Ndidi O + Trish Klein Debut New Project The Blue And Gold

A CELEBRATION OF THE MUSICAL ARTISTRY + LEGACY OF PIONEERING FEMALE BLUES MUSICIANS

DEBUT ALBUM OUT ON APRIL 29th
1st SINGLE 'HONEY IN THE ROCK' OUT NOW

STREAM/SHARE HERE

TheBlueAndGold · Honey In The Rock - by Blind Mamie Forehand

The Blue And Gold is a new musical collaboration between Juno nominated and WCMA Blues 'Artist Of The Year’ Ndidi O and folk-roots guitarist/banjo player Trish Klein (The Be Good Tanyas, Frazey Ford, Po’ Girl) which celebrates the musical artistry and legacy of pioneering female blues musicians. 

Out today, ‘Honey In The Rock’ is the first single from The Blue And Gold’s self-titled debut album set for release on April 29th. The album is a musical homage to the profound influence of black female artists on 20th century country / blues traditions and indeed on the evolution of all modern music. The album contains 11 songs recorded with authenticity, soulfulness and grit, including reinterpretations of the works of pioneering female artists Memphis Minnie, Lottie Kimbrough, Mamie Forehand, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and others, as well as one song by the legendary Indigenous songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. 

The Blue And Gold’s ‘Honey In The Rock’ is a reinterpretation of Blind Mamie Forehand’s delicate gospel blues masterpiece.

“Mamie Forehand, AKA Blind Mamie Forehand, was born blind in 1895, Alabama,” says Trish Klein. “She is one of the earliest known professional female country blues and gospel singers. Accompanied by her husband, guitarist A.C. Forehand (who was also blind), Mamie Forehand was an active singer of spirituals on the streets of Memphis in the 1920s performing a genre now referred to as street corner or storefront gospel. We are thrilled to be releasing our homage to her classic 1927 recording, ‘Honey in the Rock’“. 

'Honey In The Rock'is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. 

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FOLLOW THE BLUE AND GOLD:
 Spotify | Apple Music/iTunes |  Instagram | Twitter 

MEDIA TOOLS:
STREAM/POST The Blue And Gold - 'Honey In The Rock'  HERE
CLICK HERE for biography + high-res press photos 

BC Musician Keanu Ienco Releases New Single INDIGO

2nd SINGLE FROM DEBUT ALBUM OUT MARCH 18th

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Keanu Ienco · Indigo

BC Native American/Canadian musician Keanu Ienco follows up his highly acclaimed track 'I Still Shine' (released on Jan 21st) with brand new single 'Indigo' out today on all digital streaming platforms. 

‘Indigo’ is the 2nd single from Keanu's debut album Celestial Desire, which is set for release on March 18th. The track is another stunning instrumental rock creation from Keanu and features ethereal, dreamlike vocals from indie-folk musician Elise Boulanger. 

"'Indigo' is an emotional song I wrote about saying goodbye to a lover and learning to grow from the pain," says Keanu. "This song features my friend and fellow musician Elise Boulanger on vocals and showcases a beautiful blend between voice and guitar playing."

Keanu’s music pulls from many influences, ranging from the traditional music of North American Indigenous people to rock and jazz guitar players such as Brian May, Plini and Pat Metheny. On Celestial Desire, Keanu leans into his multiple influences to create unique instrumental rock dreamscapes that fill the listener with the deep emotions put into every note.

Says Keanu: "While the album has very few lyrics, all the songs do tell a story when put together. It’s a story about growing from a painful and traumatic experience and realizing your full potential and desire to be something more."

'Indigo' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more info, please visit keanuienco.com.

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FOLLOW KEANU IENCO:
Website | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter 

MEDIA TOOLS:
STREAM/POST Keanu Ienco - 'Indigo' HERE
WATCH/POST Keanu Ienco's 'I Still Shine' video HERE
CLICK HERE for biography + high-res press photos 

Mahogany Frog Announce Release of New Album Faust

1st SINGLE 'A DECISION OF THE FLOWER' OUT NOW

WATCH/SHARE VIDEO HERE

On March 25th, Winnipeg instrumental electric rock band Mahogany Frog will release their ambitious new album Faust, an original score set to the eponymous 1926 German silent film. Directed by F. W. Murnau, Faust is widely regarded as being among the greatest films of the silent era. It tells the classic legend of fate and temptation that dates back centuries. In this, their latest offering, Mahogany Frog brings together their collective experience in composition, experimentation, electronics, intense rock & roll, and searing fuzz guitar. Together they weave a dark and diverse score around Faust’s brooding tale of corruption, devastation and redemption.

The first single from the album, ‘A Decision Of The Flower’ tells the story of the courtship between Faust and Gretchen. Faust has traded his soul for knowledge, youth, and worldly pleasures. When he tires and becomes unfulfilled with this life, he meets Gretchen and tastes true love. This scene is the courtship of this new love.

"Gretchen’s love for Faust is foretold by a child’s game; just as it is steered by the Devil’s gambit," says drummer/electronics wizard Andy Rudolph. "Gently pulsing electric piano interplays with each petal’s fall to the ground. But Beelzebub’s bass and the drums of chaos are close at hand. Multitudes of analogue waves lift the two lovers and carry them to their tragic fate.”

The music for Faust was initially written and rehearsed over the span of three months, culminating in a premiere performance at the Roxy Theatre, a historic atmospheric cinema in Saskatoon. Three more performances in Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg followed. Accompanying the band on this tour was audio engineer Grant Trippel, who later recorded the studio sessions in February 2020. 

The mood of Faust is varied and complex. There are many faces of Mahogany Frog. Harsh noise, electronic drones, and pulsing textures flow in and out of dark and heavy guitar-driven riffage. Soothing washes of melodic synth-pop flow through syrupy, languid organs only to be obliterated by the shrieks of the damned and the devil himself. LOVE.

'A Decision of The Flower' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide.

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MAHOGANY FROG IS: 
Graham Epp (guitar/keyboards/electronics/trumpet)
Jesse Warkentin (guitar/keyboards/electronics)
Scott Ellenberger (bass/keyboards/electronics/trumpet)
Andy Rudolph (drums/keyboards/electronics)


FOLLOW MAHOGANY FROG:
Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

MEDIA TOOLS:
WATCH/POST Mahogany Frog's 'A Decision Of The Flower' video HERE
STREAM/POST Mahogany Frog - 'A Decision Of The Flower' HERE
CLICK HERE for biography + high-res press photos 

Alberta Avant-Pop/R&B Musician Ọlá Releases New Single BACK TO HARMONY

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Ọlá · Back To Harmony

Alberta-based Nigerian-Canadian Ọlá has been pursuing music professionally since 2018 under different monikers (past lives) and has chosen to reclaim his true name Ọláwálé, Ọlá for short. His first creation as Ọlá is the genre-bending avant-pop/R&B single ‘Back To Harmony’ out today on all digital streaming platforms. Listen here.

Ọlá wrote, performed and produced his new single 'Back To Harmony' and the track was mixed and mastered by DOPE ROAD (Kaye Fox & Marvin Hollie), who have credits and/or experience working with Kanye West, J Cole, Nas, Chrisette Michelle, Big Sean, Post Malone, Swae Lee and more.

The song carries the message of addressing the current inequalities in building generational care for one another and for the planet, but it's also about Ọlá's personal journey leading to the reclamation of his name.

"I had to grow up too fast, constantly expected to take care of everyone else first while socially rejected, so there was a lot of grief there," says Ọlá. "My Blackness was trauma, and although there has been some pushback, 'Back To Harmony' is me choosing to be more than that and make myself a priority. I have become hyper-independent, which I am working on healing."

'Back To Harmony' is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more info, please visit inthecosmogarden.com.

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Follow Ọlá: 
Website | Spotify | Instagram | Twitter 

Media Tools:
STREAM/POST Ọlá - ‘Back To Harmony'  HERE
CLICK HERE for biography + high-res press photos 

Home Routes Celebrates 15th Anniversary with The Travelling Goodtime Medicine Show

THE TRAVELLING GOODTIME MEDICINE SHOW
HOME ROUTES CELEBRATES 15th ANNIVERSARY
- MUSIC IS MEDICINE -

THE STORY

In August 1980, Winnipeg Folk Festival founders Mitch Podolak and Ava Kobrinsky produced a tour across Alberta called The Travelling Goodtime Medicine Show. The tour was a school bus full of now legendary musicians - Sylvia Tyson, Stan Rogers, Connie Kaldor and Jim Post - travelling from town to town, bringing one-day mini-festivals to each of these communities. This tour was an important catalyst for the founding of The Calgary and Edmonton Folk Festivals, also laying the theoretical framework for an organization that would begin to take shape 25 years later: Home Routes.

To celebrate their 15th anniversary, Home Routes is rekindling the name from those legendary concerts that laid the foundation for Canada’s folk music institutions, and creating a new concert series, unlocking new artistic expressions and creative collaborations. The 2022 version of the Travelling Goodtime Medicine Show is a series of 5 streaming concerts from premier music venues, available to everyone, everywhere. What could be more folk than that?

April 1st @ 8 PM ET 
West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg
The Small Glories
Burnstick
Sala

April 8th @ 8 PM ET
Blue Frog Studios, Vancouver
BC World Music Collective

April 15th @ 8 PM ET
National Music Centre, Calgary
The McDades
Jeffery Straker
Jenny Allen

April 22nd @ 8 PM ET
Tranzac Club, Toronto
Julian Taylor (solo)
Good Lovelies
Coco Love Alcorn

April 29th @ 8 PM ET
West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg
Del Barber
Double The Trouble
Bobby Dove

 

TICKET INFO
These are streaming concerts available to anyone worldwide. 
Concert streams will be available for 48 hours from posted start time.

$25 suggested price // $20 minimum 
Early Bird: All 5 concerts for $75 until April 1st

Tickets to all shows are available here:
https://sidedooraccess.com/hosts/HomeRoutesInc

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MEDIA ASSETS
Click here for photos and bios for all Travelling Goodtime Medicine Show artists
Spotify playlist featuring music of Travelling Goodtime Medicine Show artists

HOUSE CONCERT HOSTS
Home Routes is beginning the process of re-building its house concert touring network. If you or someone you know would like to host house concerts, please email Home Routes: info@homeroutes.ca.

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THE HISTORY

Home Routes President, podcast host, and founding member of the D-Rangers Jaxon Haldane has much to say about the legacy of the dynamic partnership that was Ava Kobrinsky and Mitch Podolak:  “It will endure long into the future. They birthed venues, institutions, and festivals whose influence ripple out through the cultural fabric of our country. The West End Cultural Centre, the Winnipeg Folk Fest remain as tangible reminders of this work. The World Next Door festival will live perpetually in vivid memory for the privileged few in attendance. But one could argue that the most profound aspect of the Podolak/Kobrinski legacy is likely the least well-known of their endeavors. 

Home Routes began as many of the great Kobrinski/Podolak born institutions did, as a flight of fancy in Mitch’s head.  He saw a new frontier for performance, a way for an untapped resource to be found by musicians.  And he saw regions In rural Canada that were underserved by conventional touring routes, where audiences were hungry for live music. Folk Music is a guerilla enterprise, we can pull it off in an elevator, so it makes sense that it could also be presented in living rooms. Nearly fifteen years later and thousands of shows, meals, jokes, songs, drinks and stories shared between hosts, friends and performers, we have the hindsight to see the profound community impact Home Routes has had on communities and musicians across the country.”

From 2007 to 2019 Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous ran a network of house concerts in 200+ rural communities across Canada, hosted by community volunteers who spread the word throughout the community. The program grew to 11 routes operating 6 times annually, each with 12 hosts. That’s 66 touring artists a year and 800 concerts nationwide. Since Home Routes launched its house concert touring network in 2007, the organization has produced over 10,000 shows in over 1,500 locations to over 210,000 fans, generating over $4 million in artist revenue. 


THE FUTURE

What does the future look like for Home Routes?

Executive Director Leonard Podolak explores, “The underlying role of any performer is to bring the audience into their world, and break down the fourth wall, and truly create magic, where the reality of the outside world goes away. Home Routes transcends many realities of music business norms. 

In the last two years, with so many tours being cancelled, a major shift has occurred. We have presented a diverse array of folk music online:  The Home Routes Online Folk Festival, our series of Zoom shows, as well as special projects as Play It Forward, Prairie Panorama, and The Winnipeg Crankie Festival.

I’m so excited for our traditional house concert tours, to be enhanced by our new digital awareness, and to see the two programs work side by side in concert, supporting each other. These endeavors will enable the organization to connect more community stakeholders in our tours, and allow more local participation in public spaces.”

Prairie Panorama connected visual artists and musicians for unique collaborations. The Crankie Festival puts those collaborations (and a whole lot more) on stages across Winnipeg each fall. And streaming concerts appear here to stay, presenting new opportunities for Home Routes to reach communities and music lovers in every nook and cranny of this big, beautiful country for years to come.

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FOLLOW HOME ROUTES / CHEMIN CHEZ NOUS:
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