Ben Sures- The Story That Lived Here review

Ben Sures The Story That Lived Here It has been a decade since I last listened to a new Ben Sures album; my fault, not his. Gone to Bolivia was that album, and it was stellar; like each Ron Sexsmith album, it felt like the one that would elevate the Alberta-based folk singer to the…

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Janice MacDonald- “Hang Down Your Head”- the music

A bit more than a year ago, I became aware of a novel published the previous year. When I finally saw the book in a bookstore, three things immediately struck me: 1. There was a banjo on the cover, albeit of the dreaded six-string variety; 2. The novel was entitled Hang Down Your Head, a…

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Best of Alberta’s 2011 Roots Music Releases

In today’s Red Deer Advocate I reviewed the recent Guy Clark tribute, This One’s For Him. I’ll post that in a few weeks, but for now here is the overview of Alberta releases that ran a couple weeks back. ************** Wonderful roots music came out of our province this past year, and today I take…

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Mountain View Music Fest Day 2- Cam Penner, the folkies, and the sky impress

We left the second day of the Mountain View Music Festival a little early, although I’m not sure how early. See, the sky was doing strange things prior to Charlie Major’s set and while things seemed settled around Carstairs, we could see the north sky darkening significantly. As we had close to an hour’s drive…

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My Polaris Music Prize Ballot 2011…for now

I feel honoured to be part of the Polaris Music Prize jury. All year-long I listen to some of the finest Canadian music released and each June I am asked to narrow these down- for the initial ballot- to five. I’ve spent the last several days finalizing my list, re-listening to albums I previously considered, and catching up on a few I…

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Ben Sures- Gone to Bolivia

Ben Sures Gone to Bolivia http://www.BenSures.com and http://www.myspace.com/bensures This spring, Ben Sures released what may be his most fully-realized recording. The Edmonton-based songwriter has made Red Deer appearances and in 2005 won the John Lennon Song contest. I’ve heard Sures live on several occasions and he never fails to impress. When listening to albums, I’ve been less enamored…

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