Alberta Music at Canadian Music Week

Alberta Music will be on the ground at Canadian Music Week, in Toronto, form May 7 to 13, supporting 25 artists and bands hailing from Alberta! Allison Myggland from Edmonton office, and Cecilia Schlemm from the Calgary office will both be attending.

Alberta artists performing at CMW include: All Hands On Jane, Altameda, Amelie Patterson, Andrea Nixon, Bad Animal, Cadillac Junkies, Crystal Eyes, Double Fuzz, Fear the Mammoth, Flowshine,Foonyap, Free the Cynics, Hell County X, J Blissette, Jesse and the Dandelions, Letters From Pluto, Major Love,Mariel Buckley, Miesha & The Spanks, nêhiyawak, Ten Minute Detour, The Royal Foundry, Windigo, Whale and the Wolf.

We invite and encourage all the Alberta Artists to support each other by attending each other’s showcases wherever possible! Tag your province-mates with the hashtags #ABMusic, #AlbertaArtist, and #AlbertaCMW

All Hands On Jane

Get ready to shred an avalanche of whiskey on a bobsled made of rock and roll. Straight out of Calgary, Alberta, All Hands on Jane have been warming hearts across cold Canada since 2011.

All Girls. All Guts. All Your Beer.

“…Jane may have a Sabbath connection and a bit of Seattle seeping through, but they noticeably deviate from metal and punk by absorbing the big, gushing bluesy feel of Cream and Hendrix and drawing from Mudhoney’s sweet spot, fuzz box psychedelia..
The outcome is a different kind of girl band. Loud, full of guitar built on a tough rhythm section, but not aggressive and ripping, tearing away. Instead the counterpart is flowing, enticing, persuasive and sensuous.” – Beatroute

“…Calgary’s All Hands On Jane take no prisoners when they play their fiery mix of hard-edged, grungey stoner rock. There’s a good reason why they are becoming one of the most talked-about bands in town.” – Calgary Herald

Altameda

Edmonton-based Altameda (æl-tah-MI-da) formed out of a recording session for singer-songwriter Troy Snaterse, but quickly became a group effort to create something bigger. Despite the four- piece finding their roots in various genres, they felt compelled to blend their individual styles with the influences that shaped their earlier years. During the sessions for the group’s debut LP, Dirty Rain, it was clear that the band felt a chemistry that only arrives through shared experiences.

Dirty Rain was toured extensively across all Canadian markets as well as the UK and spent five weeks on the CKUA Top 30 Charts, eventually reaching #1. The band has completed their sophomore full-length album with producer Aaron Goldstein (City & Colour, Daniel Romano, Kathleen Edwards) with an anticipated 2018 release date. Altameda has supported Sam Roberts Band, Plants & Animals, Kacy & Clayton, Reuben & the Dark, and SUSTO.

Amelie Patterson

Hailing from Banff, Alberta, and serving as the town’s first Poet Laureate, Amelie Patterson leads as a strong ambassador for women songwriters.

The clear-voiced, honest and tenacious troubadour’s music traverses territories from blues to folk rock. Her debut album Roll Honey Roll was released in May 2016 at Canadian Music Week, and went on to win YYC Alternative Recording of The Year in 2017. Patterson then took to the road touring across Canada hitting stages at Calgary Folk Music Festival, The Banff Centre for Creative Arts, TED Talks, as well as small venues across Alberta and BC. The first single off the album, “Tic Tac Blues” was featured in 509 Productions winter edit for pro snowmobile competitor Nadine Overwater. On the story behind the music, Patterson explains:

“It’s about pushing yourself to keep going after what you love, no matter how tough. I love the chorus ‘step baby step, you move just like the rest, until you roll honey roll and do what you do best’. It’s about taking baby steps towards your dreams, and being so authentically you that it’s all you can be”.

As an aspiring performer, songwriter and producer, Patterson is constantly working towards her career goals. Over the past 4 years, the aspiring songstress has completed two music residencies at the Banff Centre for Creative Arts, Canada’s Music Incubator’s Artist Entrepreneur Program, Judy Stakee’s Songwriting Retreat and featured in Air Canada’s Enroute Magazine.

Patterson is releasing new music June of 2018.

Andrea Nixon

In a world that seems more complicated each day, Andrea Nixon’s music provides a refreshing remedy through its honest simplicity. The title of her debut album, Diary of a Housewife, suggests only part of the story though. Yes, the 11-song collection documents Nixon’s rise as a critically acclaimed independent singer/songwriter, while balancing the demands of managing a family at the same time. But the universally relatable stories that provide the foundation of Diary of a Housewife leave no stone unturned in exploring the landscape of heartache, angst, joy and humour with eyes wide open and heart in hand.

In many respects, Nixon is following in the footsteps of trailblazing female artists like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton by bravely revealing herself through her music. In other respects, Diary of a Housewife is strikingly modern, seamlessly combining traditional country elements with, at key moments, rough-edged pop and rock. Tying it all together is Nixon’s irresistible, unaffected voice, capable of raging at an ex-lover on “You Didn’t Make Me” and expressing deep sorrow on “Waiting For Sirens,” while exuding pure charm on “Million Miles Away” and conveying an audible wink on the playful “Song Without A Name.”

Andrea is currently touring Ontario and Quebec, giving the record legs and meeting kindreds from Kitchener to Montreal. Andrea travelled eastward through Via Rail’s Artist on Board program with her favourite guitar slinger Cody Mack. She will be returning to Western Canada February 23rd for dates in her neck of the woods.

Bad Animal

Bad Animal is one of Calgary’s most exciting up-and-coming acts, whose action packed stage show sweeps audiences into a frenzied, beer-covered dance party of mirth and madness. If you’re having a bad day, or are unsure of whether or not you should go out, Bad Animal will blow apart any reservations and have you dancing your ass off within a few bars of their opening tracks.
After having spent the last 18 months supporting their debut album Tonight (2016),Bad Animal solidified their entrance and gained a devoted following in the Western-Canadian music scene. The band first toured across Canada in spring 2017 on their way to a jam packed Canadian Music Week showcase headlining at Cherry Cholas.
Over the last year the band has been writing their second album “two”, with their sights set on crafting a more developed sound, the band still embraces the qualities their fans have come to love. The album is being recorded over three weeks by awarded producer Colin Stewart at his Vancouver Island based studio, The Hive. By combining Bad Animal’s melodic and driving music with Colin Stewart’s production experience and taste, the band aims to create an album that balances modern sounds with punk rock sensibility.
By this point Bad Animal’s momentum is driving itself, but it isn’t possible without the passion and dedication that is shared between its members. With no signs of slowing down, Bad Animal’s plans extend beyond 2018.

Cadillac Junkies

Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Cadillac Junkies presents an eclectic mix vintage country and modern pop sensibilities with a little bit of grit. Shalisa’s powerful voice on lead vocals and Dennis driving the groove of their performances from behind the kit, capture your attention and take you along for the ride.

Cadillac Junkies recently made the top ten finalists for Jim Beam Make history Talent Search across Canada and will be representing Edmonton in Toronto at Canadian Music Week in May. As well, Made the finals final for country 105’s Rising Star competition at Ranchmans in Calgary, Alberta

The band was invited to play five shows at the Live at Heart Music Festival in Orebro, Sweden on August 31 through September 2, 2017. This festival featured over 200 bands from all over the world and Cadillac Junkies was honoured to be counted among them.

When in Sweden, why not shoot a music video? The music video for Cadillac Junkies new single “Don’t Walk Away” off their debut album “Drinking Down Dinner”, was filmed on location in Sweden.

Shalisa Liesch and Dennis Boisvert met when they were both members of another band in 2010. The two instantly bonded over a love of liquor, laughs and music. When they decided to venture out on their own, coming up with a band name was harder than expected. On a road trip, Dennis was driving while Shalisa was upside down in the passenger seat as they went over all the possible names for their new band. Dennis commented on cool looking cadillac that passed them on the road and Shalisa immediately recalled a fan from a previous show who belted out “Cadillac” at weird times throughout their performance of Cadillac Ranch by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. “That guy was like a Cadillac junkie,” she said. Both laughed and shared a look. The band name Cadillac Junkies was decided on then and there.

Crystal Eyes

Crystal Eyes was spawned from the nomadic song-writing of Erin Jenkins in cities across Canada, ranging from Tofino to Halifax. The result of these sessions is a collection of melancholic dream pop falling somewhere in between Francoise Hardy and Guided by Voices. After returning to Calgary, she recruited Chris Dadge (Lab Coast, Chad Van Gaalen, Alvvays) to record and play bass for 2015’s ‘No Man is an Island’, and 2017’s ‘The Female Imagination’. Working on their trusty Tascam 388, the recordings feature warm, reverb-drenched tones and live-off-the-floor performances that blend 90’s shoegaze and 60’s garage rock. Crystal Eyes find the space in between happiness and sadness, the melody inside the memory, the world seen through a softer lens.

‘…a psychedelic swirl of kaleidoscopic imagery that perfectly complements the trippy groove of the song.’ – Exclaim

‘…a dream-pop barnburner’ – Chart attack

‘…a nice and dreamy aesthetic to their sound– complete with sun bleached guitars and high-pitched female gang vocals.’ – Austin Town Hall

‘Erin Jenkins establishes a Western Canadian beach-head for shoegaze/dream-pop with her own take on the genre. ‘ -Ride The Tempo.

‘[a] swoon-worthy downer-pop group’ – AUX.

Double Fuzz

Since bursting on to the Calgary scene, Double Fuzz has established itself as one of the most exciting and dynamic guitar driven bands to come out of Western Canada in a long time. Leader Jonny Whitehead is also staking his claim as a powerful songwriter, combining instantly memorable hooks with trenchant lyrics and a visceral delivery, in ways that immediately set the band apart from their indie rock contemporaries.

Jonny Fuzz recently tracked down one of his favorite producers, JT Daly (multi grammy nominated) and traveled to Nashville for a week to make a new EP. “It’s by the far the best thing I’ve made to date” said Whitehead. The reaction has the band thinking they could do some serious damage together! The new tracks truly raises the bar for the band.

With the new EP completed and in the can, all attention is now focused on putting together the live show and getting things in place for the album’s pending international release this fall. With release shows planned for February in Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria and further cross-country touring coming in 2018, Double Fuzz will soon be roaring back on to the scene with a vengeance and playing in a club near you. Don’t sleep!

Fear the Mammoth

Full of fuzz and energy. From Edmonton AB, Canada. Fear the Mammoth is sure to make heads bang. Using a special amp/pedal setup Ben and Patrick realized all the sound they needed was from the two of them. Their heavy guitar and hard hitting drums make people wanna jump and their rhythm make them wanna dance.

Coming in hot from their 2016 Debut EP FREAKS this new band is sure to turn some heads

Flowshine

Flowshine is a music group based at the eastern edge of the Canadian Rockies. They are notable for their fusion of genres and energetic live shows. They have toured throughout Canada since 2009, having performed in an eclectic and extensive list of pubs, clubs, campfires, farm fields, cafes, basements, community centres, festival stages, street corners, and the like; from Dawson City, Yukon to Halifax, NS. They have spent a lot of time crafting and road-testing their unique funk / rock/ roots/ fusion and audiences across Canada have warmly embraced them. With a two percussionist approach and strong harmony vocals, their songs are sure to get you dancing and singing along. With their third EP (Gets Me Going) set for release early 2018 they aim to continue tirelessly performing and sharing their music.

Foonyap

Free the Cynics

Free the Cynics are a Calgary 4-piece who have a no limits approach to songwriting. With healthy lashings of everything from Indie Rock, Blues and Jazz to Rock n Roll, Rock and Pop, Free the Cynics have created an intense, energetic, eclectic sound all of their own which is delivered with searing passion, ballsy swagger and red-hot intensity onstage.

Their debut release ‘Showtunes From the Basement’ was met with wide acclaim in Canada and the UK for it’s mixed bag of genre-hopping, attitude-laden tracks and the follow up, ‘Post-Iconica’ eclipsed even that with rave reviews across the board. With 3 festival dates and a UK/Ireland tour all confirmed, 2018 is shaping up to be Free the Cynics’ year.

Hell County X

Hell County X is composed of Drummer/vocalist Dan Whitnell and Guitarist/vocalist Darryl Matthews. This hard rock band formed in Edmonton Alberta, Canada, in 2015.

Their Progressive style shares many sounds from Stoner Rock, Southern Hard Rock and Thrash. Some of their influences include Cancer Bats, We hunt Buffalo, Corrosion of Conformity, The Sword, Refused, Tool, Mastodon and Red Fang.
They released their first EP ~ “Riled Up” in December 2017, and are currently in studio finishing a second recording which is slated for release in 2018.

They met when Dan was crushing skulls as a bouncer at a local bar where Darryl’s band was performing. They have both played in numerous bands over the years, and began jamming in the summer of 2015, to the delight of kickass people everywhere.

After releasing The “Riled Up” EP, the song “This is War” was picked up to be part of a UK Compilation album, slated for release in early 2018 sooooooo that was cool too.

J Blissette

J Blissette’s first full-length Frankensteins a raw, rock and roll heart with limbs from jangle pop and fuzzed out psychedelia. Blending the spright dynamism of Ty Segall with pure power pop sounds of Cloud Nothings and Yuck, Lethbridge, Alberta inhabitant Jackson Tiefenbach, the luminary behind J Blissette’s playbill, weaves a retrospective narrative on fucking up, reconciling, and conquering – Until I Go Blind offering the final word

Jesse and the Dandelions

Jesse and the Dandelions are a 5 piece psyche-pop band based in Edmonton Alberta, led by Jesse Northey (Producer,Engineer).

With Jesse and the Dandelions’ production values maturing alongside the content, their upcoming album Give Up The Gold (2018) is enriched with classic synth and guitar textures that pays respect to the past, while forging their own path forward. String sections, a cacophonous blend of noise, and heavily layered vocal harmonies push accessible pop hooks into more psychedelically complex and intriguing harmonic territory that rewards repeat listeners by continuing to engage them.

“True Blue is a thoughtful, evocative album that grows in appreciation on successive spins. In the simplest terms, it’s a dreamy pop record that ventures into the realm of the psychedelic.

Highlighted by compelling, layered instrumentation, coded ethereal lyrics and the occasional jangly guitar—True Blue leaves a lingering effect that is challenging and satisfying. Elegant harmonies drift throughout the record, summoning memories of late Beatles records crossed with early ’90s college-radio lyrics” – Vue Weekly

The band has been very active in Western Canada with success on CBC and campus community radio, as well as great opening slots for bands like Attack In Black, Hollerado,Said the Whale and July Talk. Highlights have included showcases at Breakout West,Canadian Music Week, JUNOfest, Sled Island, over 100k Spotify spins for True Blue, and the inclusion on Spotify’s Modern Psychedelia Playlist.

Jesse and the Dandelions consists of Jesse Northey(Guitar,Vox) Conner Ellinger (Drums) Daniel Sedmak (Bass), Travis Sargeant(Guitar) and Dean Kheroufi (Keys).

Letters From Pluto

Letters From Pluto is an indie Pop artist from Edmonton, Canada. Letters From Pluto released her first EP on April 8th, 2016 and since then has had several achievements in a relatively short time. She won HOT 107’s 2016 HOT Factor contest, achieved National radio airplay with her single “Cold Right Now”, reaching #35 on the HOT AC chart and #30 on the AC chart, and won iHeartRadio Future Star for the month of May 2017. Further, she has begun achieving international radio airplay across Europe and the UK. Most recently she also received a Hollywood Music in Media award nomination for Best Pop song for her single, “Cold Right Now” and released a sci-fi action/fantasty/adventure based music video. With three new singles coming in 2018 and many plans for the future, Letters From Pluto has a busy, exciting year ahead.

Mariel Buckley

Few performers combine the lyrical heartfelt authenticity of classic country music with a steely eyed intensity that compels an audience’s attention like Calgary, Alberta’s Mariel Buckley. Amidst a sea of neon-Nashville superstars, Buckley offers a crunchy, roots alternative. Poignantly raw lyricism and thoughtfully arranged melodies are carried by her timeless vocal delivery – to create a listening experience both unique and captivating.

An emerging live performer, with opening slots for k.d. lang and Hayes Carll, and an impressive list of Canadian Festival appearances to her credit, Buckley deftly matches her stark and haunting narratives of real-life struggle with a brassy wit that sets her apart from her contemporaries in its fearlessness. Her strengths as a songwriter are exemplified by her self-titled EP, and full-length debut Motorhome. She’s been hailed by No Depression as, “a new Loretta Lynn, speaking her mind… Throw in a little Townes Van Zandt mixed with Joan Jett and you’ve got a listener who’s going to grab a lot of people’s attention who are disillusioned with country’s offerings as of late.”

With the May 2018 release of her sophomore album “Driving In The Dark” (produced by Leeroy Stagger), Mariel Buckley’s skills as a singer-songwriter and performer continue to impress new listeners while her long-time supporters look on with an assured understanding that they knew the depth of her talents from the beginning.

Miesha & The Spanks

In 2018, you have to be pretty ballsy to call your new album Girls Girls Girls. It is, after all, already firmly cemented in rock lore. Well, if there’s anyone ballsy enough to do it, get away with it and stake their own claim to it, it’s Miesha and the Spanks.

The Calgary guitar-and-drum duo of front woman-guitarist Miesha Louie and drummer Sean Hamilton own it ferociously, emphatically and completely on their new 10-track release — a fast, nasty, sexy slab of riff-fuelled Runaways rock clad in spit-polished black leather and bursting with sass and singalong swagger.

The record marks a new phase and a great leap forward in the career of Miesha, who has over the past decade released three other full-lengths and a number of EPs and singles, touring relentlessly, sharing the stage and holding her own with such notables as Queens of the Stone Age, Bison BC, Death From Above 1979, The Pack A.D. and Hot Hot Heat.

It’s the first album recorded together with Hamilton and the follow-up to her 2013 release Girls, Like Wolves, which was recorded with Canadian indie rock legend Ian Blurton and took her to a whole new level.

The production of Girls Girls Girls does likewise and has its own legend attached: Danny Farrant from U.K. punk pioneers the Buzzcocks, whom she forged a relationship with when his band performed in Calgary for the 2011 Sled Island festival.

nêhiyawak

nêhiyawak ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ (neh-HEE-oh-wuk) tells stories – their story – capturing time through honeyed and haunting vocals, swaying in and out of the cacophony of electronic and analog sounds. Hailing from amiskwaciy (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory, nêhiyawak is comprised of Kris Harper, Matthew Cardinal, and Marek Tyler – three Indigenous musicians coalescing at the intersection between traditional and contemporary music.

Within the framework of the conventional song, the band creates and adds their own history and stage. Collecting and piecing together their experiences – existing simultaneously between diverse and disparate cultures – nêhiyawak shares with its audience their unique expression of Indigeneity in Canada today.

Their debut EP, recorded with Colin Stewart (The New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Destroyer), balances the band’s heritage with the present. Their sound at times loud and sweeping, and in moments – reticent and careful. Indie-rock guitar and dance floor synths blend and walk alongside the steady beats of carved cedar log and hand drums.

Ten Minute Detour

Formed in 2013 using popular classified ad site Kijiji, Ten Minute Detour cut their teeth from a small, detached heatless garage in Calgary, Alberta, where they set in place the foundation for “Lay It Down”, the bands debut full-length album. Highlights from Lay It Down include “Four Papers” and “Getaway”, a couple catchy alternative rock tracks which have helped pave the road for Ten Minute Detour. In 2017, TMD headed south to Nashville, TN, teaming up with producer and former Cage the Elephant guitarist, Lincoln Parish, recording seven tracks in seven days. Their sophomore record, Common Pleasure, is a testament to the bands development in song writing and story telling, shedding the garage rock skin and dawning a more expansive, gripping sound. Now from a heated attic of an industrial warehouse, you can find the next TMD record in the works.

Windigo

A windigo, by definition, is a spine-chilling monster of the flesh-eating cannibal variety. Whereas the scariest thing about the Calgary version of Windigo is how seamlessly they shapeshift between indie-rock, psychedelia, jazz, funk and grunge. Their live shows have been called “ruthlessly entertaining.” A single Windigo tune can cover a lot of ground: crisp guitar lines that punch staccato holes through liquid soundscapes, anthemic passages that drop away to near-silence and musical left turns where you thought they were going to veer right. Their songs are arranged to make room and leave space for each member’s talents to shine. Windigo is a four-headed colossus, calculated in its determination to leave no stone unturned in the search to satisfy a ravenous appetite for creativity. – Calgary Folk Fest.

Since 2013, Windigo has played over 250 concerts including 5 cross-canadian tours. They have opened for bands such as Of Montreal, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Austra and more. Windigo is currently recording a collections of singles and EPs that they will be releasing throughout 2018.

Whale and the Wolf.

Whale and the Wolf is excited to blow you away. Both their live performance and recorded material has continually brought audiences back for more since 2013. On stage, the band’s genuine nature is reflected in their performance. The music spans deep and treacherous ground, but it’s difficult for them to hide the thrill and enjoyment felt every time they grace the stage. Each and every show is a chance to share in the lust and love that is Whale and the Wolf, and they refuse to let a single show pass them by without leaving it all on the stage. 2015 saw the release of their debut EP which found three of their singles charting in the top 40 for Canadian Active Rock. The song “Domino” climbing the highest to #27 on the charts. In 2017, helped by Danny Craig of Default, they released their latest single “Touch”. It saw radio play on over a dozen radio stations across Canada, slotting as high as #25 at Active Rock. The song was featured on one of Alan Cross’ Top 11 playlists, and has attracted attention the country over. The band played in over 20 cities across the country in 2017 and was chosen by the band One Bad Son to accompany them on their Western Canada swing of the “Made in the Name of Rock n Roll” tour. New music will be released in the early days of 2018.