Remembering New Orleans songster Snooks Eaglin on his birthday

Raising a glass to Snooks Eaglin with a New Orleans show from '85, some live clips with George Porter Jr. and more! 

Yep that's Snooks (right) tearin' it up with pianist Allen Toussaint (left) in The Flamingos (New Orleans) circa 1953. 

Watch Gurf Morlix perform "50 Years" off his Eatin' At Me album

Check out Gurf's performance of "50 Years" along with a couple of great tunes off his latest album Bristlecone. 

Writes Gurf about his song "50 Years"...

"Here's a live performance of a song I wrote about my time in school. I remember it all. I can't say I enjoyed the experience.  I hope you had a better time. The song is called 50 Years. It's from the album EATIN' AT ME. A lot of it still is eatin' at me."

Get a copy of Gurf Morlix's 2015 album Eatin' At Me via Bandcamp right here. Also, check out "Glimmer Of Hope" and "Suspended In Alcohol" off his latest release Bristlecone available here. 

Remembering exotica pioneer Juan Garcia Esquivel on his birthday

Remembering composer/arranger and pianist Juan Garcia Esquivel with an interview and some of his recordings. 

Cate Le Bon plays the Concert Hall, January 20

Cate Le Bon returns to Toronto for a show at the Concert Hall tonight with Frances Chang opening at 7 pm. 

Here's the scoop...

Welsh singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Cate Le Bon creates psychedelic-tinged art pop with the help of intricate guitar work and an ever-shifting songwriting style. Singing in both English and Welsh, her earlier records opted for a more acoustic sound, while 2022’s Pompeii combines more vivid influences, from ’70s David Bowie to Japanese city pop. Her seventh and latest album, Michaelango Dying was recorded after a difficult break-up in 2024 at various studios in Cardiff, London, Los Angeles and Joshua Tree. It made the year end "Top Albums of 2025" lists for Mojo, Uncut, The Guardian, Record Collector, The Fader and Rolling Stone if that matters to anyone.  

Advance tickets for Cate Le Bon's Concert Hall show are $49.32 and available right here.  Check out a couple of clips from a recent performance and some videos. 

Al Green vs. The Velvet Underground

Al Green just cut a cover of Velvet Underground's Loaded gem "I Found A Reason" for his new To Love Somebody EP. Get it here.

Happy Birthday Mike Belitsky!

Celebrate the 60th birthday of drummer deluxe Mike Belitsky with Country Flash at the Bell & Beacon tonight at 9:30 pm. 

Celebrating MLK Day with saxophone great Nathan Davis

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today with three songs from the Nathan Davis tribute album from 1976.

Watch Horace Parlan get down with Dusko Goykovich & Bobby Jones in 1973

Since it's Horace Parlian's birthday, here's his Summit combo with Dusko Goykovich & Bobby Jones in Kongsberg back in '73.

Before They Were Famous: Seymour Stein of Sire Records

Long before signing The Ramones, Talking Heads & Madonna, Seymour Stein launched Sire in '68 with "Something's Gone" by The Jam (from Spokane, WA).  

Happy Birthday R. Stevie Moore!

Celebrating the birthday of home recording pioneer R. Stevie Moore with a couple of clips and documentary footage.

That time Phono-Comb feat. Dallas Good played the Tarragon Theatre in 1996

Here's a Phono-Comb performance with Dallas Good, Reid Diamond, Don Pyle & Bev Breckenridge (not shown) on May 26, 1996. 

Happy Birthday Billy Harper!

Celebrating the birthday of saxophonist/composer Billy Harper with an interview along with a few stellar performances. 

Kewpie Dolls, Slow Drags, Glimmerjean & Goode @ Monarch Tavern, Saturday

Toronto's Kewpie Dolls were voted "Most Likely To Kick Ass in 2026"... catch 'em with the Slow Drags at the Monarch tonight!

Kewpie Dolls at 10 pm, Slow Drags 9 pm, Glimmerjean & Goode 8 pm. Tickets: $19.50 here.

B-Side Wins Again: City Jungle

Here's a creepy cool Belgian psych curio with an odd flute break... check out "She Makes Me Cry" by Marc Hermant's City Jungle. 

Remembering Piedmont blues great Buddy Moss on his birthday

Raising a glass to Georgia-born blues singer/guitarist Eugene "Buddy" Moss with a few of his Piedmont-style recordings. 

One For The Weekend: Freddie & Dessie

Toronto's Shella Records just reissued Freddie & Dessie's 1982 roots reggae gem "Girls Talk" arranged by Willie Lindo.  

LINKS

Shella Records site: https://www.shellarecords.com/

Steve Koch's He Mistook Her For A Swan backed by Trick Bag @ Handlebar, Saturday

He Mistook Her For A Swan's Steve Koch & Colleen Hodgson will be backed by Grier Coppins' Trick Bag at Handlebar on Saturday from 3 pm to 6 pm. 

Here's the scoop from Steve...

"Some cool news for the weekend - Grier Coppins has invited He Mistook Her For A Swan (Colleen Hodgson and myself) to do a set of tunes at his monthly gig at the Handlebar (159 Augusta) in Kensington Market this Saturday (January 17) from 3 to 6 pm. And dig this, we've got the incredible Trick Bag band with Grier, Chris Staig and Larry Graves backing us up! Will there be harmonium? Hell yes! Will there be bagpipes? You know it! Will there be any murderous behaviour in the songs. Wait and see. This is going to be super fun and as you know we don't get out much so come on down or you'll miss it."

You can get a copy of He Mistook Her For A Swan's fantastic album "Lady Isobel" via Bandcamp right here. Listen to "Voodoo Blues," "Pretty Saro," "Who Knows Where The Time Goes," "Katie Cruel" and "Wedding Dress" below. 

Whaddya mean you don't know The Omens

Straight outta Hammond, Indiana – it's The Omens... check out their 1965 garage ripper "Searching" b/w "Girl Get Away"

New Orleans radio station WWOZ FM celebrates Allen Toussaint's birthday

The work of legendary New Orleans pianist/composer/producer Allen Toussaint is celebrated today on WWOZ-FM. 

Here's the scoop...

WWOZ 90.7 FM New Orleans is celebrating Allen Toussaint on what would've been his 88th birthday by digging deep into the archives on Wednesday, January 14! Tune in all afternoon to hear rare and never-before-rebroadcast recordings honoring one of New Orleans’ greatest musical minds.

At 1pm CT, Missy Bowen will kick things off with a rarely-heard performance by Allen and his band at WWOZ's Piano Night concert in 2005.

At 2pm CT, hear an amazing interview from the vaults: in 1986, Allen Toussaint stopped by the radio show of the late Billy Delle, when WWOZ was located in Armstrong Park, for a wide-ranging conversation covering Allen's career up to that point.  This recording was made available to the Archive of the Jazz & Heritage Foundation by AJ Rodrigue and Marlene Delle, and was then digitized courtesy of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.  It has never been aired on WWOZ since that evening in 1986.

At 3pm CT, we'll switch gears with another super-rare recording: Allen Toussaint's Jazzity Project, recorded in the Jazz Tent at Jazz Fest in 2010, which takes us until 4pm and the start of "Jazz from Jax Brewery."

At 5pm CT, hear WWOZ's two-part tribute to Allen Toussaint, which originally aired in 2016 on WWOZ's syndicated program "New Orleans Calling," hosted and produced by George Ingmire. Part One, "Say Yes To Music," begins at 5 pm, and Part Two, "Last Train," begins at 6 pm. 

This tribute features the voices of Irma Thomas, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter Jr, Sarah Dash of LaBelle, Dr. Ike of the Ponderosa Stomp, and Allen himself from archival interviews, plus lots of Allen's music!

These recordings all appear on WWOZ courtesy the Archive of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Tune in and spend the afternoon celebrating the legacy of Allen Toussaint with us! Listen locally at 90.7 FM or from anywhere at wwoz.org. The entire afternoon will also be available after-the-fact on our 2-week archive.

Watch a couple of Allen Toussaint's performances and recordings below including the overlooked gem "Mind Over Matter" from Hamilton's own Richard Newell aka "King Biscuit Boy" written, arranged and produced by Allen Toussaint in 1974. 

Midweek Mixdown: Country, My Way with The Vinyl Avenger

Fans of the Gibson Bros, Country Teasers, Beasts Of Bourbon and/or DM Bob will enjoy this Olaf Jens mix. 

Listen to the Vinyl Avenger's latest mix "Country, My Way" via Mixcloud right here.

Happy 80th Birthday Eero Koivistoinen!

Celebrating the 80th birthday of still active Finnish jazz icon Eero Koivistoinen with a couple of amazing early performances. 

Friendly Rich sings Nihilist Spasm Band, Martian Crisis Unit @ Tranzac Club, Tuesday

Friendly Rich sings from the Nihilist Spasm Band songbook accompanied by Nichol Robertson after a set by Martian Crisis Unit. 

Happy Birthday Brett Sparks of The Handsome Family

We're celebrating Brett's birthday with a few Handsome Family performances and a sweet session with Andrew Bird from 2017. 

Memory Of Light feat. The Cluttertones screens @ Innis Town Hall, Thursday

Luka Kuplowsky's film Memory of Light featuring The Cluttertones screens at Innis Town Hall on Thursday at 7 pm. It's free!

AD HOC #85 – Memory of Light

w/ filmmaker Luka Kuplowsky and The Cluttertones, in person!

U of T's Innis Town Hall, Innis College (2 Sussex Ave)

Thursday, January 15, 7 pm to 10 PM

Synopsis: Rob Clutton has been composing a piece of music for a while. A long held "obsession". Memory of Light, part observational documentary and part experimental-concert film, places the viewer within the eccentric rehearsal process and ecstatic performance stylings of The Cluttertones, a Toronto chamber jazz quartet. Roman poetry, phytograms, friendly bickering and otherworldly sounds.

"I don't know what's going on...just trying to go through the motions and see what happens."

AD HOC (Stephen Broomer, Madi Piller, Jim Shedden, Bart Testa) aims to rethink what an experience of cinema can be. We seek to reposition historical landmarks and buried treasures within the on-going tradition of experimental and other non- commercial modes of filmmaking, drawing on work from Toronto, throughout Canada, and internationally. Within these parameters, we aspire to diversity in programming, as well as to multimedia and interdisciplinary screening events that bring together varied communities.

Watch the trailer for Memory Of Light below. 

Visit the Innis College site for more info about Memory of Light and other events. 

Remembering Chris Bell of Big Star on his birthday

Raising a glass to singer/songwriter Chris Bell with both sides of his brilliant "I Am The Cosmos" single and more. 

FEAR, MVLL CRIMES, Dragged In @ The Horseshoe, Friday

Lee Ving and his current FEAR crew tear up The Horseshoe Friday night as part of their FEAR Conquers Canada tour. 

You can get tickets for FEAR's show at The Horseshoe right here. For FEAR tour info, music & merch, visit their site. 

Hamilton's Katie Bulley releases rockin' new solo album "Untitled"

Steel City singer/guitarist and songwriter Katie Bulley (of The Barettas) recorded her fifth solo album "Untitled" at Hazy Grove in Dundas.

Here's the scoop from Katie...

This is my fifth solo album and I believe it’s my very best! All songs are original, written by myself. It was recorded over a fun, but gruelling two weeks at Hazy Grove Recording Studio in Dundas, Ontario and engineered by Ryan Barwin. (Vocals, guitars and production by me, Drums by Vincent Louis-Fragilistic Campovari-Waters, pedal steel on ‘Already Taken’ by Ryan) (bass was a collaboration by Ryan and me) 

Music has been my life for more years than I can remember. I’ve spent many a night performing but have decided to hold off on live shows for the moment (unless I get an offer that I can’t refuse!)  

The gift of music has been given to me and I’m sharing it with all my fans, past and present. I hope my style of music inspires you.  

It’s been described as 90’s pop punk with old school 50’s surf rock and roll with rockabilly sounds, all original and no covers.  There’s lots of nostalgia built into each song.  

The album is without title.  The artwork was created by Perin Bradlee Squires. 

I’m doing this without paid promotion, a label, or tangible copies so please listen to my album, share my music with family and friends. 

I’d really love to receive feedback and if you have any questions I’ll reply. Thanks so much!  

It’s streaming on all platforms. 

If you want to support me directly for only $13 you can get the album via Bandcamp right here: https://katiebulley.bandcamp.com/album/untitled 

Listen to a few songs below. 

Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother screens at the Fox, Jan 12 thru 17

Tom Waits stars alongside Adam Driver in Father Mother Sister Brother showing at The Fox Monday thru Saturday. 

Here's the scoop...

A revolutionary voice of the 1980s indie film scene, Jim Jarmusch returns to weaving narrative vignettes, as he mastered in his diner anthology “Coffee and Cigarettes” and his early films like “Mystery Train” and “Night on Earth.”

In his own words, Jarmusch describes the film as “a kind of anti-action film,” with a subtle and quiet style carefully constructed to allow small details to accumulate—almost like flowers being delicately arranged in three separate arrangements.

“Father Mother Sister Brother” showcases Jarmusch at his best: minimalist, with an unerring eye for the essence of human experience.

Watch the trailer followed by screening times below. 

Get tickets for Father Mother Sister Brother at the Fox Theatre right here. 

Read an interview with director Jim Jarmusch for Another Mag in the Links section.  

 

LINKS
Another Mag Jim Jarmusch interview

FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER @ The Fox Theatre

R.I.P. Bob Weir, 1947-2026

Sadly, Bob Weir – guitar-playing rhythmic soul of the Grateful Dead – has passed away at 78. He'll be greatly missed. 

That time Don Reno & Red Smiley shot two episodes of a TV variety show

Don Reno & Red Smiley are joined by their Tennessee Cut-Ups in episode one with the second featuring the Stanley Brothers! 

Remembering swamp blues great Slim Harpo on his birthday

Thinking of Slim Harpo on his birthday with some amazing recordings cut with Jay Miller after the King Bee documentary. 

The Rizdales' Tom Dunphy returns to the Cameron House, January 10

The Rizdales' Steve Briggs will be singing tunes from his Everything Was New album with Burke Carroll, Victor Bateman & Steve Briggs.

Happy 70th Birthday Don Letts!

Celebrating the 70th birthday of influential culture-clashing UK DJ/filmmaker Don Letts with a couple of interviews and DJ sets. 

Whaddya Mean You Don't Know Wali King & The Afro-Caravan

Austin-based Wali King & The Afro-Caravan got their start on the Sonobeat label with a live cover of "Comin' Home Baby" 

Remembering Billy Cowsill on his birthday

Raising a glass to singer/songwriter Billy Cowsill with a few interviews and performances with the Blue Shadows. 

The Blue Shadows' critically-lauded 1993 debut On The Floor Of Heaven is way overdue for a vinyl release. 

R.I.P. Glenn Hall, NHL's legendary "Mr. Goalie", 1931-2026

Sadly, Hall Of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall – who played with Detroit, Chicago & St. Louis – has died at 94. He'll be greatly missed.