Stylus Magazine Aug/Sep 2023

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Production Team

Editor Keeley Braunstein-Black editor@stylusmagazine ca

Assistant Editor . . . . . . . . . Myles Tiessen assistanteditor@stylusmagazine ca

Art Director Kelly Campbell design@stylusmagazine ca

Cover Art . . . . . . . . . . . . James Baines

Advertising Contact Rob Schmidt manager@ckuw ca

Print by JRS Print Services . 204-232-3558

Contributors

Rish Hanco

Mike Thiessen

Camryn Montebruno

Scott Price

On the Cover

JAMES BAINES, better known as WastedYouthPhotography, is a photographer and musician whose work centers on detail and grit in portrait and concert settings. James’s work is typically focused on displaying and representing the queer community within Winnipeg’s extreme and indie music scene. James’s style is very in-your-face with harsh use of texture, strange angles, and aggressive lighting.

Cover image, titled A family photo, shows the family that Winnipeg’s queer community creates and the many different faces that are a part of it.

Mykhailo Vil’yamson

Jakob Sheppard

James Baines

Michael Duboff

Stylus is published bi–monthly by CKUW 95 9 FM, with a circulation of 2,500 Stylus serves as the program guide to 95 .9FM CKUW and will reflect the many musical communities it supports within Winnipeg and beyond Stylus strives to provide coverage of music that is not normally written about in the mainstream media Stylus acts as a vehicle for the work of new writers, photographers and artists, including members of the University of Winnipeg, of CKUW and of the Winnipeg community at large Stylus reserves the right to refuse to print material, specifically, that of a racist, homophobic or sexist nature . All submissions may be edited and become the property of Stylus All opinions expressed in Stylus are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors Contributions in the form of articles, reviews, letters, photos and graphics are welcome and should be sent with contact information to:

Stylus Magazine

Bulman Student Centre, University of Winnipeg

515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9

Phone: 204-786-9785, Fax: 204-783-7080

Writing submissions: editor@stylusmagazine ca

Graphics submissions: design@stylusmagazine

Blah Blah Bla h

Live Music Happenings

Slow Leaves at Blue Note Park on Aug 24 *** Merin EP Release w/ Polyglots and Big Loser Friday at Blue Note Park on Aug 25 ***

Cassidy Mann at Little Brown Jug on Aug 25 ***

Attica Riots at Blue Note Park on Aug 26 ***

Confuschia Album Release at the Handsome Daughter on Sept 1 *** Freddy & the Fire Nation at Park Alleys on Sept 1 *** Fold Paper, Moonfield & the Haileys at the Good Will on

Show Review: The Haileys

JAKOB SHEPPARD

On the evening of June 23, I was fortunate enough to attend the Haileys’ show at the Goodwill Social Club downtown for their newly released self-titled LP. It started off great with two opening acts that got the crowd excited for the main act. By the time 11:00 rolled around, the entire room was excited for the Haileys to come on stage.

Their opener, “Now & Then,” set the mood perfectly for the rest of the show. It got the crowd fired up. People got up from their seats at the bar to gather around the stage. By the end of the song, the entire room was trying their best to sing along.

All three of the Haileys are extremely talented

Sept 1 *** William Basinski at the WECC on Sept 2 *** Dead Soft at the Handsome Daughter on Sept 5 *** Mitchell Makoons with Larysa Musick & Katherine Fischer at Park Alleys on Sept 8 *** Uada with Ghost Bath and Ghost at the Good Will on Sept 8 *** Andino Suns with El Leon & The Strangers at the WECC on Sept 9 *** Apollo Suns at the Good Will on Oct 10 & Oct 20 *** His His at the Handsome Daughter on

Oct 21*** Alexis Normand with Burnstick at the WECC on Sept 21 *** Kenmode with Tunic and hopscotchbattlescars at the Good Will on Nov 11 ***

Festivals: Rainbow Trout Music Festival Aug 18-20 ***

Harvest Moon Festival Sep 15 -17 ***

musicians. The fantastic guitar playing was especially noticeable in the song “Late Night Rush.” It features some absolutely wild guitar, especially when you hear it live.

Speaking of live performances, they put on a great show. The vocals from both members were just as good in person as on the studio recordings. The cover of “Security” by Amyl and The Sniffers was one of my favourite songs performed all night because of how great the vocals were. They were clear and easy to understand, which can be rare, especially in smaller venues.

I was happy to hear The Haileys play their entire debut album during the show. It was interesting to hear the contrast between the studio and live versions of these songs; more interesting is how similar they sound.

Ever gone to a concert and thought: “This song sounds almost nothing like the studio version”? Well, this concert was the complete opposite. These

songs sound like they were written to be played live. That just goes to show how good the production is on the studio version of the album. It just sounds so natural. The energy in the studio version lends perfectly to a live environment. I’d love to see a live album from The Haileys at some point in the future.

Another highlight from the evening was “Going Out of Tune.” It’s my favourite track on the album, so I was excited to hear it live. It didn’t disappoint. This song perfectly encapsulates everything I like about this band: the energy, the technical ability, and the wide vocal range. Everything is on display here.

The Haileys closed the show with the closing track of their album: “Prove.” By the end, everyone in the crowd was tired after a long show but still gathered around the stage for the finale. It was a perfect way to end the night.

Overall, I was very impressed by the show and look forward to seeing this up-and-coming band again.

2023 WINNIPEG PRIDE PARADE PHOTOS BY JAMES BAINES

The Business of Music:

How to Start a Music Festival in Canada

BY MICHAEL DUBOFF, AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER AT EDWARDS CREATIVE LAW – CANADA’S ENTERTAINMENT LAW BOUTIQUE™

Music festivals are one type of business that investors may want to consider. Unlike investing in artists or record labels, a music festival can be more attractive: its financial success may be more predictable, and less dependent on public reaction to new music or emerging artists. However, the decision to invest in music festivals is not without risk.

Here are some considerations we typically discuss with our clients when providing advice on investing in music festivals:

Team Due Diligence - Who is running the festival? What is their experience? Are you, as the investor, joining the operating team? Or are you considered a consultant or silent partner?

Venue - Is there an agreement with the venue? Is it signed? Is the down payment paid? Are the terms reasonable?

Security - What type of security is in place for the festival to reduce the risk of harm to attendees, and liability for the festival operators?

Timeline - Is there enough time to prepare for and promote the festival?

Insurance - What insurance policy is in place? Has the premium been paid? Is it possible to add you or your company to the insurance policy as a beneficiary?

Musical Acts - Are the music artists for the

performance confirmed? Have you seen the agreements between the acts and the festival? Is there a termination clause for reasons such as bad behaviour? Is your investment contingent on the festival having acts or artists of a certain prominence? Are there geographical restrictions (e.g., radius clauses with other music festivals)? Do the agents representing the acts have a direct relationship with the artists? What is the risk of the artists being no-shows?

Ownership - Which person, people or entity owns the festival? Do they or it have any debts? Do you, as an investor, retain any ownership of the festival? Or do you have an option to purchase shares (stock) of the corporation that owns the festival (if there is indeed a corporation)?

Other Investors - Are you one of many investors? The only investor? Who has priority? Are “most favoured nations” clauses required in your investment agreement?

Revenue Model - How will your investment be reimbursed? What premium are you entitled to? Are alcohol and merchandise sales considered differently from other revenue sources?

Profit - What profit will you receive? What is the definition of profit? What protections are in place to ensure that proper reporting, statements and payments are made? What is the timeline for reports and payments to be provided?

Budget and Financing Plan - Do you have the budgets and projections? Do they look reasonable in the circumstances?

Cash - How are you ensuring that cash transactions will be included into the revenue model?

Perks - Do you want VIP tickets? How many? What else do you want?

Other Revenue Possibilities - How else can you earn money from the festival? Is it permitted to film the performances and monetize that content?

Marketing - What is being done to promote the festival? Do the artists playing the festival have any obligations to promote the festival via their social media platforms?

Additional Funding Sources - Is the festival getting all the available government incentives?

Professional Services - Does the festival have a competent and experienced accountant and lawyer familiar with live music events?

Starting and investing in a music festival can be complex. It is important to consider the relevant aspects and questions to ensure success and profitability.

If you have any questions, Michael can be reached at michael.duboff@edwardslaw.ca

Folk Fest Show Review : Andrina Turenne

WORDS & PHOTOS: RISH HANCO

Of all the incredible artists playing this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival, I decided to take in Andrina Turenne’s show at the Bur Oak stage on a bit of a whim, having never heard the artist before and knowing little about her aside from the fact that she is one of Manitoba’s own. Andrina has musical and personal roots in the Franco-Manitoban and Metis communities. After 20 years of collaboration and playing music in a variety of groups and settings, she has released her first solo album (Bold As Logs, April 2023). Her Folk Festival show consisted of new and old songs from the album and past projects.

From the moment they stepped on stage, Andrina and her band exuded positivity and grooviness.

While visibly excited and happy to be playing for a gathering of friends, family, and music lovers, the band seemed incredibly at ease — perhaps a result of the beautiful sunny day or perhaps a result of so many years of experience. They moved and played together fluidly (like old friends), inviting the crowd to dance and sway along. The energy of the band, the crowd, and the sunshine all together made for a dreamy and welcoming atmosphere.

The songs ranged from soft folk to rock ballads to playful jams. Andrina’s lyrics flowed seamlessly between English and French—a coupling of two cultures. It seemed a reflection of the hodgepodge community that is Folk Fest. Not knowing every

word only furthered the dreaminess of the whole experience, but by no means did I feel out of the loop. Andrina prefaced each song with a story about how it came to be, a reminder of what the song means to her, or a piece of the journey that brought her to it. The storytelling was as much a part of the show as the music and seemed a return to the core of true folk music. It felt like sitting in the grass with a group of my friends, jamming together, telling stories, sharing a beautiful day. There was a simplicity to each interaction, to the sense of community flowing back and forth between the band and the audience that made one feel welcome and familiar.

Folk Fest YOUNG PERFORMERS PROGRAM REVIEW

WORDS &PHOTOS: MIKE THIESSEN

There was not actually too much of the advertised refuge from the sun at the Shady Grove stage on the Friday afternoon of Folk Fest weekend. However, this fact did little to sway audiences from cycling through (or sticking around for all seven hours) to take in the STINGRAY Young Performers Program in all its glory. The Young Performers Program, now in its twenty-third year, is a staple of Folk Fest, in which a collection of songwriters between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four are divided into groups and spend a day being mentored by some of the most notable musicians in the Folk Fest lineup; in this year’s case, Susan O’Neill, Andrina Turenne, Matt Foster, Kris Ulrich, and Julian Taylor. Each performer sang

two songs, with a group song at the end of each set.

The amount of talent at this workshop was outstanding, but there were eight performers of the thirty-five that really stood out. Some honourable mentions from the Young Performers Program: Ethan Lyric, with his joyful energy while singing about dealing with jerks; Mia Kelly, with her powerful voice and driving electric kick drum pad; Cohen Sieg, with his ambitious – and greatly successful – endeavour with live-looping (no small number of loops, either!); and Quincy Telus, bringing tears to the eyes of a number of audience members during his sorrowful and deeply personal piano ballad.

COHEN SIEG

As the third performer of the day, Keltie Kit Monaghan, coming to Folk Fest from Edmonton, set quite a high bar. “I Worry About Us,” their first song, relayed the taxing experience of relationships with people going through turbulent times. There was an elegant simplicity about this performance, a stark contrast with the actual sensation the song drew upon. In the second round, after some technical difficulties and a quick instrument swap, Monaghan launched into their freshly released “Sweet Prairie Daydream.” This heartfelt piece about accepting queerness, coming out, and moving forward in life no matter what comes up, with some sonic hints of Tracy Chapman, was sure to resonate with numerous workshop attendees.

Jace Bodner was a force of nature on stage who didn’t even consider anything other than completely letting loose. With his funky guitar riffs, his skillful Earth, Wind, and Fire-esque falsetto, and beatboxing and mouth saxophone solos, Jace’s music demanded the attention of the audience – an audience who was singing the backup vocals (at his request) to his second song with great pleasure.

Maggie Collins, in her final year of the Young Performers Program, displayed masterful songwriting skills and a laidback stage presence. Collins and her pink Stratocaster were captivating – the amount of storytelling and description she was able to cram into two songs was incredible. The combination of her relaxed persona and conversational style of songwriting made for quite a comfortable experience while taking in Maggie Collins’ set.

One of the truly exciting elements of the Young Performers Program was seeing the artists who felt free to move in a slightly different direction. There is a discernible sound that comes along with a singer-songwriter workshop such as this. One of the products of a singer-songwriter style of music is a generally bright tone, both vocally and instrumentally. Sam Fournier, mentored by Matt Foster, dialed this back significantly. Fournier’s first song, a reflection on death, was striking for this reason. All aspects of his tone were subdued off the bat. He stayed on the low end throughout the song – a fact that isn’t so surprising after learning that he studies double bass at the University of Manitoba. This was a refreshing and satisfying sound to

come out of an otherwise quite bright workshop. The whole group, Matt Foster included, joined Fournier for his second song, a repeated incantation – “If you wanted to, come on, let’s get old again,” sang the group over and over, adding, removing, and altering textures and harmonies. There was something so beautifully collaborative about this performance – a collection of musicians with the world ahead of them coming together to learn, develop, and, most importantly, just play some gorgeous music with each other. It seemed to embody the very nature of the Young Performers Program, a brilliant event that gives audiences the treat of seeing young talent from across the country. One would be well-advised to keep an eye out for each of these artists in the upcoming years – great things are sure to come.

MIA KELLY

KELTIE KIT MONAGHAN

ETHAN LYRIC

GROVE: An Interview with

Black Belt Eagle Scout

Katherine Paul (KP) of Black Belt Eagle Scout met up with Stylus to talk about their latest album, The Land, The Water, The Sky, and their experience at this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival. KP seemed to be fully immersed in the festival atmosphere, taking in the sunshine, the bugs, and the music as a band finished their soundcheck in the background at the Shady Grove stage.

This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Stylus: How did you come up with the name Black Belt Eagle Scout for your band?

KP: I didn’t come up with it; my friend did. I was playing my music with a couple people, two of my friends, and we were sort of jamming. This was, I don’t know … 13? … 10, 11, 12? Some-odd years ago, and we were just sort of jamming around and playing at our friends’ houses, these little DIY concerts that our friends put together, and we were trying to figure out a name. Black Belt Eagle Scout was one option, and there was another option, and we ended up going with the other option. When we stopped playing music together, I was like, “I’m still gonna do my music; could I use that name?” so that’s kind of how it came about.

S: In terms of your most recent album, do you want to talk about how that experience was, where some of the inspiration for the songs came from?

KP: Yeah, so in 2020, the pandemic happened. I was supposed to go on a tour with my album before that, and I didn’t get to do that. Everyone was like, “What are we doing? What’s going on? Can we play shows?” A lot of people got really into, you know, we’re gonna record and do this stuff. I feel like I was more lazy and sad. I would play a couple times here and there, and I was like, “I like this; this is okay,” so I’d record it on my phone. I was moving back home at that time to help my parents because they had some health problems. Me and my family, we moved back to where I grew up in Swinomish, and we were living there, trying to figure out what is it we want to do in this area. My partner, who plays in my band, he had never really been there, and he has two kids. We were just a little family moving there, and we were trying to figure out, “Okay, what is this life like?” I know what it’s like because I’m from here. So a lot of the songs on this album are from that time period, of moving, being in transition, of homes, and rediscovering what home means. A lot of the songs ended up having a really big connection to nature, and to water, and to land, and to all these things because that was one of the only things that we could do because it was the pandemic. I probably would have written a different album had it not been for the pandemic. It probably would have had essence of where I’m from, my home, but I don’t think it would have been as deep because I wasn’t forced to be outside and to discover nature in a different way. I was hiking a lot, I was going to these places that are really meaningful to my people, I was

getting to reconnect in a lot of the space where I’m from. That was really nice. I guess my songwriting kind of had that foundation of getting to know and re-knowing this area that I grew up in. That’s kind of the essence of the album. I feel like there are the themes and how the album comes about, and then there’s the recording process of the album, and there are all these different areas of the album. But that’s one of them.

S: I’ve watched a couple of the music videos for that album; you filmed it in that community, right?

KP: Yeah.

S: One of the music videos that I’m really curious about, unfortunately, I can’t recall the name of the song at the moment, but it’s the one where there’s a lot of water, and I believe it’s you and another woman in the video . You go to the water .

KP: That would have been “My Blood Runs Through This Land.” So that was my cousin Christine. I think I just had this vision of wanting to be vampires and be fun and just move around the land. There isn’t really a deep connection between blood, the blood of the vampire, and the song title, it just happened to be the same word. Anyway, we were just hanging out where we’re from, and I was like, “I want cool scenes,” so there was this scene where I was like, “Let’s just fall into the water. Let’s

WORDS & PHOTOS: RISH HANCO

go, let’s just fall in.” We work with my friend Evan and they’ve done a lot of music videos with me and shot a lot of album stuff, music stuff. They’re kind of my unofficial official visual collaborator because they’ve worked with me so much. We had a really good time, kind of just walking around. That water scene in particular where we got in the water is at the Skagit River. Where I’m from, there are bays that go out into the ocean, and then there’s a bunch of rivers, and so the Skagit River systems are there. That was along the river.

S: What is one of your favourite songs on the album to play?

KP: One song that I really love, that I was thinking about recently because we’re not able to play it on these summer festivals, it’s a song called “Salmon Stinta.” That was one of the songs on the album that’s in a very different tuning, and I wanted it to be this acoustic dreamy version of some sort of something when I was writing it. I wrote it about this painting that my partner did that is called Swinomish Stinta. Stinta is a Klamath word; it means love. In the painting, you can see, well, I think you can see the salmon, and I was sort of, when I wrote it, talking about what I saw in the painting and how I saw the stream, these colours, this yellow. When I was writing it, I was like, “It would be really nice to have someone else sing in this song.” For some reason, I heard my friend Phil’s voice, and I thought, “That would be really nice, I should ask him if he wants to sing in this song,” and he sang one of the verses. I think it turned out really beautiful, and now we’re going on tour together in October. We’re going to New Zealand and Australia. He has this band called Mount Eerie. His songs are really beautiful. But yeah, I really like that song.

S: Is it because he sings on it and he’s not usually on tour with you, is that why you don’t play it live?

KP: Well, we don’t play it live for festival shows because it requires us to bring an extra guitar. It’s a silly reason, but we’ll only need the guitar for one song, so it’s like, “I guess we won’t put this song in the set” if we’re flying somewhere. But when we went on a tour earlier this year we played it.

S: What’s your favourite song to play live?

KP: I really like playing Scicudz [spells it]. It’s pronounced [cheet soats], it’s a Leshutseed word. It means a narrow place, and I love it because, for whatever reason, whenever I start playing that end part, I always think of my grandma, and it almost feels like they’re there with me. I always love it; it’s a nice feeling. Were you here for the ceremony?

S: I was not, no . I got here just when they were finishing it up

KP: They said something interesting at the ceremony that I was like, “Wow, I really like the Anishinaabe people.” They were saying that when you show up someplace, your ancestors are with you, and I was like, “That makes sense to me.” I was thinking about my music, and when I play certain songs, I can feel my grandma with me, my grandpa there, almost even like I envision them singing it with me, and that’s one of the songs where most definitely every time I’ve played it I think about that.

S: How has your family influenced your music? Have they in any way? And did that kind of spark your interest in music at all?

KP: I feel like my parents have always been really supportive of whatever it is I want to do. When I showed an interest in music early on, I was like, “I really like piano and I really like these classical songs.” I was really drawn to Beethoven and Mozart when I was younger, so they’re like, “We should get you a piano,” and I was like, “I love this idea.” They’ve always just been like, “Let’s support her in whatever she wants to do, she’s leaning towards this music,” and I think I was just like, “I want a piano, I want to learn to play the flute, I want to do these things.”

I do come from a musical family, but in a cultural sense, so I think they understand too that, any type of music, you can have some sort of feeling and heart from it.

S: I did read that you do play a bunch of instruments, do you play different instruments depending on what song you’re playing? Or do you usually kind of stick with guitar when you’re playing live?

KP: I’ve been just playing guitar on this tour and this past year, but on the previous album, I played drums in half the set. Normally when I write albums, I’ll definitely play the drums on the album, and I’ll play all the guitars. I have played bass before, but I’m not a bassist, so this most recent album, I had my friend play bass on it because she’s a really good bassist. I do keyboard stuff because I play piano, but when I play live mainly, I play guitar because that’s how I write the songs. I start off on guitar, so it feels most natural to me to play it live that way.

S: That’s cool, that makes a lot of sense . So how have you been enjoying folk festival?

KP: It’s great. This festival reminds me of Pickathon, that happens in Oregon. It’s kind of like this, it’s in the woods, it’s very organized. Sometimes when you show up to a festival, people are like, “We don’t know what’s going on!” We showed up here, and everyone

was like, “Here’s what you do, here’s where you go.” We were like, “Hey, so how long has this festival been going?” and someone was like, “50 years” or close to 50 years. A well-oiled, maintained machine. It’s interesting because I was just talking with some folks over at the taco place, and I was expressing to them that during the ceremony, I’ve never experienced a ceremony at a music festival, and I got kind of emotional. Sometimes I get frustrated when I go to music festivals, especially ones where we’re in a beautiful place, and there’s so much trash, and you can tell that they’re not respecting the land. It really makes me sad sometimes, so to have something here that is meaningful, that includes Indigenous people, I started crying a little bit because I never really had that before. I really like this festival.

S: Are you here for the whole weekend, kind of checking it out?

KP: Yeah, I’m doing some workshops. After this, I have go play a workshop, and tomorrow I’m doing another workshop. Then it’s over, and we’ll leave Monday. I was supposed to come in 2020, and then the pandemic, and they did the at-home Winnipeg Folk Fest, so I did the at-home thing.

S: Have you done shows in Canada before?

KP: Yeah.

S: In Manitoba?

KP: Not in Manitoba

S: So this is your first time here

KP: Yeah. I think last year I did Regina Folk Festival, that was a lot of fun. It’s a lot smaller than this because it’s just in a little park in the city. But it was still really cool, and I try to make it to Canada whenever I go on tour. I think probably more so the major cities, but every once in a while, there will be another city that will ask me to come do something.

S: Is there anything else about the album that you want to share?

KP: I’m really proud of this album. I tried to create it with a lot of intention for each song, so it wasn’t one of those albums where here are the singles and then here’s the filler. Every song deserves the same amount of attention because I want to play all the songs. And so it had that different outlook, and maybe other people do that, but I’m still growing as an artist, and I’m learning how it is I want to create albums, and how it is I want to present them and what sort of things I still want to put into creating them. That’s one thing I’d like to share, is that I’m real proud of it.

INTERVIEW : BELLA WHITE

her Saturday workshop at Bur Oak, children were spun around in circles by their parents, audience members cheerfully tapped their toes and rocked back and forth, and an older gentleman danced with vigour unseen at any other stage over the course of the weekend. Bluegrass-adjacent music tends to be favoured by a pretty widespread group. The reason for this, White believes, is that it’s a generally relatable, accessible, and fun genre, and a good bluegrass or old-time group knows how to tap into that energy.

Since its conception, one of bluegrass’ common themes has been leaving – getting out, seeking greener pastures, going back to old Kentucky, what have you. White’s music follows in this tradition with pleasure. On the first track of the new album, “The Way I Oughta Go,” White sings, “Well, dreaming never met me in Alberta/ So I packed my things, Tennessee I did go.” She’s not simply singing words here – the concept of abandoning all familiarity and seeing what the world has to offer is one with which White is well acquainted. At 22 years old, she has already lived in multiple provinces and states and has seen even more. As for her relationship with the idea of getting out and going someplace new, it’s very much on the line between two internal senses. “There are definitely elements of escapism – being like, ‘If I go away, I don’t have to face this, and I don’t have to deal with this – goodbye.’ But there’s also this yearning for what’s out there. I love what I don’t know … I’m aware of the fact that there are a billion things I don’t know and will never know, but you can find them along the way.”

“You’re all so attentive!” Bella White exclaimed to her quietly captivated audience halfway through her Sunday afternoon concert at Folk Fest’s Spruce Hollow stage. It’s hard not to be – White’s viscerally relatable lyricism and sweet and powerful vocals doused in a healthy amount of classic old-time country twang get at listeners in a way that not much else does.

White was born and raised in Calgary, and it was there that she got her start in the bluegrass music scene. Throughout her teenage years, she would play around the city, both on her own and in other bands. “When I was in high school, I had a fake ID that I would use to go around and play in bars –I feel like they eventually learned that I was lying when I turned eighteen,” she recalls with a laugh. Presumably, being deceived about White’s age was a small price for the bars to pay for the delight of watching her come up as an artist.

All through her formative years, White was exposed to old-time country through her bluegrassplaying Virginian father, and she latched onto this tradition without thinking twice. For her, there’s just something innately appealing about the genre that simply calls out to her. “I always did really like the music,” says White. “I don’t think I ever went

through a phase where I thought it was stupid or anything … I always thought it was cool, and it looked really fun to play.” As a preteen, she began attending NimbleFingers, a workshop-oriented bluegrass festival near Kamloops. To see droves of artists in their twenties playing music she’d only known to be appreciated by older people was revolutionary for White. “I saw these young people doing this thing I already thought was pretty cool, and I realized I had peers! From that moment on, it was kind of end game.”

This has proved, it would seem, to be the right decision for her. Over the past couple of years, White has really taken off in both senses of the term. Her most recent album, Among Other Things, released in April of this year, has been received to great acclaim, and she has been touring across North America and Europe. White channeled a sense of empowerment in the creation of the album. “All my songs are sad – that’s something I’m working on,” she laughs. “But I’ve tried to take those hard and sad feelings and package them up in this way that makes you feel good after you listen to them. It’s about taking control of the story.”

Feeling good while listening to the music of White and her band is not a hard task. During

Given her touring schedule, White seems likely to find these things she doesn’t know at quite a pace. She stopped at Winnipeg Folk Festival between a stint in the UK a couple of weeks before and a trip to Montana one week after and has since continued on the bluegrass festival circuit across the continent. This lifestyle aligns nicely with White’s desire to see what’s out there. “Touring can be this interesting dichotomy between getting that itch scratched, being out in the world and seeing what’s going on, but you’re also only getting these tiny glimpses. In some ways,” she reflects. “Touring feeds the urge to know more.”

White remarked at the end of her set (at which point the crowd remained just as attentive, if not more so) that this was her first time in Winnipeg, a fact that felt strange to her given her relative proximity growing up in Calgary. The weekend she spent here, however, gave her a good impression. “Doing these kinds of festivals embodies that sense of community,” she says, referring back to the welcoming environment that bluegrass and oldtime country creates. “Coming to Folk Fest feels really good to me. I feel hugged by it. There’s this sense of intimacy that you get at these festivals –you get familiar with it, you meet people, you get to play with people. It feels so good to do that.” With its community-minded approach, she says, festivals like Winnipeg Folk Fest are the ultimate setting for bluegrass and country music. Due to this fact, with any luck, Winnipeg has hopefully not seen the last of Bella White.

WORDS & PHOTOS: MIKE THIESSEN

CKU Who? Bridging the Gap With Host Marianne Rose

SCOTT PRICE

Stylus: What made you interested in doing radio?

Marianne Rose Crittenden: Decades ago I had a friend who after hearing my answering machine voice recording left a message saying, “Hey Marianne, did you know you have a radio voice? You’d make a great radio host!” Sometime after that, I was sitting in my hairdresser’s chair chatting away,

Crittenden

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and she complimented my voice saying she could listen to me all day. From those two friends, I kept on wondering about the opportunity to explore being on the radio.

Stylus: Why did you choose to get involved with CKUW?

Marianne Rose Crittenden: I often listen to the

radio while I’m driving, and find I’m not much interested in the top 40 stations. When I came across 95.9 FM, I set that station as my favourite. I love the quirky homegrown feel, and I especially love the variety.

Stylus: What were the origins of your show? What gap are you trying to bridge?

Marianne Rose Crittenden: The origins of my show were just me feeling like I wanted to share my life experiences with people. I had an overwhelming desire to help others from the things I was learning (mistakes I was making).

In my very first high school career counseling session, the counselor told me I’d make an amazing therapist, and then most of my life followed with opportunities to teach, train and coach people, in a vast array of experiences from motherhood to being a drama and vocal coach to being a franchise owner and entrepreneur.

Then, to have this amazing friendship with Dr. Syras Derksen, and have him join me to create a show based on his psychological expertise, experience, and being a loving pastor – everything fell into place for this show!

I feel like the bridge we are gapping is the too frequent polarization of viewpoints, and how people get stuck in ways of thinking that sabotage their mental health.

Stylus: What have been some of your favorite shows you’ve done?

Marianne Rose Crittenden: The most recent ones, because we’ve been getting better and better as time goes by!

Stylus: Do you have any special shows or topics planned?

Marianne Rose Crittenden: Definitely! In our next episode (#99), we’re going to be discussing how there are obstacles throughout life and every relationship that you can just about always overcome.

Stylus: What are some of your favorite shows on CKUW?

Marianne Rose Crittenden: I have a special place in my heart for Morning Breath because Sam mentored me in making sense of how to work the station and Sunny Road because that was the show I first got to fill in for, leading up to where I am today!

MARIANNE ROSE CRITTENDEN AND DR SYRAS DERKSEN SUPPLIED PHOTO

Local Releases

ferocious playing style that shows an artist that was pent up and ready to go. If anyone has seen Johnny Sizzle play live, that last comment is really saying something.

song dissolves into layers of fuzz and vocals that create an atmosphere of strangeness, of something otherworldly.

KRIS ULRICH BIG IN THE USA

Kris Ulrich’s 2023 album Big in the USA was a pleasant listen from start to finish. It blends classical folk and country elements with modern bedroom pop.

The opener, “Friends On The Internet,” is a perfect start. Ulrich sings about falling in love with a stranger, complimented by an incredibly catchy guitar hook.

The country sound of this album is incredibly warm sounding. The production here is just fantastic, which is a big factor when it comes to my enjoyment of an album.

The title track is another stand-out for me. The lyrics are extremely thoughtful and well-written. Another thing that I want to point out is the flow of the vocals on this song and the whole album in general. It really adds to the emotional impact of the album.

“Lucky” has a hard-hitting instrumental buildup with a heavyhitting acoustic guitar, followed by a lower, more mellow moment in “Things Are Changing,” which is my favourite track on the album.

Overall, this album does an excellent job of transitioning from a more upbeat, optimistic sound to a more laid-back, melancholy one. For me, the songs just get better and better as time goes on. This project is a prime example of good track flow when it comes to records, and I really enjoyed my time with it.

Jakob Sheppard

JOHHNY SIZZLE I CAN NOT FORGIVE YOU

Independent release on Bandcamp. What can one say about the originators? The people who forged a path that few understood. Way before folk punk was really a thing, Johnny Sizzle was beating the shit out of an acoustic guitar. I guess all one can say is that we are happy to hear new material from Johnny Sizzle.

This batch of songs was written during the Covid area and displays a

If he had just released the epic 8-minute and 52-second “Folkies Aren’t Kinked Out Enough” as a single and called it a day, I would consider this one of the best local releases in the last few years, but there are more than a few bangers on this album. Stand out tracks for me are “Jesus Christ in a Gay Bar” and “Bill Hicks Says So.”

When an artist creates such uncompromising art, we should pay attention. If this kind of stuff suits your fancy, tune in to Winnipeg Arena is on Fire Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on CKUW 95.9fm. Scott Price

There is a feeling of discord, an internal struggle which is articulated in lines like ‘Jesus wants me pure, but I can’t be so sure, I look into the mirror, and see myself a whore,’ (“Pray To You”) and ‘you gotta dance with the devil, to get into heaven’ (“Dance With The Devil”). The idea of subjecting yourself to a person’s toxicity in exchange for one glimmering moment of satisfaction and affection is all too relatable.

Despite the tragic subject matter of a love lost and unreciprocated, the album as a whole is buoyant and playful. Glittering synths lay the foundation for pop, with cheeky, energetic bass lines slipping in and out and drums that beat along in time and amplify the grandeur of the album as one congruous piece. That playful pop sound permeating the album lends well to those moments where a song breaks down, those gritty rock elements shining through and lending an earnestness that hits the album’s subject matter home.

Rish Hanco

(“Yellow Lights of Moray”), nice walking paths through industrial wasteland (Manitoba Skyline). “This is how we live now,” Nolan proclaims in “Without the Night.” Perhaps the line is meant as an indictment of the poor planning and sprawl in this city. Maybe just a statement of fact that while what once was will never be, but new memories and experiences can be forged.

Scott Nolan’s writing is as sharp and as personal as ever. Glen Buhr’s orchestration and conducting of what would normally be simple three-chord songs breathes life into the album. You can see the red neon cross atop Misericordia on a cold and crisp winter night, and you can smell the pizza at the Bella. You can hear the car thud over yet another bridge. Let’s enjoy and celebrate what we have now in this city. The fact that it is home to people like Scott Nolan and Glen Buhr is one thing to celebrate. Scott Price

CARLO CAPOBIANCO PRAY TO YOU

Carlo Capobianco’s debut full-length album, Pray To You (released April 20th), is a carefully curated collection of pop ballads sure to make you swoon and dance. The album shines with all the glamour and grandeur of pop, breaking down at times into something grittier and heavier. Likewise, the album’s themes of innocent infatuation and self-deprecating obsession weave together into high highs and low lows.

The first track, “Call You Sometime,” introduces the theme of innocence. The feelings brought on by a fresh crush are playful and sweet. The opening lines express this sweetness in an almost childlike way: “You smell like baby powder and strawberries in the summer.” The song sounds like sunshine.

This beautiful mirage of love is quickly shattered as the next songs on the album bring forth the obsession and the self-deprecation that comes from loving one who is inattentive and unattainable. The concept of love as a “Mermaid” betrays a sense that this recipient of one’s love is only a myth, a wishful dream, something fleeting (‘mermaid, don’t you go away’). The

SCOTT NOLAN THE SUBURB BEAUTIFUL

Scott Nolan’s first album since 2016 opens with a ballad entitled “Bella Vista,” a tribute to the venue where Nolan cut his teeth for decades. The Bella is now the popular Shorty’s Pizza. While you can still get a slice there, the venue it once was is now gone. Live long enough, and your old haunts will change names and owners or be obliterated off the map. Every time we pass by these places, a flood of memories, sounds, and smells comes at us. There is some comfort in nostalgia but also melancholy.

The Suburb Beautiful gives us a trip around Winnipeg and brief vestiges of Scott Nolan’s memories. The red cross atop Misericordia (“Bella Vista”), watching the trains go by on the Arlington bride (“Arlington Steet”), nights in Suburban Winnipeg

NICKYBABY SELF TITLED

Nickybaby’s self-titled album is a very intriguing listen. It has elements of folk, indie and rock that all combine to form one of my favourite indie releases of the year so far. It has almost deceptively good production, meaning that it sounds very rough, but that lack of fidelity only aids in conveying the theme of the record.

The first track that really stood out to me was “Sick.” It is a quintessential example of the production qualities that I just mentioned. This song especially is very rough sounding, but it works perfectly. It indulges in themes of crisis and negativity but still seems to put a positive spin on it.

Another thing that is very exceptional about this project is the lyrics. Just like the instrumentals, they are very raw but have an honest quality to them. This makes sense considering the dark and personal subject matter. One track that perfectly conveys this is “She Sees Me.” It’s a very human song about somebody that clearly had a big impact

on Nick, and for that reason, it’s my favourite song on the album. This track, along with others like “October Song” and “Wine Glass,” is incredibly written.

The closing track, “Turn It Around,” has a real feeling of hopefulness within it. Nick told me that it was his favourite for this reason, “I feel like the melancholic album leads up to that happy final song.” It ends the album on a high note.

Overall, this album was excellent, and I look forward to whatever Nick decides to do in the future.

Jakob Sheppard

MULLIGRUB TRAGICAL

Although it’s not entirely clear whether the band’s name can be traced back to the early-to-mid 90s Australian Pre-School show Mulligrubs (with its Cheshire-Cat-like disembodied face) or the classical use of the term as meaning despondent or sullen, what is bait is that their latest sophomore album Tragical has documented a

metamorphosis. Much has transpired since their single “Zero Sprite Slushie” first appeared on that suicide prevention benefit compilation “To Show That You’re Still Here” (February 2015), their opening for Propaghandi at The Garrick (February 2016), their dozens of cross-border East and West Coast shows (2016-2018), and The Plague (2020-?). What has emerged in the wake of it all is something new, which doesn’t seem quite as calamitous as the name implies. After all, wasn’t it AJ McLean who once sang, “Sadness is beautiful?” Accordingly, this next stage of Mulligrub’s evolution remains bittersweet but sounds a little more sweet than bitter this time around (on the surface, at least).

If one is familiar with Mulligrub’s debut Soft Grudge (April 2016), Tragical leans hard into the feel of songs like “Mountains & Houses” and “Homo Milk” (with their multi-voice, bright tone, minimalist guitar-bassdrum configuration). The vocal stylings of drummer J Riley Hill are heard

quite a bit more than sometimes on this album, with Kelly Campbell only having two songs as the sole vocalist (namely, “Octokite” and “Spiff”). Exbassist Mirella M Villa - who is still featured on this recording - has also since been replaced by Natalie Smith. Self-defined as “twee-pop-punk” (tweemo?), what’s most apparent in Tragical - apart from the manifold harmonic counters throughout - is thick reverb on the guitar, more songs with choruses, and a playfulness that wasn’t as prominent in older recordings. In fact, of the eleven songs on the album, the vast majority come across as quite cheer-full; however, the project is called Tragical after all, and the opening lyric from “Sun + Cloud” is telling: “I am stumbling out of bed to pick an outfit that says I’m fine and not dying inside.”

Amidst the various innocuous images of pink tubes, nerf guns, eight-limbed kites and dingbat fonts, there’s a complexity and gloominess to what’s being explored across these

Releases From Away

distance from feeling at “home.”

STATUS/NON-STATUS SURELY TRAVEL & JANUARY 3RD

There is an Anishinaabe story about the Aandeg (a.k.a. the Crow), who is said to have once been without purpose, but who uncovered their raison d’être by helping others. In this way, crows are seen as exemplars of finding meaning through the process of continually seeking, deliberately pushing forward, and tenaciously not giving up; this bird is also suitably regarded as a welcome travelling companion. Perhaps there is soul resonance here between the flyer and frontperson of the band Status/NonStatus - community worker Adam Sturgeon - whose latest album, Surely Travel and its companion EP/B-Sides January 3rd, dive headlong into such themes. After all, most songs from this project deal with life on the road in the contrived nation of “Canada” and one’s

Previously known as Whoop-Szowith their 2019 debut getting a longlist nod from Polaris - the name change is apt given the refashioning of their sound. Whereas Warrior Down was defined by a thick fusion of the grisly and the beautiful - with a wall of fazedout distortion throughout - Surely Travel is significantly more stripped back, dampened, and just passingly hints at what once was (in songs like “Has It Been So Long,” “Bineshiinh,” and the title track). In fact, the album is much more reminiscent of his 2022 collaboration Ombiigizi with Zoon’s Daniel Monkman (i.e. Sewn Back Together) - reflective, mellow, and less edgy than either Warrior Down or 1, 2, 3, 4, 500 Years Surely Travel is a hybrid of indie and hard folk, while January 3rd careens into the realm of folk rock. However, this new music is just as heavy subject-matter-wise, as it delves deep into questions of rootedness and disconnection, of family, friendship, and loss. Ultimately, these songs seem to be about profound feelings of separation - because of touring (e.g. “Blown Tire,” “Mainly Crows,” and “Surely Travel”), bygone connections (e.g. “Bineshiinh” and “What Am I To Do”), relocation (e.g. “North Adelaide”), and death (e.g. the winsome yet heart-wrenching ode to Kirsten Kurvink Palm’s late mother Molly on “Glide”). Perhaps what these

tracks. Themes of empowerment and exhaustion, clarity and confusion, relationship and reclusiveness. And damn...so many spot-on pieces of social commentary, like that line: “Boys will be boys and boys learn how to blame / To find other bodies to hold their pain” (from “Lil Fist”). There’s a reason that Tragical opens with a song about staying inside. Because all around, there are days of wicked weather. Yet, if no one ever ventures out, there won’t be anyone to spiff things up for others.

Mykhailo Vil’yamson

tracks sonically communicate the most - despite the messiness of our past, the incompleteness of our present, and the uncertainty of our future - is a tempered/cautious optimism, or in Sturgeon’s words, a celebration of “the small wins of human-sized approach to resilience and healing.”

Status/Non-Status also laudably does

what many other bands don’t do and have sought to explain the meaning of their songs (via descriptions on Bandcamp). What’s more, their website includes a cache of content in their “Hide and Seek Archive.” So - be sure to visit statusnonstatus.com, and click on the ripe half of the strawberry. Mykhailo Vil’yamson

BONIFACE PERFORMING AT THE GOOD WILL PHOTO: CAMRYN MONTEBRUNO

FOLK FEST PHOTO FEATURE

KO SHIN MOON PERFORMING AT BIG BLUE AT NIGHT

PHOTO: RISH HANCO

CHARLIE CROCKETT

PHOTO: MIKE THIESSEN

BOY GOLDEN

PHOTO: MIKE THIESSEN

FAYE WEBSTER

PHOTO: MIKE THIESSEN

MATT FOSTER

PHOTO: MIKE THIESSEN

THE WAR ON DRUGS

PHOTO: MIKE THIESSEN

KACY AND CLAYTON

PHOTO: MIKE THIESSEN