Simply Saucer's Edgar Breau launches "Acadian Drifter" @ Lola, Saturday

Hamilton singer/songwriter deluxe Edgar Breau draws on his Acadian roots for his show at  Lola in Kensington Market at 8 pm. 

Here's the scoop on Acadian Drifter...

Edgar Breau, the legendary Hamilton based artist and founder of internationally acclaimed psych/proto punk cult band, Simply Saucer returns with Acadian Drifter. Edgar Breau's music has always lived at the crossroads of tradition and rebellion, blending poetic lyricism with genre - defying instrumentation. His work resists easy categorization, drawing from folk, punk, rock and experimental influences to create something uniquely his own, often involving figures who exist on the fringes - outlaws, dreamers, hustlers and the people drawn to them. Edgar recorded Acadian Drifter in Montreal and in Hamilton with an ensemble cast of superb musicians including Canadian award winning musicians, guitarist Bill Dillon (Robbie Robertson, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan) and keyboardist Michael Fonfara (Lou Reed) and was mastered by Detroit's legendary Jim Diamond. 

The album's lead single, "Cornpone the King of Jive" blends the swagger of southern fried garage rock with Breau's sharp literary influences, creating a high energy, darkly humorous reflection on populist leaders, folk heroes and the morally ambiguous figures who capture the public fascination. This return to a grittier, more electric sound reconnects Breau with the raw energy that has long defined his music. As Shindig columnist Johnnie Johnstone neatly summed up, "He creates a glorious cornucopia of Pop and Folk tunes, effortlessly amalgamating Fahey- esque picking, raga influenced pyschedelia, CSN style West Coast harmonizing and avant garde guitar experiments with fluid Cosmic Country and pastoral Anglo Pop." 

Get a copy of Edgar Breau's new album Acadian Drifter via Bandcamp right here. Catch him live in Toronto's Kensington Market tonight at Lola (40 Kensington) where he'll be performing both a solo set and with his phenomenal band (Kevin Christoff, Aaron Knight, Clint Rice), featuring songs from  "Acadian Drifter," plus older tunes from his solo catalogue and Simply Saucer. 

My Darling Clementine cancels Hugh's Room gig, playing home show on Sunday

UK country/soul duo My Darling Clementine will be playing Andrew's Place in Toronto on Sunday (April 6) at 2 pm. 

My Darling Clementine Live at Andrew's Place

Sunday, April 6 at 2 pm.

Doors at 1:00 pm.  $40 donation per person suggested. 

Reservations and details: avb1964 <at> yahoo <dot> com 

Don’t miss the highly anticipated Toronto return of My Darling Clementine, the critically acclaimed UK country-soul duo of Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish – the British George & Tammy! What began as a homage to the golden era of country duets with their 2011 award winning debut "How Do you Plead?" My Darling Clementine have now released six albums, played over 100 shows around the world and won numerous awards. Their most recent album, 2020's “Country Darkness” a collaboration with keyboard genius Steve Nieve best known for his work with Elvis Costello & The Attractions. My Darling Clementine's show at Hugh's Room matinee show slated for Saturday was cancelled by the venue but undeterred, the duo will be coming to Toronto this weekend, playing an intimate home show at Andrew's Place on Sunday (April 6) where they'll be showcasing songs from their forthcoming new album, as well as many fan favourites from their impressive catalogue, and will also include a mini set of the "songs of Elvis Costello." Note: a donation of $40 per person is suggested and all proceeds will go directly to My Darling Clementine. Before the show and during intermission, free drinks (beer, wine, pop, juice, water) and snacks will be provided. If you like, feel free to bring some of your own baking / snacks to share.

A must-see performance that Americana-UK calls “Spectacular,“ while Uncut Magazine wrote "King and Dalgleish have re-invented the country duet - the mingling of these two voices is just heavenly."

For more information about My Darling Clementine, visit their site right here. Watch a BBC performance of "I Felt The Chill" right here and check out a few clips including a great version of the Elvis Costello/George Jones classic "Stranger In The House" below. 

The Nightingales return in raucous form with "The Awful Truth"

John Peel faves The Nightingales strike back with a vengeance on The Awful Truth out now via Fire Records.

Here's the scoop from Fire Records...

The Nightingales return with ‘The Awful Truth’, a modern mutant music hall interpretation of the day’s news, a haunting jolt into realism narrated with all the angst of an insistent, slightly dishevelled late-night newscaster. Following the widely celebrated Stewart Lee-narrated King Rocker film in 2020, the curtain has finally been raised on the magic of the “long serving punk/alternative rock volunteer” (The Quietus). As pertinent as ever, The Nightingales – featuring Robert Lloyd, Andreas Schmid (Faust) on bass, Fliss Kitson (Violet Violet) on drums and guitarist, James Smith (Damo Suzuki) – release a poignant tirade on modern times heralded, quite rightly, as ‘The Awful Truth.’

Opening cut, ‘The New Emperor’s New Clothes’ is an upbeat immersive eruption with a thumping percussive piano holding proceedings in order; think the Velvets meet Fairport Convention in a crowded boozer, still waiting for their man. ‘Same Old Riff’ recalls Bowie’s ‘Queen Bitch’ rekindling the class war struggles and throwing sharp focus on the national unrest in the summer of 2024.

Robert Lloyd’s acidic one-liners trace the collapse of modern society, retaining the harmonious warble of a veteran pub crooner infected with the growl and grouse of The Fall, Nick Cave and at times Beefheart reincarnated.

In the early 80s they enjoyed cult status as darlings of the credible music scene and were championed by John Peel, who said of them – “Their performances will serve to confirm their excellence when we are far enough distanced from the 1980’s to look at the period rationally and other, infinitely better known, bands stand revealed as charlatans.” Their time has indeed come. 

Get a vinyl copy of The Awful Truth on limited edition red wax with brilliant sleeve art by Tomasso Salini directly from Fire Records right here. Check out the entertaining preview clip followed by a Guiness-enhanced video for "Same Old Riff" and the trailer for Michael Cumming & Stewart Lee's excellent Nightingales documentary King Rocker below. 

Toronto roots rockers Blue Rodeo honoured with a Canadian postage stamp!

Canada Post's oddly floral forward design of Blue Rodeo's new stamp could double quite nicely as a tissue box. 

Here's the scoop from Canada Post...

This booklet of stamps honours award-winning band Blue Rodeo. Canada Post has a long history of honouring Canadian bands and singer-songwriters for their contributions to the nation’s arts and culture.

Blue Rodeo has sold more than four million albums and won 12 Juno Awards, including induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and played more than 2,500 live shows – including more at Toronto’s venerated Massey Hall (their hometown venue) than any other rock band. Forty years on, Blue Rodeo continues to tour and record. 

One of Canada’s most beloved bands, Blue Rodeo has helped shape and redefine Canadian popular music. When they formed in 1984, the band’s unique blend of country, folk and rock set them apart in a musical landscape dominated by synth-pop and hair metal. Led by the sweet, soaring harmonies and endearing melodies of principal singer-songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, Blue Rodeo is known for its rootsy eclecticism and superb musicianship. Hits such as “Try,” “Lost Together,” “5 Days in May” and “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” have propelled Blue Rodeo albums to multi-platinum status.

Blue Rodeo joins such past honourees as Robert Charlebois (2009), The Tragically Hip (2013), Beau Dommage (2013), and Sarah McLachlan (2024).

About the design

The stamp shows a collage of studio portraits of the seven current members of Blue Rodeo. Pictured from left to right are (front row) Mike Boguski, Jimmy Bowskill, Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor and (top row) Colin Cripps, Bazil Donovan and Glenn Milchem.

In the background of the stamp is an illustration of a blue guitar; in the foreground, flowers reminiscent of the floral embroidery on the band’s western-style shirts.

The inside of the booklet includes the six stamps and a photo of Blue Rodeo performing in Toronto in August 2024.

The back of the booklet features elements of the guitar and floral art featured on the stamp, along with a short text on the band. 

One For The Weekend: The Spontaneous Generation

Here's "Up In My Mind" from 1968 by Terry Lawson and his Atlanta psych rock crew The Spontaneous Generation.

Remembering Muddy Waters on his birthday

Here's a nicely shot Muddy Waters performance with Bob Margolin, Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, Willie Smith, Pinetop Perkins, Calvin Jones & Jerry Portnoy.

Producer Joe Boyd presents And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain @ The Rivoli, April 13

Music producer & author Joe Boyd is launching the paperback edition of And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain at The Rivoli. 

Here's the scoop... 

Legendary music producer, writer and record label boss Joe Boyd is something of a Leonard Zelig of 20th century popular music. He was the production manager for the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when Dylan went electric, managed European tours of Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Reverend Gary Davis and Coleman Hawkins,  ran the UK office of Elektra Records and started London's pioneering psychedelic club UFO, produced the first Pink Floyd single and discovered Nick Drake while also working with Cream, Soft Machine, The Move, Arthur Brown and John Martyn. He also signed the nascent Fairport Convention and the Incredible String Band and put together the soundtracks for A Clockwork Orange and Deliverance which turned the instrumental "Dueling Banjos" into a surprise chart-topping hit 1973 and earned a Grammy for Eric Weissburg & Steve Mandell. All of that – in addition to working with Toots and the Maytals, Kate & Anna McGarrigle and R.E.M. while running Hannibal Records – he still found time to travel to travel across the planet while digging deep into the music and cultures that created it. 

Watching how the global audience for the music of Africa, India and Latin America grew and expanded, Boyd was taking notes when what came known as "world music" in the 80s became ubiquitous popular music with recordings like Paul Simon's multi-million selling Graceland album from 1986. And Boyd must've seen it coming. In fact, back in 1969 – before Fela Kuti and Tony Allen hit on Afrobeat – he'd recorded his own "township bop" experiments to update kwela music for an audience outside of South Africa with Dudu Pukwana, Chris MacGregor,  Mongezi Feza, Louis Moholo, Richard Thompson and members of Osibisa but he was unfortunately a little bit too ahead of the curve for it to be profitable (check out Dudu Pukwana & The Spears). Hey, timing is everything which Boyd knows as well as anyone having had to wait for a 1999 Volkswagen commercial for the rest of the world to recognize the magic in Nick Drake's music he'd spotted more than 30 years prior.  

Boyd's latest work, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain (out in paperback April 1 via Ze Books) – which he half-jokingly calls "a history book disguised as a music book" – is the story of how this globalization of music happened told by someone with the uncanny ability to be in the right spot at the exactly the right time, the breadth of knowledge and historical perspective to connect the dots along with the knack for spinning a yarn to make for an engrossing read and a captivating talk. 

He'll present his findings in Toronto at The Rivoli on Sunday, April 13 from 2pm to 3:30pm (doors at 1 pm). General admission tickets are $18.50 (plus $1.50 service charge) available right here. Check out a few of Joe Boyd's recent interviews (including a discussion of global music for the Rock's Back Pages Podcast right here) followed by a list of upcoming dates on his reading tour below.