still be a great night of music with Two Crows for Comfort and Bobby Dove
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Frannie Klein
Frannie grew up on the shores of Lake Manitoba, in Bacon Ridge. She grew up tapping trees with her grandparents, ranching cows, dancing Pow wow and competing in fiddle competitions. Coming from a very musical family, Frannie found her voice in her mid teens where she picked up guitar and singing. She’s opened up for acts like Marty Stuart and Brett Kissel and Charlie Major.
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Two Crows for Comfort
Two Crows for Comfort – a duo that had no intentions of playing anything more than an open mic here and there, and went by a different name anytime they hit the stage. Fast forward a few years and Two Crows (Erin Corbin and Cory Sulyma) have unintentionally created something that seems to work. In December 2018 the duo released their debut full-length album, ‘17 Feet’, with back-to-back sold out shows at the Handsome Daughter in Winnipeg.
Determined to keep the momentum going after the release of ‘17 Feet’, Two Crows continued playing countless shows to get through the harsh prairie winter. In summer, 2019, the duo was seen at countless festivals and even scored opportunities to open for the likes of Pokey Lafarge, Bruce Cockburn, and Ani DiFranco to name a few.
Back from touring Western Canada and still riding the wave of 2019, the duo’s biggest breakthrough came when they were named Roots Artist of the Year at the Manitoba Country Music Awards.
They hit the road again in early 2020 making stops throughout Ontario and Quebec before they hunkered down to record their latest album ‘Show Me Light’ which was released on March 25, 2021.
You can find their new album, ‘Show Me Light’ on all streaming platforms and Vinyl and CD copies are also available for purchase.
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Bobby Dove
Bobby Dove has built a following across Canada and beyond. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Bobby has become known as one of the country’s most dedicated troubadours, crooning live audiences with heart-worn originals, and paying tribute to the golden age of Country music. Along the road, Bobby has worked with a number of legendary players, and shared stages with artists such as Mary Gauthier, Richard Thompson, Irish Mythen, The Sadies and JD Mcpherson. In 2019, Bobby spent a month in residency at the Banff Centre and has performed at a number of Canadian folk fests, including the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Vancouver Island Music Fest and Brandon Folk Fest.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

WINTERRUPTION - The Sadies
2022-03-31 20:00 - 22:30 | West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B1Z8, Canada
Winterruption 2022 – The Sadies – Thursday, January 27, 2022 at the West End Cultural Centre

The West End Cultural Centre, Real Love Winnipeg and our partners across 5 other prairie cities are disappointed to announce that due to the ongoing surge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 across the country, Winterruption WPG 2022 will have to be postponed. The event was supposed to take place January 25-30, 2022 in venues around Winnipeg, however it is incumbent on us to prioritize the safety of performers, attendees, staff, and volunteers. Therefore, new dates will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
Anyone who has purchased tickets for Winterruption shows is welcome to keep them and they will be honoured at the rescheduled dates. If they would prefer a refund on their tickets, they should be in contact with the point of purchase and their request will be processed without question. If a show is unable to be rescheduled, all tickets to the show will be refunded.
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The cover of The Sadies’ new album is a powerful image of the northern lights made by photographer David Kilabuk in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, a sight few of us will ever get to behold with our own eyes. Yet, the awe-inspiring natural beauty and mystery captured in the photo are an ideal reflection of the music contained within. No further embellishment seems necessary.
That’s been the essence of The Sadies’ story ever since the quartet comprised of singer/guitarists Dallas and Travis Good, bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitsky first exploded onto the North American scene 20 years ago. Back then there was still something called “alt-country,” a catchall for artists striving to carry on traditions with punk rock attitude. The Sadies certainly fit that description, but the breadth of their skills and musical knowledge was unparalleled since a group of fellow Torontonians left Ronnie Hawkins in the mid-‘60s to take a job backing Bob Dylan.
As the aurora borealis shifted with each album The Sadies made, the overall picture took on more defined colours. On top of that was the incredible list of collaborations—Neko Case, R&B legend Andre Williams, The Mekons’ Jon Langford, Jon Spencer, Robyn Hitchcock, John Doe, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gord Downie, Neil Young for fuck’s sake!—each one pushing The Sadies’ own sound into new, unmapped territory. Eventually, more time was taken in between albums as focus shifted to their original songwriting, and what was once the best live band in Canada became the best band in Canada, period.
Is it fair then to call Northern Passages their masterpiece? Yes, at least until the next album comes along. With “Riverview Fog” setting a haunting tone off the top, the sense of time collapsing is palpable. The psych-folk touches are no mere homage; this is the sound of our inscrutable world, and how we manage to survive in it. The song began as a letter to their friend Rick White, whose contributions, both musical and visual, have played a huge role in The Sadies’ story. Although White wasn’t involved with Northern Passages, embedded within “Riverview Fog” is hope that White will return to the fold.
Conversely, other friendships are on display, specifically the track “It’s Easy (Like Walking),” sung by Kurt Vile who became a convert after touring in support of The Sadies years ago. Without a second thought, he laid down his vocal part in the midst of his own grueling tour schedule. It’s one of the album’s standouts to be sure, but resides in the shadow of Northern Passage’s centrepiece, “The Elements Song.” Perhaps never before has everything The Sadies do best been harnessed in the span of five minutes. And perhaps fittingly, it was the starting point for Northern Passages when the band convened at the home of Dallas and Travis’ parents north of Toronto to record throughout the winter of 2015, with Dallas once again handling production duties.
“That was the first song I wrote for this album, and it was completely an extension of our last record, Internal Sounds,” Dallas Good says. “It took the longest to write, and took the longest to record, so in a way it gave the record this daunting feeling.”
However, Dallas is quick to note that Northern Passages contains several humourous moments, albeit of the extremely dark variety he’s known for. One is the album’s most overt “country” song, “God Bless The Infidels,” a scathing takedown of religious hypocrisy perfectly suited to our current social climate. Although Dallas has never proclaimed any political allegiances in his work, there are times like now when reality checks such as this are absolutely necessary.
As Dallas has found his songwriting voice over the last several albums, so too has Travis on Northern Passages. That’s evident on the tracks “Through Strange Eyes,” “Questions I Never Asked” and “As Above, So Below,” some of Travis’ strongest material yet. “I always want to hear Travis perform songs that show what he’s capable of,” Dallas says. “He did that all over this record, especially the three songs on which he sings lead.”
The overall group mentality of huddling in a basement for several months, Big Pink-style, actually led to some parallels to the 2004 project The Unintended with Rick White and Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor. Northern Passages’ hazy instrumental “The Noise Museum” would have fit nicely alongside that record’s deep woods psychedelia, while closing track “The Good Years” (containing among other killer lines, “He haunted her before he was dead”), is a prime example of the “northern gothic” approach The Sadies have all but patented.
Despite the eclecticism at the heart of The Sadies’ sound, Northern Passages’ main strength is a cohesiveness that gives it a more consistent feel overall. Dallas credits this in part to recording with no time restrictions or distractions, and, significantly, by returning to the same space where he and Travis first started playing in bands. “We had nothing to lose by trying to make the record down there, and we weren’t sure if anything good would come out of it,” he says. “But removing any unfamiliar elements allowed us to focus a lot better. My parents’ basement turned out to be my favourite studio yet.”
Given all of their associations and tireless touring regimen, it can seem at times as if The Sadies are everywhere, all the time. Yet, they are a band that fans cling to like a closely guarded secret, with each new release fulfilling the promise to reach further, for all of our sakes, not just their own. With Northern Passages, the time has come to make room for more on this wild acid-folk-country-punk trip, and trust me, we’ll be better off because of it.
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Covid-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre believes a healthy community is at the heart of everything we do. In accordance with the Manitoba Government and Manitoba Health protocols –

All performers, crew, staff, volunteers, and patrons must show proof of vaccination and photo ID before they can enter the venue.
Face masks are required on all WECC premises. Please wear your mask when not seated at a table and/or when not drinking or eating.

These practices are meant to keep all of us safe to enjoy all the art and music that Winnipeg has to offer.

SYML
2022-03-31 20:00 - 23:00 | MB
Park Theatre Presents SYML

SYML, Presented by the Park Theatre
W/ Field Guide
Thursday, March 31st, 2022
Doors 7 pm | Show 8 pm
Tickets $23 plus fees

WINTERRUPTION - JP Hoe
2022-03-31 20:00 - 23:00 | West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B1Z8, Canada
Winterruption 2022 – JP Hoe with New Wales – Thursday, March 31st at 8pm

JP Hoe
Ottawa’s National Arts Centre or England’s Shrewsbury Folk Festival. A raucous rhythm section or a deft string ensemble. JP Hoe is a singer songwriter who continues to share his engaging brand of folk rock in one form or another. Over the years he’s brought the show to Australia, the US, Greenland, Europe, and coast to coast in Canada, with more on the horizon. His hometown JP Hoe Hoe Hoe Holiday Show has grown to fill the historic Burton Cummings Theatre, selling out within a few days. He’s added music to film and television soundtracks, charted on CBC Radio 2, and is a member of local super group Middle of Nowhere. His passion to create grows stronger with every project.
“Canada has produced a glut of folk musicians, all wishing to follow in the foot- steps of such trailblazing legends as Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot. Few can reach that benchmark, but JP Hoe’s Saturday set came closer than most.” – Shropshire Star (UK)
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New Wales
‘New Wales’ draws on the simplicity and depth of the place they call home, with classic songwriting and production styles reminiscent of R.E.M. and Tom Petty, mixed with the immediacy and upbeat catchiness of MGMT and Beck. Pull back the veil on the seemingly straight-ahead pop songs and you’ll find something new every time, “I feel I’ve entered one of those vintage stores where the prices are a little higher than you want, but the crap-junk choices have already been sorted out.” says producer Rusty Matyas (Imaginary Cities, The Weakerthans).
Veteran Winnipeg Musicians David Pankratz, Sandy Taronno, Matthew Harder, Matt Worobec and Jamie Taronno have played stages all over the world, whether writing, producing or touring with their own projects or lending skills to talented friends, they’ve developed a combined century of experience in the music industry, racking up major songwriting credits, awards, and loyal fans. The first two single releases, ‘Face Tattoo’ and ‘Winnipeg’ (Fall 2019) are rich with big, sing-along melodies and chord structures that can offer energizing positivity, or reflective beauty. “They’re the kind of songs you have blaring out of your convertible while driving down the freeway,” says mix engineer Dave Schiffman (Vampire Weekend, The Strumbellas, Adele),“In my 25 plus years of making records I have always tried to work with artists who are true to themselves and their craft. New Wales more than fulfills that goal and I expect to hear big things from these guys.”
New Wales will be releasing a song, a video, and a remix every month for the rest of 2021. ‘Full Grown’, the first in line, will be released March 5th, 2021.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

Soul Shindig! Featuring The Solutions
2022-03-31 21:00 - 23:00 | Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, R3C1A8, Canada
7-piece soul music sensations The Solutions kick off a brand-new monthly night of funky Memphis and Motown-style sounds!

The Solutions are a high-powered 7 piece band playing some of the best-known Soul music from the 1960s and 70s and beyond. Featuring enigmatic horns, power-house vocals and a funky rhythm section, these friends add their own unique and undeniable energy to the stage while paying homage to the original style of such artists as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. Entertaining fans in Winnipeg for almost a decade with their dynamic performances, they’ve grown into an act well known for their ability to get people up dancing and coming back for more!

WINTERRUPTION - jonny moonbeam / riel.
2022-03-31 21:00 - 2022-04-01 00:00 | X-Cues Billiards, 551 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1W4, Canada
WINTERRUPTION 2022 – jonny moonbeam / riel. / Gabrielle Fontaine – Thursday, March 31st at X-Cues Cafe & Lounge

Jonny Moonbeam
Busy scrolling through his intergalactic newsfeed, lunar lad of mystery jonny moonbeam totally did not see that spy satellite he clipped, summarily crashing his spacecraft just outside Ottawa and catapulting right into the middle of a parliamentary debate on distracted driving.
He thought this was hilarious. Now stranded in Winnipeg awaiting ship repairs, he’s been parsing CPAC and writing songs about Canadian politics and 21st century living.
Digging on 90’s Much Music reruns, vintage Brit rock and any singer whose ever raised a voice for social justice, Moonbeam (a dead ringer for Daniel Jordan of Red Moon Road) reveals a brand new 4 song collection of political rockers (Co-Produced with Rusty Matyas of Imaginary Cities and mixed/mastered by Grammy nominated Phil Bova).
Tackling the Sunny Ways of a certain well quaffed PM, the non-existent clothes of an orange-tinted-emperor-baby-with-a-hand-complex and what it means to ‘stand on guard for thee’, jonny moonbeam waxes power pop politically poetic.
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riel.
riel. is a provocative honest story teller from winnipeg manitoba. using history and landscape riel. tells an honest story and depiction of his surroundings. riel. was recently recognized as an emerging indigenous artist through the manitoba arts network. riel just released their debut single “terrified” streaming on all music platforms.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

NOLA Night - Dirty Catfish Brass Band (sponsored by Torque Brewing)
2022-04-01 19:00 - 2022-04-02 01:00 | Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, R3C1A8, Canada
World-class 8-piece brass band playing the music of New Orleans in a funky downtown honky-tonk. What more do you need to know?

The Dirty Catfish Brass Band bring New Orleans Night back to the Times Change(d)! Early and late shows! 10pm show features an opening set by the Funky Miracles.

WINTERRUPTION - Morgan McMichaels
2022-04-01 20:00 - 22:30 | West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B1Z8, Canada
Winterruption presents Morgan McMichaels – April 1, 2022 – 8:00pm at the West End Cultural Centre

Morgan McMichaels is the stage name of Thomas White. A local fixture in Southern California’s drag circuit, White became a reality television personality when he joined the cast of the Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

WINTERRUPTION - Andino Suns / Dr. Henry / El Leon & The Strangers
2022-04-01 21:00 - 2022-04-02 00:00 | X-Cues Billiards, 551 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1W4, Canada
Winterruption 2022 – Andino Suns / Dr. Henry / El Leon & The Strangers – Friday, April 1st at X-Cues Cafe & Lounge

Andino Suns
Andino Suns grew out of the desire for Andrés Davalos to recreate the music he’d grown up listening to at home. His parents were exiled to Canada when a fascist dictatorship took over their homeland, Chile, in the early 70s. Though they found peace in Canada, Andrés’ parents missed terribly the way of life from which they had been violently uprooted. They continued to surround themselves with their Chilean culture, passing it down to their children through stories, traditional Andean music and folk dances, and media. It’s no surprise then that a worldview of political activism, hope, and love, underpins the music of Andino Suns.
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Dr. Henry
Portage and Mainers are reknowned for treating their seasonal affective disorder by staying inside to rock and roll when it’s 40 below but here’s a new remedy: a house call from Dr. Henry, ready to treat your SAD with an exciting hit of groovy, hip-shaking, Afro-fusion jazz! Dr. Henry band’s three core musicians met in Winnipeg after moving from Nigeria for higher education pursuits. Their cool sound is shaped by their West African roots as well as familial influences, musical inspirations and collaborations with fellow Winnipeggers. In their vibrant and colourful musical mosaic, you can hear Afro-beat inspired by its master, Fela Kuti, as well as neo-soul and polyrhythmic jazz. It’s delightfully infectious and an instant cure-all. Call the Dr. Henry band for whatever ails you.
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El Leon & The Strangers
El Leon and The Strangers aims at making you rock, dance and think critically. They write and sing original songs that go from the whimsical and fun part of life to the thoughtful and sometimes unsettling lyrics about social realities. It is a band formed by South American rockers established in Winnipeg. Together they fusion Rock with folk elements from each of their cultures of origin, using a myriad of world instruments such as hand drums, charangos, quena, accordions, among other. During their first year the band played almost every venue at their local scene of Winnipeg. In 2019 the band released their first single called “Cumbia Baby” produced and engineered at Private Ear studios in Winnipeg. Promoting that single they played in various out of province venues including The Marquee, Calgary, AB, The 40 Brandon, MB, and Fiestaval Latin festival in Calgary. In that festival they opened for the Chilean Rock Legend “Los Prisioneros”. Other Winnipeg highlights include successful performances at Folklorama, Reggae and Socca Festival, collaborations with other groups at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival. The band is preparing to hit the road in a full swing western Canada tour in 2020 and the upcoming festival season, with the release of their new self-titled EP. Their ambitious schedule for the near future includes releasing 10 songs during 2020 and completing their first ever Western Canada Tour.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

the BUZZ Vintage and Handmade CO OP Pop Up Shop
2022-04-02 11:00 - 15:00 | The Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2B9, Canada
Vintage and Hand Made CO-OP

Saturday, April 2nd, 2022
Doors 11 am
Shop 11 am till 3:30 pm
Vintage and Hand Made

Dance with the Dead
2022-04-02 20:00 - 23:00 | MB
Park Theatre Presents

Dance with the Dead
Saturday, April 2nd, 2022

WINTERRUPTION - Vagina Witchcraft / Kilusan / The Rules
2022-04-02 20:00 - 23:30 | West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B1Z8, Canada
WINTERRUPTION 2022 – Vagina Witchcraft / Kilusan / The Rules at the West End Cultural Centre – Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 8:00pm

Vagina Witchcraft
Fronted by nonbinary poet & activist Kayla Fernandes, Vagina Witchcraft dives headfirst into deeply personal topics concerning mental health, depression, heartbreak & anger. The 4-piece doom metal-hardcore band from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, draws influence from classics like Black Sabbath combined with the sheer, combative energy of hardcore punk.
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Kilusan
Kilusan is a filipinx tagalog visayan queer femme interdisciplinary artist and educator born & based on Treaty No. 1 Territory (Winnipeg). Kilusan has spent their lifetime training in a variety of dance styles including b-girling, hip hop, house, vogue, waacking, dancehall and afrobeat. Their music collection is filled with their favourite funk, soul, jazz, rock, disco, hip hop, house, latin, dancehall, afro-beats, and filipino classics.
A graduate from Mama Cutsworth’s DJ Academy for All Women and Non-Binary Folks, they have been playing their favourite tracks at events all over Winnipeg since 2018. Kilusan has DJed with Queer People of Colour Winnipeg, Synonym Art Consultation, DJ Bles-sed (Montreal), DJ Maseo at Bastid’s BBQ 2019, Kay Gee and Vin Rock of Naughty By Nature, and Skratch Bastid (Toronto) for Boogie’N’Brunch.
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The Rules
The Rules are a three piece punk rock band from Winnipeg, Canada. Established in 2017, the band includes Kim (vocals/guitar), Karla (bass), and Johanna (drums).
The Rules recorded their five song EP in July 2018 at Private Ear Recording in Winnipeg with producer John Paul Peters. The first single off the EP, “Ghost Girls”, was released October 30th, 2018 on Bandcamp.com.
The band recently opened for California hardcore punk band Death By Stereo, as part of the two day punk rock SOS Fest at The Park Theatre.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

WINTERRUPTION - The Noble Theifs / Joe Curtis / The Prairie Joggers
2022-04-02 21:00 - 2022-04-03 00:00 | X-Cues Billiards, 551 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1W4, Canada
Winterruption 2022 – The Noble Thiefs / Joe Curtis / The Prairie Joggers – Saturday, April 2nd at X-Cues Cafe & Lounge

The Noble Thiefs
Drawing from early punk and all eras of soul music, The Noble Thiefs have cut their teeth on international festival stages for over a decade. The veteran group has created a sound that’s all their own and ever evolving.
The group’s latest hip-hop-influenced release, Superglue, will take you back to the era of music videos on the TV. Its patchwork samples and boom-bap beat shed a beacon of light on a cold, dark world. A true DIY effort, the self-produced song and video reflect a band owning the whole creative process and doing it their damn selves.
The Noble Thiefs have toured extensively over the years, playing everywhere from New Orleans and NYC to London, England. Festivals like Milwaukee Summerfest, Liverpool SoundCity and FOCUS Wales have helped them build an audience abroad. Local festivals and club gigs have made them hometown heroes in their beloved Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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Joe Curtis
Joe’s music has been warmly described as an intimate and compelling blend of roots, rock, folk, pop, and blues. He creates a space filled with musical moments that borrow from the past, but live in the present. Songs carried by powerful melodies and his soulful voice. Whether playing a house concert or packed club, his shows take listeners from reflective moments to soulful searing blues and R&B, all delivered with the passion to raise people out of their seats.
In addition to working regularly playing his music around his hometown of Winnipeg, Joe is also frequently sought out for live and studio session work.
An important part of Joe’s life is his work investing time in his musical community. One example, is his 10 year plus relationship teaching and mentoring youth in programs at Broadway Neighbourhood Centre in Winnipeg. He is also a founding member of Winnipeg’s Prairie Soul Collective of Afro/Canadian musicians. Always working, you can catch Joe either solo or with his band playing regularly around Winnipeg. In addition to his ongoing work supporting many musical projects around Winnipeg, Joe is also working on his debut release.
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Prairie Joggers
As founding members of local blues-rock group Odder than the Otters, Goertzen (vocals, guitar) and Hill (drums) have played on stages across Manitoba, including Festival Du Voyageur and Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa. Their debut single, “Hola Luna”, was listed on the top 50 songs chosen by judges/panelists for 2018’s CBC Searchlight Competition.
Goertzen and Hill return to their roots with The Prairie Joggers, the next step in a song writing partnership that has developed through garage bands, coastal beach towns, countless bars and riverside rendezvous. Released November 2019, the duo’s first single, “Moments Happen”, is a raw and energetic first step back into the music scene, a preface for the release of their debut EP.
Recorded by Micah Erenberg at Mustard House Studios, The Prairie Joggers debut EP combines down and out barroom blues with beachy daydreams. Blending easy listening melodies with warm drum tones, raw acoustics and tremolo leads (performed by Erenberg himself), the release acts as an overview for the duos range in mood and style. The self titled EP is now available on all streaming services.
Since their spring release in 2020, the duo has kept busy experimenting with grittier tones, writing new songs and refining their inhouse recording and production. They eagerly await the day they can start booking shows, tours & anything else that gets them out of the house & back on the road.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

WINTERRUPTION - Ila Barker / Vsuvius / Paper Machetes
2022-04-03 21:00 - 23:30 | X-Cues Billiards, 551 Sargent Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 1W4, Canada
Winterruption 2022 – Ila Barker / Vsuvius – Sunday, April 3 at X-Cues Cafe & Lounge

Ila Barker
With soul and voice as smooth as warm honey, singer songwriter Ila Barker captures audiences with her sweet melodies and dynamic presence. Ila is of mixed Anishinaabe and settler heritage with roots running deep in the Manitoban prairies, seasoning her craft with rich history and powerful textures.
Coming from a long line of storytellers, she fuses authentic and timeless notes creating moments of serenity and blissful escape. Ila has brought her craft to an array of national festivals and stages including the Regina Folk Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the sākihiwē festival. In the summer of 2019 Ila opened up a sold out show for Jeremy Dutcher at the Indian River Festival in PEI.
In February of 2020 Ila released the “Let Go” single, an atmospheric and stripped down collaboration with UK based artist Milan André that was recorded off the floor in one take in
the northern Cree nation of Nemaska, Quebec. “Let Go” landed on the National Indigenous Music Countdown, and climbed up the charts for three months straight hitting the top 15. Currently Ila is in the planning stages of future releases. Ila has been songwriting and sharing her stories for over 10 years now. In 2011 she was awarded first place in the NCI Jam for her original song “The Tree Song”. In 2013 Ila released her debut self-titled EP which continues to be heard on radio and satellite stations across North America. Her songs “Home” and “Complete” charted on the Indigenous Music Countdown and both hit the #1 spot quickly. Having started her career organically, Ila keeps roots in the community by offering and participating in artistic and professional development workshops and local art initiatives. Currently Ila is sitting on the Manitoba Music Indigenous Music Steering Committee and the FACTOR Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She created and facilitates a nationally- funded local music workshop program called AIRsessions, which primarily hires local Indigenous artists, and delivers mentorship to youth ages 13-25. During the school year she works with Indigenous youth in Cree communities in northern Quebec, teaching songwriting and music production.
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Vsuvius
Your friendly neighbourhood dynamic range production & DJ duo comprised of members V + S and based out of Treaty No. 1 Land aka Winnipeg, MB.
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Paper Machetes
Cinematic power pop with soul from the cold plains of Manitoba.
Paper Machetes is led by Christy Taronno who has been enigmatically contributing her songwriting to various projects for years. Her songs have been featured in theatre (Bizarro Obscure 2014, Manic Pixie Dream Girl 2015, Uncomfortably Live 2017,) television (Wynter 2018,) and film (CBC Short Doc – Exposed Nerves 2018, Ruthless Souls 2020.)
After Taronno made a connection with drummer Danny Nguyen playing in the alt rock band SETTLERS in 2013, they decided to form a new, more indie sounding project in 2016. That year, Paper Machetes released their first EP “The True Life EP.” In Fall 2021, after a year of distanced collaboration with producer Justin Delorme, Paper Machetes will be releasing a new EP, “Balancing Act.” It will feature an earthy, modern vintage sound that explores themes of existentialism and hope in the face of it.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

Forever on Fire - Feeling the Fire Within
2022-04-04 20:00 - 22:00 | The Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2B9, Canada
Come celebrate spring with this unique experience. Book Launch, featuring local artists, finding and feeling your inner fire …

… interactive art exhibit with live painting and online auction.
Forever On Fire, Feeling the Fire Within, Book Launch, Poetry and Live Painting Night.
Tickets are available and include options:
Forever on Fire signed Book, virtual ticket $30
Forever on Fire signed Book, art kit delivered, virtual ticket $50
Forever on Fire signed Book, in-person ticket, art activity, snacks, cash bar $50
Art kit includes: assorted paints, paintbrush, Mini canvas
All money from the art auction will be paid 100% to the participating artists. More information about the evening can be found on social media @angelainspired
For media interviews please contact Angela Taylor, Angela Taylor, BA, PBDE, MA, PhD Student(she/her), Mental Health and Accessibility Expert, Trainer, Public Speaker, at 431-554-6248 or angelataylorscts@gmail.com
Winnipeg Artists living on Treaty 1, Street Artist Pink Panda and Kisa McIssac, join Angela Taylor for a night of Live painting both online and in person in conjunction with Angela’s book launch and a reading from of, “Forever on Fire: A love letter to Fitting in.” Event will take place on April 4 from 8 to 10pm at the Park Theatre at 698 Osbone st., Winnipeg, with the doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are available for this as both an online event and an in-person event.
In Angela Taylor’s book, “Forever on Fire: A love letter to Fitting in.” she writes about how it is to be wired differently as a neurodiverse person. The book explores both complex and confounding questions, offering a fresh perspective on neurodiverse people with their attributes and abilities that should be celebrated. In her book she shares a collection of anecdotes, journal entries, poetry and artwork to inspire others to also heal from their similar journeys or to build an understanding of those who are neurodivergent or living with other mental health challenges. As a clinical therapist, supportive person Angela expresses to others what its like to live with PTSD, childhood abuse, and trauma and the discusses the coping methods used to manage their day to day. Angela is also an artist working on a goddess project helping others with Body Positivity towards stronger mental health.
Home

Pink Panda (they/them/she/her), a Winnipeg Street artist, creates visual works that encourage one to explore the emotions and experiences of thought and feeling that arise in the present moment. They use colourful and intricate line work to create urban and abstract art, and cartoon work using a variety of mediums such as chalk, acrylics, spray paint, and UV reactive paints.
https://pinkpanda.ca/about
Kisa MacIsaac (she/her), is Métis, a mother, an educator, and an artist. She creates custom art and illustrations, often inspired by the beautiful floral beadwork art of her Metis ancestors. She creates art that reflects traditional teachings, medicinal plants, and the power and beauty of land and water. Kisa facilitates wellness through art workshops, and believes that art is a medicine – a powerful tool for healing and wellness.
Home

Kisa MacIsaac and Pink Panda are known for their support of other organizations through their art practice. They will speak on self love and respect for who they are as well as their own art practice. Guest speaking, Music, poetry, and painting will be featured throughout the evening.

Sarah Harmer
2022-04-05 20:00 - 23:00 | MB
Presented by the Winnipeg Folk Festival

Doors: 7:00 PM

Show: 8:00 PM

PLEASE NOTE: Any purchase of concert tickets through third-party sites or resellers is at your own risk. Tickets should only be purchased through winnipegfolkfestival.ca or someone you know and trust to reduce risk. (Tickets through Ticketmaster Only – https://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11005B6F86902100)

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ABOUT

Are You Gone – the first album in a decade from Sarah Harmer – is a deeply personal and momentous collection of songs motivated by life’s beauty, love’s mysteries and the climate crisis. Two decades since her heralded debut “You Were Here”, Sarah returns with a deepened, electric exploration of nature and human nature.

The first single “New Low” is more than a return to music for the celebrated singer-songwriter and environmental activist. It is a definition of form, a call-for-uprising in light of the damage being done to our democracy and our living world. Inspired by the increase in community action after the Québec mosque shooting, the Women’s March, and climate rallies, Harmer calls out the “grey area” of personal and corporate responsibility and indifference, after meeting with the principal of Queens’ University to discuss fossil fuel divestment and receiving feeble excuses for inaction. Singing over its heedless pace and razor-sharp guitars: I wanna see if we can take this from flame to fire Heat is fleeting but hearts are beating hard.

From the opening frame of “St. Peter’s Bay,” Harmer conjures the essence of the album. An ‘end of the night, end of the love affair’ story set against a hockey game on the frozen bay off of Prince Edward Island, the song pits the hardness of winter against the fragility of the relationship. As guitar melodies and drums swell into a haunting and bittersweet refrain Still we had a good skate, didn’t we babe, “St. Peter’s Bay” makes instantly clear that this is Harmer’s most sonically detailed and darkest record to date, still crisply capturing the glint of outdoor ice in the northern night.

Are You Gone is also about stepping away – quieting one’s own voice for a matter of time, and using that force in different ways. If you’re too tucked away, and you can’t see the sun, Harmer muses on the breathtaking “Just Get Here,” imagining the Canadian poet Al Purdy’s A-frame cottage, a haven for writers in 1960’s rural Ontario. Like generations of poets before her, Harmer gleaned the magic of the place while visiting a writer-in-residence there in summer 2019. “I decided on the album title while staying for a night,” Harmer recalls, “thinking about time and time capsules, and our need for isolation but also for community,”

The result of an unshakeable inclination to make music alongside a lifestyle more attuned to privacy and local activism, Sarah wrote Are You Gone gradually over the last decade as she traded music for grassroots organizing. Between co-founding the citizen’s organization PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land) and leading the coalition’s successful efforts to stop a massive quarry on the Niagara Escarpment, she became a fixture in local politics and advocacy. She kept her musical chops up playing casually with friends and the odd small show. Finally, in 2017, while pondering the ghosts of loss, capitalism’s gluttony and music’s potential as a public platform, Sarah was moved to get to work on her most sophisticated record to date.

On “What I Was To You” she recounts an early friendship with beloved rock star Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. Harmer traces an effortless melody with emotional range that deftly rolls between the late Downie’s ambling, ecstatic solo work, and the oblique chorus blasts of his band. Looking back on stories of the fellow musicians’ time coming up together in the Southern Ontario scene, “What I Was To You” simultaneously captures the intimacy of their friendship and the feeling shared by the legions of souls touched by Downie, during and beyond his lifetime-

Are you gone?

Good for you to go

I hardly know what that took.

So long, I’ll be walking with you if you happen to look

Harmer nurtured the twelve songs of Are You Gone close to home. Some lingered for ages – like the undeniable melody of “Take Me Out” – while others appeared behind the barn at dusk like the sweet, autumnal “Squeaking Voices,” and the homebound “Little Frogs.” Each story paints a different picture over the course of this album’s making, threading Are You Gone with both personal intimacy and the shared strands of life. Featuring eleven originals and one cover, the eerie “Wildlife” by Kingston songwriter Dave Hodge, Sarah co-produced the album with Marcus Paquin (Aidan Knight, Arcade Fire, Timber Timbre) in Toronto, Montreal and Kingston. Long-time musical collaborators included Jon McCann on drums, Ben Whiteley on bass, Gord Tough on guitar, and Christine Bougie, Kevin Fox, Benji Perosin and Jason Euringer on steel, cello, trumpet, stand-up bass and harmonies. Howie Beck recorded additional tracks and mixed the album in the spring of 2019.

On album centrepiece “The Lookout,” Harmer takes us to a tempting height, Something to be warned about knowing with certainty that the ground will fall away. With spare piano and the strain of distant strings, the entire album suspends in this moment – a heartbreaking chorus doubling as reprieve, with a closing refrain that hangs in the breathless space: The beauty of the place was blocked by the way I held you too close

The melody for penultimate track “Shoemaker” was written looking out the porthole of a ship in the Canadian high arctic in 2015 while on an educational trip with students from around the world in, and developed after Sarah discovered an old book and census of her great-great Glaswegian grandfather who made an immigrant’s crossing to Canada in the early 19th century. “Shoemaker” calls to mind the softly ominous, slowly shifting chords of Sparklehorse before transforming into a gorgeous, crescendo show of Sarah’s vocal range.

“See Her Wave” wraps the album with an acoustic shanty send-off to another dear friend who moved on. See her wave she’s on her way. These songs are the inner ramblings of twilight, conversations with the critters in the air and on the lawn, floorboard creaks of a loved one in the next room. Some are restorative and some rock. Within them there are answers to where Sarah has been and what it means to come back now. Whether to the loyal fans that have followed Harmer’s work over the decades or to the newly initiated, Are You Gone is a resounding statement of purpose and a dedication to the indelible spirits around us.

Sarah Harmer
2022-04-05 20:00 - 23:00 | The Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2B9, Canada
Winnipeg Folk Fest Presents

Doors: 7:00 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
PLEASE NOTE: Any purchase of concert tickets through third-party sites or resellers is at your own risk. Tickets should only be purchased through winnipegfolkfestival.ca or someone you know and trust to reduce risk.
—
ABOUT
Are You Gone – the first album in a decade from Sarah Harmer – is a deeply personal and momentous collection of songs motivated by life’s beauty and love’s mysteries. Two decades since her heralded debut “You Were Here”, Sarah returns with a deepened, electric exploration of nature and human nature.
From the opening frame of “St. Peter’s Bay,” Harmer conjures the essence of the album. An ‘end of the night, end of the love affair’ story set against a hockey game on the frozen bay off of Prince Edward Island, the song pits the hardness of winter against the fragility of the relationship. As guitar melodies and drums swell into a haunting and bittersweet refrain Still we had a good skate, didn’t we babe, “St. Peter’s Bay” makes instantly clear that this is Harmer’s most sonically detailed and darkest record to date, still crisply capturing the glint of outdoor ice in the northern night.
Are You Gone is also about stepping away – quieting one’s own voice for a matter of time, and using that force in different ways. If you’re too tucked away, and you can’t see the sun, Harmer muses on the breathtaking “Just Get Here,” imagining the Canadian poet Al Purdy’s A-frame cottage, a haven for writers in 1960’s rural Ontario. Like generations of poets before her, Harmer gleaned the magic of the place while visiting a writer-in-residence there in summer 2019. “I decided on the album title while staying for a night,” Harmer recalls, “thinking about time and time capsules, and our need for isolation but also for community,”
On “What I Was To You” she recounts an early friendship with beloved rock star Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. Harmer traces an effortless melody with emotional range that deftly rolls between the late Downie’s ambling, ecstatic solo work, and the oblique chorus blasts of his band. Looking back on stories of the fellow musicians’ time coming up together in the Southern Ontario scene, “What I Was To You” simultaneously captures the intimacy of their friendship and the feeling shared by the legions of souls touched by Downie, during and beyond his lifetime-
Are you gone?
Good for you to go
I hardly know what that took.
So long, I’ll be walking with you if you happen to look
Harmer nurtured the twelve songs of Are You Gone close to home. Some lingered for ages – like the undeniable melody of “Take Me Out” – while others appeared behind the barn at dusk like the sweet, autumnal “Squeaking Voices,” and the homebound “Little Frogs.” Each story paints a different picture over the course of this album’s making, threading Are You Gone with both personal intimacy and the shared strands of life. Featuring eleven originals and one cover, the eerie “Wildlife” by Kingston songwriter Dave Hodge, Sarah co-produced the album with Marcus Paquin (Aidan Knight, Arcade Fire, Timber Timbre) in Toronto, Montreal and Kingston. Long-time musical collaborators included Jon McCann on drums, Ben Whiteley on bass, Gord Tough on guitar, and Christine Bougie, Kevin Fox, Benji Perosin and Jason Euringer on steel, cello, trumpet, stand-up bass and harmonies. Howie Beck recorded additional tracks and mixed the album in the spring of 2019.
On album centrepiece “The Lookout,” Harmer takes us to a tempting height, Something to be warned about knowing with certainty that the ground will fall away. With spare piano and the strain of distant strings, the entire album suspends in this moment – a heartbreaking chorus doubling as reprieve, with a closing refrain that hangs in the breathless space: The beauty of the place was blocked by the way I held you too close
The melody for penultimate track “Shoemaker” was written looking out the porthole of a ship in the Canadian high arctic in 2015 while on an educational trip with students from around the world in, and developed after Sarah discovered an old book and census of her great-great Glaswegian grandfather who made an immigrant’s crossing to Canada in the early 19th century. “Shoemaker” calls to mind the softly ominous, slowly shifting chords of Sparklehorse before transforming into a gorgeous, crescendo show of Sarah’s vocal range.
“See Her Wave” wraps the album with an acoustic shanty send-off to another dear friend who moved on. See her wave she’s on her way. These songs are the inner ramblings of twilight, conversations with the critters in the air and on the lawn, floorboard creaks of a loved one in the next room. Some are restorative and some rock. Within them there are answers to where Sarah has been and what it means to come back now. Whether to the loyal fans that have followed Harmer’s work over the decades or to the newly initiated, Are You Gone is a resounding statement of purpose and a dedication to the indelible spirits around us

Sk8 Skates Presents Stone Cold
2022-04-06 20:00 - 23:00 | The Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2B9, Canada
Sk8 Skates Presents

Sk8 Skates is stoked to present the first Winnipeg Skateboard video premiere in 2 years! We have 3 different videos for ya. 2 Live N’ Die in WPG by Dillan Lavallee, WRECK 11 Bill Acheson and Tyler Geurts, and the new Sk8 Skates video “Stone Cold” by Kian Smeall featuring Fane Smeall, Erik Penton, Issiah Parasian, Sean Coughlin, Kian Smeall, and more. Videos are all filmed in Winnipeg, with Stone Cold having a lot of other clips in Canada including Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Gonna be a crazy night, all 3 videos are bangers.
Tickets are only $5 so get them before they’re gone!

Nashville MB Songwriters Round
2022-04-07 19:30 - 22:00 | Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, R3C1A8, Canada
Our monthly Nashville MB Writers Round continues, this month featuring Tyler Del Pino (host), Madeleine Roger, Celia Palli, and Roman Clarke

Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra - The Last of the Blue Devils
2022-04-07 19:30 - 22:30 | West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3B1Z8, Canada
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra: The Last of the Blue Devils – Thursday, April 7 at 7:30pm

In the 1920s thousands of dance bands were scattered across America. Toiling in obscurity, these territory bands played an endless series of one-nighters no more than a days drive from their headquarters. Sporting names like The Twelve Clouds of Joy, The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, The Bostonians (from Kansas), and The Blue Devils these groups were seldom recorded and would travel from gig to gig until the money ran out often leaving musicians stranded hundreds of miles from home. More than just colourful stories about life on the road, Territory Bands played an important part in shaping jazz history, eventually ushering in the Swing Era and an explosion in mainstream popularity. Join the WJO as we explore some of the rarely-played music from that era alongside hits from the wild and raucous Kansas City jazz scene.
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COVID-19 Protocols
The West End Cultural Centre will continue to require that patrons wear facemasks and show proof of vaccination for all events in the venue.
We will continue to evaluate this policy as circumstances evolve.

Plants And Animals
2022-04-07 20:00 - 23:00 | The Park Theatre, 698 Osborne Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3L 2B9, Canada
MRG Presents Plants and Animals

Park Theatre
April 7th, 2022
Doors 7 pm
Show 8 pm

The D.Rangers plus The Wrigley Brothers (aka Double The Trouble)
2022-04-08 21:30 - 2022-04-09 00:30 | Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, R3C1A8, Canada
The Band That Built The High & Lonesome Club, plus an 18th Birthday Celebration opening set by The Wrigley Brothers (Double The Trouble).
