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Published December 13, 2010 in Loose Blues News, News

December 2010 – Vol. 26. No 12 (download issue)


Congratulations to Harrison Kennedy who was a multiple award winner at the Hamilton Music Awards held last Sunday night at Mohawk College’s McIntyre Theatre. The 68-year-old Hamilton native who first reached international stardom almost 40 years ago with the Detroit-based soul group Chairmen of the Board, was named male artist of the year and male vocalist of the year for his album One Dog Barking, which also took the prize for best blues recording. The three-hour awards show, hosted for the seventh straight year by LeE HARVeY OsMOND frontman Tom Wilson, featured performances by Kennedy, Luke Doucet, Harlan Pepper, The Reason, Live How You Live, Nilla (who won for best rap/hip-hop recording), Kim Koren and Cowlick (best alternative-indie recording). Gene Lees, a former Hamilton Spectator reporter who went on to become one of the most respected jazz journalists and authors in North America was given a lifetime achievement award posthumously. He died this year in his California home at the age of 82. Closing the show with a 20-minute set was Lighthouse, the10-piece rock orchestra co-founded by Hamilton native Skip Prokop who was also presented with a lifetime achievement award. Lighthouse, with Prokop at the drum kit, performed several of their top hits from the ‘70s including Hats Off to the Stranger, Sunny Days and One Fine Morning. Bob Payne, who has operated Payne Music on King Street East for more than 50 years, was also given a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the Hamilton music scene. 


Holiday Blues Parties: In addition to the TBS Christmas Party (Dec 11 at the Delta Chelsea with Blackburn – be there or be square) there are a few other holiday gatherings of special interest to blues fans: Saturday December 4th is the 2nd annual Johnny Max Band Christmas Party at The Harp Pub (www.theharppub.ca) 55 Lakeshore Rd E, Port Credit. It will go from 4PM to -1AM with special guests and The Heart Attacks & The Johnny Max Band. All proceeds will go to the charity “Sleeping Children Around The World” (www.scaw.org). A $5 donation is being asked by all patrons.

The 6th Annual Blues Years Eve with Chuck Jackson & Johnny Max is happening at the Port Credit Legion on Friday December 31st, 8PM. They are featuring special guests David Rotundo, Sophia Perlman, Steve Strongman & Virgil Scott. There will be a Light Fare Buffet, Dancing, Champagne, Desserts, Coffee and party favours. Tickets $65 available at Impressionable Gifts, 905 271 8999.

Mory The Sockman presents his first Christmas party on Friday, December 3, 2010 at the Woodbine Banquet Hall. This fabulous show will feature the Sock-It-To-You All-Star Band with Steve Strongman, Robin Banks and Chuck Jackson. Sockman says, “We are very proud of all the galas and shows we have presented to you over the years but expect that our first Christmas party to top them all. We are planning to record this great show and hopefully will have a CD ready in the New Year for your ongoing listening pleasure!” The party will include All You Can Eat Bruschetta, Caesar Salad, Fish and Lamb for $50.00 or $450.00 for a Corporate Table of 10 (tax deductible for small business / professional Blues Lovers). Show only is $25.00 in advance or $30.00 at the door. Tix from Sockman, 416-727-7012.


Matt Andersen, who will be appearing at The Maple Blues Awards Gala and is nominated as Entertainer of the Year and Acoustic Artist of the Year, is the first Canadian artist to be booked for the 2011 Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England, next year. He will perform twice at the five-day festival, appearing on the Bourbon Street Blues and Jazz Stage on June 23 and on the closing day, June 26. Glastonbury calls itself the largest open air music festival in the world; all the 140,000 tickets for next June’s event were sold in a little over four hours on October 3. Andersen’s ongoing success story took a leap forward when he won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis last February. He has since played close to 140 shows, including a US tour with Old Crow Medicine Show. He is currently on his second European tour in the last three months, and will return from concerts in France to play 23 dates with Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe Christmas tour, with multiple shows in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Toronto, London, Owen Sound, Kitchener and Ottawa and one-night appearances in seven other cities. This will be his fourth tour with Vinyl Cafe, and his second this year.  In the midst of his tour schedule, he’s completed a Christmas album that will be released in November, and will start work on a new album with producer Colin Linden early next year.


Nominations for the 11th Annual Canadian Independent Music Awards – “The Indies” – are now open. Submissions are being accepted through Sonicbids until December 15, 2010. Artists or their representatives (including labels and managers) can submit nominations on their behalf. All submissions completed before November 30th will receive discounted pricing. The eligibility period for all awards categories will run from September 1, 2009 through December 1, 2010. Nominees must have been active during the eligibility period and are based on the performance of the group or artist either on record or in live performances. For additional eligibility requirements, voting procedures and a complete list of award categories, please visit www.indies.ca. An initiative of the Canadian Association for the Advancement of  Music & the Arts (CAAMA), the awards are limited to independent  artists and cover 15 genres of music. Nominees will be announced in  January 2011. Winners in 27 of the 29 categories are decided on by both a  public and an industry vote. The awards will be handed out on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at the Canadian Ballroom in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto  as part of Canadian Music Week.  Advance tickets for The Indies may be purchased on the Canadian Music Week website at www.cmw. Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the  country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining four information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival;  three awards shows and the nation’s largest New Music Festival , Canadian Music Fest , CMW spans a five-day period from March 9 to March  13, 2011 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and various downtown Toronto  venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.


Folk Alliance honours Jac Holzman: In honour of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Elektra Records, Dave Marsh will conduct the annual Keynote interview with Elektra founder and media icon Jack Holzman on Thursday, February 17th during the Folk Alliance conference.  The interview is scheduled to take place at 12:00pm.  Upon its founding in 1950, Elektra Records quickly became known for its adventurous signing, ranging from Love and The Doors to The Dillards and Phil Ochs as well as Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Queen and they changed the face of Indie music forever.  Legendary journalist Dave Marsh has written more than 20 books about rock and popular music. He co-founded and for four years edited Creem, the legendary rock and roll magazine that helped launch heavy metal, glam and punk, and spent five years as an associate and contributing editor of Rolling Stone.  The PBS television music series Jammin at Hippie Jack’s will be at the conference filming individual concerts that will be included as part of their regular series currently broadcast to over 70 million people in over 150 PBS markets throughout North America. “This revolution will be televised, ” says Hippie Jack. The Official Showcase Application fees and Conference Registration early bird rate have been extended to Thursday, December 2nd. The 23rd annual International Folk Alliance Conference takes place February 16th– 20th 2011 in Memphis. See www.folk.org


– Brian Blain

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The Toronto Blues Society acknowledges the annual support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage, and project support from FACTOR< and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada’s Private Broadcasters, The Canada Council for the Arts, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.