TransCanada Music West

This week on the TransCanada Music West podcast, we wrap the second season of the series with a hometown performance by Dave McCann and the Firehearts at The Geomatic Attic in Lethbridge. Dave McCann is originally from Ontario, but has made his home in Lethbridge for more than 10 years. His latest album, Circle of Light, is a gritty roots-rock gem produced by fellow Lethbian Leeroy Stagger.

For this show, Dave was backed by Alberta music veterans Tim Leacock on bass, Tim Williams on drums, and Dave Bauer on guitar.

Wooden Wings Beautiful Road Shine My Light Fireheart Lend Myself to Love Broken Bugs Unfamiliar Ground Circle of Light Standing in the River Road to Cain Headlights and Halos Can’t Have it All

This week on TransCanada Music West, we feature some of our favourite live performances from the second season of the series. We've taken you to the Calgary Folk Festival with Jr. Gone Wild, Breakout West in Victoria with the likes of Rococode and Fish & Bird, and delivered unforgettable sets from JUNO Award winners Alex Cuba and Jay Malinowski. We'll sample great songs from those performances, along with live tracks from Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, The Hearts, Rosie and the Riveters and more. Setlist: Jr. Gone Wild - I Don't Know About All That         Ben Rogers - Live at Block Heater     The Hearts - Magpie         Alex Cuba - Half a Chance         Rosie and the Riveters - A Million Little Things         Rococode    - Panic Attack     A.M Static    - Delilah     Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra    - Wolfe et Montcalme Fish and Bird - Rivers         Faith Healer - Fools Rush In     Sarah McDougall - Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose Jay Malinowski and the Deadcoast - Donzoko Blues         Weird Party - Tahiti   

This week on TransCanada Music West, we bring you R&B funk, soul and blues styling of pan-Alberta outfit, Boogie Patrol, live in CKUA's performance space.

Boogie Patrol have performed hundreds of gigs since forming nearly a decade ago back in Edmonton.  They’ve headlined festivals including the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, North Country Fair, Pembina River Nights, and the Beaumont Blues Fest to name just a few. These are some very, very intense musicians that love to perform live, and this week you'll get a taste of the chemistry they've been bringing to live shows in this province since 2007.

This set features Yuji Ihara on guitar, Nigel Gale on bass, Chad Holtzman on guitar and vocals, Emment VanEtten on drums and vocals, and Rott’n Dan Shinnan on harmonica and vocals.

Subscribe to the free TransCanada Music West podcast, below.

This week on TransCanada Music West, we feature some brand-new music from emcee, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Mitch Holtby, AKA  Mitchmatic. Mitch has made a name in the Edmonton scene for his distinct blend of jazz and hip hop. The former influence he credits to his dad, who would play jazz records at breakfast on mornings before Mitch would head off to elementary school. With that daily dose of Chet Baker, came a little De La Soul on the side. Mitch names The Jungle Brothers, Jurassic 5, and Slick Rick among some of his early hip hop influences.

Mitch’s mom was an elementary school music teacher, so the pianos, guitars, and drums were always at the ready.After picking up the saxophone in grade 6 band class, Mitch would eventually teach himself to become a one-man band, learning several instruments including drums, bass, and guitar.

It’s been nearly two years since the release of Mitch’s last full length release, A Night Lost. He plans to release a new record later this year, but on this week’s episode of TransCanada Music West, we’ll have a live preview of a few of those songs captured during a set at CKUA’s performance space. During that performance, Mitch was backed by Ross Nichol on synth, Cameron O’Neill on bass, and Connor Ellinger on drums.

This week, we heat up the CKUA performance space with the Latin sounds of the Marco Claveria Project! This Edmonton-based outfit delivers a fusion of afro-peruvian, Brazilians, Cuban, and Chilean music. The resulting blend will have you swaying to the sound of your radio. Marco has built a career on bringing the sounds of Cuba to his new home of Canada. He first set his hands to the guitar at age 10 learning the basics of Chilean folk. When his family immigrated to Canada in 1982, Marco started performing in a few Edmonton ensembles. In the mid-90s, he made his way back to Cuba, drawn by his passion for the Latin sounds he grew up with in his childhood home. While there, he took the opportunity to work with heavy hitting Cuban musicians like Carlitos Gonzales, Angel Rivero, and Alejandro Maximo Duany. On this episode, Marco brings those beautiful sounds to life in an intimate performance recorded right here at CKUA. Featuring Ryan Timoffee on keys, Dean Faulkner on bass, Audrey Ochoa on trombone, Israel "Toto' Berriel on bongos, maracas, and vocals, Jose Sanchez on drums, and timbales, Mario Allende on congas, and Marco Claveria on guitar and vocals. (Image: courtesy Tracey Kolencuk)

With a collection of brand new songs in tow, this week on TransCanada Music West, we welcome Jesse and the Dandelions to CKUA’s Performance Space. Jesse began his musical career in Lethbridge. It wasn't long before he was at the nexus of that city’s music scene, serving as a producer and engineer in addition to recording his own material. Drawn to Alberta’s capital by the creative force that was Edmonton’s Old / Ugly recording company, Jesse now calls Edmonton home. If you’re a regular listener to CKUA, you’ve likely heard many of the alt-pop gems on Jesse’s 2013 album, A Mutual Understanding. Jesse and the Dandelions new LP, True Blue, is due out this September. But on this episode, Jesse and his crew debut a few of those brand new tracks live in our performance space.

Set list:

Looking at the Sun Break Me     No Fun     True Blue     Give Up The Gold     Brother     Ammonite     Til The End    

North Vancouver folk-rocker Shuyler Jansen is our featuredgueston this week's program. You may know Shuyler as a foundingmemberof Old Reliable, one of the Alberta acts that pioneeredthecow-punk genre in the ’90s. After a decade of making musicwiththat band, Shuyler has gone on to forge a successful solocareer.His fourth solo album The Long Shadow, was releasedlastmonth. It includes collaborations with members of The DeepDarkWoods, Kacy & Clayton, Neko Case, and more.

Track list:Blue Rolls the RiverWe Were So YoungOld MachineRivalsFisherman's DaughterUnknowing HeartTotally AnonymousThings Just Don't Add UpMercury

The Hearts have been a staple of Edmonton's music scene for more than a decade. Jeff Stuart, with his captivating vocals and evocative songwriting, is the centerpiece of this alt-rock outfit. On this week's episode, we hear new songs from the band's 2015 release Equal Love performed live at The Arden Theatre in St. Albert. The Hearts are: Gavin Dunn on guitar and vocals, Dwayne Martineau on keys, guitar and vocals, Christopher Quesnel on bass, Michelle Rempel on violin, percussion and vocals, Brad Tebble on drums, and Jeff Stuart on guitar and vocals.

Tracklist:Easy Love    Magpie    Gold    Hope Drug     So Little Lonely    MorninglightThe Weight    Hold Out    Equal Love    Cold Connection    Apple Tree    

This week, we take you Heritage Posters and Music for a session by Calgary’s The Northwest Passage. The songs you’ll hear will appear on the band’s debut album, A_Wake set for release in summer 2016. The chamber pop band is lead by Paul Van Kampen, known for his work in Calgary bands The Magnetic North, SAvK, and Beija Flor.

This week on the TransCanada Music West podcast, we bring you the songs and southern drawl of outlaw country tunesmith, Ben Rogers.

Recently, the Vancouver singer-songwriter performed a show at Calgary’s Block Heater festival in support of his record The Bloodred Yonder. The sophomore album was released this past summer, and features a collection of story songs about murder, love, and tragedy. Rogers admits a certain fascination with the darker side of existence. He describes the record as focusing on “the transition from life to death, good to evil, paradise to perdition, and all the lost souls you meet in between”.    The album was produced by Ben’s brother, Matt Rogers (The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer). In fact, you’ll hear the brothers performing together in this concert)/

Captured at Festival Hall in Calgary during Block Heater, featuring Erik Neilsen on bass, John Sponarski on pedal steel, Matt Rogers on guitar, and Leon Powers on Drums, this is Ben Rogers, leading the band on guitar, harmonica and vocals.