1429 - 9th Avenue S.E. Calgary Alberta Canada | RESERVATIONS (403)269-5581 | LUNCH | DINNER | CONTACT | SCHEDULE
1429 - 9th Avenue S.E. Calgary Alberta Canada | RESERVATIONS (403)269-5581 | LUNCH | DINNER | CONTACT | SCHEDULE
Energetic. Raw. Feisty. These three words tell you everything you need to know about Australian roots artist Toby on stage. For an audience, these live shows are a deeply emotional and joyous experience. For Toby, she wears her emotions, thoughts and adventures on her sleeve as clearly as the delighted smile she sports while playing. It's that chemistry and connection ? in between plenty of dancing and jumping from both sides ? that makes each performance so strikingly unique and deliciously unpredictable.
McMahon's only desire, as it has always been, is to communicate through music; a talent,
he has proven to all that have seen his performance, to be very good at. The speaking of
his experiences through story telling by blending all of his influences; Warren Zevon, Pearl
Jam, Tom Waits, and Bruce Springsteen all make cameos in Ryan?s unique blend of roots rock.
Every song pulls from the edges of folk, blues, roots and country flavours.
Always sitting on the fence of a multitude of different genres, refusing to
pigeonhole his sound to fit any one particular marketplace, Ryan?s music visits
themes ranging from love and human relationships to the politics within the
music industry itself and throughout the world.
Guitar plucker, Jack Semple, has played everywhere from the Vancouver to the Montreaux Jazz Festivals. He has worked for CBC radio and TV, won a Juno Award, and shared the stage with a wide range of top artists from Martha Reeves, to k.d. lang and Ronnie Hawkins. In 1992 he was the national winner of the Much Music "Guitar Wars" competition. Jack has recorded extensively and recently won a Western Canadian Music Award for his acoustic CD "Qu'Appelle". Heralded as a blues guitar virtuoso, he is also an acclaimed composer and has many movie scores and television themes to his credit, including the film Guitarman, in which he also played the title role. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Jack loves the prairies, and Regina is where he chooses to make his home
Smart and soulful, Sillan & Young have effortlessly been drawing in their
faithful listeners with their eclectic acoustic pop, genuine songwriting
and intimate performance style for five years now. Their music is deep
and poetic, resonating like a good friend that always knows what to say
. Whether you're in your twenties, thirties or beyond, you just might find
yourself falling for Sillan & Young. And there's absolutely nothing you
can do to stop it.
It's exciting times for a group brimming with talent and empty on ego.
Sillan & Young have never reached for the cash grab or instant gratification,
preferring to stay the course and remain focused on their craft. Playing to
crowds bigger than the cities some of them grew up in, they have heard the
appreciation from their faithful followers go from a gracious clap to a
loud roar. They've also been reaping some impressive industry attention,
including Johanna's nomination for the 2007 Western Canadian Music Awards.
Proud? Yes. Letting it go to their head? No. Sillan & Young just aren't like that.
From Belfast, N. Ireland, Stephen now splits his time between the emerald isle and
the Canadian prairies. Involved in music from a young age, Stephen grew up listening to
his parents' record collection. His father Patrick Maguire, who played in show bands and rock
& roll bands in the 60s (including with Van Morrison!) would play cassettes of The Mamas
& the Papas, The Beach Boys and Irish traditional music.
Stephen performed his first solo concert in 1998 with the Northern Irish band Cahuna
at Belfast's famous Ulster Hall. Soon after, he auditioned for The Talent and signed
with Unity, supporting chart-topping band Westlife on their 'Unbreakable' tour.
Throughout Unity's time together, they performed for over a quarter of a million people.
Since leaving the band, Stephen has been in much demand as a solo artist. He
has also recorded with Terry Sharp (The Adventurers), Nicky Scott (Van Morrison's former
musical director and bass player) and Mark Dougherty (former musical director of Riverdance).
A memorable gig was at a Belfast Giants game, which resulted in Stephen meeting his now-wife,
a Saskatchewan-native who was interning with the professional hockey team. They married in 2007
and Stephen has been touring the prairies ever since.
Audiences can't get enough of Stephen Maguire... the music, the Irish banter and stories
of the many artists he's toured with, from Van Morrison to Charley Pride to Bonnie Tyler.
"A knob twirlin', corner forming,`out-back strollin', canvas stretching, pea plantin' drum beatin' gone lokel. Russ Baker; Dave Bauer; Matt Herne; Steve Coffey; Lance Loree & Pat Phillips, writing, recording and performing as THE LOKELS & happy to be alive."
Irish singer-songwriter Andy White carries a 12-string guitar under his arm and wears
his particular brand of Irish magic and charm on his sleeve, with the political edge
of the young Bob Dylan, the romance of David Gray and the Celtic influences and lyricism of the Waterboys.
Following his Albertan tour opening shows and playing with Canadian songsmith Stephen Fearing,
Andy plays Calgary's Ironwood on March 23rd, with Stephen joining him onstage.
The two friends met up ten years ago at Winnipeg Folk Festival and have been firm friends ever since.
A co-writing partnership which produced the likes of 'If I Catch You Crying' and 'Heaven For A
Lonely Man' for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, has turned into a collaboration which should bear fruit in
the form of a duo album in the next years or so.
In the meantime, Andy and Stephen co-wrote two songs on Andy's new album Songwriter which will
be featured at the Ironwood show.
Belfast-born and Melbourne-based Andy has ten internationally released solo albums, two compilations and
a book of poetry to his name. He has worked and played with artists such as Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor,
and the Finn Brothers, and won Ireland's Hot Press Songwriter of the Year award a few years ago, beating
Bono and Christy Moore to the finishing line.
The?new album Songwriter (Wildflower 2010), was recorded live in the studio in Vancouver, Canada, and
marks a new, rootsier direction for Andy. The band features long-time accompanist Radoslav Lorkovic (Jimmy La
Fave, Odetta) on piano, Paul Rigby (Neko Case) on guitar and pedal steel, Allison Russell (Po' Girl)
vocals, and John Raham (Be Good Tanyas) on drums.
Let's get this straight right off: They don't make musicians like AMOS GARRETT any more. He may not be in the public eye like, say, Stevie Wonder or Bonnie Raitt or Maria Muldaur (and he's recorded with all of 'em, and close to 200 more). He's not a high-energy performer with a lot of flash. Instead, he substitutes a wicked dry sense of humour and understated guitar licks that sound simple but need 40 years of hard work to pull off with the class that he always delivers. He likes to stay close to home (in Turner Valley, Alberta) but he tours in unlikely places like France and Japan and Scotland. He's known for his electric guitar work - Guitar Player magazine calls him "one of the most lyrical and original guitarists playing today...his single note solos and melodic figures are so distinctive that it is virtually impossible to mistake them for anyone else's."
There are bands for which rock and roll is a lifestyle, and then there are bands for which it is life.
At an age when most boys are still dreaming of rock stardom, The Weber Brothers were too busy working to
care. Four sets a night, four nights a week, the brothers perfected their hard-won sound in dive bars
they were often too young to frequent. Inspired by their intense love of Scorcese's classic concert film "
The Last Waltz," Ryan and Sam sent off a self-recorded demo tape to the legendary Ronnie Hawkins, the
elder statesman of rock whose former proteges (Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, et al.) went on to reshape the
music history as The Band. Duly impressed by the pair's immense raw talent, Hawkins promptly invited them
to audition for his storied backing band, The Hawks.
One quick decision and one long van ride later, they arrived at Hawkins? rural Ontario home,
and after surviving the intense musical apprenticeship of his fabled "Rock&Roll Bootcamp,"
they were in: full-blooded Hawks. Ten years and six self-released albums later, The Weber Brothers
have spread their wings, shared the stage with icons like Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, The Tragically Hip
, Jeff Healey, Domenic Troiano, Leon Russell, Derek Trucks and Kris Kristofferson, and toured
extensively throughout the US, Canada, and Europe.
Joined by their longtime explosive keyboardist and Toronto native Shai "Cookie" Peer, New York powerhouse
drummer Emmet VanEtten and new addition Tim Bracken, a Maryland based multi-instrumentalist, the
brothers bring their high energy live show to The Ironwood for a stop on their exclusive Canadian
"Left Right Left Right" release tour.