DARCYS ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES, NEW ALBUM 'CENTERFOLD' OUT NOVEMBER 4

DARCYS ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

 UPCOMING ALBUM, CENTERFOLD, SET FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 4 VIA ARTS & CRAFTS

 TOUR DATES WITH HANNAH GEORGAS, ARKELLS AND BEAR MOUNTAIN BEGIN NOVEMBER 1

 LISTEN TO AND SHARE “COMING UP FOR AIR” HERE

 PRE-ORDER CENTERFOLD VIA iTUNES

PRE-ORDER CENTERFOLD CD/LP VIA ARTS & CRAFTS

“An outlandish exploration of pop ambition" - Clash

“Radio-ready, near-perfect earworm” - Complex

“Infectious, retro-tinged electro-pop” - Exclaim!

“Primed for mass consumption" - Noisey

PHOTO CREDIT : MAYA FUHR

Darcys are preparing to head out on the road this fall and will be joined by Hannah Georgas, Arkells and Bear Mountain along the way. The tour kicks off November 1, just a few days before their new album, Centerfold, is set for release on Arts & Crafts. All tour dates are listed below.

LISTEN TO AND SHARE “COMING UP FOR AIR” HERE

Of recent album cut “Miracle”, Clash Magazine said, “The Darcys bristle with energy. The Toronto alt-pop duo seem to spark ideas at every turn, matching day-glo melody to seething intelligence.”

The ten new, original tracks on Centerfold, were produced by Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, Weezer, Lucius) and evoke the heat and wanderlust of New Zealand and Los Angeles, where they were recorded. Centerfold follows 2013's acclaimed Warring, which earned Juno Award and Polaris Music Prize nominations. "Miracle” has earned praise from Noisey, who said it's "primed for mass consumption," and Complex, who raved the track is a "transformative, radio-ready, near-perfect earworm."

WATCH AND SHARE THE VIDEO FOR “MIRACLE” HERE

PRE-ORDER CENTERFOLD VIA iTUNES

PRE-ORDER CENTERFOLD CD/LP VIA ARTS & CRAFTS

CENTERFOLD TRACKLIST

01 Studio City

02 Miracle

03 San Diego, 1988

04 Virtual Reality

05 Arizona Highway

06 Coming Up For Air

07 I Want It All

08 Alibi

09 Black Diamonds

10 Lip Service

TOUR DATES
October 20 Toronto, ON The Phoenix (CASBY Awards)
November 1 Victoria, BC Sugar ^
November 2 Vancouver, BC Commodore ^
November 4 Calgary, AB Commonwealth ^
November 5 Edmonton, AB Myer Horowitz ^
November 6 Saskatoon, SK Capitol Music Club ^
November 11 Detroit, MI Magic Bag ~
November 12 Chicago, IL Subterranean ~ 
November 13 Minneapolis, MN Turf Club ~
November 16 Kingston, ON Grad Club * 
November 17 Ottawa, ON Babylon *
November 18 Montreal, QC Fairmount *
November 19 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
November 23 Toronto, ON The Phoenix *
November 24 London, ON Rum Runners * 
November 25 Hamilton, ON Casbah *

^ Hannah Georgas
* Bear Mountain
~ Arkells

MORE DATES TBA

DARCYS ONLINE
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BLACKIE & THE RODEO KINGS STREAM NEW ALBUM AHEAD OF RELEASE

BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS TO RELEASE KINGS AND KINGS, A COLLABORATION ALBUM FEATURING CITY & COLOUR, ERIC CHURCH, NICK LOWE, BRUCE COCKBURN, JASON ISBELL, VINCE GILL, FANTASTIC NEGRITO, AND MANY OTHERS

KINGS AND KINGS DUE OUT OCTOBER 7 VIA FILE UNDER: MUSIC

STREAM KINGS & KINGS HERE VIA EXCLAIM!

PRE ORDER KINGS AND KINGS HERE VIA FILE UNDER : MUSIC

Today, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings are celebrating the upcoming release of their album, Kings And Kings, by sharing the whole album ahead of the release date. Set for release on October 7 via File Under: Music, Kings And Kings is the companion piece to their 2011 collaboration album King And Queens. Where that album featured guest appearances from some of the band’s favourite female singers, this one features some of the band’s best ‘guy’ friends from the world of roots, blues, and country. Each one of them an accomplished ‘king’ in their realm of creative endeavours and in many cases absolute ‘king’ legends in the entertainment industry.

STREAM KINGS & KINGS HERE VIA EXCLAIM!

PRE ORDER KINGS AND KINGS HERE VIA FILE UNDER : MUSIC

Kings And Kings kicks off with the “Live By The Song”, which is simply the autobiography of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. A rarity in the fact that it was written by all three-principal members, Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, and Stephen Fearing, “Live By The Song” is really the biography of every working musician/songwriter committed to the ‘life’. Perfectly featuring the voice of Grammy Award winner Rodney Crowell and Fearing on the lead vocal, the song conjures the winding path of uncertainty faced by all the players who really had no other choice but to follow it.

Songwriter’s songwriter, Nick Lowe, brings an elegance to “Secret of A Long Lasting Love”, taking the lead throughout the song, while the spirit of the late Roy Orbison can be detected in the gorgeous rendition of Fearing’s “High Wire”featuring the impeccable voice of Raul Malo (The Mavericks).  

“A Woman Gets More Beautiful” situates long time friends and collaborators Linden and Bruce Cockburn. On this track the pair philosophize on the appreciation of timeless beauty, slipping from English to French to English, abundant with Cockburn’s masterful guitar interplay.

On every Blackie and The Rodeo Kings album there is a song penned by their namesake, the late great Willie P. Bennett.“This Lonesome Feeling”, a classic cowboy lament, gets an assist from multi-Grammy Award winner and Country Music Hall of Fame legend Vince Gill.

“Long Walk To Freedom” is Fearing with the iconic Kevin Moore (aka Keb Mo), who is a long time friend and collaborator of Linden’s. Groove and melody reign under fantastic manipulations by Oakland’s Fantastic Negrito on Wilson’s “Bitter and Low”.

As a technical supervisor on the TV show Nashville, Linden has spent hours with the cast helping the actors and musicians bring their best to the screen and live stage. “For Where The River Rolls”, he gathered the crew at the day job around the microphone to bring their vocal skills to the track. The result is an upbeat and fun celebration with Linden, Sam Palladio, Chris Carmack, Charles Esten, and Jonathan Jackson all sharing verses and harmonies.

Both Eric Church on “Bury My Heart” and Jason Isbell on “Land Of The Living (Hamilton Ontario 2016)” bring a real contemporary country music voice and feel to Blackie and The Rodeo Kings. Like every King on the album, these guys can sing the lights out and they do.

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings originally formed in 1996 when Linden, Fearing, and Wilson came together to record what was suppose to be a one-off tribute album to the great Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett. At the time, all three members were deeply committed to burgeoning solo careers that they had no intentions of putting on hold, and had no plans to turn Blackie into an ongoing concern.

Now twenty years later, 8 albums, one Juno Award, and several Juno Award nominations under their belts, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have organically evolved into one of the finest roots-oriented bands in North America. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings remains one of Canada’s greatest musical treasures.

KINGS AND KINGS TRACKLIST

Live By The Song ft. Rodney Crowell
Bury My Heart ft. Eric Church
Beautiful Scars ft. City and Colour
High Wire ft. Raul Malo
Playing By Heart ft. Buddy Miller
Bitter and Low ft. Fantastic Negrito
Secret of a Long Lasting Love ft. Nick Lowe
A Woman Gets More Beautiful ft. Bruce Cockburn
Land of The Living (Hamilton Ontario 2016) ft. Jason Isbell
Long Walk To Freedom ft. Keb Mo
This Lonesome Feeling ft. Vince Gill
Where The River Rolls ft. The Men of Nashville

BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS ONLINE
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FILE UNDER : MUSIC
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BEN CAPLAN ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN SPRING TOUR DATES

BEN CAPLAN AND THE CASUAL SMOKERS ON TOUR THROUGHOUT CANADA AND THE US BEGINNING MARCH 8 2017. TICKETS ON SALE SEPTEMBER 30.

WATCH AND SHARE THE TRAILER FOR BEN CAPLAN : THE SECOND
ALBUM STORY DOCUMENTARY

WATCH BEN CAPLAN PERFORM ON CBC’S Q

“For all the fierceness of the Canadian’s appearance, nothing quite prepares for his voice, both spoken and singing. An unmistakable presence.” Independent

“From Satanic hoedowns to swaying country heartbreakers, this evening with the larger-than-life Caplan makes for rollicking fun.”  4/5 –The Guardian

“Caplan’s music is freewheeling stuff… As different as ‘Birds With Broken Wings’ and ‘I Got Me A Woman’ are, they represent just a sample of the stylistic diversity Caplan explores on Birds With Broken Wings.” NPR Music: World Café Next

“...full of rousing choruses, eclectic instrumentation and dramatic and spooky lyricism. The songs are distant cousins to both Tom Waits and Gogol Bordello.” CBC Music

“Expertly toeing the line between lush, orchestral folk and gruff, rough-and-tumble blues, Birds with Broken Wings is an entrancing and dynamic listen”  Exclaim!

Ben Caplan is no stranger to the road. He has spent much of this past year on the road supporting his latest record, Birds With Broken Wings, including a run through Europe and the UK which saw him play 43 shows in 53 days. Now, the Halifax based musician is setting his sights on another run through Canada and into the U.S. beginning in Spring of 2017. Full tour dates can be found below with more dates added soon. Tickets are on sale September 30.

Also currently on tour through the film festival circuit is the new documentary, Ben Caplan : The Second Album Story, which details the recording of Birds With Broken Wings. Produced by Fancy Monster Media, the documentary will be released for public at a later date.

WATCH AND SHARE THE TRAILER FOR BEN CAPLAN : THE SECOND
ALBUM STORY DOCUMENTARY

The critically acclaimed songwriter was recently nominated in 5 different categories at the Music Nova Scotia Awards, and was also nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award for New / Emerging Artist of the Year. The acclaim for Caplan’s live show is no surprise either, he is simply unforgettable. With his huge beard and unruly mane, he is as visually striking as he is aurally compelling. But looks are deceiving. Once he has your attention, Caplan can croon smoother than a glass of single malt whisky, pouring beauty into a harsh world.

WATCH BEN CAPLAN PERFORM ON CBC’S Q

Inspired in part by Eastern European and Jewish folk traditions, Ben Caplan mixes older musical sensibilities with his own soul, straight from his hairy heart. Out now on Coalition Music, his record Birds With Broken Wings was produced by Montreal rapper/hip-hop/klezmer artist Josh “Socalled” Dolgin and mixed by Renauld Letang (Feist, Manu Chau), and features some 35 guest musicians and collaborators on 12 tracks recorded over the course of three intense and productive weeks of 10-hour days in the studio.

The ultimate focus of the album remains steadfastly on Caplan’s vocals, songwriting, and storytelling, which have already won him Nova Scotia’s 2012 Entertainer of the Year and the East Coast Music Award for Rising Star Recording of the Year for 2013. He has shared stages with acts ranging from Grizzly Bear and Dirty Projectors to The Staves and Blondie, and played major festivals around the world including the U.K.’s Glastonbury.

LISTEN TO BEN CAPLAN PERFORM LIVE ON BBC RADIO 2

TOUR DATES SPRING 2017
Mar 8 - Winnipeg, MB - West End Cultural Centre
Mar 9 - Regina, SK - Artesian on 13th
Mar 10 - Saskatoon, SK - Broadway Theatre
Mar 11 - Edmonton, AB - Capitol Theatre
Mar 12 - Grande Prairie, AB - Grande Prairie Live Theatre
Mar 15 - Victoria, BC - Sugar Nightclub
Mar 16 - Vancouver, BC - St. James Hall
Mar 17 - Vernon, BC - Vernon And District Performing Arts Centre
Mar 21 - Lethbridge, AB - The Geomattic Attic
Mar 22 - Calgary, AB - Festival Hall
Mar 25 - Swift Current, SK - Lyric Theatre
Mar 30 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
Apr 1 - London, ON - The Aeolian Hall
Apr 2 - Hamilton, ON - Molson Canadian Studio
Apr 4 - Toronto, ON - The Great Hall
Apr 6 - Chicoutimi, QC - Festival Jazz et Blues de Saguenay
Apr 7 - Ottawa, ON - Shenkman Arts Centre
Apr 8 - Terrebonne, QC - Salle du Moulinet

MORE DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
 

BEN CAPLAN ONLINE
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