Dave Clark (Rheostatics, Gord Downie, Happiness Project and much more) is bringing his funky musical parade of fun otherwise known as The Woodshed Orchestra to The Mansion. My favourite description of this music comes from Vish Khanna (CBC 3 & Exclaim Magazine) who says…

“Dave Clark and the Woodshed Orchestra have this amazing ability to make real life sound like the best musical in the world. I can’t name another group of people who sound so joyous together, get to some essential truths about living, and dance their pants off doing it. Love them. They’re my favourite parade.”

We think Greg Runions and his awesome Jazz sensibilities will be doing a set as well. As all great improvisers he’s not exactly sure what will be showing up, but if you know Runions you will be there!

With Students from Napanee Secondary School joining in!

Rolling Stone says:
“With enough sultry ambiance to be at home in either cocktail lounge or New Orleans street corner, Po’ Girl features a simple, polished production of wistful, plaintively slurred vocals over a sparse yet warm jazz-folk accompaniment of guitar, stand-up bass, harmonica, banjo and clarinet. Americana can seem like a language from a forgotten era, but Po’ Girl’s sentiment never feels forced, the lyricism never cliche or false. They manage to maintain that traditional and nostalgic sound while the breathing fresh life into an old-fashioned genre.”
Also featured is JT Nero from Chicago’s JT & the Clouds. A very soulful and talented performer and songwriter who has had his music covered by The Be Good Tanyas, Luther Wright & the Wrongs, Jolie Holland and more. A real treat on a Sunday night. Doors at 8pm, show at 9, $10 will get you in.

What is Fat Goose, you ask? Now in its third season, Fat Goose (with assistance from Queen’s University radio station CFRC and Apple Crisp Arts) is a much anticipated holiday season institution. It’s a really hip, volunteer, collectively-run, community-oriented Christmas fair devoted to providing successful opportunities for both established and emerging Kingston artisans to showcase and sell work. With an emphasis on locally made work, unique and original ideas, high quality of product and depth of process, the range of crafts is diverse —from letterpress printing, to hand spun wool, silver-smithing, pottery, and more!

And it’s not your typical craft fair! Fat Goose is an elegant and festive evening event in the gala atmosphere of the Renaissance Event Venue’s ballroom. In addition to the vendors, there’s a fully staffed and licensed bar, a catered spread, a DJ spinning tunes, and video art installations by local artists. Seriously.

Please – come and visit, have a glass of wine, browse and mingle. We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

!!!Gertrudes CD Release Party!!!

The Gertrudes are releasing their third full length album Till The Morning Shows Her Face To Me on Apple Crisp Records. Come get your copy while they’re hot!

Also on the bill is Charlotte Cornfield. Check out this video of Charlotte’s:

CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD – Harbord & Grace from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

Bruce Peninsula will soon be releasing their new album Open Flames (HAND DRAWN DRACULA). Here’s a chance to see the band and pick up an advance copy! Special treatment for Kingstonians? You know it!

Kingston’s own The Gertrudes and Toronto’s Snowblink will open the night.

On October 4th, BRUCE PENINSULA return with their sophomore full-length album,
Open Flames released on Toronto indie label HAND DRAWN DRACULA. The multimusician ensemble gives us 10 new, sprawling songs, drawn from the skin of a drum
and sung from deep down in the gut.

It has been quite a journey. Bruce Peninsula’s previous record, 2009’s self-released
debut, A Mountain Is A Mouth immediately caught fire, garnering countless glowing
reviews and a Polaris Music Prize long-list nomination. Their raucous, big top live
show, featuring at times, a 10-musician sprawl, has converted audiences across
the continent with headline appearances at SXSW, Pop Montreal and Halifax Pop
Explosion. Songs from that album (along with Open Flames’ opening track) were
used to score the full-length feature film Small Town Murder Songs, which premiered
at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

Bruce Peninsula spent the middle months of 2010 with their heads down, hard at work.
The idea was to write quickly, second-guess less and to push musical boundaries
beyond their signature, progressive-gospel sound. By the end of the year, the band
was sitting on a wealth of new material and had planned a release of Open Flames
in the Spring of 2010.

But, in December, as the master came into hand, the band were suddenly sideswiped
when lead shouter Neil Haverty was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.
Open Flames would be forced to wait while Haverty endured treatment. The band
created The Bruce Trail Fire Sale, an online campaign of new videos, covers and
b-sides not featured on the LP to help calm an anxious wait. After a long and dreadful
winter, Haverty is officially in remission and Bruce Peninsula is finally ready to take
its next step forward. With a new choir on hand (featuring, among others, Daniela
Gesundheit aka Snowblink and Tamara Lindeman aka The Weather Station), a fresh
lease on life and Open Flames at the ready, Bruce Peninsula are born anew.

“Every once in a while a band so uniquely powerful comes along, they renew your faith in music.. Toronto’s alt-gospel, Bruce Peninsula is one.” – Exclaim 

“Think hurricane, earthquake, or the kind of thunderstorm that makes you crawl under the bed with your blankie.” – Pitchfork Media

Bruce Peninsula – Open Flame (Snapshot) from Bruce Peninsula on Vimeo.

Apple Crisp bands, The Gertrudes and Rueben deGroot will be two of the featured performers at this year’s, Homegrown Live!

Homegrown Live is a music festival celebrating live music in Kingston, Ontario. Join us on May 28th, 2011 at Kingston’s top live music venues, and help raise money for the Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library (Joe’s M.I.L.L.) and collect food donations for the Partners in Mission Foodbank.

For more information on the entire festival, please go to: www.homegrownlive.ca

What: Homegrown Music Festival (Apple Crisp Showcase)
When: Saturday, May 28th 8pm
Where: @ The Grad Club
Cost: Canned food item, $10 festival pass!

Stream Lifeboat / Bad Coach / I Channel the Animals below or download it here.

Lowest of the Low, legendary 90′s Canadian alt. rock band is coming to
the Toucan on Thursday, March 31st. They are promoting the release of the
20th anniversary remastered version of their seminal debut “Shakespeare
My Butt”. This album comes in at the 10th spot in Chart magazine’s best
Canadian albums of all time, and is cited as a major influence by
later indie bands like the Weakerthans. More recently you may have
caught the band on Hockey Night in Canada’s opening montage for the
March 12 Saber’s vs. Leafs game.

Kingston’s Me Man Jack gets the opening slot for this show. MMJ has
hooked up with LOTL guitarist & solo artist Stephen Stanley before.
MMJers Pete & Kev got to jam with Stephen, Dave Bidini, Chris Brown,
Don Kerr and others at the Island Grill after party for an annual
Wolfe Island Hockey Festival. Soon thereafter, MMJ played as Stephen’s
backing band for shows at the Island Grill and then C’est What? in
Toronto. See Stephen leading MMJ on his tune Same Old Joint at C’est
What? Here’s MMJ’s Ollie West from that night.

It’s gonna be a great night of music. Come early!