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. 

Watch The Sadies live at Massey Hall in 2021

Here's some brilliant footage of Dallas Good and brother Travis tearin' it up in style at Massey Hall on November 30, 2021.Hall 

Watch The Sadies with Dallas Good play Massey Hall in 2021

Remembering singer/songwriter and guitarist Dallas Good on his birthday with a Sadies set at Massey Hall on Nov 30, 2021. 

The Sadies go acoustic @ The Cameron House, Friday & Saturday

Travis Good is a helluva picker so these two intimate Sadies shows at the Cameron should be great... if you can still get a ticket. 

Dakota Tavern's "renovation" marks the end of an era for a beloved T.O. live music venue

Apparently, the Dakota Tavern won't be returning as a live music venue. Who really needs another sports bar in Toronto?  

Derek Downham remembers the Dakota Tavern

The death of The Dakota Tavern represents so much more than just the loss of a great live music venue.

This is where some of Toronto's greatest bands were born and nurtured.

This is where strangers met to dance and fall in love. 

This is where for many years there was a mutual respect between band, audience and staff.

That's what made it so very special.

My emotional connection to The Dakota cannot be overstated. 

I am honoured that I had the opportunity to be a part of it's heyday for 11+ years on Sundays with The Beauties and as part of so many other groups. I actually can't calculate how many shows I played there. Several hundreds, certainly.

Thank you to Jennifer Haslett, Maggie Ruhl & Shawn Thomas Creamer for giving myself and so many others the opportunity to play and build community at The Dakota.

While many of us have already moved on and mourned the loss years ago, I feel this needed to be said.

Thank you.

There will never be another scene like The Dakota on a Sunday when The Beauties played. The music, the abandon, the happiness...truly the greatest and longest running weekly gig I have ever seen or been a part of. It's where I met and played for my heroes like Stuart Copeland, Johnny Marr...Jason Momoa would pick me up like a rag doll. The nights with Kevin Drew and the Metric crew were nothing short of legendary. The Beauties got to play the Junofest Gala, signed to Six Shooter Records and played Zach Galafanakis' wedding because of these nights. This is all just the tip of the iceberg of what came out of these incredible shows. 

Thank you to every one of you who came out and supported us and the venue.

I've lived a truly blessed musical life, and a huge part of that is because of The Dakota Tavern.

So Long, Dakota

There is no way

To draw the end of a line

There is no way to tell ending of time - it’s over 

And in a way we are a victim of crime

Another way to paint a picture so fine, moreover

So Long Dakota, Carry On Dakota

We had a day 

we had a decade or more

There wasn’t anybody keeping the score

It’s over 

We saw the morning through a bottle of wine

We held each other 

‘Til the end of the night spilled over

So Long Dakota, Carry On Dakota

- DD

Now, more than ever: 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LIVE MUSIC. 

Without you, it ceases to exist. 

For more info on the unfolding story about The Dakota Tavern, check out Lindsay Dunn's report for City News (below) and the Exclaim piece in the links section. Also, watch The Beauties performing "Fashion Blues" at The Dakota Tavern back in 2010 below followed by a performance by Colonel Tom Parker & The American Pour feat. Nichol Robertson on guitar and a 360' clip of Toronto's premiere blues duo Catl in action.

LINKS

Exclaim.ca Toronto's Dakota Tavern reportedly not reopening

R.I.P. Garth Hudson of The Band, 1937-2025

Sadly, multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson, the last living member of The Band, has passed away at 87. He'll be greatly missed.  

Happy Birthday Kurt Vile!

Celebrating the birthday of singer/songwriter Kurt Vile with a 2022 performance with The Sadies. 

Watch Rick White & The Sadies live at The Great Hall in Toronto

The full performance of Rick White with The Sadies from Sept. 6 streams tonight starting at 9 pm Eastern. Check the clip below. 

Toronto's Surfrajettes serve up tasty Easy As Pie LP

The Surfrajettes' Easy As Pie – produced by Colin Cripps – features twangy instrumental updates of tunes by the Spice Girls, Nancy Sinatra and The Sadies.    

Welcome to THE SURFRAJETTES DINER, where your favourite surf-slinging waitresses are serving up this fresh outta-the-oven album! A buffet of delectable delights, this menu certainly has something for everyone. Hope you saved room for dessert! So grab a fork, turn up the stereo, and enjoy a delicious slice of "Easy as Pie" Get a copy via Bandcamp right here. Check out a few clips including their versions of The Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life" and The Sadies' "Clam Chowder" below. 

The Surfrajettes – Easy As Pie

1. Easy as Pie 2:30

2. Toasted Western 2:59

3. Clam Chowder 2:32

4. Spice Up Your Life 2:48

5. Double Reverb 3:09

6. Chiffon Daydream 3:33

7. Instant Coffee 3:11

8. Word Salad 2:56

9. Hot Doggin' 2:18

10. Priss and Vinegar 2:34

11. Lickety Split 2:41

12. Sugar Town 2:33

Watch Jon Langford perform "Memphis, Egypt" with The Sadies at The Horseshoe

Since it's Jon Langford's birthday, here's our man performing "Memphis, Egypt" with Sally Timms and The Sadies in Toronto. 

Jon Langford's Skull Orchard plays an afternoon show at the Horseshoe Oct 27. Get tickets here.

Remembering audio engineer Peter J. Moore on his birthday

Remembering Peter J. Moore with some songs he recorded with Neil Young, Garth Hudson, The Sadies and others.  Photo: Kevin James

Rick White and The Sadies collaborative album out Friday

Rick White and The Sadies worked up 13 new songs for their album which is available on translucent green vinyl on June 7th. 

Here's the scoop...

13 brand new songs from Rick White and The Sadies' Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Together again for the first time since their magical UNINTENDED collaboration in 2003, with more of the swirling melodic psychedelia that only their joined forces could create. 

Writes Rick: "I've always had a close relationship with The Sadies. I met Dallas Good in 96 and we hit it off right away. He played in Elevator from time to time and i did lots of artwork and song writing for the Sadies. We shared an apartment in Toronto in the early 2000's and in 2003, Me, Greg Keelor and all the Sadies recorded an album together called THE UNINTENDED. Ever since then we had plans to record another LP together but it never managed to come together before Dallas's untimely death in 2022. 

"Well, we've finally done it, thirteen brand new songs filled with sweet melodies and swirling psychedelic guitars like only our special connection could create. The loss of our brother Dallas understandably focusses many of the lyrics on mortality. Of course we had him clearly on our minds while making this album. He may not have physically been here with us, but he is very much a part of it. The lyrics are about the loss of a loved one and the light and dark of life in general. We made this album to help lift us, an album we really like, an album we think Dallas would like too." – Rick 

Comes on translucent green vinyl with printed board inner sleeve and download code. Get a copy right here while supplies last. For more info and audio clips, check the Bandcamp site right here.

Rick White and The Sadies

The End

Standing In The Yard

Try

Sin

Fly Away

Green

Spellbound

Walls

A Love So Blue

Anymore

With Or Without You

Here In My Body

Life

T.O. guitar slinger Nichol Robertson releases Mimico Moonlight LP @ The Cameron, Friday

Nichol Robertson is joined by The Sadies' Mike Belitsky & Sean Dean on "Mimico Moonlight" – check the title tune.  Photo: Laura Proctor

Here's the scoop...

Nichol Robertson is a Canadian roots music guitarist, born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.  Equally at home melting faces with his high octane guitar onslaught as he is gently picking Hawaiian tunes for background ambience at the local bar, Nichol Robertson is a sonic painter with an ear for Bob Ross-esque aural landscapes. From twangy melodies echoing The Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet to B-bender shredding reminiscent of the late Clarence White, his six-string technique is very impressive. 

Robertson's first solo album was the critically acclaimed “Stranger Things” released back in 2011, long before that show. His latest opus “Mimico Moonlight” – recorded with his Honkytonk Boogaloo band cohorts, drummer Mike Belitsky  & bassist Sean Dean of The Sadies – is out Friday (May 17th). While 13 years between releases might seem a bit long, Robertson has spent that time working on countless projects including but not limited to The Layrite Boys, The Hulagoons, Thelonious Hank, Nic & the Narcs, Robertson & Kerr and Snowbird when he isn't accompanying rising country stars or recording viral videos with his family band, The Robinson'sons. 

Get a copy of Nichol Robertson's Mimico Moonlight album on vinyl right here. 

Nichol is launching the vinyl version of his Mimico Moonight album in the back room of The Cameron House on Friday (May 17) at 7:30 pm surrounded by the oil paintings of the multi-talented Sean Dean. Check out a performance of the title track from "Mimico Moonlight" below. 

 

R.I.P. Toronto audio engineer Peter J. Moore, 1956-2023

Sadly, Grammy & Juno-winning audio engineer Peter J. Moore has passed away at 67. He's being remembered Nov. 25.

Happy Birthday Dallas Good!

Remembering my old pal Dallas Good on what would've been his 50th birthday with some performance and interview clips.

The Sadies receive well-deserved Juno award for their Colder Streams album

Travis Good accepted the "Adult Alternative" award on behalf of late brother Dallas Good; also Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky hoisted the Juno Cup. 

You can get The Sadies' Colder Streams album right here: https://ffm.to/colderstreams

Happy Birthday Gary Louris!

Celebrating the birthday of Jayhawks singer/songwriter Gary Louris with a few tunes backed by The Sadies in Hamilton. 

The Sadies remember Loretta Lynn with "Fist City"

The Sadies were joined by Kacy Anderson on a cover of Loretta Lynn's "Fist City" at the Casbah. Check Loretta's version too. 

The Sadies were joined by Gary Louris in Hamilton & Toronto

Gary Louris sang The Sadies' "Tell Her What I Said,"  The Jayhawks' "Tailspin" & The Kinks' "Strangers"at Hamilton's Casbah. 

The Sadies on the psych side

Here's The Sadies' 12-minute encore from their 2013 show at Crooks in Thunder Bay and a Pink Floyd salute at The Casbah in 2010

Get tickets for The Sadies show at Lee's Palace with Kacy & Clayton on October 7th right here.