Jack White rocks RBC Amphitheatre, Tuesday

Jack White – who just turned 51 – returns to Toronto to play RBC Amphitheatre tonight and yes, tickets are still available.  

B-Side Wins Again: Death Comet Crew feat. Rammellzee

Check out the amazing performance of NYC rapper, graf artist and sculptor Rammellzee on DCC's "Exterior Street" 

LINKS
New York Times The Many Faces Of Rammellzee

Remembering Spanish saxophone great Pedro Iturralde on his birthday

Raising a glass to flamenco jazz innovator Pedro Iturralde with a swinging performance and more. 

Watch Butch Hancock and son Rory play Creekbottom in Santa Fe

Hey, it's Butch Hancock's birthday so we're celebrating with a show he played with his son Rory in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Summer In The Garden: Montuno Cubano @ Harbourfront Centre, Sunday

Music In The Garden at Harbourfront features Jorge Peña's Montuno Cubano today (Sunday, July 12) at 4 pm. It's free!   

Here's the scoop...

Montuno Cubano’s vibrant rhythms span bolero, guaracha, salsa, rumba flamenca, sucu sucu, son, son Cubano, guajira and romantic ballads, offering audiences a rich taste of Cuba’s musical heritage. Their performances seamlessly blend original compositions with distinctive interpretations of beloved Cuban classics. Attuned to each setting, they thoughtfully craft programs that connect with every audience and create a memorable musical experience.

In Cuban music, the montuno is the final section of a song — faster, bolder and often semi-improvised. The term “montuno,” meaning “comes from the mountain” in Spanish, reflects a style that originated in their home province of Santiago de Cuba, widely recognized as the birthplace of traditional Cuban music. While music remains at the heart of every performance, there is always a moment when a musician sets down his instrument to dance — an infectious gesture that often draws audience members into the celebration.

Watch a couple of performances by Montuno Cubano below. 

Happy Birthday Swamp Dogg!

Celebrating the birthday of Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams with a 1969 gem cut for Cotillion and two other overlooked gems.

Bon Scott & Fraternity vs. The Band

Before AC/DC, Bon Scott could knock out a swell version of The Band's "The Shape I'm In" as this Fraternity clip shows. 

Remembering gospel guitar great Rev. Charlie Jackson on his birthday

Celebrating the birthday of Rev. Charlie Jackson with Adam Lore's 50 Miles of Elbow Room tribute and some stellar footage.  

Watch Steve Wynn & Peter Buck play an acoustic version of "Ghostbusters"

Peter Buck & Steve Wynn – who are currently in Athens, GA to work on a new album – played "Ghostbusters" & "Gloria" at the Rialto. Check it out below. 

Writes Steve Wynn...

Peter Buck and I will be heading into Chase Park studio here in Athens, GA to record a bunch of new songs we've written together over the last few months. We'll be joined by Scott McCaughey, Mike Mills, Jay Gonzalez, Linda Pitmon and a few other guests with David Barbe engineering. We aired out six of the songs on stage at the Rialto last night and they felt great so I'm very excited to get going. Nothing like making new music with good friends and I can't wait to lay it all on you sometime very soon. Roll tape!

One For The Weekend: Robyn Hitchcock

Watch the polka dot parisol-enhanced poolside video for "Yesterday's Rain" off Robyn's new album, The Confuser, out July 24th.

Digable Planets w/ DJ Starting From Scratch @ The Phoenix, Friday

The reunited Digable Planets make a rare Toronto appearance tonight at The Phoenix with DJ Starting From Scratch opening at 7 pm.

LINKS

Get tickets for the Digable Planets show at the Phoenix right here

Happy Birthday Mavis Staples!

Cheers to gospel/soul great Mavis Staples on her 87th birthday. Here are a few recent performances worth checking. 

Tom Dunphy returns to the Cameron House on Saturday, Artful Dodger on Sunday

The Rizdales' Tom Dunphy ihits the Cameron with Steve Briggs on Saturday, then joins Steve for Summer Sundays at the Artful Dodger at 4 pm.

Writes Tom Dunphy...

"I'm thrilled to be returning to Toronto's legendary Cameron House on Saturday, July 11, from 8:00–10:00 PM! I'll be joined by an incredible band: Burke Carroll on steel, Steve Briggs on guitar, and Russ Boswell on upright bass. Come early if you can—our friends Big Tobacco and the Pickers kick things off at 6:00 PM and will set the perfect country tone for the evening. It promises to be a fine evening at one of Toronto's great listening rooms."

After the Cameron show, Tom joins Steve Briggs for his Summer Sunday matinee at the Artful Dodger at 4 pm. 

Remembering Lee Hazlewood on his birthday

Remembering the amazing Lee Hazlewood with a few TV appearances including "Summer Wine" with Nancy Sinatra from 1967.

Watch Toronto blues rockers Catl tear up Temple Fest in Normandy

Here's Catl in action on stage at Temple Fest in Osmoy-Saint-Valéry. Catch 'em in Karlsruhe, Germany later today! 

You can also catch Catl on Saturday (July 11) at the Raut Oak Festival in Riegsee. For tickets/directions visit the event site.

Whaddya mean you don't know Eloise Carter

Back in 1961, Eloise Carter of the Ikettes cut a one-off solo single written & produced by Ike Turner – check out "My Man Rockhead"

Guitar Masters: Lorne Lofsky & Reg Schwager @ Hirut Café, Wednesday

Toronto jazz guitar aces Lorne Lofsky and Reg Schwager trade licks at Hirut Café tonight at 8 pm. $20 cash cover.  

New documentary on ska/rocksteady guitar great Lynn Taitt in the works

A feature-length documentary on pioneering ska/rocksteady guitar great Lynn Taitt is way overdue. Watch for a trailer coming soon.

Writes Moss Raxlen...

Happy to announce preproduction has now started on the Lynn Taitt documentary & release of his final LP (and most likely a couple of 45s). Over the next couple months I will be visiting Toronto, Ottawa & more to do research & networking followed by a teaser/trailer for around September. Big thanks to all those that have helped in the past to bring it this far & to all those now stepping in to help - Stay tuned for more info!!

Watch an unrelated mini-doc on Lyn Taitt from the Reggae Appreciation Society below.

Happy Birthday Ned Sublette!

Celebrating the birthday of singer/songwriter & music historian Ned Sublette with a discussion of Cuban music and more.

Get a copy of Ned Sublette's book Cuba and It's Music via Chicago Review Press right here.

Midweek Mixdown: G.S. in Psychedelic Paradise – 60s Japanese garage psych

Back in 2001, Tokyo's Teichiku label released G.S. in Psychedelic Paradise – a swingin' collection of Japanese 60s garage gems.  

G.S. in Psychedelic Paradise

1 The Dynamites – Tunnel To Heaven (Album Version)  00:00

2 ザ・ヤンガーズ– Hanashitakunai  02:52

3 The Beavers – Why, Baby, Why  05:29

4 The Golden Cups– This Bad Girl  07:41

5 Gary Walker & The Carnabeats– Cutie Morning Moon  09:59

6 The Mops– Atsuku Narenai  12:48

7 The Fingers – I'm In Love   16:12

8 The Tempters– All Day I Call Your Name  18:53

9 The Tigers – Jinjin Banban  21:50

10 ザ・リンド & リンダース– Koi Ni Shibirete  25:28

11 The Wild Ones – All Of My Life  28:31

12 The Spiders – Up-Side Down  30:55

13 The Phoenix – Good-Bye, Baby  33:27

14 The Edwards – Cry Cry Cry   36:23

15 The Carnabeats– Chu! Chu! Chu!  39:08

16 The Mops– Je T'aime, Bella  41:57

17 The Beavers – Kiminaki Sekai  44:24

18 The Tempters– Tell Me More  46:58

19 The Dynamites – Otono No Senso  50:43

20 The Tigers – The Broken Earth  53:39

21 The Mikes – Ramblin' Man  57:13

22 Blue Comets– Love-Light Show  59:58

23 The Spiders – Mr. Tax   01:05:59

The Limit feat. Sonny Vincent and Pentagram's Bobby Liebling preview "Another Drop"

Check out "Another Drop of Blood" by The Limit with Pentagram's Bobby Liebling & Sonny Vincent. The new LP is out July 31st – read all about it!

Here's the scoop...

The song "Another Drop of Blood" is a collaboration between Sonny Vincent (Testors) and Bobby Liebling (Pentagram) on a track that offers a powerful glimpse into an album driven by danger, honesty, and genuine rock ‘n’ roll impact. It’s the sound of artists abandoning overthought and expectation and simply following the moment wherever it leads. 

The Limit's new album Another drop is out July 31st via Silver Lining Music but you can pre-order it now right here: https://lnk.to/TheLimitAnotherDrop

“I wrote the music; Bobby delivered one of his most emotionally exposed lyrical performances —raw, direct, and completely unfiltered” comments founder, guitarist and primary songwriter Sonny Vincent. “The track captures the chemistry of The Limit… we are a band operating purely on instinct. No formulas. No calculated game plan. We are just musicians pushing toward intensity, atmosphere and emotional truth in real time.”

Prepare for 'Another Drop' from The Limit

In your face, vital and visceral, The Limit are a super-charged collision of punk, hard rock and metal—an unfiltered, analog force cutting through a landscape too often dulled by polish and predictability. What they create isn’t retro, and it isn’t revivalist—it’s something far more rare: rock ‘n’ roll with genuine urgency, played like it still matters.

The street-rat roar of their new album Another Drop is feral, carefree and defiantly alive—a 15-track blast of raw, instinctive energy that feels less constructed than unleashed. There’s no chasing trends here, no studio trickery masking the message—just the unmistakable sound of musicians with nothing to prove and everything to say, delivering something immediate, unvarnished and real.

Led by Sonny Vincent (Testors) and Bobby Liebling (Pentagram), Another Drop bristles with the kind of kinetic charge that can only come from lifers. Vincent’s songwriting carries the DNA of rock’s most dangerous corners, while Liebling delivers a performance steeped in character and conviction—part snarl, part storyteller, always unmistakably his own. Together, they tap into something deeper than genre, fusing punk’s bite with hard rock’s weight in a way that feels both timeless and strikingly singular.

The result is a record that doesn’t sit comfortably alongside anything else—it stands apart. Songs like “Part Two, Screw You” swagger with stripped-back attitude, while “Another Drop of Blood” pushes forward with a confrontational intensity that refuses to let go. There’s sweat, smoke, and grime running through raucous cuts like “Tryptophan”, the low-slung drive of “Sidetracked”, and the defiant surge of “Unchained”—each track delivered with a clarity of purpose and a refusal to overcomplicate what should hit hard and fast.

Another Drop doesn’t just celebrate rock ‘n’ roll—it reasserts its core values. This is music made with intent, with integrity, and with a deep-rooted understanding of what gives it life in the first place. In an age of overproduction and imitation, The Limit strip everything back to the essentials and remind you what it feels like when it’s done right. 

Watch the video for The Limit's "Another Drop Of Blood" following the tracklisting below. 

The Limit – Another Drop

Side A:

1. Another Drop of Blood

2. Don't Say Try

3. Reverb in My Soul

4. Know Your Indecision

5. (Just A) Calling Card

6. Social Eyes

7. Stalemate

8. Sidetracked

Side B:

1. Part Two, Screw You

2. Over a Cliff

3. Cause of Mystery

4. Fall Down, Get Up

5. Panzer

6. Tryptophan

7. Unchained 

Remembering Charlie Louvin on his birthday

Remembering Charlie Louvin with a Louvin Brothers documentary along with a few amazing performances and interview clips.  

LINKS

Fretboard Journal Q&A interview with Charlie Louvin, December 2005

Gary Louris just got his 'Safety Last' Gretsch out of storage for Jayhawks tour

Years before hitting on his trusty Gibson SG with the Jayhawks, Gary Louris was rarely seen without his Gretsch back in the 80s.

Here's the scoop from Jayhawks HQ...

The Gretsch is back! Since it's The Jayhawks 40th anniversary year, it was only fitting that Gary dug out a guitar that actually dates back farther than that - back to the early 80s when Gary was in Safety Last.

UPCOMING JAYHAWKS SHOWS

July 17 Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua - Bayfield, WI 

July 18 Nature Rocks 2026 - Aitkin, MN. Get tickets here (only Minnesota appearance this summer).

Oct 16 Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON. Get tickets here. 

Full tour schedule: bit.ly/JayhawksShows

Mysterious Swedish psych crew GOAT, Teke::Teke @ Concert Hall, Monday

Don't miss the fabulously costumed GOAT performing with Montreal's Teke::Teke at the Concert Hall tonight. Doors at 7 pm.  

Country Flash share new song "Summer Blues"

Listen to "Summer Blues" by Country Flash who play their 2nd Anniversary show at the Bell & Beacon tonight at 9:30 pm. 

LINKS 

You can get Country Flash's "Summer Blues" from your fave platform right here.

Country Flash instagram

Nichol Robertson instagram

Emmylou Harris selects her fave Nonesuch records

Watch Emmylou Harris discuss a few of her go-to records from the Nonesuch vault followed by a delightful duet with Margo Price. 

The Empty Glasses feat. Johnny 99 @ The Rivoli (upstairs), Sunday

Johnny 99, aka City and Colour guitarist John O'Neil, sits in with the Empty Glasses at The Rivoli this afternoon from 3 to 6 pm. 

Here's the scoop...

It's Country Sunday time again at the Rivoli pool hall this week.  This time around the Empty Glasses are joined by Johnny 99 on vocals.  You know him from City and Colour, and the Hippy Honky-tonk shows in Parkdale.  We've convinced him to come downtown this Sunday and sing for the good folks at the Riv while Jamie takes a much needed weekend at the cottage.

See you there from 3-6, and remember it's family friendly! Check out a few clips of Johnny 99 doing his thing (below). For more information about Johnny 99's concert dates, session work and recordings, visit Johnny 99's official site right here https://johnny-99.com/. 

Watch Bruce Springsteen: Finding America In Song

Check out the PBS News special Bruce Springsteen: Finding America In Song while you can. 

Here's the scoop... 

Marking the opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, Springsteen reflects on more than five decades of work, the artists who influenced him, the themes that drive his creativity and what he hopes future generations will take from his music. The conversation comes as the United States marks 250 years, offering a reflection on the role art plays in telling the American story.

 

Remembering New Orleans R&B great Smiley Lewis on his birthday

Remembering New Orleans R&B great Smiley Lewis with a couple of his jukebox gems.

R.I.P. Tommy Hunter, Canada's Country Gentleman

Canadian country star Tommy Hunter – host of CBC's long-running Tommy Hunter Show – has died at 89. He'll be greatly missed.

Watch the Legendary Stardust documentary "Cotton Pickin' Smash"

Check out the Legendary Stardust Cowboy documentary followed by his appearance on Art Fein's Poker Party. 

Heather Luckhart Blues Trio @ Grossman's Tavern, Saturday

Toronto's Heather Luckhart is joined by guitarist Eric St-Laurent and drummer Norbert Botos at Grossman's from 9:30 pm to 1 am. 

John Borra Band w/ Steve Koch @ The Cameron House, Saturday

John Borra is joined by guitar slinger deluxe Steve Koch and pals over at the Cameron House from 6 pm to 8 pm – should be fun!

One For The Weekend: The MC5

Seems like the right time for "American Ruse" from The MC5. 

Margo Price marks USA's 250th with protest album Days Of Unrest

Margo Price's updates of Woody Guthrie's "Deportee" & Blaze Foley's "Oval Room" appear on Days Of Unrest available here.

Happy Birthday Carla Olson!

Raising a glass to singer/songwriter Carla Olson with a 13th Floor Elevators classic, a few duets with Gene Clark and more. 

The Fleshtones mark their golden anniversary with "Float Your Showboat" 45

The new 7" single from The Fleshtones "Float Your Showboat" b/w "Hear Today" is out September 4th via Yep Roc Records. 

Here's the scoop...

Garage rock legends The Fleshtones have been shaping the face of alternative music for half a century. To celebrate their golden anniversary, they're releasing the limited edition single "Float Your Showboat" b/w "Hear Today." The former features lead vocals from the original Fleshtones, Keith Streng and Peter Zaremba, with a powerful groove that's trademarked their SUPER ROCK™sound for 50 years. "Hear Today" is a hip-shaker that illustrates how amazing it is that the mighty Fleshtones are still here. The songs are being released on a 45 single that is limited to 500 copies worldwide on September 4th.

Since forming in Queens in 1976, The Fleshtones have remained one of rock ‘n roll’s most enduring and beloved live acts, earning a reputation for sweat-soaked performances, infectious grooves, and a devotion to the raw spirit of rock music that has inspired generations of fans and musicians. Over five decades, the band has released a celebrated catalog of albums while becoming fixtures in New York’s downtown music culture and international garage rock scenes. They have also been the subject of books (Sweat by Joe Bonomo), movies (Pardon Us For Living But The Graveyard’s Full, 2009), played with Ian McKellen on Andy Warhol’s MTV program Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes, and were the last band to publicly perform at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World. 

Get a copy of The Fleshtones' "Float Your Showboat" b/w "Hear Today" single from your platform of choice right here. The Fleshtones are playing NYC's Bowery Ballroom with the Minus Five, The Goons plus DJs Todd & Gaylord on Friday, August 7th – get tickets here. Have a listen to "Float Your Showboat" along with some recent performance footage from France along with some vintage interviews. 

Remembering Martin Phillipps of The Chills on his birthday

Remembering singer/songwriter extraordinaire Martin Phillipps on his birthday. Here's The Chills in Austin back in 2019 and more. 

Atomic Rooster rip through "Vug" on the Beat Club in 1970

This Atomic Rooster performance of "Vug" – featuring Johnny Du Cann – captures the group in transition to a heavier whump.  

Celebrate Canada Day with Lou Molinaro's Lou's Control on CFMU-FM

Lou Molinaro presents a selection of primo Canuck garage, psych and heavy rock on CFMU-FM today from 3pm to 5pm.

Happy Canada Day! - For today's show, it's all Canadian!

As you know, the show is pre-recorded. Choosing music for this afternoon was really based on the mood I was in when preparing this episode. No theme or strategy! Be prepared to hear music from -

Christmas /  Simply Saucer / The Other Guys / Purple Toads / Durango 95 / The Great Scots / Mark Malibu & The Wasagas / Rusty / Night Chill (Thea Faulds) / Nobby Clegg & The Civilians / Slow Reader (local band featuring Dan Empringham, Tori, Dave Nardi & Nathan Ivanco) / Jimmy Vapid / Chilliwack (early) / Les Miserables / Les Sinners / Stanley Frank / TV Freaks / The Gruesomes / Martin Verrall & The Void / The Haunted / It's All Meat / Mckenna Mendelson Mainline / B.A. Johnston / Ian Blurton's Future Now / Michel Pagliaro and more.....

Lou's Control - This is also the home of Jones Garage with Rachel Jones. We broadcast our shows from the McMaster University Student Centre in Hamilton Ontario. Tune in locally every Wednesday 3pm to 5 pm via your radio CFMU 93.3 FM or stream the show by visiting our site right here: https://cfmu.ca/. 

In the meantime, please enjoy "Taken Home" from The Sinisters' "Memories of a Happy Hell" album along with a few other gems (see below). Tomorrow is Steev Saint's birthday. Over the years, many of us have enjoyed watching Steve perform. I miss the days of hosting shows with The Sinisters. They were always hi-energy wildcards. Have a great day tomorrow' Steev!