St. Catharines based hip-hop/jazz/funk 13 piece (!) My son The Hurricane will be playing the Vinyl this Thursday October 6.
Yes you read that correctly. 13 piece.  8 horns (3 sax, 2 trombones, 2 trumpets & sousaphone) and a veteran rhythm section.
These guys pack a giant sound onto a tiny stage.
I first witnessed the awesomeness of MSTH at last Summers Hillside festival where they marched into the Island stage and had everyone fully engaged for their full 40 minute set.  I've been wanted to see them again ever since that thoroughly entertaining Hillside performance.
They've been back to Guelph a few times this past year and each time I've been hearing & witnessing great things from these guys.
Oh I know USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) is the main event at this show, but please trust me, MSTH is the band to see!
It's an early show (Doors @7), so get there early so you won't miss them.  MSTH should be on around 8PM.
Oh yea, and I'm giving away two tickets to see this great show!  Details are here.

GAIN Music Dance Party Series
Thursday, October 6, 2011
USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) / My Son the Hurricane / The Sweet Mack (presented by Eleven)
Doors @ 7pm, all ages / licensed
Advanced tickets $16, door tickets $18
Currently available online -> http://www.ticketscene.ca/events/5022
Physical tickets available @ Hempire, Jimmy Jazz, D-Tox, Beat Goes On & your favourite GAIN Music member!

New video from Guelph Pop/Hip Hop/electronic (hey, they're charting at #1 in Hip Hop, #2 Electronic & #22 Top-30 at CFRU)  group INTERSTLLR.
We're hoping to have an interview with INTERSTLLR some time in the coming days.  Until then, enjoy the new video.  (do you recognize any of the areas in and around Guelph?)

Kenny and the boys of The Speakeasies perform Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot for CBC's Cover Me Canada contest.
Good luck boys!

Guelph band Modern Field Recordings have just released a video (their first?) for the song Seeds Planted.
Maybe you saw them at Hillside this year?  Maybe you saw them skating & filming at Exhibition Park?
This video reminds me of my not so distant youth, foolin around with friends on our skateboards, and later, on bikes rollin' like true thugs.

Spencer and friends over at Fortnight Music have put together an incredible day of music, fun & friendship with the Fortnight Farm Festival.
In celebration of the 4th year of Fortnight Music, a day long festival will be held out at Fourfold Farm near Elora Saturday September 17.
With a free shuttle bus taking you out to the farm, you'll be greeted by two music stages, food (Green Table Foods), beer, water, and a dozen performers.  Some of the performers include The Wooden Sky, Great Bloomers, Rival Boys & Modern Field Recordings.
I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  Thanks Fortnight!
For more information on the event, please see the Facebook event page.

I'm a pretty big fan of the Polaris Music Prize and the artists that Polaris supports and rewards.  Many of of the past winners I've seen perform over the years here in Guelph.  (2010 winners, Karkwa will be in Guelph September 18th!)
Starting today, the Polaris Record Club will showcase the albums that have made the 2011 Polaris Music Prize Short List.  It's a modern version of an old-fashioned record club, giving Canadian music fans a chance to hear the nominated albums with friends and encourages them to share their thoughts via Twitter (#prc2011).

Starting August 23, Rdio will enable free full album streaming of Short List nominated albums on the Polaris Music Prize website at http://www.polarismusicprize.ca/. Twice a week, leading up to the Polaris Gala event on September 19 in Toronto, listeners in Canada can hear the following albums in their entirety, each for a 24-hour period from 12:01 a.m. EDT to 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Tuesday, August 23 - Braids “Native Speaker”
Thursday, August 25 - Destroyer “Kaputt”
Tuesday, August 30 - Galaxie “Tigre et Diesel”
Thursday, September 1 - Hey Rosetta! “Seeds”
Tuesday, September 6 - Colin Stetson “New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges”
Thursday, September 8 - Timber Timbre “Creep on Creepin’ On”
Tuesday, September 13 - Ron Sexsmith “Long Player Late Bloomer”
Thursday, September 15 - Austra “Feel It Break”

Curiously, Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" and The Weeknd's "House of Balloons" are not being streamed..

Have a listen to some great music courtesy of Rdio.

My wife, daughter and I got out to the Sunlight Music Festival this past weekend.  (That's me and my daughter captured in the Guelph Tribune!) Held at the Riverside Park band shell, this year marked the festival's third year.
The festival is free, with any monies raised through donation going to Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis.
If you've never been, you really should check it out next Summer.  It truly is a great festival held right in our back yard.

5th Projekt play tonight at The eBar along with The Speakeasies & Texting Mackenzie.

There's a great lineup this Thursday night at the Ebar.  Surely your Hillside Hangover is long gone, so dust off your dancing sandals and get out to the eBar Thursday night!
Toronto's 5Th Projekt are celebrating the release of their fifth album aptly titled 'V'.  The new album – their 2nd full length - was released on August 9th on the band’s own Organik Rekords.
Both The Speakeasies and Texting Mackenzie are local Guelph bands.  This show will be the last show ever for Texting Mackenzie in its current form!  So come make TM's last show one for them to remember!

August 11 @ The eBar
AA/Licensed
$8 at the door.
Doors at 9PM

POP Montreal is bringing its 2011 POP Off tour to this years Hillside.  Every year the POP Off tour showcases Canada’s wildest talent and is hitting the road this year with Gobble Gobble, Grimes and Pat Jordache.  All three performers subscribe to the high energy DIY trend that's so popular today with bands.
Be sure to catch the two hour (!) POP Off tour showcase at Hillside this Sunday at 2PM at the Island stage.  It's sure to be a high energy crazy afternoon.  It's a good thing there's a performance break immediately following this set