Col. Tom's Swinging Door w/ mandolin marvel Andrew Collins @ Cameron House, Sunday

Creaking Tree Stringer and Tone Ranger Andrew Collins sits in with Col. Tom Parker and crew from 6 pm to 8 pm. 

Andrew Collins Trio @ The Burdock, Tuesday

Mando maestro Andrew Collins finds himself at the epicentre of Canada’s burgeoning acoustic/roots music scene. He didn’t invent it but he's certainly been a contributor, having co-founded noteworthy Canadian bands like the Creaking String Quartet, the Foggy Hogtown Boys and, more recently, the Andrew Collins Trio.

Comfortable on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola, mandocello and vocals, Andrew is joined by fellow string guru, Mike Mezzatesta - who’s versatility and mastery shine through on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and mandola, and in-the-pocket James McEleney, holding it down on the bass, mandocello and vocals.

On their newest release And It Was Good, all three players continue their push into new territory. A collision of bluegrass, jazz, old-time, Celtic and classical, And It Was Good is good, receiving great reviews and winning them a 2016 Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Instrumental Group. Rather than try to pigeonhole what ACT does, just go and see them at The Burdock (1184 Bloor West) tonight and enjoy the fact that no one else is doing it. Doors open at 8:30 pm, show starts at 9 pm. Tickets are $12 advance, $15 door.

Alex Pangman joins Foggy Hogtown Boys for A Very Foggy Christmas @ Silver Dollar, Friday

Alex will be accompanied by her partner Col. Tom Parker for a few yuletide faves tonight at the Silver Dollar.

Jeff Scroggins & Colorado w/ Foggy Hogtown Boys @ Junction City Music Hall, Thursday

Farewell High Lonesome Wednesdays w/ Crazy Strings @ Silver Dollar, November 18

Celebrate T.O.'s long-running old time roots music night with a High Lonesome hoedown on Wednesday.

Crazy Strings top gun Chris Quinn writes...


High Lonesome Wednesdays at The Silver Dollar is coming to an end on November 18, 2015.
The members of Crazy Strings, current and past, are a who’s who of influential bluegrass and old-time musicians. There are Juno awards, Canadian Bluegrass Awards, and many other backstories. The Foggy Hogtown Boys: Chris Coole, Andrew Collins, Max Heineman, John Showman, Chris Quinn; as well as guitarist Marc Roy have been the most current incarnation of Crazy Strings.

And among its longer tenured alumni are such stellar Canadian bluegrass & alt-country artists as:
- Joey Wright
- Jenny Whiteley
- Dottie Cormier
- Victor Bateman
- Brian Baron
- John McNaughton
- Dan Whiteley (co-founder)
- Stef Fantin (THE founder)

Stef Fantin – who passed away a few years ago – began High Lonesome with a casting call.
He wrote: "Hey people, I have been searching high and low, to find the right group of guys to get THE MUSIC out there... I have been playing pro since I was 17...(I) am at the point in my life where making a fortune and being famous are no longer part of (my) vision...the vision is to create new, creative life changing music, that will shake the foundations of this crazy life. Join me, and let's take this ride to the next level."

Bluegrass and old-time music are alive and well in Canada, Ontario, and Toronto. This may well be in some part to having had High Lonesome Wednesdays as part of our culture for the last 20 or so years. Come out and celebrate with us as we bring this substantial chapter to a close.

Thanks for listening.

Chris / Crazy Strings

Foggy Hogtown Boys' CD Release Party @ Hugh's Room, tonight

Toronto's own Foggy Hogtown Boys launch their Animals, Insects and People album at Hugh's this evening. 

Foggy Hogtown Boys behaving badly?

Toronto's unstoppable bluegrass force, the Foggy Hogtown Boys, have always been better known for their super-tight ensemble play than their sense of humour but don't be fooled by the clean-cut stage presentation and all that ridiculously proficient picking. Once the house lights come up and their stringed companions are put to bed, Chris Quinn, Andrew Collins, John Showman, Chris Coole and Max Heineman are inveterate cut-ups and it's about time folks outside the group's small circle of elbow-bending buddies knew it.   

For their new self-released Scotch & Sofa disc – which they'll be unveiling at their release party on Friday (June 11) at Hugh's Room (2261 Dundas West) –  the typically neat 'n' tidy Foggy Five decided to get down 'n' dirty for their high concept CD sleeve photo shoot with hilarious results. It all fits perfectly with their chosen repertoire for the album which delves into the tried and true themes of drinking, gambling, rambling and cheating. It's just the sort of stuff that once made for classic country songs way back in the days before Nashville's finest left the honky tonks for hot tubs. But then, these hombres have made a career out of being more country than country.  

The great thing about the Foggy Hogtown Boys is that while they remain deeply immersed in old-school bluegrass tradition, enough to still have their Bill Monroe moments on Scotch & Sofa along with nods to the Stanley Brothers and Flatt & Scruggs, they're anything but bound by it. Listen closely  and you'll also hear the influence of Jimmie Rodgers and maybe a little Papa Charlie Jackson too. Over the course of making five albums without interference from producers or labels, they've developed a uniquely Canuck approach to playing the bluegrass and old-time music they love which is somehow simultaneously both rootsier and more adventurous than what's currently being done by their similarly banjo-driven Southern counterparts.

Each virtuosic member continues to have numerous simultaneous side-projects on the go but that hasn't undermined what they do together as the Foggy Hogtown Boys. In fact, just the opposite is true as demonstrated by the broad range of song styles and structures on Scotch & Sofa which you simply won't encounter on contemporary bluegrass recordings. And if the sleeve images are any indication, they're still having a great time doing it.

Get In Line Brother at the Almonte Old Town Hall on Feb 6, 2010



  
LINKS
site http://foggyhogtownboys.com
myspace http://www.myspace.com/thefoggyhogtownboys
Hugh's Room http://www.hughsroom.com