This Canadian singer making waves in the music industry will be performing in Hamilton this weekend at the Zoetic Theatre
Amanda Keeles, an Ontario native, is a country singer-songwriter. She will be performing her album Can't Stop Me Now on Apr. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Zoetic Theatre. There will also be a special guest performance by Paige Rutledge and their show will focus on country classic rock originals from the album.
Keeles has been singing and writing songs her whole life, though she initially pursued a career in finance. She returned to music though after the end of her marriage when Keeles felt that there was nothing now standing in her way, so she returned to the studio, recorded an album and is now on tour.
The country singer explained that every song she's written has been inspired by a moment in her life.
"It's funny because I always say to people that songwriting is like therapy. Because sometimes when you get all those feelings and everything and you put them down on paper, that not only is good for you, but it also kind of puts the whole picture into perspective when you put it down on paper," said Keeles.
Keeles believed her album is unique due to all the music sounding completely different. With her various musical influences, from classic country to rock and pop, each song is a bit different and with a mix of instrumental and upbeat songs Can't Stop Me Now should include something for everyone.
The reception for her album has been overwhelmingly positive. Three weeks after the release of Can't Stop Me Now the title track was the sixth most downloaded Canadian song and the seventh most active indie song, according to Billboard Canada.
Keeles has consistently been greeted by excited crowds while performing this song and others on her tour. She has also enjoyed seeing people stay after shows for a meet-and-greet, a signature or the chance to buy some concert merchandise.
Keeles hoped that listeners take something positive and meaningful from her album.
"We've all been through different experiences where sometimes you feel like you're the only one that's going through them. But then you'll hear a song and you'll go "That's my song." So I hope that as people hear the album, they'll come across the song [they find] relatable," explained Keeles.
We've all been through different experiences where sometimes you feel like you're the only one that's going through them. But then you'll hear a song and you'll go "That's my song." So I hope that as people hear the album, they'll come across the song [they find] relatable.
Amanda Keeles, singer-songwriter
Keeles encouraged students to follow their heart and their dreams and not to let other people tell them they shouldn't pursue something they're passionate about. There is always the element of wondering what could have happened, so instead of wondering, Keeles suggested just following the path.
Tickets to Keeles' show can be found here. The promo code for McMaster students for a discounted rate, $10, is ALBUM24.
Downtown Hamilton will be lively with music, visual art, fashion, literature and more as Supercrawl returns for another year
A nonprofit organization founded in 2009, Supercrawl spotlights Hamilton’s vibrant arts and culture community. Taking place every year in September, the event is a weekend of artistic events and performances.
This year’s Supercrawl features three music stages, a theatre-dance stage, a fashion tent, a family zone, a visual art zone and an author tent. Beyond all of this, Supercrawl also hosts numerous local vendors, making it a great occasion for shopping as well.
Those interested in attending Supercrawl can see CFMU’s own Jamie Tennant moderate authors panels and discuss his own writing or they can check out the Ark Collective for local BIPOC-owned fashion businesses. Events begin in the daytime and continue into the late night. A full schedule can be found here.
Supercrawl is a well-loved community tradition in Hamilton, but it also draws in crowds from outside the city. According to the Supercrawl website, over 200,000 people attended the event last year. The website also highlights the economic benefits of this, stating that last year’s Supercrawl had an economic impact of approximately thirty million dollars.
For McMaster University students looking to become more involved in the Hamilton community, Supercrawl is a great starting point. Students can explore local art, music, literature, and fashion, all within a two-kilometer radius.
C/O McMaster University Concert Band
The McMaster University Concert Band looks forward to bringing the band together in person as COVID restrictions ease
Under the School of the Arts, the McMaster University Concert Band offers students the opportunity to practice music in an ensemble setting, engage with the Hamilton community through performances and meet other students interested in music while doing so.
No matter which discipline or program you belong to, all McMaster University students are welcome to audition for the band.
Students can choose to join the concert band as a course for credit if they would like. Regardless of whether students are receiving credit or not, all players complete the same band activities.
Typically, the MCB gathers together for rehearsals once a week and holds three regular performances. Additional performances and engagements with the community also occur throughout the year.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensemble conducted all rehearsals and performances online in the 2020-2021 academic year.
Speaking to last year’s experience, President of the MCB, Duncan McCallum, said that although doing everything online was not an ideal experience, the band was able to learn a lot from the challenges they overcame.
“It was a much more collaborative process. We were all trying to figure it out together so that was I think rewarding and certainly something new that was cool to experience,” said McCallum.
“It was a much more collaborative process. We were all trying to figure it out together so that was I think rewarding and certainly something new that was cool to experience.”
Duncan McCallum, President of the McMaster University Concert Band
Doing everything online taught the band that there are benefits to working in smaller groups and that virtual participation opens up opportunities for more guest speakers or musicians to engage with the band.
Now, for the 2021-2022 academic year, McMaster has announced that students are welcome to come back to campus. However, many COVID-19 protocols are still in place. If the band wishes to incorporate in-person components within their rehearsals, they must adhere to the protocols.
Thus, McCallum said that exact plans for how the school year will play out are still undetermined. For now, meetings will be conducted virtually.
McCallum explained that having to consider the different instrumental needs of the band introduces an added level of difficulty for meeting in person. Different mask procedures would also have to be adapted to accommodate the players.
In addition, social distancing poses another barrier for the band. Students have to remain six feet apart. In a typical year, the band is comprised of about 70 students, so finding enough space for the band to meet would be difficult.
Despite all these challenges, McCallum looks forward to bringing the band together in person.
“There’s a lot of barriers to [meeting] in-person, but I think everyone’s so eager to do so that we’re just going to jump on it any chance we get, [even if] that means playing outside in a parking lot [or] being spaced out in the bleachers of the concert hall so that we’re all far away [enough] from each other,” said McCallum.
“There’s a lot of barriers to [meeting] in-person, but I think everyone’s so eager to do so that we’re just going to jump on it any chance we get, [even if] that means playing outside in a parking lot [or] being spaced out in the bleachers of the concert hall so that we’re all far away [enough] from each other.”
Duncan McCallum, President of the McMaster University Concert Band
Wendy Tang, vice-president of the MCB, said that on top of practicing music, building a community is also an essential part of the band’s culture.
“Apart from rehearsals, as execs we also ran a lot of events so students can also feel that community because honestly, a big part of our concert band aside from it being a band is also the community that we’ve built,” said Tang.
“Apart from rehearsals, as execs we also ran a lot of events so students can also feel that community because honestly, a big part of our concert band aside from it being a band is also the community that we’ve built.”
Wendy tang, Vice-President of the McMaster University concert Band
Having events where students can socialize and get to know each other is something that the executives of the band aim to do every year.
McCallum also emphasized that despite still having to do things online, learning from experiences from the previous year greatly benefits the new year.
“[Not just the band, but] a lot of classes and clubs, they [also] felt like they adapted because they had to, not because [it was] the best circumstance. This year, we want to make it the most rewarding experience we can with whatever is thrown at us, whether that means being online for part of the semester or being in-person as much as we can,” said McCallum.
This year, we want to make it the most rewarding experience we can with whatever is thrown at us, whether that means being online for part of the semester or being in-person as much as we can.”
Duncan McCallum, President of the McMaster University Concert Band
Transmit to these virtual and physically distanced events during your winter break
As the holidays approach, snow blankets the streets, colourful lights twinkle as they adorn the outline of houses and the smell of Pillsbury’s cookies fills the air. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the provincial government to not allow large social gatherings, the spirit of the holidays lives on.
There are still many virtual and physically distanced events that can help you recover from stressful exams and reconnect with the community. Whether you are in Hamilton or on the other side of the world, there is something for everyone in this list of eight winter events happening in Hamilton.
1. The Holidays, Mental Health & COVID-19
Wondering how to manage all the changes this holiday season? This webinar from the Hamilton branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association is taking place on Dec. 15 at 1:00 p.m. It will take a deeper look at how the COVID-19 has and will impact the 2020 holiday season. The webinar will give concrete strategies to maintain your mental health and stay connected to your loved ones during the holidays.
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2. Ushi Mart Winter Holiday Market
Ushi Mart is hosting a physically distanced in-person winter market at The Cotton Factory from Nov. 28 to Dec. 28. A wide variety of local vendors will be selling art, jewelry, housewares, clothing and trinkets. Tickets are $5, and customers will need to book their visit ahead of time as only five visitors can enter per hour. All proceeds from the market will go toward Wesley Urban Ministries, a non-profit organization that offers support to those who are homeless or living in poverty in the Hamilton, Halton and Brantford regions.
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3. Christmas Store & Tree Farm
Until Dec. 22, you can cut your own or purchase a pre-cut Christmas Tree at Merry Farms on Concession Road. It’s a 176-acre farm also popular for its corn maze and pumpkin patch in the fall. Reservations must be made in advance through their website. They also have a Christmas store on-site where you can find unique items to decorate your house. On Dec. 12 and 13, Merry Farms is offering on-site food service by The Rockton Lions Club.
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4. Art Gallery of Hamilton Film Series
If you are on the hunt for a new show or movie to watch, join the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s Online Film Series from the comfort of your home. The series, which is available for a fee, will last throughout December, and you can stream films such as God of the Piano, Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack and Rocks. Check out their website for more information about when the tickets for each film will become available.
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5. Supercrawl Livestream Series
Although Supercrawl was cancelled this year due to the pandemic, they are hosting a series of livestreamed performances every weekend until the end of December. The virtual concerts, which are held through Facebook, are free. Upcoming performances include Tim Hicks, The Dirty Nil and Terra Lightfoot.
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6. Royal Botanical Garden Express
Hop on the Royal Botanical Garden Express train through Hendrie Park, which is decorated for the season with beautiful holiday lights. Hendrie Park is the largest cultivated garden area at Royal Botanical Gardens with 12 different themed spaces. Tickets can be purchased at the main doors and the rides will remain open until Jan. 3.
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7. Goodbody Feel December Workshops
Goodbodyfeel is offering various virtual workshops for self-care, self-love and self-compassion during the holidays. You can learn about restorative postures, how to do a guided self-massage, how to bake seasonal treats, participate in an online dance party and more. Different workshops will be held each week from Dec. 12 until Dec. 31 to help you destress and relax.
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There is no better way to put yourself in a festive mood than listening to holiday music. The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet will perform holiday classics and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah on Dec. 18. The performance will be available to watch online until Jan. 18, 2021. This concert is part of the orchestra’s Hamilton Series and tickets are available for $27.
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Hamilton’s Exhale Music Group was born from a desire to bring people together through free expression and thoughtfully curated events.
Over the past four years, Exhale has grown into “a multi-faceted arts facilitator; booking tours, engaging in artist development, and putting on events to support local and touring artists.” Buzzwords associated with Exhale include, but are not limited to: creativity, collaboration, and inclusivity.
I had the chance to chat with the events and promotions manager, Emily Lise. We spent some time on the phone in a busy coffee shop, while she sat comfortably at home.
Emily is one of six who play a role in this collective. Alongside Matt Carson, Dan Dell, Luke Cummins, Blake Mancini, and Taylor Heres, Lise works to keep Exhale running as smoothly as possible. Once plans are settled, dates are decided on, and people are booked, everything else seems to proceed with relative ease.
Unique to Exhale, all of their events are exclusively in nameless places — they are all at residential venues. This was inspired by the fact that when Lise started with Exhale, she was 17, and none of her friends could get into bars where the bands were playing. Bars are often inaccessible for their younger audiences.
The other factor is that there isn’t the level of intimacy that Exhale is looking for. “Sitting in a bar and waiting for a band to play doesn’t build the same kind of community as being in someone’s house would.”
Exhale got together with people like Matt Thompson, who is a big community builder in the Beasley neighborhood. He hosts shows in his house, regularly opening his doors to the community. The intimate house shows started when Exhale started bringing bands to Thompson’s house. This opened doors for their Eternal Summer series, which
With shows every few weeks, last summer Exhale hosted a number of bands at a number of locations downtown Hamilton. They sent out requests for Hamiltonians to offer their houses as venues, and their calls were answered. The positive reception proved to Exhale that their want for community building is something that Hamiltonians share.
Venues are kept secret. In order to get the address for any of their shows, you have to e-mail them. When I asked Lise why, she gave me the expected answer: as a privacy issue, Exhale looks to protect the homeowners, but there’s also the mystery factor. “It gets people to reach out and say, ‘hey, I want to come to your show.’ ”
The audience in Hamilton has continued to grow in the past four years. There were only ten people in attendance at first, all mostly friends of the Exhale crew, but then those friends invited their friends, and so on. Word of mouth was important, because it reached Hamiltonians and visitors to the city.
Exhale’s last event, held this past Saturday, had a truly all-ages audience. There were senior women sitting behind 17-year-olds at the secret venue, which isn’t something the usual show-goer sees.
“The ability to create isn’t depression, it’s the inability to exhale.”
I asked Lise what the future of Exhale looked like, and she excitedly spoke quickly and backtracked over what she was saying, purely because of all of the exciting things planned. Exhale just finished calls for submissions for this year’s Eternal Summer, which she told me is “going to be bigger and more fun than last year’s.” In addition to this summertime-show-crawl, Exhale’s other big event is their fourth anniversary party in April.
Aside from the larger events, Lise said there are a number of shows coming up in the next few months. Names like Vulva Culture, Kurt, Jaunt, Esmerine, and Foxes in Fiction, to name a few, are popping up on posters around town. She told me that a lot of their plans are under wraps, and was hesitant to disclose more.
As a final piece, I asked her how Exhale got its name. Lise told me that it came from the collective’s founder, Carson, and his struggle with having an inability to create. She told me the story of Carson sitting by a fire with friends, kind of feeling down, talking to his friends about depression and how it affects your ability to create things. “His friend was saying the ability to create isn’t depression, it’s the inability to exhale.” The name just seemed to fit with Carson’s vision. Everyone in the Exhale group is breathing into the project everything they can’t do outside of it, putting what they can into their project creatively.
As a member of the community they are trying to foster and solidify, I can safely say that they are answering a call Hamilton didn’t know it was asking, and I trust that they are the group to do it.
Photo Credit: Vannessa Barnier
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By: Emily Scherzinger
Are You Alone? - Majical Cloudz
Best Song: “Downtown”
Soft, deep, and sweeping music for walking through rainstorms during existential crises. Prepare for tears to be washed away by rain.
Venue/Date: Toronto, The Garrison on January 15, 2016.
Coming Home - Leon Bridges
Best Song: “Coming Home”
If you’ve ever listened to 1960s blues and liked it, now is your chance to see someone actually perform it — Bridges has the sound of a modern day Otis Redding.
Venue/Date: Toronto, Massey Hall on March 10, 2016
Emotion - Carly Rae Jepsen
Best Song: “All That”
She’s known for that annoying song, “Call Me Maybe,” but her latest album, Emotion, takes us back to the best part of the 80s — the sweet pop that makes you feel like you just ate a huge bag of candy on a summer day.
Venue/Date: Hamilton, FirstOntario Centre on April 16, 2016.
Disclaimer: She’s touring with Hedley, which is less than stellar, but it’s worth going to see her and then leaving when Hedley takes the stage.
Emotional Mugger - Ty Segall
Best Song: “Goodbye Bread”
Best described as super weird garage rock, but Segall is so much more than that. You need to listen to his music while lying alone in a snow bank drunk after kissing the person you’re just starting to have feelings for. Trust me.
Venue/Date: Toronto, Danforth Music Hall on March 4, 2016.
Thank Your Lucky Stars - Beach House
Best Song: “Elegy to the Void”
Beach House may usually be the perfect music to listen to during the dreaded descent into Canadian winter, but their latest album is a lot more accessible for all emotional states. It sounds like something you’d make in your parents’ basement and nostalgically listen to five years later.
Venue/Date: Toronto, Danforth Music Hall on March 5, 2016.
Photo Credit: Sela Dor
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I spent my most recent Friday night in a motionless crowd, watching the sun set over a single stage. Last week, Pier 4 Park hosted a few big names for a small festival with Supercrawl’s name slapped on it. From 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., artists such as Jessy Lanza, Jamie XX, and Caribou played in Hamilton’s backyard.
Being so far north, I arrived later than I intended. By the time I got there, Lanza was finishing up her set – a set I missed, without feeling any dejection. Due to the strict schedule of the show, there wasn’t the usual anxiety about whether or not the last band would play before the last bus runs home. The choice of venue lent itself to an early closing,being a public, but also consequently, an early start on the various after-parties downtown.
After Lanza was Jamie XX, who spun a number of his older songs, crisscrossing them with various disco-esque records that made dancing a little too easy. Let me clarify that when I said that the crowd was motionless, I was excluding the few-and-far-between pockets of well-intentioned, arm-lifting, hip-swinging head-bobbers. The crowd was fairly spread apart, and only began the casual ebb and flow towards the stage when familiar songs dropped. Remixed versions of songs from Jamie XX’s most recent album, which dropped in May, made their way onto his set list, sending updated fans into the motion of the flow.
Following Jamie XX was Caribou. By the time they got onto the stage, it was dark outside, which lent itself to an enhanced light show and silhouettes. They made their way through old and new tracks, saving “Odessa” for last. Dan Snaith, Caribou front man, gave a solid kudos to his performance partners and stage-sharers, Supercrawl team, and audience, which inspired crowd members to cheer and mumble around me about the sincerity of Dan. Despite the venue not being necessarily intimate, with that cause and effect, I found myself appreciating a connection between performers and their audience that made that space a little warmer.
After Caribou’s encore, the park cleared out extremely quickly to make their way to the aforementioned after-parties. I went home to write this article.
If you’re not familiar with Death Grips, maybe it’s for the best. I mean, unless you enjoy riding an emotional rollercoaster, Death Grips is not the artist to let into your heart. In July of last year, the industrial hip-hop group posted a photo of a napkin announcing their disbandment, which spread like wildfire. There was suspicion, of course, but announcing something so serious with such a blasé attitude is not out of character for a band like Death Grips. They had said that they wanted to go out on a high note – albums such as Exmilitary and The Money Store were praised and overplayed – and fans found this justification to be legitimate, however unfortunate.
Soon after it was found that the news of their breakup was a rumour (started by the band themselves), a tour was announced. I was among the lucky ones to procure my ticket within the first ten minutes that they went on sale.
Given all of the hype surrounding their breakup and the fact that they haven’t toured since 2013 (after cancelling dates from last year), I was expecting a lot out of their Toronto show. What I got instead was the most dangerous crowd I had ever found myself drowning in and drowned out sound that was better quality the farther you got from the stage. The former surprised me, since it was an all-ages show – meaning that with younger people in the audience, it wouldn’t carry as much serious energy – and the latter annoyed me, since the Danforth Music Hall is supposed to have fantastic acoustics, given how popular of a venue it is. There isn’t room to complain about the set list, though. The docket of songs left nothing to be desired.
The show opened with “Takyon (Death Yon),” which was a strong starting point, given its popularity and punchy rhythm. The rest of the set was ideal – there were about five songs from each of their albums. Fan favorites, such as “Get Got,” “Guillotine,” and “I’ve Seen Footage” were on the list and executed beautifully by MC Ride. “No Love” was extended by a few minutes with Zach Hill’s drumming, which was perhaps the highest point of the show.
The show ended rather early (10:30 p.m.), and without an encore. Really, such would be expected, given that it was an all-ages show, and because an encore isn’t something in the nature of Death Grips’ persona.
At the end of it all, I’m glad to say that I was able to witness MC Ride in a shadowed silhouette, throwing all of the energy I had only heard recorded up to that point, into a physical form that was as strong as I had imagined. Having Zach Hill accompany MC Ride was a blessing, and I can’t imagine the experience being as potent without him. Despite my gripes with Death Grips, ultimately, I’m glad that they showed up at all.
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Those who fall under the grand umbrella of “singer-songwriter” often exude a similar aesthetic: dreamy troubadours with an acoustic guitar and a penchant for sensitive, lovelorn lyrics. British folk artist Ben Howard is an anomaly to this foolproof formula for commercial success; he prefers staying in the dark and allowing his music — a mix of lilting guitar riffs and raw vocals — to do the selling.
Currently on his North American tour, Ben Howard graced the historic Massey Hall in Toronto on Feb. 1. Montreal native The Franklin Electric, a young folk-pop band that is likely to impress you if you’re a fan of Howard’s style, opened up the show. A hybrid of Half Moon Run and Mumford & Sons, The Franklin Electric impressed with their charming stage presence and catchy, sumptuous melodies that included refreshing brass and string components (check out the quintet’s first album, This Is How I Let You Down).
Howard’s show, very much like his career, was an ode to darkness. His preference towards staying out of the limelight was evident from the start in a subtle but dramatic entrance. Surrounded by a five-piece band (including India Bourne, the face behind the haunting harmonies on most of his tracks), Howard was seated at centre stage and was barely visible. The stage was illuminated only by low backlight, and he rested in shadows as he opened with “Small Things,” a track from his latest album, I Forget Where We Were. The distortion of the opening riff reverberated around the concert hall, from the hollow of his guitar to the curvature of the ceiling, and delivered an ache characteristic of his introspective tunes. The set list was mostly comprised of songs from I Forget Where We Were, an album reflective of a darker, more pensive Howard, who embraces disappointment and heartache just as he embraces the shadows from which he performed most of his 100 minute set.
Few can argue Howard’s impressive musicality. From fingerpicking with stunning agility on his acoustic guitar to hammering out delayed notes on his electric, his prowess on the instrument is second to few, and his live execution is astounding. When Howard was the focus, you could feel the audience at the edge of their seats, afraid to move so as to not disturb the evanescence before them. Though the permanent tremor and vulnerability of his voice stood out, it is worth mentioning that the five band members who accompanied him worked together seamlessly. Perhaps one of the downfalls of Howard’s show is the little recognition towards his band; though the play on light and dark is a thematic success, it failed to highlight the incredible accompaniment of the multi-instrumentalists who shared the stage with him. While Howard had the spotlight on him despite the darkness surrounding him, his colleagues were, quite literally, shrouded in his shadows.
Much of the concert felt like a storm. There were quiet, vulnerable moments, but there were also loud, punchy tracks. In “End of the Affair,” what starts off as an ardent, acoustic tune turns into one infused with electronic beats and Howard seemingly pleading in desperation. The lighting very much followed the course of the music, with darkness accompanying more meditative lyrics, and flashing lights following the sudden thumping of escalating percussion. Eventually, all songs found their ending in a calm space, once again with the flashing lights a passing memory and Howard and his band shrouded in a reflective silence.
If you have a chance, be sure to check Ben Howard out next time he’s on tour. While his music may be lacklustre to some, he possesses a quiet strength that may surprise you in a live setting. A great live performer, he has a captivating presence and equally infectious music catalogue. If you’re a concert goer who considers a prime concert experience as one that focuses more on wholesome, gratifying music than on-stage banter, Ben Howard will show you the bright side of performing out of the limelight and in darkness instead.
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