At the edge of a grey industrial wasteland of overgrown vacant lots, dingy slots and video poker rooms and medium-sized factories shone the colours of the Sacred Rose Festival. The inaugural year of this blend of Americana, jam bands, indie, psych and soul brought partners and festivalers from all over the US and at least one Canadian. Announced back in mid-March 2022 by collectiv, the team behind the EDM-focused North Coast Music Festival and jam-oriented Suwanee Hulaween, the festival promised a mix of artists likely never paired in the past. Following the 2021 NCMF, Sacred Rose used a template of…
Author: Aron Harris
Back To The Farm at Mackinnon Brewery in Bath, Ontario is an annual festival celebrating local artists and craft beer. The fest was finally able to return on Sunday, August 21st, 2022. Great acts such as The Reds, The Apricots, and Julia Finnegan started the day off by playing music so memorizing it kept the rain clouds away. Kingston’s Tiny Horse drew the sun out from behind the clouds with their punchy energy and catchy lyrics. They had many festival-goers out of their lawn chairs to dance and sing along to their whole set. Kakaow kept the dance party going with his…
Perrenial jamband continues to lead the pack Last seen in these parts back in 2019, Phish hit the road again this summer making stops for 22 shows along the east coast. For many bands in the jam genre, a border crossing can be more of a hassle for the band and much more for a touring audience. For this reason, Canadian appearances of the band are anticipated and appreciated. August 10 at Budweiser Stage was no different. Slow entries pushed the start time back a half hour but when the band finally got onstage, they hit the ground running…
A show beyond words from an irrepressible artist The crowd walking towards Toronto’s Rogers Centre to see Lady Gaga grew thick a good 15 minutes away from the ballpark. Speed walking through revealed likely the most diverse concert crowd I’ve ever seen, representing drag queens to grannies to downtown hipsters to suburban dads on pre-teen chaperone duty. Blended with the day’s 40°C heat was an energy and excitement from thousands of fans poised for worship. Their pilgrimage took them to this concrete temple where there are no worries, only acceptance absolute. Where dressup is de rigueur. Where everyone can…
Newly crowned Gen Z bedroom pop queen finally hits Toronto. What stood as a hot ticket tour, Clairo was scheduled to play Toronto’s History with Brit counterpart Arlo Parks back in March 2022. As has become a back-of-mind worry, rises in COVID cases postponed the show. Scheduled again, Clairo finally landed in Toronto for a pair of shows at History. However, they were not without disappointment. ADDICTED covered the first night on July 26. Entering the venue, the cheers and screams were well underway well before Claire Cottrill and band appeared onstage. When they finally did, the decibel level of…
The Backseat Lovers brought their Turning Point Tour to Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre on July 28. Along on the tour is Over Under, as well from Utah. Over Under set the scene with their soft melodies and emotive musicianship. The Backseat Lovers came out strong with an electric jam session which teased the intense energy to come for the rest of the night. Throughout the show, the crowd support never wavered, with lyrics being sung back to the band the entire set. The band brought all their energy for their only Ontario date on the tour. Wasting no time, they…
With Sacred Rose Festival a month away, it’s a good time for an exploration into what can make your good times even better. Even if you’re not heading to Sacred Rose at SeatGeek Stadium in Chicago on August 26-28, this guide will work with any music festival in your calendar. As with life, the first rule, always, is to stay cool and stay hydrated. Long days of dancing and having fun in the sun will sweat out your H20 reserves faster than you think. Take frequent breaks to sit in the shade and chug some water. If you’re thirsty, you’re…
Band of three of the remaining four Grateful Dead members truck on. In part one, I detailed the first night of the Dead and Company Folsom Field show and talked about John Mayer’s inclusion in this band. Moving on to night two, I’ll start by briefly talking about jam bands. There’s no singular defining sound of a jam band. Calling any band that ‘noodles’ one is insulting to the skill of the players and the collective abilities of the group. Though rooted in the freer forms of jazz, jam band music includes ALL genres. From metal to country to classical…
Band of three of the remaining four Grateful Dead members truck on. For those who care enough to want a clarification but lack actual interest to dig for themselves, The Grateful Dead, as a band, commenced in 1965 and ended in 1995 when reluctant leader Jerry Garcia died. While splinter groups of original members came and went, the final performances of the collective celebrated the 50th anniversary of the band. Dubbed Fare Thee Well (a line taken from fan favourite, Brokedown Palace) in 2015. Following these shows, two separate musical entities split to continue the Dead legacy on divergent paths.…
The BEST music festivals not only feature great lineups but supergroup them together for one-of-a-kind performances. Sacred Rose Festival, happening on August 26-28 in Chicago has one planned that music lovers are swooning over. Former Grateful Dead bassist, Phil Lesh was always on the bill for the festival, but recently, his ‘Friends’ were announced and the excitement spread quickly. Joining Lesh, among others, are Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline. The gang has played together in the past, when Wilco joined Lesh for a rendition of the classic Dead song, Ripple at the Mountain Aire Festival in 1999. Returning the…
While firming up summer plans, many of us are factoring in which music festivals we want to hit. An out-of-town festival combines two of my favourite things – travel and music. One resource I check out every year is here. But when I saw the lineup announcement for Sacred Rose Festival , I knew I didn’t have to use it. THIS is the festival I want to head to. Taking place on the outskirts of Chicago on August 26, 27 & 28, Sacred Rose boasts three days of groove-oriented music. While some may write this lineup off unfairly as a…
Nineties indie star continues to define herself and her music. Tori Amos rose to indie stardom through the one-two punch of albums, Little Earthquakes and Under The Pink released in 1992 and 1994 respectively. Her blend of piano-driven, groove-laced jazz-pop-fusion, confessional, dreamy lyrics and, sultry soaring mezzo-soprano voice was enough to grab music lovers’ attention. Not long after her musical success, her activism began through her involvement with the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. While the heights of her success remain in the 90s, fans, casual, historical or rabid never lost sight of her continued releases and tours. Waylaid…
Parisian nouveau-disco group finally play their long-delayed sold-out show in Toronto. On April 10th, after a 2-year delay, L’Imperatrice finally played their Toronto show at the Opera House. An early casualty of COVID-19, in the time that lapsed, the band released their second album, Tako Tsubo. Opening the show was rising star, Kate Bollinger. The Richmond, VA native’s songs are a sparkling mix of pop, rock and jazz. She has just finished a tour with L’Imperatrice through North America but begins a string of UK and EU dates starting in Dublin on April 30. Make sure to catch Kate in…
The 1970s were a very interesting time for wristwatches. Not only were the post-60s styles making an impact on dial, case and strap design, movement technology was about to create a crisis. The ‘Quartz Crisis’ of the 70s and 80s put a huge fear into watchmakers and not without some solid grounding. As opposed to a mechanical watch that relied either on manual hand-winding or automatic self-winding, quartz movements only required a little battery that could power the watch for years. It levelled the retail playing field as manufacturing costs were much less to produce a quartz watch than a…