R.I.P. Mighty Sparrow, 1935-2026

Sadly, legendary calypso king Mighty Sparrow, aka Slinger Francisco, has passed away at 91. He'll be greatly missed. 

Luke Doucet @ The Bell & Beacon, Monday

Since Nichol Robertson is on the road, Whitehorse guitar ace Luke Doucet will be filling in tonight at the Bell & Beacon at 9:30 pm.

Charlie Parr previews new "Rooming House" concept album with animated video

Charlie Parr's new Rooming House album is out October 16 – catch him at The Horseshoe on November 20.   

Here's the scoop...

“These folks here, in this record, have no idea what’s wrong. Or how to help. They are sick with the longing to make everything better. And they can’t. Tiny things are important. This house could be anywhere. These things could happen to anyone.” With this reflection, Charlie Parr introduces the characters of Rooming House, a conceptual folk opera that chronicles the lives of Upper Midwesterners through his quietly raucous, deeply rooted, and empathetic blues. These are songs of lost memories and hardship, but also of the improvised acts of kindness that help neighbors make do. Joined by celebrated drummer and fellow Minnesotan Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple), Parr cements his role as one of the great troubadours of our time with an album that becomes its own small yet profound offering of care. 

"The song 'Rooming House' is where the listener is introduced to the characters in this musical play while they’re going about a normal evening of preparing food together. A terminal illness is introduced here, too, kind of another character or at least assuming the role of one, when our hero realizes that the pain he’s feeling is more than food poisoning. There are two movements to this song, divided in time by something less than a couple months and on the album by just three songs, and Dave King and I played the entire thing as one song so we had to fade it out in the middle and fade it back in later." 

Charlie Parr's Rooming House album is out October 16th via Smithsonian Folkways Records. Pre-order a copy from Bandcamp here or your platform of choice right here. 

Get tickets for Charlie Parr's show at The Horseshoe in Toronto on November 20 right here. 

Watch the video for "Rooming House" animated and illustrated by Drew Christie below. 

Happy Birthday Randy Bachman!

Cheers to guitarist/composer Randy Bachman of The Guess Who, BTO, Brave Belt and yes, Garnet Sweatshirt.

Dale Watson & His Lone Stars, India Ramey @ The Horseshoe, Sunday

Dale Watson's show with India Ramey at the Horseshoe tonight at 7 pm should be the honky tonk country event of the season! 

 

Before They Were Famous: David S. Ware

Saxophonist David S. Ware's first appearance on vinyl is this private-press free jazz blast by Abdul Hannan's Third World from '71. 

He Mistook Her For A Swan, Grier Coppins @ Handlebar, September 26

Steve Koch & Colleen Hodgson (left) will be joined by Grier Coppins & Mad Larry Graves at Handlebar on Saturday (Sept. 26) from 3-6 pm.

Here's the scoop from Grier Coppins...

"Trickbag at Handlebar in Kensington this Saturday cancelled for the Kensington Jazz Festival. I’ll be back w/ a new bag of tricks next Saturday Sept 26. ‘He Mistook her for a Swan’, Steve Koch & Colleen Hodgson back me up for the 1st set & I will back the Swans for the 2nd set. Mad Larry Graves on the drums. British Folk Revival inspired tales of murder, betrayal, infidelity, magic… with the odd rocker, jig & a reel tossed in for the dancers. Should be a great afternoon’s listen. Come on out!"

Watch this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH3YRn9M7Sy/

Coppins & HMFAS, Saturday, September 26, Handlebar (159 Augusta), 3-6 pm.

Listen to He Mistook Her For A Swan's latest release "Same Old Man" along with some "Voodoo Blues"