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# Amplify

NMC

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## Text Posts

- [Instrumental: Kathleen Edwards Cultivates a Life Outside of Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-kathleen-edwards-cultivates-a-life-outside-of-music/) - The prompt for this Instrumental series is, essentially: "What's the most significant creative tool in your artistic practice? Let's talk about it." Over the years, that prompt has been interpreted many different ways, leading to plenty of conversations about obvious instruments like Kim Harris' butterscotch Jazzmaster, Nick Schofield's Prophet-600, or JayWood's Roland SP404. But Jennifer
- [Origin Stories: The Truth Behind Triumph's "Lay It on the Line"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-the-truth-behind-triumphs-lay-it-on-the-line/) - Hard-rock trio Triumph has received all the major lifetime awards in Canada, among them a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and a place in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Now, as the band celebrates 50 years since forming in Toronto, it adds one more milestone — an induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall
- [Origin Stories: Jane Siberry Reflects on “Mimi on the Beach” and the Freedom to Create](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-jane-siberry-reflects-on-mimi-on-the-beach-and-the-freedom-to-create/) - Jane Siberry is best known internationally for her moving ballad “Calling All Angels” with k.d. lang, which first appeared in Wim Wenders’ 1991 film Until the End of the World and more recently in 2021’s Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark. In Canada, perhaps the song she is most identified with is a poetic,
- [Record Rewind: Oscar Peterson’s 'Canadiana Suite' is "Canada Laid Out in Jazz Time"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-oscar-petersons-canadiana-suite-is-canada-laid-out-in-jazz-time/) - When it comes to mastery of an instrument — and specifically jazz piano — Oscar Peterson had few equals. Duke Ellington once called the Canadian pianist the “maharajah of the keyboards,” and the moniker stuck. Born in Montreal, Peterson never moved away from Canada, but he was revered worldwide. He won eight Grammys, including a
- [Coming to the Canyon: Joni Mitchell and Neil Young's Influence as Canadian Songwriters in the Laurel Canyon Folk-Rock Revolution](https://amplify.nmc.ca/coming-to-the-canyon-joni-mitchell-and-neil-youngs-influence-as-canadian-songwriters-in-the-laurel-canyon-folk-rock-revolution/) - It’s California in the ‘60s. Neon lights and billboards decorate the Sunset Strip while the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Byrds ring out from car radios, cutting through the Los Angeles traffic. A young, rebellious generation parades through the streets as glowing marquees announce the bands at happening clubs like the Whisky a Go Go. It’s
- [The Improbable Comeback of Anne Murray: How Superfans Discovered the Unheard Tracks on Her New Album](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-improbable-comeback-of-anne-murray-how-superfans-discovered-the-unheard-tracks-on-her-new-album/) - Anne Murray is having a moment. She has had many great moments in her illustrious career—but she certainly didn’t plan on having one at the age of 80. After all, she’s been retired and out of the game for a long time. “Good heavens, sometimes after 17 years, you think, what was it I did?”
- [Record Rewind: Cadence Weapon’s 'Breaking Kayfabe' Turns 20](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-cadence-weapons-breaking-kayfabe-20-years-later/) - Roland “Rollie” Pemberton, better known as Cadence Weapon, has always seemed to operate on a wavelength slightly ahead of his peers. The Edmonton-born rapper released his debut album, Breaking Kayfabe, in 2005, and now, 20 years later, the record feels less like a relic and more like a blueprint for a strain of Canadian hip-hop
- [Origin Stories: Glass Tiger’s “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)”](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-glass-tigers-dont-forget-me-when-im-gone/) - May 15, 2025, the day Glass Tiger was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in Calgary at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, was the very same day 40 years prior that the Canadian pop band started writing their debut single and biggest career hit, “Don’t Forget Me (When I'm Gone),”
- [Instrumental: JayWood gets textural with the Roland SP404](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-jaywood-gets-textural-with-the-roland-sp404/) - From its dreamy opening track, “Woozy,” JayWood’s new record Leo Negro prepares listeners for a dense and dizzying experience owing to its vast array of sounds and styles. The Montreal-via-Winnipeg songwriter and producer pays big attention to small details, a tendency which is evident even before one might get to the music, as each of
- [Mary Ancheta Returns to Her Filipino Roots and Taps into the Holy Grail of Synthesizers to Create 'Rituals'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/mary-ancheta-returns-to-her-filipino-roots-and-taps-into-the-holy-grail-of-synthesizers-to-create-rituals/) - Vancouver-based Filipina artist and composer Mary Ancheta’s musical journey in song is a meandering one with many twists and turns. She started improvising on the organ during her formative years in Hamilton, Ontario, where she was raised, learning to play by ear through eavesdropping on her sister’s formal lessons. She would eventually form a Britpop-inspired band
- [Instrumental: Ada Lea’s Busted Henry Herbert Piano is All She Writes on Now](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-ada-leas-busted-henry-herbert-piano-is-all-she-writes-on-now/) - There isn’t a lot of piano on the new Ada Lea album, when i paint my masterpiece, but that is the instrument that Alexandra Levy wants to talk about as she gets ready to put out her third album under her stage moniker. Like her 2021 Polaris long-listed sophomore album one hand on the steering
- [Great Moments in Canadian Music (Track 19):  Bright Lights, Small City — When Fredericton Hosted Leonard Cohen's Big Comeback Show](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-19-bright-lights-small-city-when-fredericton-hosted-leonard-cohens-big-comeback-show/) - It was May 11, 2008 — a Sunday and Mother's Day. The Fredericton Playhouse, the main performing arts venue in New Brunswick's capital city, was sold out that night. People from around the world had been desperately trying to get one of the 709 seats available for this show for weeks, but they were all
- [CBC Searchlight Winner Maggie Andrew Crafts Her Next Chapter During NMC Residency](https://amplify.nmc.ca/nmc-artist-in-residence-maggie-andrew/) - Nothing is typical about an artist’s schedule. Often, their best work happens when “the nine-to-fivers go to bed.” Nonetheless, when offered a chance to experience a “normal” workweek, most artists are thrilled. That’s the case for singer-songwriter Maggie Andrew, who had a memorable — and productive — sojourn in Calgary this past January as the
- [Dan Hill, Ginette Reno, Glass Tiger, Loreena McKennitt, Sum 41, and Maestro Fresh Wes Join the Canadian Music Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/dan-hill-ginette-reno-glass-tiger-loreena-mckennitt-sum-41-and-maestro-fresh-wes-join-the-canadian-music-hall-of-fame/) - Being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is more than a career milestone — it’s a celebration of Canada’s musical identity and enduring cultural resonance. Presented by Music Canada, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Ceremony took place on May 15, 2025 in Calgary at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre.
- [Instrumental: July Talk's Peter Dreimanis on His Wurlitzer — "It's Almost Like a Limb"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-july-talks-peter-dreimanis-on-his-wurlitzer/) - Peter Dreimanis’ grandmother, who he called his Nain (pronounced ‘nine’), was of Welsh background, and passed away two Novembers ago, just before her 98th birthday. Both sides of her family were deeply musical, and music was of major importance in their lives as they worked in work camps all around northern Alberta and elsewhere in
- [Record Rewind: Shad’s 'TSOL' 15 Years Later](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-shads-tsol-15-years-later/) - Hip-hop has always thrived at the intersection of technical precision, storytelling, and cultural commentary. But few artists move through that intersection with the grace, intellect, and sincerity that define Shad. Fifteen years ago, the Kenyan-born, Rwandan-Canadian MC dropped TSOL — an album that not only cemented his place among Canada’s most gifted lyricists but also
- [NMC's Collection Live on Stage — The Journey of k.d. lang's CCMA Awards Show Outfit](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-journey-of-k-d-langs-ccma-awards-show-outfit/) - The iconic k.d. lang has just been recognized as this year’s Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee. To commemorate this moment, lang took the stage at the CCMA Awards in Edmonton with her old band The Reclines — their first performance together in 35 years. In true lang fashion, she chose a show-stopping outfit
- [Great Moments in Canadian Music (Track 18): When Jimmy Rankin Joined the Rankin Family — As the Drummer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-18-jimmy-rankin/) - The von Trapp Family had nothing on the Rankin Family, in terms of numbers. "The Musical Rankins," as they were known around the town of Mabou, Nova Scotia, boasted 12 siblings who could all play and perform. And the hills of Cape Breton were indeed alive with the sound of their music, with fiddles and
- [From Heartache to Happiness: Juno Nominee Sebastian Gaskin’s Six Year Journey to 'LOVECHILD'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/from-heartache-to-happiness-juno-nominee-sebastian-gaskins-six-year-journey-to-lovechild/) - Making art takes time. Unlike nine-to-fivers — whose work is often measured in hours and products produced — an artist’s work is never-ending. The final product is a culmination of a life lived. Time, for creatives, is not linear. This apocryphal Pablo Picasso story illustrates the difference. Picasso was sitting at a Paris cafe one
- [Begonia’s Journals are a Chaotic, Shredded Mess](https://amplify.nmc.ca/begonias-journals-are-a-chaotic-shredded-mess/) - In stark contrast to the decorative extremes of a wide swath of contemporary notebook culture, there’s nothing fancy about the way Alexa Dirks, aka Begonia, gets her ideas down on paper. “I really like these ones from shoppers that basically look like ‘80s and ‘90s school notebooks,” Dirks says over the phone from Winnipeg. “I'm
- [Clairmont The Second Is Redefining What It Means to Be Limitless in Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/clairmont-the-second-is-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-limitless-in-music/) - After years of cultivating intricate and expansive compositions, Clairmont The Second has firmly established himself as a master of his craft—and he’s more than ready to claim that title. A true polymath of creativity, his work extends beyond rapping to include producing, directing music videos, and shaping his own artistic vision. "I’m just a melting
- [Nia Nadurata Is Figuring It Out, and That’s Exactly What Makes Her So Relatable](https://amplify.nmc.ca/nia-nadurata-is-figuring-it-out-and-thats-exactly-what-makes-her-so-relatable/) - Nia Nadurata's ascent feels almost unreal, the kind of trajectory that sneaks up on you before you realize everyone’s talking about her. In 2023, she introduced herself with “Drive Faster,” a heartbreakingly raw breakup song wrapped in acoustic simplicity and lush orchestral flourishes. It’s the kind of late-night confession that hits like a gut punch.
- [Beatlemania is Back: National Music Centre's Exhibition Revisits The Beatles in Canada 60 Years Later](https://amplify.nmc.ca/beatlemania-is-back/) - Every few years, a new music superstar arrives, a singer or group that dominates the charts, captivates fans, fills up the media, and creates a frenzy at the box office. Sinatra did it in the ’40s, Elvis in the ‘50s, Elton John conquered the ‘70s, until The Bee Gees took over in the disco era.
- [Nova Scotia’s Last Great Dance Hall: 78 Years of the Shore Club](https://amplify.nmc.ca/78-years-of-the-shore-club/) - From being milk merchants for the rural community of Hubbards, N.S. to serving lobster suppers and live music every Saturday night since 1946 when the Shore Club opened, the Harnish family still give a big tourism boost — and provide the summer soundtrack — for this sleepy hamlet that hugs the Atlantic Ocean. Before the
- [Jeffrey Benson is Playing the Long Game](https://amplify.nmc.ca/jeffrey-benson-is-playing-the-long-game/) - Jeffrey Benson's energy is electric. Even through a Zoom call from Toronto, you can feel the current — he’s the kind of artist who seems to be juggling a thousand ideas, with never quite enough time to explore them all. As he begins to share his story, his journey from Lagos, Nigeria, to Toronto unfolds
- [Amanda Rheaume: Métis Stories Told in 'The Truth We Hold'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/amanda-rheaume-metis-stories-told-in-the-truth-we-hold/) - Do not mess with Métis women. Amanda Rheaume inherited this philosophy, especially from her great-great-great grandmother, but also from the long line of resilient people part of the songwriter’s ancestral roots. As a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario — and an active and proud member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community — the Ontario-based artist
- [How Authenticity and Vulnerability Became DijahSB’s Superpower](https://amplify.nmc.ca/how-authenticity-vulnerability-became-dijahsb-superpower/) - When DijahSB released 2020 The Album, they did more than drop a project—they delivered a survival anthem for Toronto’s hip-hop scene. With introspective, raw lyricism layered over minimalist beats, the album became a lifeline for those navigating the emotional chaos of that year. DijahSB's vulnerability resonated deeply, solidifying their position as a fearless voice willing
- [Great Moments in Canadian Music (Track 17): P.E.I. songwriter Gene MacLellan gave Chet Atkins the “nicest” guitar he ever received](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-17-gene-maclellan-chet-atkins/) - If there was ever somebody who didn’t need another guitar, it was Chet Atkins. He was, after all, Mister Guitar. He’s on every list of the greatest guitar players. He's had guitars named after him, like the Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. He had a steady stream of free ones from his long associations with Gretsch,
- [Canadian Labels: How Nickelback's Lead Singer and Lawyer Started 604 Records](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-604-records/) - Jonathan Simkin was working as Nickelback's lawyer when his relationship with frontman Chad Kroeger became more creative, bouncing opinions off each other about bands that caught their attention. It led to the pair co-founding the 604 Group in Vancouver, starting with their record label 604 Records — named after the area code in southwestern British
- [Carroll Baker: Becoming Canada’s First Lady of Country Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/carroll-baker-becoming-canadas-first-lady-of-country-music/) - Carroll Baker was not always country. Growing up in the small fishing village of Port Medway, Nova Scotia, Baker was raised in a musical family that loved to play country music. But she followed her own beat — for her it was all about The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison. Although she liked
- [Burnstick's New Album 'Made of Sin' is Made of Love, Connection, and Healing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/burnsticks-new-album-made-of-sin-is-made-of-love-connection-and-healing/) - Reconciliation and deep healing is a process that takes more than years. Past trauma is forever there, burying deeper or surfacing, depending on the day. Healing occurs, but the scars remain. Music can help the healing, and for many artists, writing songs and putting these buried truths into words and melodies is therapeutic. These truths
- [Canadian Labels: A Space to Come Together at Dine Alone Records](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-dine-alone-records/) - Toronto music exec Joel Carriere runs an indie record label — actually two, his flagship label Dine Alone Records, quite ecletic in its signings, and the hard-edged New Damage, still under the Dine Alone umbrella. He also heads Bedlam Music Management, housed in the Dine Alone headquarters, complete with a record shop and event space.
- [Beauty and Sadness: Elisapie’s Mental Archaeological Journey in Song](https://amplify.nmc.ca/beauty-and-sadness-elisapies-mental-archaeological-journey-in-song/) - Elisapie will never forget the day, a few years ago, when an ABBA song made her cry — not just a few token tears, but a deluge. As she listened to one of the Swedish pop supergroup’s hits, something stirred. Long-buried subconscious memories knocked. And, as they got louder, the tears followed. These sobbing sessions
- [That's "So Chromeo": The Duo Talk Making an Impression and Staying Funky as Adults](https://amplify.nmc.ca/thats-so-chromeo-the-duo-talk-making-an-impression-and-staying-funky-as-adults/) - They call themselves “Funklordz,” go by the monikers “Dave 1” and “P-Thugg,” and are rarely seen without their signature dark shades: this is Chromeo. As the riotous early 2000s era that propelled them to indie superstardom becomes the stuff of legends, the Funklordz approach a new chapter with their groove intact. A duo of thirty-year
- [Stan Klees: The Man Behind Cancon and Why It Had to Happen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/stan-klees-the-man-behind-cancon/) - “The truth was, broadcasters didn't like being told what to play,” says Stan Klees, a pioneer of the Cancon momentum, speaking about his David-and-Goliath battle against the Canadian broadcast industry. “On January 18, 1971 after the press release came out that Canadian content was law, an executive came in that afternoon from RCA in New York and stormed into Walter (Grealis)’s office. He said ‘This thing that you people are doing is against the law. It’s censorship!’…We calmed him down and took him for a drink, and told him that we have a Broadcast Act in Canada that says ‘Canadian broadcasting must service the Canadian public, and playing entirely foreign content isn’t servicing Canadians as it should.’” Klees, along with friend and business partner Walter Grealis (who died from lung cancer in 2004), worked relentlessly to galvanize a strong music industry in Canada; a crusade that would lead to Cancon regulations, the formation of the JUNO Awards, the Canadian Country Music Association Awards, and Canadian Music Week. Klees and Grealis at an early industry event in the 1970s. If the 1940s, '50s and '60s were eras of flourishing sales of American and British acts in Canada and indifference towards the country’s own music-makers, the 1970s would be a period of reckoning for Canadian music and its artists. A new Canadian musical identity would be born. Before Cancon regulations were instated in 1971, radio playlists were determined largely by what was charting in the United States, making it difficult for emerging Canadian artists sans a hit single to get any sort of radio exposure at home. “The idea was very simple,” says Klees, a former radio host, music producer and owner of Tamarac Records. “Radio stations were programmed by a format, and there were five guys in the U.S. that came up with that. If you play a hit record, people will listen. If you don't play a hit record or you play something strange, they will turn it off or go to another station. If it was a hit in the USA, we put it out in Canada. In other words, we don't have to prove anything. It's a hit. “Prior to Cancon, a Canadian artist would find an agent that would put them with in touch with a U.S. record label. And that's the Paul Anka story. Jack Scott was another Canadian who had people in the U.S. that promoted him and got him in with a record company. Other artists were Dorothy Collins, Shirley Harmer and Guy Lombardo. Every once and a while someone would slip though a magic record that would come out through the right channels.” Windsor, Ontario’s Jack Scott performing "What In the World's Come Over You" to screaming fans in 1965. Grealis founded RPM Magazine in 1964, on the advice of Klees, who was also a contributor. Devoted to reporting on Canadian record companies and Canadian radio charts, the weekly trade periodical was the only publication of its kind at the time, becoming the loudest defender of Canadian releases when their homegrown industry supporters were few. “That was why I talked Walt into starting RPM,” says Klees. “We had a friend from Buffalo, NY come up—George "Hound Dog" Lorenz—who was a famous DJ, and he said ‘You need an East-West dialogue in Canada as opposed to a North-South dialogue, and what you need is a trade paper, like Mike Turntable,’ which was his publication. We walked away from that thinking, ‘Could we actually start something like that?’ So Walt started with a single sheet just to see what would happen, and it started to take off.” Klees with American singer Bobby Darin, also a longtime friend, in 1958. Grealis, a former Mountie with little interest in music, reluctantly entered the record business, years later to be joined by Klees, who, as a friend, taught him the ropes of the industry. “He hated record people, because all they talked about was the record business,” Klees says. “He wasn't interested at all. When he started RPM all he had written were police reports, so those were his only skills in writing.” But Grealis learned quickly and, in the early days, he often wrote the whole publication. “The Guess Who made a record, called Shakin’ All Over, and Walt thought the record was magic,” Klees says. “He played it and liked it right off the bat. We would go on a record and give it a chance, and see if other radio stations would play and chart it. RPM would start it low in the 80s or 90s on our RPM 100 chart. If it moved up, we’d keep it going, and if it didn’t after four weeks it wouldn’t catch on.” The Guess Who featured on the front cover of RPM Magazine in 1965. While major radio stations eschewed the Canada-centric publication, RPM caught on with many of the smaller-reach stations. “Those stations are what saved RPM. They started to believe,” says Klees. “The major stations had the money to hire these experts who would tell them what to play. Management (at major stations) used to take RPM and put it in the garbage or send it back 'NOT WANTED,' so they wouldn't see what was happening in Canada. They wanted to play the U.S. hits.” Lobbying politicians, recording artists, producers, and the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Klees and Grealis wanted to create a system that enabled Canadian artists to get airplay in Canada, rather than move south of the border to get recognized. “I did a study in RPM called ‘Legislative Radio,’ which was a 10-part series and it addressed the CRTC with a bunch of proposals that would make Canadian content viable,” says Klees. “When I finished it, I regretted doing the whole thing, because I learned that none of these things would work at all and didn't make any sense to the industry. But the seed had been planted.” Klees’ proposals were then referred to the CRTC's Pierre Juneau, who was just appointed. While those early plans were extensively modified, Klees' ideas were the impetus for what would become Canadian content regulations. In 1971, the CRTC formally established Cancon, ruling that radio stations had to incorporate 30 per cent Canadian content into their programming. That number has since risen to include 35 per cent of Canadian music between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. "Of course radio stations paid no attention,” he says, about the initial reaction to the ruling. “They put anything they wanted on, but the CRTC straightened that out in a big hurry." Soon after the law's inception, Klees designed the MAPL logo—for Music, Artist, Production, and Lyrics—to help radio stations identify Canadian content in compliance with the new regulations. Under the MAPL system, Canadian releases had to include three of the four parts to be considered Cancon. The logo is still widely used today. Klees designed the MAPL logo, following the establishment of Cancon. “That's how the MAPL logo was invented,"says Klees. "The CRTC came up with 30 per cent, and everything that was two parts prior to the ruling would be Cancon forever. That meant that a lot of records that only had the two parts, rather than the three parts necessary, could be played. That opened up a very large catalogue of things that they could played, and all (Canadian radio stations) did was bitch about it.” Given the fact that Klees and RPM had been critical of some of the most powerful radio stations in Canada, there was bound to be a bit of backlash from those averse to change. In 1967, Klees entered into a seven-year libel action suit following a quote from CHUM music director Bob McAdorey in The Telegram, criticizing Klees’ abilities as a producer. The quote was in response to a question from a Telegram reporter, who asked if Klees was being blacklisted from airplay on CHUM. Klees says he never said anything about being blacklisted, he simply stated that they weren't playing any of his productions. Some of the acts produced by Klees at the time were hit-makers Little Caesar & the Consuls, Jack London & the Sparrows, who went on to become Steppenwolf, the British Modbeats, Magic Cycle, Jayson King and Big Town Boys. St. Catherines rock act The British Modbeats and their 1967 track “Sorrow.” “This was ‘get rid of Stan, the poster boy of Canadian content,’” says Klees. “(Bob McAdorey) said ‘I’d gladly play a Stan Klees production, unfortunately they put out an unbelievably inferior product’—that's the libel. Actually, the quote was ‘shitty product,’ but The Telegram didn't use the word shitty." Contrary to McAdorey's opinions, Klees had just released "(My Girl) Sloopy" by Little Caesar & the Consuls, a record that is said to have launched a whole empire for Bert Berns, Wes Farrell, Bang Records, and The McCoys, who covered Little Caesar's version and went Top 10 on Billboard. During this time, Klees was also offered a job as a producer in the U.S., but turned it down, because he says, "I didn't want to be an ex-patriot." "In 1972, we went before the Ontario Supreme Court for 13 days," says Klees. "The verdict came in and the verdict was that it was libel, so I won the battle, but I lost the war. Seven years had passed…while this was going on my reputation was so sullied I never produced again." “(My Girl) Sloopy” by Little Caesar & the Consuls, produced by Klees, was a hit in 1965. Despite the court battle, Klees and McAdorey were still friends until McAdorey passed away in 2005. “We went into court because the reporter asked the wrong question,” he says. “While the court case was going on The Telegram went bankrupt.” (According to The New York Times, in 1971, the paper's owner, John Bassett, "abruptly closed it rather than face a strike.") Establishing a healthy Canadian music industry has come with trials and tribulations to be sure. But those challenges have not been without their rewards. The first RPM Gold Leaf Awards, which would later be renamed the JUNO Awards in honour of Pierre Juneau, were held in 1970 at the St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto. Klees' mom, Sabina, made all of the sandwiches. “If you talk to people they say the early JUNO Awards were wonderful,” says Klees. “It was like a family. The first one we did, we rented the chairs, and got our own liquor. We invited 75 people and 150 people arrived. They didn't know what RSVP meant…No tickets, you drank all you wanted to drink—that was a big mistake.” As Klees recalls, there weren’t a lot of Canadian artists to recognize during the first awards ceremony, and they gave away only a handful of trophies. With Cancon in place by 1971, homegrown artists were heard more frequently on air, they landed on radio charts, and as a result there were more artists to acknowledge. “By the third JUNOs, things were starting to get a bit active,” he says. “Things were starting to get really good. We were putting 10-12 artists on the RPM 100 chart every week.” Klees with one of Canada's biggest exports, Shania Twain, at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards in 1995. Klees and Grealis lost control of the awards to the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) in 1974, and according to Klees, the awards no longer reflect the pair’s original vision. “We wanted the JUNOs to remain an industry show to promote Canadian content,” says Klees. “They wanted American artists to appear on the JUNOs. They were going to bring in all the big American acts for an awards show in Canada. Canadian content would have been on the back burner.” At present, Cancon has also spread to television, film, comedy, stage, books and other aspects of the cultural invasion, but even today it remains controversial, particularly as it applies to radio laws, with some critics questioning if it’s still necessary in an era where most music is discovered online, and Canadian acts (hear: Arcade Fire, Drake, Tegan and Sara, and a lengthy list of others) are holding their own on the world stage. Not to mention the fact that many emerging Canadian acts still struggle to have their music played on Canadian airwaves. Interestingly, Klees predicted, and has previously written about, the demise of radio due to online influences, and says he isn't surprised to see how the Internet has changed the game. Whatever your stance might be on Cancon regulations today, ask yourself where Canadian music would be without the national groundswell led by Klees and Grealis. There is no doubt that their contribution was revolutionary. While Grealis was inducted as an Officer into the Order of Canada in 1993 for his achievements in the Canadian music industry, Klees has yet to receive the same recognition. “He hated the fact that he got it and I didn’t,” says Klees. “He said, ‘But, we’ve always been a team. We’ve always been Walt and Stan, Stan and Walt.’” Grealis passed away in 2004 after close to 40 years of publishing the weekly—nearly 1,700 copies—all of which are presently being digitalized. Klees and Grealis remained friends until Grealis' passing in 2004. Klees was honoured with a Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Legacy Award in 2005 with Loreena McKennitt presenting him with the award. When asked about the profound impact their efforts have had on music in Canada, Klees replies: “Someone had to do it." "I won the battle, but I lost the war."
- [Deborah Cox Reflects on Her Canadian Music Hall of Fame Induction](https://amplify.nmc.ca/deborah-cox-inducted-into-the-canadian-music-hall-of-fame/) - Deborah Cox has spent nearly 30 years writing hit songs, as well as acting on the big screen and on Broadway. No matter what avenue the Toronto-born artist has pursued, one tenet guided her path: she always did it her way. Never has the word ‘no’ stopped Cox from pursuing her dreams. The 47-year-old started
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- ['It's the Award I've Always Wanted': April Wine's Myles Goodwyn Validated by Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction](https://amplify.nmc.ca/its-the-award-ive-always-wanted-april-wines-myles-goodwyn-headed-to-canadian-songwriters-hall-of-fame/) - Myles Goodwyn, veteran rocker, founding member, and leader of the multi-platinum, hit-making band April Wine, has pretty much seen it all.
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- [Record Rewind: 50th Anniversary of Félix Leclerc's 'L’alouette en colère'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-50th-anniversary-of-felix-leclercs-lalouette-en-colere/) - We could count on one hand the number of artists in the last century who pioneered a new genre. Félix Leclerc is one of them. A Québécois folk singer known for literary songwriting — marked by lyrics, themes, and characters that linger long like classic literature. Names in this influential group also include: Leonard Cohen,
- [50 Years of Hip-Hop: Master T on Canada's Rap Pioneers and Continuing Legacy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/50-years-of-hip-hop-master-t-on-canadas-rap-pioneers/) - On this day in 1973, at a house party in the Bronx, DJ Kool Herc made music history. The innovator lit up the night. With just two turntables and a microphone as his instruments, the deejay created a new genre. Hip-hop’s history in Canada does not have such a defining origin story.
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- [Record Rewind: Why 'Love Junk' by The Pursuit of Happiness Still Resonates 35 Years Later](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-the-pursuit-of-happiness-love-junk-35-years/) - No clichés, just melodic hooks, honest lyrics dripping with wit and power-pop, and alt-rock harmonies from the heart. That’s Love Junk. The debut from The Pursuit of Happiness (TPOH), released 35 years ago, resonates still; many critics consider it one of the Top 100 best first records ever made. It’s ironic that many compositions on
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- [Liberty Silver on Being a Juno First, Blazing a Trail for Black Women in Canadian Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/liberty-silver/) - Manifestation. The first time Liberty Silver heard that word, it was uttered by her father; he used the noun in a conversation following her first Juno. Acknowledging the artist’s ascent to stardom, he told Liberty that she had been visualizing her success ever since she was a little girl. “All I’ve ever wanted to do
- [Nonso Amadi's Juno Moment Is Just the Beginning](https://amplify.nmc.ca/nonso-amadi/) - Afro-R&B artist Nonso Amadi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to Canada to attend McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. where he earned a master's degree — not in music, but rather in engineering design. He began his studies in chemical engineering at Covenant University in Ota, Nigeria, and then attended Swansea University in Wales
- [Canadian Labels: Six Shooter Records' Pioneering President Shauna de Cartier](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-six-shooter-records/) - Label: Six Shooter RecordsHeadquarters: TorontoYear founded: 2000Founder and president: Shauna de CartierNotable artists: William Prince, The Dead South, Tanya Tagaq, Whitehorse, July Talk, Peter Dreams, Boy Golden, Skye Wallace, NYSSA, T. Thomason, Rheostatics, Elliott BROOD, Amelia Curran, The Deep Dark Woods, NQ Arbuckle More than two decades ago, Shauna de Cartier started one of the
- [From Hideaway to Healing: Kiesza Cracks the Shell, Fuses Dance and Folk, on Third Record](https://amplify.nmc.ca/from-hideaway-to-healing-kiesza-cracks-the-shell-fuses-dance-and-folk-on-third-record/) - Metaphors drive Kiesza’s life. These literary devices are touchstones that help the singer-songwriter navigate her days and are constant companions to which she returns. “I’m really metaphorical because I’m a writer,” explains the electro-pop artist via Zoom two weeks before the release of Dancing and Crying: Vol. 1. “I use them in my music a
- [Origin Stories––Rough Trade "High School Confidential"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-rough-trade-high-school-confidential/) - By: Juliette Jagger In Toronto during the early 1980s, Rough Trade was already a local cult legend. With fiercely audacious Carole Pope at its helm, the group’s racy live show, which combined rock and R&B with raw, unabashed sexuality and often featured Pope sporting bondage attire, was one of the city’s most popular weekly draws. A far cry from where she and Rough Trade co-founder and keyboardist Kevan Staples began in the late '60s as members of a folk group called O, it was that envelope-pushing appetite for the outrageous that landed them a record deal with Bernie Finkelstein’s True North Records. The band’s sophomore album, Avoid Freud, released by True North in the fall of 1980, featured the controversial track “High School Confidential,” which took Rough Trade from underground Toronto chic to critical national acclaim. At the time of its release, “High School Confidential,” which Pope had originally written for Mink DeVille to perform, was unquestionably the most overt and sexually explicit track to have ever garnered airplay on Canadian mainstream radio. For longtime fans of Rough Trade, the song’s cheeky, explicit nature was exactly what they had come to know and love about the group. And yet, although quite clearly sung by a woman to a woman, not everyone seemed to get it. “I think at the time the song was released, the general public interpreted the lyrics as being written from a male perspective,” says Pope. “I guess probably because most people didn’t know I’m a lesbian, but I think that’s what made it work. I mean, I was definitely a woman thinking about a woman,” she adds with a laugh, “but everything was so androgynous in the '80s. There weren’t so many politically correct terms for things. So, in a way it was way more sexually wide open.” Though the song reflected both Pope’s identity as a gay woman and the spirit of the culture at the time, the group initially went up against quite a bit of backlash from mainstream radio, particularly in relation to the song’s most infamous lyric: ‘It makes me cream my jeans when she comes my way.’ “CHUM-FM asked us to record a cleaned-up version of the track, but we never really got with the program,” says Pope. “We pretty much went into the studio and pretended to do it. I recorded a few versions, one that said, ‘She makes me want to order Chinese food,’ and another one where I was just making a bunch of sounds, but eventually they had enough of us and just bleeped it.” But, it didn’t matter; “High School Confidential” went platinum in Canada anyway. Pope had dared to say something at a moment in time when most people weren’t yet accustomed to hearing it, and coming over the airwaves and through the crackle of their speakers, it hit big. Controversy followed when Rough Trade performed at the 1980 Juno Awards. “When we performed at the Junos it was this whole scandalous thing,” she says. “I performed with a drag queen and I grabbed my crotch on live TV. I didn’t do it during rehearsal but I knew that they couldn’t stop me during the show so I went for it. Anne Murray actually sent me a note afterward congratulating me, and I still have it––it was pretty funny. “I’d also like to point out that I grabbed my crotch before both Madonna and Michael Jackson,” adds Pope jokingly. “We did a show in 1983 and Madonna was hanging around there so she probably saw me grab my crotch and put the move in her Madonna rip off file to use later.” But, looking back on the moment now, Pope feels the whole thing was pretty tame. “Today, everything is so in your face that it’s totally not sexual. Sure, people who knew us back then were used to seeing me do things like wearing the bondage gear on stage or masturbate on a mic stand, but I still think we were a bit more mysterious. Plus, we had a sense of humour.” That year Pope took home the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist and went on to win Best Female Vocalist in 1982 and 1983. Reflecting on the song almost 30 years later, Pope is modest though not unaware of the influence she’s had. “Some people have always said, ‘Yeah, it’s a song about high school,’ but others have actually told me that they came out to that song. I know artists like Peaches and k.d. lang have both expressed that they were influenced by me, and I’m a huge fan of them both, so that makes me really happy. “Being an artist is absolutely about being true to yourself, and I think that when you do that people pick up on it and can relate to it. The idea of doing that and being able to influence other people, I think I’m prouder of that than anything." The greatest thing about Rough Trade was that they had a raw fervor that was no-holds-barred, but their message was both smart, and even a bit highbrow. Being a Rough Trade fan was kind of like being in a secret club for the less uptight, and Pope’s appeal was the way in which she both directly and intentionally stood up to the conservative establishment and spoke unapologetically to and for those who were capable of tapping into the cultural subtext of the time. By being her truest self, Pope came to represent a generation of young people that were soul searching for their sexual identities, and she left a door wide open so a new crop of bold, young artists could walk through it with their heads held high.
- [Record Rewind: Rough Trade's 'For Those Who Think Young' at 40](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-for-those-who-think-young-rough-trade/) - By: David McPherson Rough Trade were innovators. Equal parts new wave, punk, and pop, this Toronto-based band led by Carole Pope and Kevan Staples marched to their own beat. Art, music, and theatre collided in their compositions. The band was a vehicle to have fun—and poke fun—at the world’s shortcomings through lyrics laced with social,
- [Sarah McLachlan: Humbled and Honoured with Composure and Grace](https://amplify.nmc.ca/sarah-mclachlan-humbled-and-honoured-with-composure-and-grace/) - Growing up, most girls my age were not listening to Sarah McLachlan’s music on the radio. In 1997, at the height of her fame, our palates were still too unrefined to digest the weight of a song like “Adia,” and we hadn’t yet gone up against the sort of hardships that women in the entertainment industry face daily—something McLachlan was already fighting for. We were far more interested in the Spice Girls, and busied ourselves by riding our bikes to the corner store to buy foil-wrapped packs of Backstreet Boys stickers or lip gloss, and talking for hours on the telephone. Those were good, warm suburban summers that I now recall fondly, but back then, when my primary exposure to new music was a Toronto radio station called Hot 103.5, I never would have guessed that twenty years on I’d be sitting on the other end of a landline with McLachlan talking about her forthcoming induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the challenges of raising her own two young daughters in a strangely Orwellian world. Naturally, I’ve since recognized the incredible singularity of McLachlan’s voice, and if I’m being honest, often find myself sitting around with a particular old friend of mine, making impassioned attempts at singing the endless list of hits that comprised 1997's Surfacing. And yet, despite her stature as an artist who has not only sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, but is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the recipient of ten Juno Awards, three Grammys, and countless other accolades, McLachlan, who called from her home in Vancouver after returning from an afternoon walk in the woods with her dogs, was thoughtful, thankful, funny, and every bit as lovely as I had hoped she would be. For the next hour, we spoke candidly about the ups and downs of a career that started almost 30 years prior in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when she was just 17. Discovered by Mark Jowett, who was both a member of electronic group Moev and the co-founder of Vancouver-based independent label Nettwerk Productions (now Nettwerk Music Group), during a gig at Dalhousie University, McLachlan, who at the time was fronting a short-lived pop band called The October Game, was offered a recording contract with Nettwerk. Though her parents, a couple of American expatriate academics, felt strongly that she should finish high school and complete at least one year of post-secondary studies­­––something McLachlan did do at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design––two years later she accepted the deal with Nettwerk and relocated to Vancouver to explore the possibility of starting a whole new life. Evidently, that proved to be a wise decision on McLachlan’s part. Her relationship with the Nettwerk team, specifically her manager Terry McBride (co-founder / CEO of Nettwerk Music Group), endured for more than two fruitful decades and helped to take her from an insecure and musically inexperienced teenager to the multi-platinum selling internationally celebrated singer-songwriter she is today. All of that began on the back of McLachlan’s debut album, Touch, which was released in the fall of 1989. Though the album itself, which featured fan favourite, “Vox,” was both a critical and commercial success in Canada, it really wasn’t until she met now long-time producer and friend, Pierre Marchand, that she truly began to find her voice and flesh out her distinctly atmospheric alt-pop sound. [su_youtube_advanced url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6i2Ph1BYXE"] “When good things happen, it’s often about being in the right place at the right time,” says McLachlan. “I met Pierre, who is obviously a genius, at the perfect time when I was still really trying to figure out who I was as an artist. He would always say things like, ‘I know that you can do all of these vocal acrobatics but I want to hear what you sound like.’ Pierre just really pushed me. He asked me to sing a lot lower than what I felt comfortable with and he was really instrumental in helping me channel that.” The result of Marchand’s efforts can be heard loud and clear on the pair’s first collaboration, 1991's Solace. The album was McLachlan’s sophomore effort and became the foundation upon which the two have built an artistic partnership that not only flourished through the recording of seven additional full-length albums but that continues to endure today. “I think the reason our relationship has endured is because it is based on a lot of mutual respect for each other’s ideas,” she says. “We also just really enjoy being around each other. I mean, I love Pierre and he loves me, but believe me we’ve butted heads. On the last record we fought more than we ever have––it was mostly about ideas and about whether or not to push them in a certain direction––but Pierre has always taken my songs further than I am capable of on my own, and for that I keep going back for more.” By the time McLachlan had completed a 14-month promotional tour in support of Solace, which spawned two successful singles, "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" and "Into the Fire," she was a bonafide star at home in Canada and had also developed a strong cult following across the U.S. But, at that particular moment in her career, it wasn’t record sales or recognition that impacted her perspective the most, it was a trip she took to Cambodia and Thailand to work with World Vision on a Canadian-sponsored documentary about poverty and child prostitution in late 1992. “I came away from that trip really recognizing how lucky I was. I knew I had hit the jackpot getting a record contract and what a great opportunity I had been given, but beyond that it was about recognizing all of these things I had taken for granted in my life, like clean water, a roof over my head, medicine, my family, a home. All of those things were taken care of without me even having to think about them, but a lot of people in the world don’t have that. To see those challenges first hand, not for a day but for a number of weeks, was really profound. I just came back from that trip with such a sense of gratitude and that feeling really never left me.” In fact, the experience cemented itself so deeply within McLachlan that it began to trickle down into various aspects of her career and daily life. Her time abroad not only informed much of her third album, 1993's Fumbling Toward Ecstasy, but also opened the door for what would become a lifelong commitment to support various charitable endeavors including animal welfare, disaster relief, HIV/AIDS, and cancer research. “When I got to work with World Vision, they sort of explained to me that the reason they wanted me to participate was because they were trying to engage a younger audience to take a bigger look at the world. At that time, I had a platform, and young people, people my age, were listening. In me getting to do that, I got to open up my eyes too, like, ‘Wow, it feels really good to do something important with whatever little bit of power you have, and it’s not hard to use your gifts to do something for the greater good.’ “When we started Lilith [Fair] that just came into an even bigger playground,” she adds. Perhaps one of McLachlan’s crowning achievements, the now legendary Lilith Fair—which was the most successful summer package tour of 1997—focused on raising money for various women’s charities and on creating an infrastructure for female artists during a time when so many were being blatantly mistreated by their counterparts in music industry. “Lilith was important for a number of reasons,” notes McLachlan. “Financially, in the three years we were active, we were able to raise over 10 million dollars for charity. Because we were donating a dollar from every ticket to a local women’s shelter and we had our corporate sponsors matching the charitable dollars on their end, we were able to give between 15 and 30-thousand dollars a day; that was an incredible feeling.” At the time, top-earning festivals like Lollapalooza and H.O.R.D.E were primarily featuring male-dominated acts. Knowing this and that there was a wealth of great music being made by women who were having real success independently, McLachlan and the Nettwerk team felt it was important to bring those women together not only to have a little fun but also to celebrate them publicly. “There were just so many roadblocks at that time,” she says. “We had so much opposition from radio programmers and promoters who were constantly saying things like, ‘We can’t add you this week because we added Tori Amos or Tracy Chapman’ and ‘You can’t put two women on the same bill because people won’t come.’ It just seemed like a no brainer to me.” [su_youtube_advanced url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT1WyL2mCsc"] Between the summers of 1997 and 1999, the Lilith stage was home to everyone from Sheryl Crow, Sinéad O’Connor, Erykah Badu, Lauren Hill, and Paula Cole to Fiona Apple, Martina McBride, Missy Elliot and even a still unknown Christina Aguilera. But, in spite of the festival’s spirit of goodwill, the media backlash against both McLachlan and Lilith began almost instantaneously. “When we started the whole thing up we weren’t necessarily thinking about what we were going to achieve,” says McLachlan. “We just thought, ‘Man this is going to be great!’ But then it developed into such a huge thing; I wasn’t the least bit prepared for the criticism we received. “Up until that point, I had always had a nice enough relationship with the press, critics were kind to me, and I had gotten through my career pretty quietly. Then suddenly, it was like I was the spokesperson for the new feminist revolution and I was being forced to defend Lilith on a daily basis, against statements like, ‘Why do you hate men?’ I was always just like, ‘What the hell does celebrating women have to do with hating men?’ But, it didn’t matter. Depending on whom you spoke to, sometimes I wasn’t even feminist enough.” Sensing her frustration, country legend and fellow Lilith performer Emmylou Harris offered McLachlan a bit of much-needed encouragement. “I remember taking Emmylou aside after a press conference, which we did every single day, and just saying, ‘Jeez, I don’t know, maybe we should include men. They just keep asking me.’ Emmylou, bless her heart, has been in the business years and years longer than me, and just said, ‘Hey! This is the beginning of something really beautiful. Stick to your guns here. If you believe in this and you believe in what you’re doing, you need to stick with it.’ And, that was all she had to say to me.” In the midst of all the backlash, the then 28-year-old McLachlan was also promoting her fourth studio album, Surfacing. In what proved to be a very astute business move, her label made the decision to release the album to coincide with Lilith’s first run and Surfacing, which featured such iconic hits as “Building a Mystery,” “Angel,” and “Sweet Surrender,” became McLachlan’s international breakthrough. “Honestly, it was all happening so fast and I remember feeling a bit like I was holding on to the tail of rabid dog,” she says jokingly. “With Surfacing being put out at the exact same time that Lilith happened it became a huge record so that meant there was also tons of pressure to succeed; it was all kinds of overwhelming.” [su_youtube_advanced url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QUq72fla3o"] But, by that point, the train was moving, and McLachlan wasn’t about to hop off. Over the course of the next two-and-a half years, she toured heavily, returning to the Lilith stage each summer, and released the multi-platinum selling Mirrorball, which chronicled her life on the road and served as her first live release. “At that time, my life basically consisted of touring all year and then doing Lilith, then touring all year again and doing Lilith. Meanwhile, my record company was screaming for a new album. When we got to the end of the third Lilith I finally just had to say, ‘Hey, I’ve been on tour for two-and-a-half years, I’m dead exhausted, I need to go home and process and I process slowly. If I’m going to write a new record I’ve gotta have time off.” And that’s exactly what she did. At the height of her career McLachlan took an almost three-year hiatus from the business and did not return until the release of 2003's Afterglow. A lot changed for her during that time. She lost her mother to cancer in 2001 and soon after became a mother herself when she gave birth to her first daughter India Ann Sushil Sood in 2002. She also founded the Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach program, a venture that has since grown into the Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Vancouver, and was designed to offer free music education, mentorship, and support to underserved and at-risk children and youth. “I learned a lot about mentorship through doing Lilith and I had made all of this money that I had no idea what to do with it. I knew I needed to continue the work we were doing but I didn’t know how to do it quite yet. “Around the same time, so many music programs were being cut from the public school system here in Canada and of course that was such a big topic of conversation. When that started to happen I thought, ‘Okay, that’s what I can do. I can give kids music.’ I wanted to give them some of the opportunities that I had growing up because I had music in school and parents who paid for private music lessons, and it saved me. I discovered myself and my own worth through music because it was something that I was good at and I felt it. To think that kids out there might not be able to have that same opportunity to discover who they are really bothered me.” Not knowing how to create a music program herself, McLachlan turned to Carol Henriquez, the founder and executive director of Arts Umbrella, for guidance. “I had no idea how to create a music program,” says McLachlan, “which is why I partnered with Carol. I went to her with this idea and said, ‘Listen, I don’t know anything about how to create music programming, I just have money. I noticed the only thing you don’t have is music programming and last time I checked that’s art too.’ She immediately said, ‘Yes! This is fantastic. Let’s do this!’” McLachlan and Henriquez began by creating a pilot project that included 219 kids. They developed the curriculum and brought in an incredible group of teachers whose primary focus was helping their students to discover that they had voice. “You can probably count on one hand, if you’re lucky, the teachers you remember through school,” says McLachlan. “I mean an adult that actually recognized you, spoke to you on an equal level, and really taught you something. If you remember them, that’s because they were important and they helped develop who you are today. I have three so I’m really lucky––three that actually gave me that sort of personal connection and helped me see that I had something of value to give and say. “These teachers are that. They know the kids personally, they know their backgrounds, and so they come in and they already have an understanding of who the kids are. It’s not the kind of place where a kid gets labeled troubled or dumb; it’s a place where you can leave all of those things at the door. It’s a clean playing field where you’re respected and you’re expected to be respectful to others, and it works pretty amazingly.” [su_youtube_advanced url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtQqdoFjnCM "] The whole thing really boils down to communication for McLachlan, who views music as the true language of connectivity. “To me, communication is paramount and that’s why I love being a songwriter and a musician, and why I love singing. It’s just such an amazing form of communication that I didn’t have growing up; I had to fumble my way through it to find out how to say what I feel. “None of us are higher than anybody else. We’re all struggling and we’re all trying to figure out what the hell we’re doing. We lock ourselves up so tight because we’re afraid that if we’re vulnerable we’re going to be judged. And, you know what? Sometimes we are judged, but that’s okay because to me there’s nothing better than when someone hears a song and realizes, ‘Oh my God, I’m not alone.’” But, that sort of vulnerability hasn’t always come easily for McLachlan—it’s something she’s grown into over time. “I’m just thankful that as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to care less about what other people think, and I’ve allowed myself to be more vulnerable. I’ve learned time and time again that it’s way better to be open and honest about one’s failures; quite frankly, they are a lot more interesting.” Naturally, over the course of an almost 30-year career, even the most successful of artists are bound to fail from time to time—McLachlan is no exception. But, even in her lowest of moments, particularly the ones that stopped her in her tracks and showed her no mercy when they turned up to break her down, like clockwork, she returned to her one true solace­­—music. “I think I’ve always found some sort of sickly joy in my lowest moments,” she says with a laugh. “I’m usually like, ‘Oh boy, I’m going to get some good songs out of this!’ But, I’ve also been doing it long enough to know that it’s the ugly stuff, the stuff where you fail and you fuck up, or you betray or hurt someone, that’s where you really learn who you are, and you have to take that sort of stuff on head on if you want to find your way through it.” In the same breath, some of the biggest lessons she’s learned have come by way of her two greatest successes—her daughters. McLachlan gave birth to her second daughter Taja Summer Sood in 2007. “For me, becoming a parent has really been such an amazing ride. It’s definitely challenging, it’s the hardest job in the world, but it’s also the most rewarding in that I never knew I was capable of a love so intense. Kids just see the world in such different and interesting ways and they certainly are good teachers. They just shove that mirror in your face all day long like, ‘Oh you think your something special? Really? Oh, you’re used to people saying yes to you? I’m never going to say yes to you,’ she jokes warmly. “My girls have made me realize that family is what’s most important in this life. And, when I say family I mean my extended family also; my girlfriends are my family too. Those you bring into your world and who are your tribe––that’s everything. If you have that community and that connection and those people who have your back, life is rich. Rich and friggin’ hard,” she says with a laugh, “but then nothing worth doing is ever easy.” In these increasingly challenging times we live in, it can be easy to get caught up in the noise online or in the crazy apocalyptic narratives favoured by the news media. It’s overwhelming for the average adult, even on a good day. But, for an entire generation of young people who are still coming of age, it’s memes and videos of a rich, white, loudmouthed former reality-TV star who took a stab at the highest office in the land and wound up taking the cake. That’s pretty scary. For that reason, when it comes to her daughters, McLachlan has turned their attention inward and asked them to focus on how their own actions can be a channel for love. “Lets be honest, as a Canadian, there’s not a whole hell of a lot I can do about a guy like Donald Trump at the end of the day. Of course, when he came into office, my 14-year-old was ranting up and down and wanted to put ‘I Hate Trump’ on t-shirts. But, I told both of my girls, ‘Listen, like it or not, he’s been elected. He is the president of the United States. He holds an amazing amount of power and what he has shown us is that the world is incredibly divided. What we all need to do is stop shouting about the division and start trying to find bridges. We need to create bridges, and that starts with empathy and with love. So, I know it’s really hard but you’ve gotta stop saying you hate him because you don’t even know him and that’s a really strong word.’” To McLachlan, music is that bridge—it’s the ultimate communicator of joy, understanding, acceptance, inclusivity, and love. And, in a time, when she says that "civilization often feels like it’s dangling from a very thin thread," she’s adamant that, "it’s more important than ever that I carry on." When I ask her how she feels about her forthcoming induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during this year’s JUNO Awards broadcast on Sunday, McLachlan, who is currently writing a new record and renovating her family home, is decidedly modest. “You know, I’m really looking forward to it and I’m completely humbled that I’m being inducted. I’m bringing my girls with me and it’ll be the first time they’ve been to something like this where their mom is being honoured. I think they’re old enough now to appreciate and understand it though, oh and of course to see me as something else other than a servant for a couple of hours.” See a new special exhibition honouring Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Sarah McLachlan at Studio Bell from March 29, 2017 until the fall of this year. More info can be found here.
- [Sass Jordan—From Teen Rocker to Canadian Idol](https://amplify.nmc.ca/sass-jordan-from-teen-rocker-to-canadian-idol/) - From the new wave scene of 1970s Montreal, to platinum selling albums, Sass Jordan is unquestionably part of the Canadian rock canon. Thanks to her raspy blues rock vocal stylings, she now has a total of four JUNO Awards sitting on her mantle—in case there was any doubt. Her hit album Racine exploded across the continent in 1992 and led to touring with artists like Aerosmith and recording with Joe Cocker. With more than a half-dozen albums to her name, she has firmly cemented her legacy as one of Canada’s top female vocalists of all time. Twenty-five years after her rise to the top, Sass Jordan hasn’t slowed down a step. Her voice is full of fiery energy, channeling the same youthful spirit as if she were still a 17-year-old rocking the bars of Montreal on a school night. “In the late '70s I was in a band called The Pin Ups and we played lots of new wave stuff like Blondie and the Police,” Jordan explains. “We were kind of doing our own thing because we weren’t a typical rock band, we were really just kids. We weren’t really hip with the old guard, we were the upstarts in the scene, but we would have lineups around the block to get into the bar to see us when we played because it was the new thing.” Named for the David Bowie album of the same title, Jordan and her band ran against the grain from popular local bands at the time like April Wine, who channeled the popularity of the blues rock movement into a Canadian sound of their own. From the infamous Maples Inn in Pointe Claire, the Moustache Club across from the old Montreal Forum, to tours across eastern Canada into the maritimes, she earned her stripes on the road and on the stage. But as time went on, Jordan saw the need to develop her own sound. “I decided it was too difficult to be in a band, we just worked so hard doing five or six nights a week, playing three sets per night,” she reflects. “At 19 years old you have the energy to do that and it was an exciting time, but it was too difficult to try to get along with everybody.” “I later figured out even as a solo artist you still need a band,” Jordan laughs. Around the same time, Jordan picked up work in the music industry for a local TV station, interviewing bands that would tour through town. “Since it was the only video outlet for bands coming through Montreal I got to interview Phil Collins, Def Leppard, INXS, all these big bands in the 1980s,” Jordan says. “It was the only TV show they could do in Montreal.” She kept plugging away on her solo material, trying to make a record and find the right musicians and producer to bring her vision to life. “It was called artist development in those days,” Jordan laughs. “It was awesome it existed and thank god for that. I got a little money to pay my rent while developing the album.” She heard word that a popular local group called The Box was looking for a backup singer and joined them, bringing her more presence and notoriety in the local scene. Her name started to get out and she finally released her debut album Tell Somebody in December of 1988. That was when everything changed. “MTV and MuchMusic were in their nascent stages so everyone was wildly into it. Every store you went into, every clothing or retail outlet would have televisions playing MuchMusic all day long. My first video went into high rotation when it first came out, so within one week I became so well-known I couldn’t go anywhere without being accosted.” “It was the strangest thing because it all happened overnight, but I had been doing this for almost 15 years at that point. I suddenly became really well-known and it was really overwhelming and terrifying at the time.” So, what does an artist do when they hit the big time? Go even bigger. On the heels of international touring and platinum-level sales, Jordan packed up and headed to Los Angeles to begin work on her next album. Released in 1992, Racine became a massive international success, leading to her collaboration with Joe Cocker on the song “Trust In Me” for The Bodyguard soundtrack, which went on to sell 27 million copies worldwide. “When I was making the album [Racine] in 1990 it was a huge big deal to me because I was so deeply involved in writing every single song and going back to my real roots as a singer,” Jordan says, her voice filling with fond remembrance. “It was Rod Stewart, mixed with Stones, Led Zeppelin, add in some Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, then all the singers I so badly wanted to be but just couldn’t since I was a white girl from Montreal—Chaka Khan and especially Aretha Franklin were such huge influences to me. That’s how the song “Make You A Believer” came about, because I really wanted to work in that deep southern vocal phrasing and that represented for me all my influences together.” Not just a reflection on her musical influences, Racine—the French word for roots—was also a personal testament for Sass Jordan. “We had this little shack in the eastern townships outside Montreal where we would spend summers and the village there was called Racine,” Jordan recalls. “I was really trying to tie together all my influences and my own personal story as well.” A quarter-century later, the album is still as special for Jordan as the day it was released. “I find it amazing how many people it touched. You want it to do well, and you hope it might do great, but what are your chances of that? The most amazing thing is that 25 years later, people still love it. That’s a huge compliment as a songwriter and a musician.” After her incredible success with Racine, Jordan decided to shake things up again and moved back to Canada. “I get bored easily so I thought it was time for a complete change,” Jordan cackles joyfully. “It was all precipitated by becoming pregnant and having a child—I couldn’t stay in LA and didn't feel that was the right place to bring up a kid.” Upon her return, Jordan found a new social circle and absorbed new influences, leading to a change in sound towards a more pop-oriented format on her next few albums. Not only that, but she also took a turn into musical theatre, appearing as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway production Love, Janis in 2001. “The whole off-broadway thing, that was an accident—I didn’t even want the role,” Jordan groans. “I thought it was just going to be a free trip to New York for the audition and a fun weekend, then I somehow landed the part!” “It was the most terrifying, horrifying thing I’ve done in my life. It was so hard and it was so scary singing the songs of someone I never really listened to or liked. I thought she was super screechy and I just didn’t love her.” But Jordan jumped into the role and spent five months in New York channeling the spirit of the legendary blues-rock queen. “What I’ll say about that now, is that I have an enormous amount of respect for Janis Joplin. Having to get that involved and hearing things more clearly, being so immersed in it all definitely changed my mind about her.” That led to Jordan delving further into an acting career which featured guest appearances on the television series Sisters and Corner Gas, as well as appearing in both the Toronto and Winnipeg stage productions of The Vagina Monologues. She then landed a gig as a judge on Canadian Idol, which she kept for all six seasons of the show’s run. “Six years solid of laughing my ass off—it was awesome,” Jordan chuckles. “The best part of that show really happened behind the scenes. It was crazy to see some of the people on that show just become overnight successes with no experience. They were just thrown to the lions. The people that did well on those shows were already going to do well anyways. It was enormously fun, we really had a great time.” All that work on television didn’t keep her away from the focus on music though, with 2003 seeing the release of her greatest hits compilation Sass…Best of Sass Jordan and a performance at the massive SARS benefit show at Downsview Park north of Toronto. An estimated crowd of 500,000 showed up to see headliners Rush, AC/DC, and most excitingly for Jordan, The Rolling Stones. “Doing the show with The Stones in 2003 was a blast because I was opening for one of my biggest influences. The shows where your idols are in the crowd are so amazing. Performing at the JUNOs early in my career with Stephen Tyler of Aerosmith being in the audience, then later getting to play with Aerosmith in Europe, and he would actually hang out with me—it was crazy.” “When I was a teenager I would say to myself ‘one day these people will know who I am and I’ll be their contemporary.’ I said that over and over to myself as a teenager and then it happened over and over, meeting all my heroes—it was all amazing.” And it’s not over yet for Jordan, who is busy re-recording her hit album Racine with a new group of musicians to celebrate its 25th anniversary, with a release date planned for the fall. She’s also busy giving back to the community through the Benevolent Artists National Charity, putting on celebrity concerts to raise money for charities across Canada. “As far as I’m concerned, musically speaking, the best is yet to come,” Jordan states confidently. “I’m just going to keep working with friends and musicians who inspire me. We’re highly unlikely to change the world at our age, but once you’re a musician you’re always a musician.” “Plus, I’m not that old,” Jordan breaks into laughter again, her energy never waning throughout our conversation. “I don’t believe in retirement, I like what I do.” Photo Gallery Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork Original Racine Album Artwork
- [Instrumental—Julie Doiron and her Hagstrom Super Swede](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-julie-doiron/) - In 1997, Seattle’s Sub Pop Records was gearing up to put out Loneliest in the Morning, Julie Doiron’s second album for the label since going solo in the wake of her band, Eric’s Trip, breaking up. The label wanted Doiron to put together a band, so she reached out to The Wooden Stars’ Michael Feuerstack to see whether a couple of them might be interested. Turns out the whole band was on board. At the time, Doiron had been playing a beautiful ‘60s hollow body Mosrite she’d picked up in Vermont for $325 USD on a 1992 tour with Eric’s Trip. But when everyone got together, the band became frustrated with the Mosrite—its original tuning pegs weren’t doing their jobs anymore, causing the guitar to fall flat or go sharp sometimes before they’d even made their way through a song. So Feuerstack encouraged Doiron to use his Hagstrom Super Swede instead.
- [Instrumental: Lou The Gibson SG Joins Terra Lightfoot’s Guitarsenal](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-lou-the-gibson-sg-joins-terra-lightfoots-guitarsenal/) - When I call up Terra Lightfoot near the end of January, she is, as usual, on the road. Soundcheck at The Exchange in Regina—where the band was joined by a truly monstrous horse of a great dane named Eustace—is over, and they’re checking into the hotel. "It's so lovely,” Lightfoot jokes. “It's balmy weather, I'm at Regina beach." She says a few days ago they played The 40 in Brandon, Manitoba, which is connected to a Chicken Chef, which is connected to the Travelodge they were staying at, conveniently allowing them to make their way through each building to the next and avoiding the apocalyptic cold snap the Prairies are going through. “Our setlists were written on Chicken Chef menus,” she adds. But then the next day, their van wouldn’t start, and they had to call up CAA. C’est la vie. The peaks and valleys of life on tour.
- [Instrumental: Kaia Kater’s Banjo Is The Tiny, Beating Heart Of Her Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-kaia-katers-banjo-is-the-tiny-beating-heart-of-her-music/) - Kaia Kater has some deep family ties to folk music. Her granddad was a luthier, first building harpsichords and later, acoustic guitars. Her aunt, Julia Kater, is a songwriter herself, and one of her biggest influences. And her mother is a lifelong champion of music, creating environments, helping artists, and doing a lot of the
- [Instrumental: Natural Sympathies And The Clarity-Inducing Voice Memos App](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-natural-sympathies-and-the-clarity-inducing-voice-memos-app/) - In the realm of creative musical tools, snappy (or scrappy) electric guitars and stylish, vintage noisemakers often get a lot of the limelight. They often warrant their own mythology as much as the people that play them—think of Prince’s purple axe or Annie Clark of St. Vincent’s custom six-string. But those showy weapons of creation are not the only ones in the arsenal of those artists. You never hear, for example, about Joni Mitchell’s favourite pen or Tanya Tagaq’s notebooks.
- [Origin Stories: Sylvia Tyson on "You Were On My Mind"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-sylvia-tyson-on-you-were-on-my-mind/) - When Canadian folk icons Ian & Sylvia first began performing together in Toronto in early 1960, the city’s famed Yorkville neighbourhood wasn’t yet the musical mecca for which it later became known. Along with fellow Canadian musicians like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot and Buffy Sainte-Marie, the budding duo came of age alongside the notorious bohemian artist community at the height of the folk boom.
- [Instrumental: Throat Singing Keeps Kathleen Merritt In Tune With Her Body, Land & Ancestors](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-throat-singing-keeps-kathleen-merritt-in-tune-with-her-body-land-ancestors/) - I had the good fortune to meet Kathleen Merritt last April in Iqaluit, where she was a particularly active and vocal participant (as well as an active vocal participant) in the goings-on at Nunavut Music Week. Merritt is an Inuit throat-singer from Rankin Inlet, and besides making music as Ivaluarjuk—which blends Celtic folk, fiddle, and spoken word atop her throat-singing on Ice, Lines and Sealskin—she’s also collaborated with a number of artists like The Jerry Cans, Ptarmigan, and Riit.
- [Instrumental: Sarah Pagé’s Otherworldly Harp Dreams](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-sarah-pages-otherworldly-harp-dreams/) - When I sit down to go over the automated transcription of my chat with Sarah Pagé, I notice a funny glitch that befell the robots who transcribed it—almost every instance of the word ‘harp’ has been replaced by ‘heart.’ Throughout this machine-imagined interview, Pagé tells me about pulling music out of her heart, showing audiences what her heart can do, and what it’s like to play her whole heart. At first, it seems funny, then it starts getting annoying changing them all back, and then I realize something. Recalling one of the first things Pagé told me about the instrument at her apartment in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood, I can think of few more appropriate comparisons than the one gifted us by the transcription robots. Once you choose your harp, she explained, it’s with you for life. Its soundboard changes over time and with use, hitting a peak period after about seven years of playing, and then its resonance continues to grow, until eventually, its capacity for sound becomes too massive for typical playing. Unless you sell it or something tragic happens to it, the harp evolves alongside you, and you are the sole player who it offers its years to. In the case of the artist, it’s akin to a vital organ.
- [Instrumental: The Violin Expresses Sarah Neufeld’s Many Voices](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-the-violin-expresses-sarah-neufelds-many-voices/) - Violinist Sarah Neufeld was a feisty, determined little kid who, by her own admission, worshipped her brother, who’s older than her by a few years. When she was just two years old, her brother started taking violin lessons which she would be forced to attend, as she was still just a baby. Not content to just sit and listen, Neufeld would grab for the violin as her brother played it, demanding that she get to play it, too. “It wasn't like I just wanted the toy because he had it,” Neufeld says over the phone from New York City. “I really loved it.”
- [Instrumental: Kim Harris’ Butterscotch Jazzmaster Helped Her Envision The Artist She Became](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-kim-harris-butterscotch-jazzmaster-helped-her-envision-the-artist-she-became/) - When I visit Kim Harris at her home just a few days before the release of her second album, Heirloom (out today, January 31, in fact), the prevailing attitude is gratitude. She’s grateful she’s got a wonderful team to work with, grateful for being able to make music in any capacity, grateful that anyone would want to listen to her songs. She’s extra grateful when those people reach out to tell her about listening to those songs, because that means they’ve not only spent time out of their busy days to investigate her dreamy melodies, but also that they felt compelled to make sure she knew. They were so grateful for what Harris communicates with her music that they felt the need to spread the love, setting off an unending (and lovely) cycle of reciprocated gratitude. Harris’ gratitude is plentiful. And it does not exclude her butterscotch Squier Jazzmaster.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 6): Jann Arden Learns How To Write Hits While Living Under June](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-6-jann-arden-learns-how-to-write-hits-while-living-under-june/) - Living Under June was the album that made Jann Arden a star. It was her second release, coming in 1994, a follow-up to the debut Time For Mercy, and included a whopping six Top Ten Canadian hits. The biggest of them, "Insensitive," was a hit around the world, going to No. 1 in Australia, No. 12 in the U.S., strong showings in Italy, Scotland and New Zealand, and three weeks at the top of the charts in Canada. She won Songwriter and Female Artist of the Year at the following Junos, two of the eight she has in total.
- [Instrumental: Sarah Davachi’s Studio Is A Haven For Experimentation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-sarah-davachis-studio-is-a-haven-for-experimentation/) - Even the simplest sounding of Sarah Davachi’s experimental music often feels ornate. There’s a meticulousness to it that comes across as thoroughly handcrafted—Gave In Rest’s ambient moods are sometimes so dense it feels like the atmosphere they conjure is palpable; on Pale Bloom, Davachi gently weaves piano, organ, and vocals into an expansive but understated tapestry. Her compositions create a remarkable sense of space, one that unfolds continuously outward while remaining intimate.
- [Instrumental: Jennifer Castle’s Breath Work Brings Life To Monarch Season](https://amplify.nmc.ca/https-amplify-nmc-ca-instrumental-jennifer-castles-breath-work-brings-life-to-monarch-season/) - Jennifer Castle released her sixth full-length album, the soft and sparse Monarch Season. It was recorded at Castle’s home on the north shore of Lake Erie, though that’s not because of pandemic lockdown house-boundedness—it’s just coincidence and timing.
- [Instrumental: Jenn Grant On How She Channels the Late, Great Patsy Cline For Vocal Strength](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-jenn-grant-on-how-she-channels-the-late-great-patsy-cline-for-vocal-strength/) - The holidays, for everybody, are still busy, despite the fact that none of us are able to move around much. But it’s even busier for Grant, who just put out a new Christmas album, the candy cane sweet affair Forever on Christmas Eve.
- [Record Rewind: Anne Murray’s “Snowbird” at 50](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-anne-murrays-snowbird-at-50/) - First released in 1969 on Anne Murray’s This Way is My Way album, it wasn’t until the following summer that this ballad—written in only 25 minutes by Gene MacLellan—was discovered thanks to an American DJ who played the B-side of Murray’s record. This beautiful folksong struck a chord. With its poetic words and sing-a-long melody, it changed forevermore the lives of Murray and MacLellan.
- [Record Rewind: Celebrating 25 Years of Susan Aglukark's 'This Child'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-celebrating-25-years-of-susan-aglukarks-this-child/) - This Child was Susan Aglukark’s second album. No sophomore slump here. Released on EMI in 1995, the record was the artist’s commercial breakthrough in Canada, spawning chart hits with “O Siem” and “Hina Na Ho (Celebration).” The record sold more than 300,000 copies (three-times platinum) in Canada and peaked at No.1 on the Canadian RPM country charts.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 9): Someone To Talk About – Shirley Eikhard Leaps To Fame At 14](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-9-someone-to-talk-about-shirley-eikhard-leaps-to-fame-at-14/) - By: Bob Mersereau In the early 1970s, there wasn't a better showcase for a young musician in Canada than Singalong Jubilee. In the days before cable TV was widely available, many Canadians only had a couple of channels, and Singalong, broadcast from Halifax on CBC-TV, regularly grabbed over two million viewers. The show had already
- [Instrumental: Kelly McMichael Embraces the Experimentation in Demo-Making](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-kelly-mcmichael-embraces-the-experimentation-in-demo-making/) - When I got in touch last month with St. John’s, Newfoundland-based songwriter Kelly McMichael to ask about what kind of creative tool she might want to talk about for this column, she eventually got back to me saying she’d like to cover the demo-making process itself. At first, it seemed like a strange fit given
- [An Outsider No More: Allison Russell Confronts the Past and Celebrates the Present](https://amplify.nmc.ca/an-outsider-no-more-allison-russell-confronts-the-past-and-celebrates-the-present/) - Scars, we all have them. Some are visible; others are hidden deep. Human nature is to bury these secrets — keeping the most harrowing stories for our ears only. The problem is these memories of past traumas circle our brains like caged animals, gnawing away and fraying the wires, hoping for release, a little bit
- [Instrumental: KT Lamond Has Shredded Her Family of SGs Into Oblivion](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-kt-lamond-has-shredded-her-family-of-sgs-into-oblivion/) - KT Lamond, who plays guitar and sings in rippin’ Halifax punk outfit Like a Motorcycle, owns three SGs. “Every single one of them right now is broken,” she tells me, sitting on the floor of her apartment. When she pulls them all out and sets them up on the couch, it’s easy to see that,
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 12) From Paquetville to Paris: How Èdith Butler Made Acadian Music World Famous](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-12-from-paquetville-to-paris-how-edith-butler-made-acadian-music-world-famous/) - Èdith Butler's mother got quite a shock when she opened up the newspaper back home in tiny Paquetville, New Brunswick one day in 1963. She read that a young woman with a familiar name was going to be on TV, singing traditional Acadian songs. And she was from their hometown! "She told my father, I see
- [Instrumental: Charlotte Cornfield’s 1967 Gibson J-50 Is Just Like an Old Friend](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-charlotte-cornfields-1967-gibson-j-50-is-just-like-an-old-friend/) - Charlotte Cornfield has only ever had a couple of acoustic guitars, and one of them—her mom’s nylon-string Matsuoka from the ‘80s—isn’t even hers. She’d been hammering on the drums for a while when she started playing six-string in her middle school guitar class, learning Neil Young songs like “Helpless” and “Heart of Gold” using tabs.
- [Somewherelse’s Anna Wiesen On How To Make Unforgettable Live Music Memories](https://amplify.nmc.ca/somewherelses-anna-wiesen-on-how-to-make-unforgettable-live-music-memories/) - While nearly everything was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, the music industry took an especially hard hit, and no one in music has had it worse than those artists who depend on playing shows to survive. The pain of the situation, even in this very isolated example, has been wide-reaching. Artists, unable to make ends
- [Instrumental: Alia O’Brien’s Flute is an Extension of Herself](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-alia-obriens-flute-is-an-extension-of-herself/) - Alia O’Brien’s life is forever and deeply intertwined with the flute. In fact, she finds it strange to even think about a time before she played it. In conversation over the phone from her home in Toronto in early December, she refers to the instrument as being an extension of both her voice and her
- [Hannah Georgas: From Vancouver to Belleville with a Few Stops in Between](https://amplify.nmc.ca/hannah-georgas-from-vancouver-to-belleville-with-a-few-stops-in-between/) - Inner dialogues expressed in song. Melancholy never sounded so good. For more than a decade, from her first full-length album (This is Good) in 2010 to her most recent release (All That Emotion), Hannah Georgas has used her ethereal voice—and way with words—to enchant and connect with listeners. Like most artists, for Georgas, writing songs
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 14): “A Gift from Heaven.” Portia White's Rise from Toronto Debut to International Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-portia-white/) - Born in Truro, Nova Scotia and raised in Halifax, Portia White’s remarkable vocal talents took her to concert stages across Canada, through the United States and South America, and over to Europe, making her the first Black Canadian singer to achieve international fame. Although her performing career was cut short and her recordings are almost
- [Instrumental: Sinzere’s Voice Sets Her Free](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-sinzeres-voice-sets-her-free/) - When Sinzere was very young, she didn’t vocalize a lot. In the first few years of her life, after her mom brought her home from the hospital, she didn’t say a word. But it wasn’t long before she found something else to do with her voice—singing or rapping along to her favourite artists for hours
- [Instrumental: Allison de Groot Could Live 100 Lifetimes Exploring the Banjo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-allison-de-groot-could-live-100-lifetimes-exploring-the-banjo/) - The first time Allison de Groot heard clawhammer banjo—played by Leonard Podolak on an album by Winnipeg band The Duhks—she was completely mesmerized. “It sounded so exciting—how much it drives the band,” de Groot says over the phone from Vancouver. “It also just felt really mysterious. I wanted to figure out what was making that
- [Great Moments in Canadian Music (Track 15): Cole's Notes—How Holly Cole's Jazz Conquered Japan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-15-coles-noteshow-holly-coles-jazz-conquered-japan/) - Flashback to 1993, and Japan's biggest music night of the year. All the important stars are there: Chage and Aska, Kome Kome Club, B'z, and of course, Princess Princess. It's the annual Japan Gold Disc Award show, the country's equivalent of the Grammy Awards or the JUNOS. Just like those events, it's a big spectacle,
- [First-Time JUNO Nominee Korea Town Acid Searches for Beautiful Mistakes](https://amplify.nmc.ca/first-time-juno-nominee-korea-town-acid-searches-for-beautiful-mistakes/) - Watching Korea Town Acid (KTA) DJ is mesmerizing. Once she finds that groove, the rising electronic artist—and first-time JUNO nominee⁠—never lets up. Audiences and clubbers go along for the ride. KTA, the stage persona of Korea-born Jessica Cho who now calls Toronto home, creates spontaneous trap beats and hypnotic rhythms both intricate and unique. The
- [Record Rewind: Jann Arden's "Happy?" 25 Years Later](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-jann-ardens-happy-25-years-later/) - Jann Arden is not nostalgic. Despite the singer-songwriter admitting she’s sometimes “gobsmacked” by the passage of time, she lives in the present. Her mantra: keep on keeping on. Case in point: In 2022, as the global pandemic lingered, Arden released her 15th studio record, Descendant, and hit the road across Canada — isolating herself before
- [Record Rewind: The Visit Revisited](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-the-visit-revisited/) - Earlier this month, Loreena McKennitt released her 16th album, Under a Winter’s Moon. A love letter to the season, the record collects live recordings and spoken word performances from a string of shows in late 2021 at Knox Church in Stratford, Ontario. The singer-songwriter says the record is like an “unplanned pregnancy.” Still, it’s a
- [Instrumental: Christine Fellows Knows that Everything is Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-christine-fellows-knows-that-everything-is-music/) - On the late November day she gets on the phone to chat about her custom Beardsell tenor guitar, Christine Fellows saw an owl. “A great horned owl,” she says from Winnipeg. “In my neighborhood. And I saw it the other day. The crows lead you to it, right? When you hear a bunch of crows,
- [Record Rewind: Kathleen Edwards' 'Failer' at 20: A Moment in Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/kathleen-edwards-failer/) - Twenty years since the release of Failer, that period of time still feels surreal for Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. Catching up with Edwards in honour of this occasion finds her filled with gratitude. Over the course of an hour, she reflects on what her debut record means, not just to her, but also to so
- [Aysanabee: The Journey from Journalist to First-Time JUNO Nominee ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/aysanabee-juno-nominee/) - It’s a good thing Aysanabee quit his day job. Before he was a JUNO-nominated artist, Aysanabee — born Evan Pang — was working for CTV News, and the call to make music full-time became too strong to ignore. The decision to leave a secure unionized job for the unknown of the music industry was difficult,
- [How to Boost Mental Health Through Nostalgia](https://amplify.nmc.ca/boosting-mental-health-through-nostalgia/) - For Bell Let’s Talk Day, NMC's President and CEO Andrew Mosker shares how his vinyl collection helped him through pandemic stress, followed by his own playlist to get you inspired to tap into the mental benefits of nostalgia. Recently, I took a musical trip to the past, rediscovering old records that inspired me when I
- [Photos: The 52nd Annual JUNO Awards](https://amplify.nmc.ca/2023-juno-awards/) - JUNO Awards Canada’s biggest night in music landed in Edmonton, Alberta this year! On March 13, we celebrated the JUNO Awards with a monumental show full of historic music moments, presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CBC. Hosted by Canadian superstar Simu Liu, highlights from the show include Nickelback's
- [The "vibe" conspires to make The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer’s 'Live at the King Eddy' rip](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-harpoonist-and-the-axe-murderer-live-at-the-king-eddy/) - There’s no tried-and-true, on-the-money-every-time recipe for crafting a great live record. But there are some things you can do to set yourself up for success. Things should sync up. Settings, gear, and tunes have to come together to complement each other and build one temporary monster in which that most important thing—vibe, of course—comes alive.
- [Instrumental: Andrijko Semaniuk’s Accordion Gets People Jumping](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-andrijko-semaniuks-accordion/) - This summer at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, just over four months after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ukrainian-Canadian punk band Zrada delivered one of the most ecstatic sets of the weekend, elevated largely by the seemingly inexhaustible Andrijko Semaniuk’s boisterous accordion playing. Few other bands managed to inspire such a mass of people
- [R&B Artist TOVA is Contributing to Saskatchewan’s Musical Palette](https://amplify.nmc.ca/rb-artist-tova-is-contributing-to-saskatchewans-musical-palette/) - Seven years ago, TOVA — whose artist moniker is an acronym of all the nicknames his family called him by during his childhood — had never considered a career in music as an option. Born as Victor Adeolu Oriola in Nigeria, he arrived in Saskatchewan as a 17-year-old in 2015 to attend the University of
- [The Story of TONTO, Part 1: The (spectacular, innovative, revolutionary) Original New Timbral Orchestra](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tonto-part-1/) - There are probably no instruments in the National Music Centre’s living collection that inspire as much awe as the Goliath, revolutionary synthesizer TONTO (aka The Original New Timbral Orchestra). And that’s because there are no instruments in the world quite like it. There’s a multitude of reasons for that—it’s the first and largest multitimbral polyphonic
- [Ian Blurton's Future Now Records 'Second Skin' in the "Sistine Chapel of Rock ‘n’ Roll"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/ian-blurtons-future-now-second-skin/) - It all started with the Mellotron. The electro-magnetic instrument, invented in Birmingham, England in 1963 — that prog-rock bands like King Crimson and Genesis used in the 1970s — is one of Ian Blurton’s favourite studio toys. Flash back to the musician’s first visit to the National Music Centre (NMC). Blurton contacted NMC’s electronics
- [Canadian Labels: "We Were Releasing Music by Friends" — 30 Years of Sloan's murderecords](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-sloan-murderecords/) - Label: murderecordsHeadquarters: Halifax (1992-1998), Toronto (present)Year founded: 1992Founders: Sloan band members Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, and Andrew ScottCurrent owners/partners: SloanNotable artists: Sloan, Eric's Trip, Thrush Hermit, Super Friendz, The Inbreds Hardship Post, Local Rabbits, jale, Pony Da Look, Will Currie & The Country French Thirty years ago, just when Halifax-based pop group Sloan signed
- [Record Rewind: Replaying Great Big Sea’s Five-Times Platinum Album 'Play'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-great-big-sea-play/) - These days, Alan Doyle and Séan McCann toil the road as solo artists, following the lines to wherever music lovers live. Twenty-five years ago, the pair — along with Bob Hallett and Darrell Power as beloved Celtic rock band Great Big Sea — travelled those same highways, crammed in a van, playing more than 200
- [The Story of TONTO, Part 2: The Adventurous Musicians Expanding TONTO's Possibilities](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tonto-part-2/) - Recently, we explored TONTO’s past. But, under the watchful eye of caretaker Jason Tawkin, TONTO’s present and future is just as bright. By taking to heart Malcolm Cecil’s vision of The Original New Timbral Orchestra as an accessible tool for musicians of all generations, the National Music Centre has been able to facilitate a number
- [Highlights from Country Music Week and the 40th Annual CCMA Awards in Calgary](https://amplify.nmc.ca/ccma-country-music-week-2022/) - Country Music Week took over Calgary, Alberta for a weekend of music and celebration leading up to the 40th Annual Canadian Country Music Awards on September 11, 2022. From songwriters' sessions hosted at Studio Bell and showcases at many of Calgary's iconic venues, to Hall of Fame inductions and the big CCMA Awards show —
- [Randall Prescott on Music, Family, and His Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Induction](https://amplify.nmc.ca/randall-prescott/) - Randall Prescott has been recognized as one of the most multi-talented forces in building Canadian country music. From being a musician and performer to his work as a songwriter and producer, it's safe to say he has made a lasting impact on the music industry, and his 2022 induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall
- [Bruce Cockburn: 50 Years of Songs](https://amplify.nmc.ca/https-amplify-nmc-ca-bruce-cockburn-50-years-of-songs/) - Finding the right words to express the zeitgeist has never been a problem for Bruce Cockburn. For more than 50 years, the iconic Canadian songwriter has been carefully crafting words and phrases into storied songs—some more politically charged than others.
- [Julian Taylor: Perseverance and Patience –– A Life in Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/julian-taylor-perseverance-and-patience-a-life-in-music/) - Julian Taylor is not the first artist — nor will he be the last — to grow disenchanted with the music industry and shelve his dreams of making hit records for a living. The lifestyle of a Canadian touring musician is hard. You watch friends fight addictions and lose. You spend days following the white
- [Diversity & Inclusion Take Centre Stage at Junos 50 Opening Night](https://amplify.nmc.ca/diversity-inclusion-take-centre-stage-at-junos-50-opening-nights/) - The Junos last night followed a week of collective hurt as Canadians mourned—and processed—the tragic news surrounding the discovery of the bodies of 215 children buried near the Kamloops Indian Residential School. The opening night of the 50th annual awards ceremony began with a moment of silence to honour these murdered children. After this pause,
- [NMC’s ATB Oral Histories Project: Stampede Edition](https://amplify.nmc.ca/nmcs-atb-oral-histories-project-stampede-edition/) - The National Music Centre (NMC)’s collection of instruments and music memorabilia is extensive, but collecting and preserving isn’t only about physical objects. Good histories are constructed from multiple sources – including oral ones. The ATB Oral Histories Project records the stories of Alberta’s music innovators, and these interviews are just as much a part of
- [Instrumental: Morgan Toney Fuses Mi’kmaq and Cape Breton Music Traditions With His Fiddle](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-morgan-toney-fuses-mikmaq-and-cape-breton-music-traditions-with-his-fiddle/) - Mi’kmaq fiddler Morgan Toney’s debut album, First Flight, is a soaring combination of traditional Mi’kmaq songs and Celtic Cape Breton fiddle that the young player and composer has coined “Mi’kmaltic.” Listening to the tunes on First Flight, you’d be forgiven for assuming Toney’s been at it for at least a solid decade; in fact, he
- [The 51st Annual JUNO Awards: Night of Firsts, Diversity, and Spotlight on the “Indies”](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-51st-annual-juno-awards-night-of-firsts-diversity-and-spotlight-on-the-indies/) - The JUNOS touched down in Toronto last week, culminating with the 51st Annual JUNO Awards on Sunday night. The event marked the return of the Canadian live music industry and the first in-person awards show after two years of silence. On a humid Sunday afternoon along Toronto’s lakefront, the parade of limos—from white Hummers to
- [From James Bay to the JUNOS: Adrian Sutherland Dishes on Big-City Dreams, Truth, and Healing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/from-james-bay-to-the-junos-cree-songwriter-adrian-sutherland-dishes-on-big-city-dreams-truth-and-healing/) - “Chasing big city dreams/ got no fear/ cause I’ve got a song that will get me the hell outta here.” – Adrian Sutherland, “Big City Dreams” Adrian Sutherland’s earliest music memory is being five years old and dancing to a Mini-Pops record. Singing endlessly to “Yellow Submarine” drove his parents crazy, but the annoyance was
- [Canadian Labels: Ishkōdé Records Ignites the Spirit of the Eighth Fire](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-ishkode-records-ignites-the-spirit-of-the-eighth-fire/) - Label: Ishkōdé RecordsHeadquarters: Ontario Year founded: 2021Founders: ShoShona Kish and Amanda RheaumeNotable artists: Morgan Toney, Aysanabee, Digging Roots, Amanda Rheaume “My people will sleep for a hundred years but when they awake, it will be the artists that give them back their spirit.” – Louis Riel Snow flurries reduce visibility on Victoria Street. Inside Massey Hall, the focus
- [Great Moments in Canadian Music (Track 16): Ken Tobias and the Story Behind "Stay Awhile"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-16-ken-tobias/) - It's one of the strangest lucky breaks ever. An obscure Canadian musician gets discovered by a big star and whisked away to Hollywood. But that's not the whole story. The road to fame is rarely a straight line, so hold on while we follow Ken Tobias through the twists and turns on the way to
- [Canadian Labels: Behind Canada's Oldest Country Label, Royalty Records](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-royalty-records/) - Label: Royalty RecordsHeadquarters: Calgary, AlbertaYear founded: 1974Founder: R. Harlan Smith, Jack DubaszCurrent owners/partners: Rob Smith, Chris Nielsen-SmithNotable artists: R. Harlan Smith, Jimmy Arthur Ordge, Laura Vinson, Gary Fjellgaard, Chris Nielsen, The Emeralds, Tommy Banks, Joyce Smith, Glory-Anne Carriere, Gil Grand, Aaron Pritchett, Duane Steele, Rick Tippe, Gord Bamford, Hey Romeo,Kenny Hess, Tenille, and Mike PlumeAssociated companies:
- [George Fox: Cows, Cassettes, and Building a Trail for Homegrown Canadian Country](https://amplify.nmc.ca/george-fox/) - A small-town rancher sells some cows to make a country record, then gets the big-break phone call that makes him a star almost overnight. It’s a story so good it might be mistaken for a country song, but there’s no denying it; the George Fox story is as real as it gets. THE FOX George
- [Red Robinson: Vancouver's radio king and the birth of rock ‘n’ roll in Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/dj-red-robinson-vancouvers-radio-king-and-the-birth-of-rock-n-roll-in-canada/) - Warning: There is strong language contained in this blog post. To many radio listeners in Canada throughout the 1950s and '60s, there was no one more influential than Vancouver DJ Red Robinson, so nicknamed after his trademark red hair. With a single spin of a record, he could instantly turn an unheard-of single into a stratospheric-level hit. In his 60-odd-years working in radio and TV, he’s done over 3,000 interviews with some of rock 'n' roll’s biggest names, including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison. Robinson with Buddy Holly in 1956. Among his many infamous celebrity encounters, he was once told to "Get the fuck off the stage" by John Lennon during the Beatles’ performance in Vancouver in 1964 (a misunderstanding brought on when the Chief Inspector of the Vancouver Police Force, Bud Errington, and the Beatles manager Brian Epstein, asked Robinson to interrupt the show to prevent fans from trampling each other), and once got into an argument about politics with famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg—and apparently won. But it is his contribution to introducing Canadian audiences to rock 'n' roll that will likely be his most enduring achievement. In 1953, the then fledgling 16-year-old radio host played the first rock ‘n’ roll record in Canada. It was a single called “Marie” by the Four Tunes, who did an updated doo-wop version of a 1940s original by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. “Marie” by the Four Tunes. The high schooler had been hanging around a radio show on the now defunct-CJOR, called Theme for Teens, after school. When the show’s original host, Al Jordan, left for good, Robinson took over, regularly playing rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll records before any other radio DJ in Canada. “There was a little coffee shop not far from the school, called Oakway at Oak and Broadway in Vancouver, that had a jukebox loaded with rhythm and blues songs, like Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker and Lloyd Price,” says the revered radio personality, now 78, over the phone from Vancouver. “When I got my radio show, I thought aha! I’ll take some of this with me, because they didn’t have any of it.” Ruth Brown's 1955 song "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean." Rock ‘n’ roll hit the airwaves in Canada, first in Vancouver, before rippling throughout the country, all thanks to a teenager with a penchant for R&B tunes. “I would go to the record store to buy a rhythm and blues record and they would hand it to me wrapped in brown paper like it was pornography,” Robinson recalls. “They called it race music. ‘Oh you want some race records?’ they would say.” In the 1950s, playing a record by an artist of colour, even in Canada, could provoke a racist response. The birth of rock ‘n’ roll marked not just the emergence of a new era in music; it was a sign of changing attitudes and racial barriers being broken on both sides of the border. “I’ll use the word for the sake of this interview, but I’d get phone calls saying ‘N___er lover,’” Robinson says. “You see in Canada, we’re a little smug. We think that we didn’t have racial discrimination, but yes we did. Are you kidding me? I put a book out called Backstage Vancouver, and in it there’s a picture of Louis Armstrong sitting with his luggage outside of the Hotel Vancouver because they wouldn’t let him stay there.” In June of 1956, Bill Haley and His Comets played the first ever live rock show in Canada with Robinson as the emcee at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum. Les Vogt and The Prowlers, a local band that had gained prominence playing on CKNW’s radio show the Owl Prowl, opened the legendary gig. “You could tell the whole world was changing, because the new beat was here,” says Robinson. “That’s the way Bill Haley described it and I agree with him.” Bill Haley and His Comets’ 1955 hit “Rock Around the Clock.” Canada's first ever rock 'n' roll band The Prowlers. The new sound was louder and more dangerous than the big band music that was popular at the time, and seemingly overnight it became the anthem of rebellious teenagers everywhere. When the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley, made his first appearance in Vancouver in 1957, Robinson was asked to emcee the show. He says it’s one of the only times that he’s ever been really nervous about introducing an artist. “You gotta remember something, up until Elvis, no one—not the Sinatras, not the Bing Crosbys—no one rented stadiums,” says Robinson. “That’s how big he was. To stand out there in front of that crowd, and bring out the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, was just unbelievable. The Beatles was an encore compared to what Elvis’ crowd was like. It was just as crazy. Just as nuts. He only did about 22 minutes, and he got the hell out.” The two bonded backstage, talking about cars, girls, movies and music. “He liked the R&B singers that I liked, people like Roy Hamilton and Jackie Wilson,” says Robinson. “He was a good guy. He was like anyone I had gone to school with. There was no conceit. He had vanity about how he looked, but no conceit. He was more interested in my life than me talking about him.” Elvis’ appearance in Vancouver in 1957 may have been the most frenzied show to ever come to the city. Robinson with the King of Rock 'n' Roll in 1957. Inspired by fellow Vancouver DJ Jack Cullen, the far-out host of the Owl Prowl known for his off-the-cuff style, Robinson says: “Up until the time of the disc jockeys, radio announcers were so formal. They would announce it like ‘Ladies and gentleman, heeeeere’s Doris Day or heeeeere’s Glenn Miller.’ But Jack wouldn’t. He was totally ad lib, free form, and I loved it.” Jack Cullen being interviewed on CBC-TV in 1983. Taking cues from Cullen, notorious for both his style and crazy on-air antics, such as interviewing people live from a nudist colony or running around town in an Easter Bunny costume, Robinson ushered in his own brand of radio havoc, including an infamous April Fool’s Day prank that told of a whale washing up on a Vancouver shore, which drew over 15,000 people to the beach. Animal-right's activists and marine biology students at the University of British Columbia, who assumed that pieces of a whale were being hacked off and made into souvenirs, turned up only to find out that it was all a joke. “The manager called me in the next morning, and pulls out the Vancouver paper, and it says ‘DJ Brings 15,000 People to the Beach with False Whale Story,’" says Robinson, who at the time thought the stunt might end his career. “The manager said, ‘Look at that! Look at that! Now tell me what are you going to do tonight to top that?’ I was old enough to understand the signal there was to carry on.” And carry on he did. With Robinson pulling off all kinds of stunts and breaking out a tidal wave of rock 'n' roll records and artists, his hometown of Vancouver became a pioneer for the new sound in Canada. “Vancouver a trailblazer? Absolutely!” he says. “Toronto didn’t really get going until the ‘60s with artists, like David Clayton-Thomas and Ronnie Hawkins. There was no national exchange in those days between radio stations. We became more north-south, than we did east-west across Canada.” Following the discovery of Canada's original rock band, Les Vogt and the Prowlers (who were discovered by Cullen, although he didn't ordinarily play rock music), a flock of would-be music-makers and rock 'n' rollers ensued in Vancouver and across the country. Robinson is credited for launching the careers of Victoria's Ian Tyson, who was discovered as part of a radio contest to find the next big rock ‘n’ roll band in B.C., and Thunder Bay-born teen dream Bobby Curtola, whose music broke out big in the U.S. after Robinson sent Curtola’s track “Fortune Teller” to radio stations in Hawaii and Seattle. "Fortune Teller" by Bobby Curtola became a big hit in the U.S. and Canada thanks to Robinson. Robinson says his decision to get behind an artist was always instinctual and he believed in asking the audience what to play. He still abides by those rules. Today, he says he loves singers, like Adele and the late Amy Winehouse, and CanRockers, such as April Wine and Rush, and despite a (sort of) retirement from radio in 2000, he continues to host one radio show a week on CISL in Vancouver from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays, where his playlists can include anyone from Bruce Springsteen to (of course) Elvis Presley. “I’ve had five retirement parties,” he admits. Having spent over six decades working in radio, Robinson says “consistency and an ability to be able to adapt to the times” has been the key to his success. “But the year of the disc jockey is almost over,” he says, before referring to Tom Petty's song "The Last DJ" as a reflection of his current thoughts on radio. “(Commercial) radio's so cookie-cutter today.” “There goes the last DJ/Who plays what he wants to play /And says what he wants to say…and the boys upstairs just don’t understand anymore," Robinson says, reciting the lyrics of the song. “The Last DJ” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In 1995, Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland at its opening, and is among only three Canadians to ever be recognized by the institution—radio DJs Dave Marsden and the late "Jungle" Jay Nelson are the other honorees to be included. “I guess we had an influence on rock ‘n’ roll in Canada,” he says with a laugh. – Julijana Capone
- [Canadian Labels: Aakuluk Released Inuktitut Music When No One Else Would](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-aakuluk-music/) - Label: Aakuluk MusicHeadquarters: Iqaluit, NU Year founded: 2015Founders: Andrew MorrisonCurrent owner: Andrew MorrisonNotable artists: Terry Uyarak, Northern Haze, The Jerry Cans, FxckMr, Aasiva Iqaluit-based folk band The Jerry Cans, which incorporates Inuit throat singing and lyrics mostly in their native Inuktitut language, released their debut album, Nunavuttitut, in 2012. It wasn’t until a year after their
- [Canadian Labels: Toronto's URBNET is a Home for Homegrown Hip Hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-urbnet/) - Label: URBNETHeadquarters: Toronto, ON; Sudbury, ON; St. John’s, NL Year founded: 1999Founders: Darryl Rodway, Janusz JarosinskiNotable artists: Elaquent, Korea Town Acid, Moka Only, OBUXUM, Anzola, Sweatshop Union, D-Sisive, Swamp Thing, Ill Sugi, Nickelman, Howiewonder & Jabbu, Mood Ruff, The Carps, DL Incognito, Def3, Dan-e-o, Tru-Paz, Grand Analog For almost a quarter century, URBNET has provided a
- [Canadian Labels: Montreal’s Indie Jazz Label Justin Time Records Celebrates 40 Years](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-labels-montreals-indie-jazz-label-justin-time-records-celebrates-40-years/) - Canadian Labels is a new series on NMC Amplify created by music journalist Karen Bliss. Check back monthly for new profiles on some of Canada's most influential indie labels. Label: Justin Time Records Inc.Headquarters: Montreal, QuebecYear founded: 1983Founder: Jim WestCurrent owners/partners: Jim West and Nettwerk Music Group Notable artists: Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, Montreal Jubilation
- [Louis-Jean Cormier performs at Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/louis-jean-cormier-performs-at-studio-bell/) - June 24 is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a day to celebrate Francophone culture in Quebec and across Canada. In recognition of the event, watch one of Quebec's most celebrated singer-songwriters, Louis-Jean Cormier, perform "Le ciel est au plancher," "100 mètres haies," and "Je me moi" during a live performance at Studio Bell, home of the National Music
- [Music as Medicine: A Magical Night of Healing and Shared Truths at the JUNO Songwriters’ Circle](https://amplify.nmc.ca/music-as-medicine-juno-songwriters-circle/) - Live music is medicine that feeds one’s soul. Without it, there is a void. Over the last two years, imposed isolations and quarantines replaced in-person events. Scheduled performances were postponed and cancelled. For prolonged periods, concert halls from St. John’s to Victoria were quiet. On May 11 at Massey Hall, that silence was broken. Some
- [Record Rewind: Men Without Hats' 'Rhythm of Youth' Turns 40](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-men-without-hats-rhythm-of-youth-turns-40-years-old/) - “I got the message and the message is proof / There really is a thing they call the rhythm of youth / It will pick you up and it will make you wiggle this way / Et c’est facile a dire and it's easy to say.”- Rhythm of Youth, "I Got the Message" Clocking in
- [Record Rewind: 50 Years of Neil Young’s Harvest](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-50-years-of-neil-youngs-harvest/) - “There's baseball on the radio, and I'm playing Harvest by Neil Young;Mom says singing songs like that you could save everyone.”- Joe Crookston, “The Nazarene” These lyrics, cited from one of my favourite Joe Crookston compositions, speak to the undying love artists have—not just for Neil Young, but for Harvest. Long before the Internet, generations
- [Jack Richardson: The Godfather of the Canadian Music Industry](https://amplify.nmc.ca/jack-richardson-the-godfather-of-canadian-rock/) - ou may or may not know the name Jack Richardson (aka ‘Jack the Bear’ or ‘The Round Mound of Sound’), but you’ve probably heard one of the iconic hits that he produced: “These Eyes” and “American Woman” by the Guess Who, “Night Moves” by Bob Seger or Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen,” to name a few. Behind so many rock ‘n’ roll chart-toppers throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, along with helping to establish Canadian content regulations and CIRPA (The Canadian Independent Record Producers Association), the late record producer, who passed away in 2011, was appropriately nicknamed ‘The Godfather of the Canadian Music Industry.’ Working with, and advising, some of the biggest acts in the world, Jack became known as one of the best record producers of his time, producing over 240 albums, among them 38 gold and platinum records. Bob Seger’s 1976 song “Night Moves,” off the album of the same name. "I'm Eighteen" off Alice Cooper's 1971 album Love It To Death, produced by Jack Richardson and Bob Ezrin. Though he was recognized as a producer, he always remained a musician to the core. Playing bass in a big band called the Westernaires, and Bobby Gimby's orchestra throughout the 1940s, Jack's early years as a professional musician would later contribute to his impeccable timing as a producer, and ability to play and teach almost any instrument. Later, as an account executive at advertising agency McCann-Erickson in the mid-‘60s, Jack realized the potential of pairing soft drink commercials with popular Canadian rock ‘n’ roll acts, and spearheaded many successful campaigns for Coca-Cola Ltd. using acts, such as Bobby Curtola, David Clayton-Thomas, Jack London, and the Guess Who, along with American artists Stevie Wonder, and the Supremes. By 1968, he had founded Nimbus 9 Productions, along with three business partners, and signed the company's first act, an up-and-coming band from Winnipeg called the Guess Who, whom he'd previously worked with producing Coke ads. “He mortgaged his house to make that first Guess Who record,” says Bruce Carter, a London documentarian that produced the 2002 film Adventures in Rock, which told the story of Jack’s influence on the Canadian music industry. “He put everything on the line. He was 41 or 42 with five kids, and he mortgaged the house! Shirley, his wife, agreed and felt he could do it. He really rolled the dice. Low and behold, ‘These Eyes’ became a No. 1 smash hit.” Jack produced all of the Guess Who's albums, including hit sinlges such as "These Eyes" and "American Woman." The Guess Who would go on to become one of the highest-selling Canadian acts of all time. Nimbus 9’s Soundstage Recording Studio was built in 1972, drawing both domestic and international artists to record in Canada. Several years later, the company’s direct-to-disc label, Umbrella Records, was launched, followed by the release of albums from Toronto new wave act Rough Trade, and JUNO Award-winning jazz ensemble The Boss Brass. “(Jack) just wanted to keep everything in Canada,” says Jack’s son, Garth Richardson, about the formation of Nimbus 9. “He had lots of offers to go down to the States and work, but he wanted to stay here." “Jack was so proud of being Canadian,” says Bruce. “Everyone said he would have been a multi-millionaire if he stayed in California or Chicago, but he chose to do things in Canada.” Jack speaks about the establishment of Nimbus 9 and the making of Bob Seger's Night Moves in a 2008 interview. As one of the key supporters in the formation of Canadian content regulations, along with Cancon pioneer Stan Klees, Jack was involved in many aspects of the music business, helping to ensure that Canada’s recording artists and producers were given a fair shot to make records and get airplay at home, rather than having to go south of the border. During the filming of 2002’s Adventures in Rock, Bruce says that numerous music industry veterans in Canada and beyond expressed their respect and appreciation for Jack—among them Timothy Schmidt of Poco, for whom Jack produced three records. “At the end of the interview, he literally started to cry," Bruce recalls. "Timothy told me that Jack was the only guy who was ever honest with him, and that he learned so much about how to play music best through Jack." 1971's "Just For Me and You" by Poco. Having acted as a sounding board for so many influential people, including producer Jack Douglas during the making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1980 album Double Fantasy, Jack rarely mentioned many of his most exciting musical encounters. (That album would go on to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1981, BTW.) “When we went down to California with the family, I went and hung out with my dad, while my family went down to the beach,” Garth remembers. “He said ‘Go out and sit in the lobby now,’ so I went out there. And coming down these spiral stairs is the ‘King,’ Mr. Elvis Presley…You never knew who was gonna show up. He’d hang out with Johnny Winters and Wolfman Jack, but he never really talked about it. They were just normal people to my dad.” The producer is also credited for mentoring fellow big name Canadian producers David Foster (Céline Dion, Michael Bublé, Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart), and Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, KISS, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd) before they became huge stars in their own right. Whether it was a fellow producer, engineer or a musician that he was recording, Jack seemed to always be guiding someone. Fittingly, Jack took a teaching position at Fanshawe College in London in 1995, working as an audio production instructor for the Music Industry Arts program. It was a position that he loved, and a program that he helped to transform. He worked well into his 70s, both teaching and producing music until his retirement in the mid-2000s. Indeed, he influenced a countless number of established and emerging artists during his career, including his own son, Garth, who, today, is also a respected producer and engineer that has worked on albums by Rage Against the Machine and the Melvins, and also runs his own studio and recording school out of Vancouver. Garth Richardson is keeping his father's legacy alive through his own production and engineering work, and his recording school. Nimbus School of Recording Arts, named after his father’s original studio, was co-founded by Garth and Bob Ezrin, and carries on Jack’s legacy and love for music production. As Garth notes, Nimbus was started to pass on the lessons that Jack taught Bob, and in turn Bob taught him. Garth started working at the original Nimbus 9 as a teenager, getting his first engineering credit at the age of 15 on Bob Seger’s Night Moves. “I would go to high school and sleep, and then I would go down to my job, cleaning Nimbus 9,” says Garth. “I got to hang out and watch the first Peter Gabriel record being made. I met the Bay City Rollers—they came to our house. I met Mark Farner, Tim Curry, Alice Cooper—all of the greats. I would just go and clean the toilets, then go watch bands and hang." Peter Gabriel's debut 1977 solo album was produced by Bob Ezrin at Nimbus 9, the production company that Jack co-founded. Sharing the same birthday as his father, Garth says that he inherited many of his father's diehard traits when it comes to music-making; Garth is the only member of the Richardson family that still works in the industry. “The one thing that I can say that my father taught me was drive,” says Garth. “My wife hates it, because I am a bull and he was a bull, too.” Often spending more time at work than he did at home, Garth says of his father's extreme work ethic: “There was one point where he had only been home twice in 18 months. My mother raised five kids and finally got angry. She went down to his office and said ‘You have got to do something,’ so Nimbus 9 took out a full page ad in Billboard magazine. The whole page said: ‘Jack, come home. Signed Shirl.’ He worked very hard.” Jack with his son Garth, who is also a well-known producer and engineer. Two generations of father and son music-makers (From left to right: Garth Richardson, Bob Ezrin, Jack Richardson, and Calvin Ezrin) Fun fact: Jack took over bass duties from Calvin when he decided to leave Bobby Gimby's orchestra to become a doctor. Despite his many achievements, Bruce says that Jack’s impact was largely unknown to the rest of Canada before the release of his documentary. After the film was aired in 2002, the world-renowned producer started to get some attention at home—accolades he seemingly never wanted, but certainly always deserved. “The next morning after the documentary aired, Jack went to M&M Meats and people started talking to him," says Bruce. "His neighbours had no idea who he was.” That same year, the JUNO Award for Producer of the Year was named after Jack and continues to honour his legacy today. The following year, in 2003, he was inducted into the Order of Canada. “It embarrassed people, because he never got his due,” says Bruce. “Jack is the roots of Canadian music.” Jack passed away in 2011 at the age of 81. The night that he died, Burton Cummings, who was in London doing a concert, dedicated the evening to him. At the funeral earlier that day, 1,500 people turned up to show their respects, among them Bob Ezrin, who did the eulogy. "Jack would have liked it," says Bruce. "It was a celebration." – Julijana Capone
- [5 Tips to Support Mental Health from a Clinical Psychologist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/bell-lets-talk-day-5-tips-to-support-mental-health-from-a-clinical-psychologist/) - Dr. Megan McElheran is a Clinical Psychologist and the CEO of Wayfound Mental Health Group and a member of the National Music Centre's Music and Wellness Advisory Committee. For Bell Let's Talk Day, we asked her to give our readers some tips for improving mental health and share how music can offer catharsis during uncertain
- [The Power of Music: How Music Therapy is Helping War Vets](https://amplify.nmc.ca/he-power-of-music-music-saves-lives/) - Every year on November 11, Canadians across the country take a moment to remember the veterans who fought for our country in World War I and II, and for the soldiers who are currently in service today. Many Canadians wear a poppy and attend a community memorial service in honour of these fine men and women who sacrificed their time, their families, and sometimes even their own lives for their country. But what happens after Remembrance Day when the poppies are taken off and we return to our normal daily routine? How many of us are familiar with the everyday lives of veterans and their struggles? On January 25, in alignment with the Bell Let’s Talk mental health campaign and a full day of events at Studio Bell, I would like to focus on the mental health of our country’s veterans—these brave men and women who’ve sacrificed for all of us, the outstanding service they’ve done for our country, and some of the issues they face today. First, let’s explore some numbers: As of March 2014, the estimated combined veteran population from World War II, the Korean War, and CF veterans (Regular Forces and Primary Reserves) is a staggering 685,300 veterans ranging in ages from 57 to 91. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, about 20 per cent of this population has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder at some point in their lives with the most common issues being depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and anxiety disorders. Additionally, according to a 2010 study, 95 per cent of the veterans diagnosed with a mental health disorder also suffered from a chronic physical health condition. How do these numbers compare to the rest of the Canadian population? According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), a similar percentage—20 per cent of Canadians—will suffer from a mental disorder at some point in their lives. However, a much smaller percentage of the general population will suffer from major depression (eight per cent) and anxiety (five per cent) compared to veterans. In a 2013 Statistics Canada report, it was found that PTSD and panic disorders were twice as high in a given 12-month period for those Regular Force members who were deployed in Afghanistan compared to those who were not. This demonstrates how a veteran’s mental health is intricately tied to their career. The consequences of these mental health disorders can lead to tragic cases of homelessness and suicide that often go undocumented. Addressing the importance of mental health and disorders is incredibly important for Canadians alike and especially for veterans who have dedicated their lives in the service of our great country. VETS Canada (Veterans Emergency Transition Services)—a non-profit national organization based in Nova Scotia—is dedicated to addressing the emergency transition services of veterans in crisis and in need of help. Their modus operandi is to provide 24/7 support to any veteran in need of counsel, shelter, food, or clothing with their network of 135,000 (most are ex-military and RCMP) and hundreds of amazing volunteers across the country. In partnership with Veteran Affairs Canada, their goal is to end veteran homelessness and to provide support for mental health disorders. Two of their programs are an example of their dedication to veterans: Boots on the Ground is an initiative where the program lead (usually a veteran) will walk with a group of volunteers in search of homeless veterans. Once found, the veterans are set up with immediate shelter, food, healthcare support, counsel, and job support. Guitars for Vets is a program for veterans suffering from PTSD and other related disorders such as depression and anxiety. The veterans are given a gently used guitar with 10 free lessons from a volunteer teacher. The results of this program are powerful and life changing. Music became my lifeline Meet VETS Canada Founder, Jim Lowther: Jim founded the organization in 2011, and as a veteran himself, he suffered from PTSD and no matter what he tried (psychology and psychiatry appointments, medication, yoga) nothing could silence the noise in his head. According to the CMHA, PTSD is a mental illness and is usually characterized by exposure to a traumatic event such as death or serious injury. PTSD can also be emotional trauma from an abusive relationship. PTSD is known for intrusive symptoms, such as re-living the traumatic event(s) with vivid flashbacks, nightmares, and recurring thoughts. For Jim, the “cycle of despair” was ongoing and there seemed to be little hope. However, one day he decided to pick up the guitar that was sitting in the corner of his basement. He began to strum the guitar. The combination of the vibrations of the strings, the sound of the guitar, and the focus required to play the guitar, stopped the cycle of despair for a brief moment. It was quite the discovery. It was a great relief. Something very powerful happened. From then on, Jim began to play the guitar more regularly. He was a beginner guitarist, but that didn’t seem to matter. What mattered was the process of playing the music—at the time it was the Beatles with some feel-good chords and lyrics. He also sang along as the song started to come together. The brief breaks of the cycle of despair grew to longer moments. The noise in his head began to lessen. Life started to become more bearable. For Jim, playing music is therapy for him. It was his lifeline, and from his own observations of other veterans playing music, it became their lifelines as well. Jim strongly believes that music is unlike anything else he has encountered before. Playing music is pure and can sometimes even be spiritual. Music is about engaging with something that is bigger than ourselves, and playing music—especially after great suffering—can be healing beyond words. As a music therapist and musician, I deeply understand Jim’s experience of music. The effects of music can be powerful, life changing, and life giving. Just like Jim, I have personally experienced the flow of music; being lost in music, giving myself an escape from the noise of the outside world. Music is a powerful entity that demands you to be fully present. In the moment of vibrations and sounds, it can be beautiful, dissonant, but ultimately expressive and healing. Shortly after that fateful day when Jim picked up his guitar, he was able to come off his medication. Instead, music became his medicine. Jim now claims that, “music is my pill.” Jim’s personal experience inspired him to reach out to other veterans like himself. He wanted to help those who are suffering and who need support. To date, the organization has helped over 1,600 homeless and in-crisis veterans get off the streets and back on their feet. Guitars for Vets Canada has assisted over 800 soldiers and veterans suffering from PTSD and other disabilities. Each year more veterans are being reached and assisted, and with your help, we can all continue to make a difference together. Jim Lowther, President and CEO of VETS Canada (left), with Canadian singer-songwriter and founder of Great Big Sea, Séan McCann (right). What you can do to help I invite each reader to take this opportunity to speak to a family member, friend, or colleague about mental health. The first step is to start the conversation, share experiences, be open and supportive. Many Canadians from all walks of life—including veterans—are affected by mental health issues every year. Spreading awareness, educating others about mental health issues, sharing compassion, and supporting programs like VETS Canada will help greatly. If you would like to help directly with the VETS Canada organization, please go to their website: http://vetscanada.org. There is an ongoing need for volunteers, gently used guitars, and financial donations for future services and music programming. If you would like to donate a guitar, many Long & McQuade stores will accept the guitar on behalf of the organization. Steve Gilliss is the National Director for Guitars for Vets Canada based in Alberta: steve.guitarsforvetsca@gmail.com.
- [Remembering John Leimseider on the eve of TONTO week](https://amplify.nmc.ca/remembering-john-leimseider-on-the-eve-of-tonto-week/) - In September, one of the National Music Centre’s biggest heroes—and one of the wider world’s most renowned electronic instrument and equipment technicians—passed away. John Leimseider, known affectionately as JL, had worked at NMC since 2002, making the move with his wife, “and two kids and two dogs and a cat and a bird,” from sunny
- [Instrumental: The Infinite Possibilities of Nick Schofield’s Prophet-600](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-the-infinite-possibilities-of-nick-schofields-prophet-600/) - Art does not exist in a vacuum. Sculptures inspire paintings that influence photographers whose work gives birth to music, for example. The possibilities are infinite—endless individual elements work in relation to or against each other, which gives rise to new combinations of those elements, and the process seems to unfold eternally. Synthesizers offer a clear
- [Instrumental: The Sonic Lives of Chad VanGaalen’s Behemoth Yamaha D-85 Electone](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-the-sonic-lives-of-chad-vangaalens-behemoth-yamaha-d-85-electone/) - Chad VanGaalen’s Yamaha D-85 Electone is a real monster. It would take far too long to get into every single thing it does—not to mention the fact it can be tweaked and modified to make seemingly infinite sounds—but the main details are that it’s an old school analog synthesizer with three keyboards and a smattering
- [Folk Music Canada’s International Collaboration Project Brings Together Kindred Spirits](https://amplify.nmc.ca/folk-music-canadas-international-collaboration-project-brings-together-kindred-spirits/) - One of the things artists lost immediately when the pandemic sent us all into lockdowns last year was hanging out, in-the-room-together collaboration. Over a year into this ordeal, we’re still not in a situation—at least not everywhere—which totally allows for face-to-face co-writing, recording, idea tossing, and hugging. But the idea of cutting the collaborative drive
- [Instrumental: Boy Golden Wants to Take You Somewhere Special With His Wurlitzer 200A](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-boy-golden-wants-to-take-you-somewhere-special-with-his-wurlitzer-200a/) - The day after I get off the phone with Boy Golden’s Liam Duncan, he gets in touch via Instagram to send some detailed videos of himself tuning his prized Wurlitzer 200A. He does this because I was fascinated and confused by the process, which he was trying to explain to me. You see, Wurlitzers are
- [Instrumental: Behrooz Mihankhah Fuses Musical Traditions on His Korg SV1](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-behrooz-mihankhah-fuses-musical-traditions-on-his-korg-sv1/) - Up on the top floor of Behrooz Mihankhah’s house, music seems to effortlessly flow from the Iran-born, Halifax-based composer’s fingertips through his Korg SV1, a very heavy electric keyboard and the main tool in his box of many. Between thoughts or during a quick photoshoot or just to reveal how he came to his upbeat
- [Instrumental: Adam Baldwin’s Backbreaking 1970 Gibson Les Paul](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-adam-baldwins-backbreaking-1970-gibson-les-paul/) - Not too far from beautiful downtown Dartmouth, Adam Baldwin is puttering around the house on a sunny day—not a common thing this January—with his tiny dog, Darla, out beside the Atlantic Ocean. Painted flowers abound, conjured by his partner, Jesse Dunleavy, and things are calm, what with his kids at school. Here in Nova Scotia,
- [Instrumental: Kylie V Shapes Their Sound With Intricate Guitar Lines and a Well-Curated Pedalboard](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-kylie-v-shapes-their-sound-with-intricate-guitar-lines-and-a-well-curated-pedalboard/) - When Vancouver artist Kylie V was 13, their grandpa got them a Squier Telecaster for their birthday. At first, they were intimidated by the instrument: ”I'm a really small person with very small hands,” they tell me over the phone from Vancouver. They’d started out playing ukulele a couple years earlier, which, of course, is
- [Instrumental: Anthony OKS’ Voice Blossoms 'In The Garden'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-anthony-oks-voice-blossoms-in-the-garden/) - The most recent project of Winnipeg-based rapper, singer and producer Anthony OKS (aka Anthony Sannie), the In the Garden EP, defies easy categorization. It shifts from soulful, head-nodding hip-hop (“Clearly Now”) into shadowy Afrobeat-inspired numbers (“Boy from Freetown”) and even breezy pop sweetness (“Fortified Bond,” featuring the ever-smooth vocals of Begonia). Throughout, Sannie switches up
- [Meet Bev Davies, who’s been capturing West Coast music for decades](https://amplify.nmc.ca/meet-bev-davies-whos-been-capturing-west-coast-music-for-decades/) - After years taking printmaking and etching at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto and what is now the Emily Carr School of Art + Design in Vancouver, Bev Davies found herself at a D.O.A. show in Burnaby, curious to see what all the fuss was about after their show at the UBC campus was cancelled. At the time, she didn’t feel like she had much to photograph other than her son or her friends, but that changed on March 24, 1979, when she got to the show and thought to herself, “Hot damn, now I have something to photograph.” “My original thought was, "What can I do? This is amazing. What talent do I have that I can contribute?” That's photography,” Davies says over the phone from her home in Delta, British Columbia, on a rainy day in October. “I had a kid, I was a bit older than everyone, so I couldn't, on a social level, contribute or become part of that whole scene. But I definitely could take photographs.” And how. Davies became a staple of the Vancouver punk scene quickly and, besides locals, has shot artists like Joe Strummer, Sting, Henry Rollins, Motörhead, Gang of Four, Billy Idol, and countless others. She would shoot shows, go home, develop the film, make prints, and give the photos away to people at the show the next day. She’s still shooting, too—when we talk, she’s just gotten back from a trip to Europe, taking in the Manchester Psych Fest and Levitation France. When she looks back on her early days shooting shows on the West Coast, she says there was a specific reason she felt taken in by the scene so quickly. "I'd go to stuff and really, seriously, it was the women who looked after me,” Davies says. “The women would save a seat at a table for me, they'd remind me if I left my coat over at the other table. They were just very attentive. And I think part of that is being around so many alcoholics for boyfriends. They just learned how to pick up after them and make sure they got all their stuff. I felt they were very welcoming, and that happened really quickly. They were, you know, "Come sit with us, what are you doing tonight? How are you doing?" That kinda stuff. The guys, phewf, who knows? Not that there weren't women on the stage, because of course there was Mary-Jo from the Modernettes, and the Dish Rags. There weren't lots and lots of women on stage, but they were there.” Davies eventually took her talents to publications, working as a photographer for The Georgia Straight and The Province, where she was even sent down south to shoot shows in the U.S. If something pretty big came up, like Duran Duran’s first gig in town, she was usually able to score a pass because of her connections to the punk scene, from which bands frequently opened for touring acts. And the shows she was shooting got bigger and bigger until, finally, she realized something about what was happening. She got rejected for an AC/DC show, later finding out that it was only because they didn’t, at that time, allow photographers for the first few dates of a tour. But her reaction to being told she couldn’t shoot bothered her. “I sat down and thought, ‘What am I so obsessed about? This is not why I started photographing.’ I started photographing because I really enjoyed the shows," Davies says. "The people enjoyed that there was someone there taking pictures, and I could share them with them and stuff. And I kinda got bent into this fame thing where you have to get bigger and better. So I quit. I just quit. And for about 15 years I guess, I quit. And didn't take photographs at shows for about 15 years, or if I did, did very few things. I'd lost the foundation of what I was there for. The other direction to go, of course, would've been to get a manager and try to get bigger and bigger and see where that goes. That just wasn't me, so I didn't do that.” But, as mentioned previously, Davies returned to shooting shows eventually. And that’s another story in and of itself. During this hiatus, she had read somewhere that Joey Shithead from D.O.A. was having a yard sale, and got a hold of him to see whether she could set up a table and sell her photographs for $5 each. While she was sitting in the backyard with Randy Rampage, a man came up and started quietly, thoughtfully going through all of her photos, and once he was done, turned to Davies and gave her his card, telling her he’d love to interview her. “I looked at the card and it was Nardwuar,” Davies says. “It was Nardwuar not being Nardwuar—he didn't have any of the plaid stuff on, he was just a guy. I said okay, so then he would go through a bunch of printed photographs, and get some ideas, and he'd lay a bunch of photographs aside, and then he would arrange to come back in a couple weeks with the questions. He made up the questions based on what photographs he wanted to use.” During the chats Davies had with Nardwuar, she became quite aware that she was talking to the notoriously wild and in-depth interviewer about what she used to do, the life she used to live. But it was also through those interviews and, of course, a particularly exciting show, that she decided to bring her camera out to gigs again. “Like, ‘Those were my pictures, and that's what I used to do,'" Davies says of the interviews. “And I was pretty clear on all of that. Then I met Anton Newcombe from the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I'd seen Dig!, and I went to a show at Richard's on Richard's, I think in 2004, and was standing in the audience, and thought, ‘This is what I wanna do again. I wanna take pictures again.’ Nardwuar had brought me out in that kinda sense that I was willing to talk about myself, which no one had even bothered to ask me for 15 years. And Anton brought the music to me. So I started photographing again.” It’s not like she had stopped going to shows in the meantime, of course. A lot of regular concert-goers sometimes skip out on seeing bands they’ve seen a few times before if it winds up being inconvenient, but Davies doesn’t really buy into the idea that it’s ever an okay time to pass up seeing one of your favourite acts. When she talked to someone who explained that was the exact reason they wouldn’t be going to a show, she was almost shocked. “That just sounded wrong to me, somehow or another, having never seen that band myself,” Davies says. “And I thought, ‘God, you know, what if I hadn't have gone to The Ramones the last time they came to Vancouver with Deborah Harry on that Escape From New York tour?’ If I'd have gone, ‘Oh, I've seen The Ramones so many times, I'll see them at The Commodore next time…’ They died! There was no next time. That was the last time I saw them. It feels like it could go on forever, and it doesn't. Life doesn't go on forever.” And on that topic, a life-long dedication to hitting up shows and being involved in the lives of musicians, especially ones you only get to see on tour, means that of course, she misses some people. When I ask who sticks out, she says Lemmy Kilmister, the hard-partying frontman for Motörhead, who died at the end of 2015. “There was a quality that Lemmy had for one reason or another, that honestly made you feel that you were a friend of his,” Davies says. One of her other celebrity connections was Neil Young, who used to hang out at a Toronto restaurant with her and her pals. “He would go put money in the jukebox to play "California Dreamin'" and talk about wanting to go to California and be a rock star,” Davies says with a laugh. "’Oh, come on, let's all go to California!’ I didn't have the money to go. Neil had to tell me I couldn't go. He's not good with crying young women. Maybe he's learned since then, but at that point he was on the verge of tears, too.” Things have changed a lot in the nearly four decades since Davies started taking her Canon A-1 to shows—at most gigs, you’ve only got three songs to get your shots, and you can’t use flash. Photo pits are a lot more common. Photo passes are almost always necessary. But the basics still exist: you’re in a public place where everyone’s goal is to have a good time, and there are things photographers should always keep in mind when they’re occupying that space. They’re fans too, after all. And she has some excellent advice for people who are looking to get into shooting live music. “Be kind to the other photographers,” Davies says. “You don't have to like their work, you don't have to even see their work, ever. But you're sharing a space with them, there's no reason to be an asshole. Be kind to the audience, because you're standing in front of them for the first three songs. Enjoy it. It's a special place, as a photographer, that you get to go, between the audience and the band. It's a privilege to be there.” So why does she keep shooting shows? Why did she return after 15 years away from snapping bands? Why does she keep her camera on her now when she makes the trek to festivals? That answer is simple: “Because I can!,” Davies says, laughing.
- [Instrumental—How Luke Doucet’s Gretsch White Falcon Helped Build His Signature Sound](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-how-luke-doucets-gretsch-white-falcon-helped-build-his-signature-sound/) - Man, does Luke Doucet know his gear. More than a couple times during our conversation, the co-bandleader of Whitehorse—the modern rock ‘n’ roll group he fronts alongside his wife, Melissa McClelland—goes on at length about the inner workings behind his sound, always at a pace I’m far too uneducated to follow. But it all seems to be a long way of getting to a simple point: Doucet’s masterful crunch and meticulously crafted sound is owed mostly to his Gretsch White Falcon.
- [Instrumental: Aaron Goldstein On His Custom Show Pro Pedal Steel Guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-aaron-goldstein-on-his-custom-show-pro-pedal-steel-guitar/) - If you’ve listened to any country, folk, Americana, or rootsy rock ‘n’ roll that’s come out of Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe from the past decade—not to mention multiple and numerous acts who’ve stomped their way through tunes on the stage of Toronto’s most famous honky tonk, The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern—there’s a good chance you’ve heard Aaron Goldstein. For quite a while now, he’s been a go-to hired gun for some of Canada’s most celebrated musicians when they’re on the hunt for a pedal steel player. Just a few of his credits include albums and stints with Daniel Romano, Bry Webb, Cowboy Junkies, Lee Harvey Osmond, The Sadies, and The Weather Station, not to mention his own project Espanola. And pedal steel players are few and far between, which has a little to do with how Goldstein got his start.
- [Instrumental: The Blood, Sweat & Tears In Matt Mays’ Thrashed J-45](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-the-blood-sweat-tears-in-matt-mays-thrashed-j-45/) - On a cool day in early October, Matt Mays stands in the middle of the dim-lit Sonic Temple, a recording studio that lies in the middle of busy downtown Halifax. But to be up there, on the third floor, you’d never know it. Housed in a heritage building that’s nearly 200-years-old, this space on the third floor is incredibly warm and homey, with ornate rugs on the floor and walls, exposed, deep red brick, and instruments scattered all over the place. Even without the heritage property designation out front (the row of buildings began its life as the Johnson Drug Building), the place’s history is palpable. Which is not unlike the 1967 Gibson J-45 that Mays cradles and strums while he wistfully acknowledges its almost certainly eventful life before and after his time as its owner.
- [Instrumental: Rayannah’s Looping Pedal Granted Her The Freedom To Experiment Without Limits](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-rayannahs-looping-pedal-granted-her-the-freedom-to-experiment-without-limits/) - >Rayannah has been making music for ages. Beginning—like many musicians do—as a kid and then pursuing musical studies in university, she eventually switched gears to work as a freelancer, playing weddings, contributing to fellow artists’ songs, and doing restaurant gigs. But a few years later, she decided she wanted to try her hand at writing her own stuff instead of interpreting existing material. It was her looping pedal—a BOSS RC-50, which she settled on after renting and testing out a bunch of different models—that she got as she was finishing up her bachelor’s degree, that opened up new worlds of potential for the places she wanted to take her music.
- [Instrumental: Jean-Michel Blais’ Upright Piano Turns 18](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-jean-michel-blais-upright-piano-turns-18/) - In early April, the piano that composer Jean-Michel Blais has been playing since he was a teenager still had no permanent home. About a year prior, in the spring of 2018, Blais recorded Eviction Sessions at his apartment, an EP named for the fact that he’d soon be on his way out of the place, not by any choice of his own. He says a writer for the Montreal Gazette pointed out that it may be the last album of the Mile End era, as the neighbourhood that has so long been an artist haven continues to be gentrified. He lists a sushi restaurant, banh mi spot, a second-hand sports shop, and a café as just a few of the victims.
- [Exploring The Legacy of Nash The Slash and His Gnarly Skull Mandolin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/exploring-the-legacy-of-nash-the-slash-his-gnarly-skull-mandolin/) - Nash The Slash Stage Outfit. c. 2010. Tuxedo Handmade By Alexander Custom Tailors, Sunglasses Made By Lunettes IDC, Top Hat Made By Smithbilt Hats Inc. “He was great,” Brunton says. “Very opinionated, very funny, very smart, very interesting. He could have a terrible, terrible temper, which I was never on the receiving end of, thank goodness. We ended up working together for a couple years after the Roxy Theatre. Gary Topp ran a place called the New Yorker on Yonge Street. And it was the same kinda thing, where we had two different movies a night and stuff like that. For about a year, Nash was the manager, I was the assistant. Our routine was basically, once the audience was in and seated, we would take turns going to the basement, smoking some pot, and then running across the street to the pinball parlour. But like I said before, he was so opinionated and had such strong, strong views and feelings, that you would just see his face start to get redder and redder and literally see the veins popping out of his neck when he got excited about something. But we're also discovering that he had a lot of different faces to different people. It's funny—I'd known the guy for over 40 years, I'm discovering things I never knew about him.” Norris says that he hopes the doc will, “leave some, as he would say, 'bread crumbs in the forest' for new artists coming up, to learn the history of electronic and industrial music in Canada and Nash's role in the bigger world picture—how he was such a pioneer and innovator at the time with some very rudimentary gear." And You Thought You Were Normal might be the best avenue for people curious about Nash The Slash’s legacy to find out more. But the team needs a little more help to get it finished. You can donate to their Indiegogo campaign to help them get what they need, and grab yourself some pretty exciting stuff in advance, including one of Nash’s actual violins. To learn more about Nash The Slash and his gnarly signature skull mandolin, which is currently on exhibit at NMC, click HERE.
- [Instrumental: How John K. Samson’s Beardsell JKS Helps Him Create Beauty Within His Boundaries](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-how-john-k-samsons-beardsell-jks-helps-him-create-beauty-within-his-boundaries/) - Warm April sunlight is spilling through the window of a not-so-empty room on the top floor of John K. Samson’s Winnipeg home, illuminating a writing desk, shelves dense with books, a Fender Deluxe Reverb, and a couple guitars. Samson just grabbed one of them, his ‘62 Gibson Melody Maker, from down the hall, and is showing me the signatures on it: Aimee Mann, Billy Bragg, John Prine. “That’s kind of the trinity of songwriters who I love,” he says. With one pickup, one tone knob, and one volume knob, the Melody Maker is economical almost to a fault. It’s a tool that’s well-suited to Samson’s approach to his art—that is, that art and work are synonymous. He’s a worker. Anything more than the essentials is excessive. And any excess would just get in the way.
- [Instrumental—Partner’s Vulnerable Solo Stepping and Six-String Heroics](https://amplify.nmc.ca/instrumental-partners-vulnerable-solo-stepping-and-six-string-heroics/) - When Partner’s debut full-length, In Search of Lost Time, dropped in the fall of 2017, it was heralded by many as beacon of giddily ballistic rock ‘n’ roll hope—almost 40 minutes packed with in-jokes about Melissa Etheridge drawings and pissed pants, songs about cheesy pick-up lines and getting stoned, and even a voicemail from dad. For those who’d already been following along and proselytizing ad nauseum about the band’s mythically fun live show and indomitable charm, their concerts were (and remain) never-to-be-missed events. It’s largely due to a couple major factors: Lucy Niles’ Godzilla-sized riffs and Josée Caron’s face-melting solos. And recently In Search of Lost Time has rightly picked up some accolades. It was just longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and one of the album’s singles, “Play The Field”—a song born from a conversation “about how sporty girls are hot,” Niles says—nabbed them the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, which comes with a Yamaha PSR-S970 keyboard, $500 gift certificate to Long & McQuade and $10,000 cash. What does a young band of rock ‘n’ roll enthusiasts do with so much dough?
- [Record Rewind: Lowest of the Low's Shakespeare My Butt at 30](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-lowest-of-the-lows-shakespeare-my-butt-at-30/) - Lyrics that speak to politics with a lowercase P; passion for—and reflections on—life in the big city; combine this formula with 17 songs featuring melodies that hook you like a boxer’s trained blow. These are just a few reasons why Lowest of the Low’s Shakespeare My Butt still resonates 30 years later. The other is
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 13): How April Wine Turned A Rejection Letter Into Their Big Break](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-13-how-april-wine-turned-a-rejection-letter-into-their-big-break/) - Jim Henman can remember the exact day he first met Myles Goodwyn in 1963. Henman's family had just moved to Halifax from rural Clam Harbour in eastern Nova Scotia. "This skinny little kid came running through the woods saying, 'I hear somebody here plays guitar,'" recalls Henman. "To meet somebody when you're 16 years old and have
- [Record Rewind: The Tragically Hip's 'Road Apples' at 30](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-the-tragically-hips-road-apples-at-30/) - A dozen songs that clock in just shy of 50 minutes with hooks aplenty, I bought Road Apples in Grade 12. In the ensuing decades, it’s been played more than most of my 1,500 CDs. I also own the vinyl. Thirty years on, I still know the words to every song. And, when I sing
- [Crown Lands on The Road Less Travelled](https://amplify.nmc.ca/crown-lands-on-the-road-less-travelled/) - Weirdos unite! Musical influences that count prog rock stalwarts such as Rush, King Crimson, and early 1970s Genesis as touchstones; lyrics that find inspiration from Tolkien, Ginsberg, transpersonal psychology, and the absurdity of life in these uncertain times. Add in a name, Crown Lands, that sums up its raison dêtre—to represent empowerment for marginalized communities—and
- [Shopé Shares Soundtrack to Summer Olympics, "RISING"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/shope-shares-soundtrack-to-summer-olympics-rising/) - Nigeria-born, Toronto-based Afrofusion songwriter Shopé is sharing a new track, called "RISING," which was written and recorded during his 2019 artist residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC). Shopé was the winner of CBC's Searchlight contest in 2019, winning an opportunity to record at NMC's world-class studios, among other prizes. Inspired
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 11): Confessions of a Teen Idol – Tony DeFranco & The DeFranco Family](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-11-confessions-of-a-teen-idol-tony-defranco-the-defranco-family/) - With headlines like, "Tony's ticklish! Find out where!", a 13-year old Tony DeFranco was introduced to the world by Tiger Beat magazine, and became Canada's entry in the teen idol world of the 1970s. Creepy by today's standards, the magazine was famous for promoting fresh-faced young singers and actors to early teen and pre-teen girls, and crammed
- [Nudie Cohn: The Original Country Trendsetter](https://amplify.nmc.ca/nudie-cohn-the-original-country-trendsetter/) - If you’ve noticed a recent proliferation of bedazzled cowboy suits in the music world and beyond - think Lil Nas X, Orville Peck, Kacey Musgraves, and Trixie Mattel - this western-camp aesthetic is not new. Country music loves a stage costume, whether it’s Johnny Cash in black, or the jeans-flannel-boots-hat uniform of country-pop stars, or the trademark,
- [Music Fans Before Social Media: Bill Borgwardt’s Terri Clark Collection](https://amplify.nmc.ca/music-fans-before-social-media-bill-borgwardts-terri-clark-collection/) - In the Internet age, it can be easy to forget what being a fan of an artist was like before everyone had Instagram or could book concert tickets online. Photographer Bill Borgwardt spent two decades collecting memorabilia for Canadian country artist Terri Clark. With the collection’s generous donation to the National Music Centre (NMC), I
- [Record Rewind: Northern Cree's 'Rockin’ the Rez'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-rockin-the-rez-northern-cree/) - It starts and ends with the drum. Then, voices come in. Each singer takes a turn singing lead. To first-time listeners, the experience overwhelms. This is powwow music. Powerful is an understatement; spiritual, definitely. Few perform it better than the Northern Cree Singers — one of the most recognized and respected purveyors of the genre.
- [Record Rewind: Joel Plaskett Emergency's 'Down at the Khyber' at 20](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-joel-plaskett-emergency-down-at-the-khyber-at-20/) - “Stories are not so much what the truth was, but more about the emotional space everybody was residing in at that time.” – Joel Plaskett Growing up in Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, it was only natural for Joel Plaskett to pick up a guitar and embark on
- [First-Time Winners, Chill-Inducing Performances Mark Junos 50](https://amplify.nmc.ca/first-time-winners-chill-inducing-performances-mark-junos-50/) - On Sunday night, the Canadian music industry gathered to celebrate, though it was not in the usual way. Like most events scheduled throughout the pandemic, Junos 50 had to pivot. CARAS (the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) President Allan Reid had hoped the golden edition could still be saved and be a smaller
- [Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s First Synthesizer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/uncovering-the-secrets-of-the-worlds-first-synthesizer/) - This article originally appeared on the Ingenium Channel. It was republished with permission from Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation. Seventy-five years ago, Canadian physicist Hugh Le Caine began work on a strange, new musical instrument with an equally strange name: the Electronic Sackbut. While you may not have heard of the Electronic
- [An Orchestra at your Fingertips: The New Sound](https://amplify.nmc.ca/an-orchestra-at-your-fingertips-pt-2-the-new-sound/) - Every once in a while, an instrument comes along that changes the course of music history forever. Whether the influence is technical or cultural, some instruments just have the potential to inspire artists to think outside the box and experiment with new sounds and styles. Most of these game-changing instruments are well known and frequently acknowledged for their contributions to music. But outside the realm of the revered piano or electric guitar, there are a few quirky, lesser-known instruments that have had a surprisingly big impact on what we listen to today.
- [An Orchestra at your Fingertips: the Chamberlin and Mellotron Tape Replay Keyboards](https://amplify.nmc.ca/an-orchestra-at-your-fingertips/) - Artifact Profile, Part 1 In this two-part blog post, we’ll step into NMC’s instrument collection and profile two unique artifacts that have had a lasting cultural and historical impact on music. Both instrument types have complex, controversial, and very much interconnected histories. As such, this inaugural artifact profile will be split into two entries, allowing
- [Record Rewind: 54-40's The Green Album](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-54-40s-the-green-album/) - Forty years since forming in Vancouver’s suburbs, 54-40 remains one of Canada’s most beloved rock bands. Their collective body of songs resonate with new generations and offer nostalgia for those who have followed them on their journey. Maybe none more than the 12 tracks that comprise their self-titled U.S. label debut. Known to fans as
- [The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern: The Lifeblood of Toronto’s Live Music Scene](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-legendary-horseshoe-tavern/) - Starr soon became known as one of the most welcoming and most enthusiastic small club owners in Canada, often putting up artists in his own home. He was committed to the development of both national and local Canadian acts, which fueled the tavern’s day-to-day success early on. As country acts began to give way to
- [Massey Hall: 120 Years of Music and Culture in Toronto](https://amplify.nmc.ca/massey-hall/) - Highlights from Season 1 of Live at Massey Hall. With an official capacity of 2,753––the venue was originally designed to hold 3,500, but seating was reduced after renovations in 1933––Massey Hall was long one of the city’s largest venues. For this reason, it came to serve many different purposes. Among the hall’s very first residents were
- [Calgary's King Eddy: Keeping the Legend Alive](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-eddy-keeping-the-legend-alive/) - What role does authenticity have in guiding our choices today? I remember my first visit to the King Eddy when I was still an undergraduate summering for wages (1989-1994) in Jasper, Alberta from Concordia University in Montréal. I had shuttled some out of town travelers from Jasper to Calgary—I was a bellhop (fun job!) at
- [R.I.P. The Tavern of The Damned: Logan's Pub Another Casualty of Pandemic](https://amplify.nmc.ca/https-amplify-nmc-ca-r-i-p-the-tavern-of-the-damned-logans-pub-another-casualty-of-pandemic/) - A vital cog of the alternative and indie scene on Vancouver Island, this past October Logan’s Pub closed its doors for good. Another live music venue casualty due to the pandemic.
- [Canadian Author David McPherson Pens Book on The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern](https://amplify.nmc.ca/canadian-author-david-mcpherson-pens-book-on-the-legendary-horseshoe-tavern/) - Since 1947, except for a few blips and lean years best forgotten, the Horseshoe Tavern has stood guard just around the corner from Queen and Spadina for over 70 years. Where other North American landmarks such as New York’s CBGB and The Bottom Line now only exist with a plaque and music memories in people’s
- [The Carleton and 'The Patron Saint' of the Halifax Music Scene](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-carleton-and-the-patron-saint-of-the-halifax-music-scene/) - If ever there was a venue to personify the spirit and resolve of the Halifax music scene, it might be The Carleton Music Bar & Grill. Since opening almost a decade ago, the venue has built a reputation for its impeccable sound and programming of A-list Maritime singer-songwriters, indie rockers, writers, poets and comedians. Not to
- [Winnipeg's Outsider Nightspot: The Story of the Die Maschine and Collective Cabaret](https://amplify.nmc.ca/die-maschine-cabaret-winnipegs-outsider-nightspot/) - In 1995, Mark Souce was Robert Smith reincarnate—his coif was hair-sprayed and teased, his lips were stained red, and his eyes were smudged with black eyeliner. A fixture on the local alternative music scene, he was frequently spotted at the Die Maschine, a storied nightclub in Winnipeg, where goth, industrial, techno, new wave and Britpop
- [The Fillmore Meets The Shining: A History of Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-fillmore-meets-the-shining-a-history-of-vancouvers-commodore-ballroom/) - Chapman knows historic music venues; he wrote the book on Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom. From big band and swing to punk rock, pop, jazz and blues, Vancouver’s most famous (and infamous) room has played host to the greats of every genre of music.
- [From Portuguese Club to Winnipeg Music Mecca: A History of the West End Cultural Centre](https://amplify.nmc.ca/from-portuguese-club-to-winnipeg-music-mecca-a-history-of-the-west-end-cultural-centre/) - Luke Doucet and his girlfriend got caught with their pants down in the boiler room here one New Year’s Eve when he was 17. A teenage Romi Mayes drank Gowan’s beer in the green room here, while the JUNO-award winning artist covered “Good Golly Miss Molly.” The common thread: one of Winnipeg’s most treasured venues: the West End Cultural Centre (WECC).
- [From Big Band Dance Hall to Lakeside Musical Landmark: A History of Muskoka's The Kee to Bala](https://amplify.nmc.ca/from-big-band-dance-hall-to-lakeside-musical-landmark-a-history-of-muskokas-the-kee-to-bala/) - Picture this: a sultry summer night, circa early-to-mid 1990s. The exact date is not important. It’s all part of the magic and the lore. Joey Ramone, with his trademark black leather jacket and tight blue jeans slinks out of a rented white van. Sweat drips from his furrowed brow. He gazes at the tall pines and the beauty of this ever-changing Group of Seven painting come to life as he takes the last drag of his cigarette. The place: a tiny Muskoka town. The venue: The Kee to Bala. Far from his New York home, the skinny punk rocker is definitely out of place. No matter. He is here to spread his punk-rock gospel to Canadian cottagers. He steps into the club, removes his jacket, and hangs it on a rack in the cramped backstage area. A couple of hours later, Ramone steps onto that storied stage. With his trademark 1-2-3-4, the band launch into a spirited evening that added to the already legendary status of this venue.
- [Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club: Where Everyone Knows Your Name](https://amplify.nmc.ca/times-changed-high-lonesome-club-where-everyone-knows-your-name/) - Scene magazine once described it as “a Tom-Waitsian masterpiece of honky-tonk glitz and grit.” To locals, and artists, who have played The Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, it’s simply their home — a place for drifters and dreamers, misfits, and musical souls to congregate and find a supportive community. “I have never been a
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 10): Daniel Lanois Opens First Studio –– In His Mother's Basement](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-candian-music-track-10-daniel-lanois-opens-first-studio-in-his-mothers-basement/) - Author's Note: The interview for this story was recorded April 9, 2021, with the story written a few days later. Sadly, Bob Lanois, Daniel's brother and co-founder of their recording studio, passed away April 19. Although never intended as a tribute to his brother, Daniel spoke about him throughout the interview with affection, respect and
- [How'd You Get that Artifact?](https://amplify.nmc.ca/howd-nmc-get-that-artifact/) - "How'd you get that?" is a question we're often asked. There are many considerations behind our collecting practices. Our goal is to make music accessible to all Canadians—from those who visit Studio Bell to the many amazing artists who record in our studios. As such, NMC's collections team spends much more time cataloguing, maintaining, conserving,
- [Collections Online Database](https://amplify.nmc.ca/collections-online-database/) - Gearheads and music aficionados can browse the online collections database of the National Music Centre (NMC) at the click of a mouse. Featuring 50 newly added artifacts and another 250 previously uploaded collection pieces, the online resource connects music lovers from around the world to NMC’s extensive and rare collection of musical instruments and memorabilia.
- [Record Rewind: Sloan's 'One Chord to Another' 25th Anniversary](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-sloans-one-chord-to-another-25th-anniversary/) - Low budget, lo-fi, and lovable. A dozen songs and 38 minutes of 1960s influenced garage rock with a punk attitude. One Chord to Another pays homage to the likes of Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, the Zombies, and the Sex Pistols. Twenty-five years on, Sloan’s seminal record remains the band’s biggest seller and still strikes
- [Community Storytellers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/community-storytellers-online/) - From Buck Shot's guitar to a Gord Downie penny tribute, the National Music Centre is offering a preview of its Community Storytellers exhibition online. The virtual edition is just a snippet of a much larger exhibition that will be unveiled when Studio Bell reopens. Interesting, unusual, and meaningful musical artifacts and stories from the Alberta
- [Music, Makers & Machines](https://amplify.nmc.ca/music-makers-machines/) - Over 50 partners from around the world, including the National Music Centre, have come together to share the origins and evolution of electronic music for Music, Makers & Machines, a free, bilingual online exhibition.
- [Record Rewind: Rheostatics' 'Music Inspired by The Group of Seven' Turns 25](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-rheostatics-music-inspired-by-the-group-of-seven/) - By: David McPherson Music and art are natural friends. Many musicians don’t just paint pictures with words and melodies; they also pour these creative thoughts onto canvases. Tom Wilson, Kurt Swinghammer, and Joni Mitchell are a few examples of multi-talented Canadian artists who express their creativity and imagination across disciplines. In the fall of 1995,
- [Bobby Curtola: Rise of a Canadian teen idol](https://amplify.nmc.ca/bobby-curtola-rise-of-a-canadian-teen-idol/) - Canadian teen dream, Bobby Curtola. During the tail end of the 1950s and much of the 1960s, radio airwaves across North America were dominated by names like Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, and Johnny Crawford. In Canada, a dimple-faced singer named Bobby Curtola became the nation’s very own rock ‘n’ roll teen idol. Within months of releasing his first single, “Hand In Hand With You,” in January of 1960, a 16-year-old Curtola went from pumping gas at his father’s garage in Thunder Bay, Ontario to performing on The Bob Hope Show. And, in 1962, thanks to DJs such as Vancouver’s Red Robinson supporting his single “Fortune Teller,” Curtola became an international star, receiving the first gold record in Canada, and spurring on a coast-to-coast craze. "Hand in Hand With You," Bobby Curtola's 1960 hit single. With his charm and boy-next-door good looks, Curtola quickly made a name for himself in the fall of 1958, singing with his band Bobby and the Bobcats at high school assemblies around Thunder Bay. “I sing the Richie Valens song ‘Oh Donna’ at an assembly—and the kids love it, they go crazy,” the now 72-year-old says from his home near Liverpool, Nova Scotia. “Now we’re playing at the noon sock hop and we’re just making up songs.” Before long, kids started coming from other high schools to see Bobby and the Bobcats perform. Then the band was filling gymnasiums at other high schools and playing dances at the inner-city coliseum. Stories about the young upstarts soon followed in the local papers. The craze that would later be referred to as "Curtolamania" had begun. “I guess I sounded enough like the other Bobbys, Frankies and Johnnys to fit in,” he says. Brothers Dyer and Basil Hurdon, Curtola’s future managers, main songwriters, and founders of the Tartan Record label, heard about the young vocalist and asked him to sing lead on one side of an album they were recording at a local radio station. “They invite me over and I’m all shook up to do this,” Curtola says. “You know, this is like a dream come true. What are the odds that two brothers would have a songwriting hobby and actually be trying to record music—and I get to sing on it? This is unbelievable. It’s like you’re making this up. Was this really going on?” Bobby Curtola with Richie Knight & The Mid-Knights in 1961. The 1960s was a time when radio ruled, when the DJs were bigger superstars than the acts. Winnipeg was an epicentre for rock ‘n’ roll, breeding acts like the Mongrels, the Pallbearers, Chad Allan & The Reflections, the Deverons, the Guess Who and Neil Young and The Squires. DJs, such as PJ the DJ and Doug Burrows, were the first in the country to play Curtola’s record in February of 1960, helping to make it the biggest selling single in the city until the Beatles obliterated record sales during the British Invasion of 1963. “There was an impresario in Winnipeg that heard about the success of my record,” Curtola says. “Bob Hope was coming to town in March, so from February to March it just ran up the hit parade and stayed #1 for quite a while. Then, in March, I get invited to be on The Bob Hope Show in Winnipeg. Like, how did this happen? I tell everyone the vibrato in my voice was fear.” His appearance on The Bob Hope Show in Winnipeg ended in a ten-minute long applause, as Curtola remembers. The gig solidified his star power and marked the end of any sort of normalcy while on the road. After that, Curtola couldn’t go anywhere without being mobbed by screaming girls. “We go back to our dressing room and there’s more people outside my dressing room than Bob Hope’s,” Curtola says, laughing. “Bob Hope comes to my dressing room and says ‘I don’t know who the hell you are Bobby, but I gotta meet you because there are more people at your dressing room than mine.’ So he comes in and congratulates me. What a guy, eh? Ever since that show he and I were good friends.” Being swarmed by rabid fans wasn't unusual for the young singer at the height of his career. Although the young Curtola had a hit in Canada, he hadn’t yet penetrated the American market. But Vancouver’s undisputed king of radio Red Robinson would soon change all of that. As Curtola notes, you can’t tell his story without including Robinson. The noted DJ championed rock ‘n’ roll in its early years, and was the first Canadian DJ to play records by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. “In all of these pockets across the country were these superstars: the DJs,” Curtola says. “If you went to Vancouver in those days, there was nobody bigger than Red Robinson. If there’s ever a story to be told or one that’s always missed, it’s the one about Red.” Robinson sent Curtola’s single “Fortune Teller,” which was only available in Canada, to his friend at a station in Seattle, who then sent it to someone in Hawaii. "Fortune Teller," Bobby Curtola's 1962 chart-topper, made the singer an international star. “It’s going up the charts like crazy with no records,” Curtola remembers. “So we’re transporting a plane full of records from Canada to Hawaii. I got the #1 song in Hawaii. Then it’s #1 in Seattle. Then I go to L.A. and it’s on the Top 22. “I do a show with Dionne Warwick; I’m on Hullabaloo; I’m doing all of these dance shows; Bob Keane, who owned Del-Fi Records, signs a deal with us because we’re getting so much airplay everywhere. That single really changed everything for me.” With the massive success of “Fortune Teller,” which sold 2.5 million records worldwide, Curtola was asked to join Dick Clark and his Cavalcade of Stars, and that same year in 1962 he met the Beatles and appeared on the famous British TV variety show Thank Your Lucky Stars. “Music was limitless at that time,” he says. “It wasn’t about being a Canadian or an American—it was about the hits. If you had a rock ‘n’ roll hit, you were in the gang with all of them. You got on the bus with Dick Clark. “That was the beginning of that whole thing. The rock ‘n’ roll explosion, the explosion of the transistor radio—that changed everything.” Bobby Curtola ran up the hit parade again with single, "Move Over," in 1964. Amid Curtola’s coast-to-coast tours of Canada, he befriended an emerging Winnipeg rock group, who would act as his occasional backing band for Winnipeg dates. That band’s name was Chad Allan & The Reflections (later called Chad Allan & The Expressions). This was before 1965's Shakin’ All Over, of course, and before they become the supergroup known as the Guess Who. “When they put out that first record (1963 single 'Shy Guy'), we were on a western tour of Canada,” Curtola says. “Burton (Cummings) wasn’t in the band at this time. I went into every radio station during our western tour and got all the guys I knew to play the record and it really kicked their record in the butt.” In the Randy Bachman and John Einarson-penned Tales From Beyond The Tap, Bachman wrote about touring with Curtola across Western Canada from Edmonton’s Klondike Days to the Calgary Stampede. “It was an opportunity for us to travel and promote our records," Bachman wrote. "We had ‘Shy Guy’ out at the time. At the Stampede we played the Teen Tent with him sponsored by Coca-Cola. That was our first encounter with screaming girls who came to see Bobby every night. It was our taste of the rock ‘n’ roll limelight…Bobby Curtola was a decent singer and performer and a nice guy who came along when Canadian teenagers were looking for their very own Elvis or Cliff Richard and he filled that void. And he was very successful at it.” "Shakin' All Over" off the 1965 debut self-titled album by the Guess Who. By 1972, Curtola had outgrown his teen idol image, and had secured a residency performing in hotels and in Las Vegas. Like so many crooners before and after him, he found himself singing in the same lounges where Frank Sinatra wooed Hollywood stars and high rollers, and Elvis made his comeback. “Elvis used to come to my shows,” he says. “I could always tell when he would come. It was always in the winter when there weren’t a lot of people in town—mid-January before the tours came…he’d come in with his disguises and he always came in with two beautiful women—one on each side—so you could never sit with him…he’d stay for no more than two songs, give me the sign and then go.” Bobby Curtola performing in Las Vegas. When Elvis passed away, Curtola was given a ring that Elvis used to wear while performing at the Las Vegas Hilton. “It’s one of my prized possessions, “ Curtola says. “I don’t wear it often, but I like to look at it on stage to remind me of how unreal my life has been. How does this happen to a guy from Thunder Bay?” –Julijana Capone
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 7): How Colin Linden Got The Blues, Direct From Howlin' Wolf](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-7-how-colin-linden-got-the-blues-direct-from-howlin-wolf/) - By: Bob Mersereau No Drake. No Bublé. No Mendes. The only Canadian who took to the Grammy podium as a winner at the January 2020 awards was the humble roots/bluesman Colin Linden. He was there with his longtime friend Keb Mo' to accept the award for Best Americana Album, Keb Mo's Oklahoma, which Linden co-produced. While
- [Origin Stories: Maestro Fresh Wes' "Let Your Backbone Slide"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-maestro-fresh-wes-let-your-backbone-slide/) - As has historically been the case with a lot of things, the Canadian music industry was slow to recognize hip-hop. During the 1980s, there were hip-hop communities flourishing all over the country, particularly in cities like Montreal, Halifax and Toronto. Artists like Michie Mee, Devon, HDV, MCJ and Cool G, Dream Warriors, and Get Loose Crew, among countless others, were actively shaping the sound of Canadian hip-hop.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 4): More Grizzly Than Teddy – The Early Blues Rock Years of Edward Bear](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-4-edward-bear/) - It seems almost a ridiculous billing today, akin to the famous tour where Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees. But when Edward Bear opened for Led Zeppelin 50 years ago in Toronto, not once but twice within a three-month span, they were a much different band than the pop hitmakers we remember today. Three years before "Last Song" made the group soft pop heroes and sold a million, Edward Bear was one of Toronto's hottest blues-rock outfits, and some say the band even bettered the mighty Zeppelin on those 1969 shows.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 5): Party Animals – The Irish Rovers And The Real Story Behind "Wasn't That A Party"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-5-party-animals-the-irish-rovers-and-the-real-story-behind-wasnt-that-a-party/) - Could've been the whisky. Might have been the gin. It's one of the most famous parties in popular music, a tale of way too much liquor and one massive hangover, a huge hit for the Irish Rovers in 1981. Err, The Rovers. But that's another story, we'll get to it.
- [Collections Pick: Pleyel Duoclave Grand Piano  ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/collections-pick-pleyel-duo-clave-grand-piano/) - Musical instrument restorers, at some point in their careers, are likely to be confronted with an instrument that teaches a valuable (and sometimes hard) lesson. It may be an instrument that is damaged beyond repair. It could require obsolete parts or rare parts that are no longer available. Or past restorative efforts may have made it impossible to regain the instrument’s full potential.
- [Record Rewind: 50 Years of Bad Manors](https://amplify.nmc.ca/record-rewind-50-years-of-bad-manors/) - By: David McPherson A little boogie-woogie, buckets of blues, and heaps of rock ‘n’ roll. That’s Crowbar. Frank Davies, owner of Daffodil Records, the label that released three LPs by these musical miscreants from Hamilton in the early 1970s, knows this cast of characters better than most. He introduces us to the band behind Bad
- [TONTO has arrived at NMC!](https://amplify.nmc.ca/2136/) - “Once upon a time, Tonto represented the cutting edge of artificial intelligence in the world of music.” — Mark Mothersbaugh The National Music Centre (NMC) is proud to announce a major acquisition of a new instrument artifact. In late 2013, NMC acquired The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO) from inventor and owner Malcolm Cecil. TONTO
- [Paul White: Canada's Original A&R Man](https://amplify.nmc.ca/paul-white-capitol-records-canadas-original-ar-man/) - Paul White isn’t coy about his opinions on music. His achievements during his tenure at Capitol Records Canada from 1957-1978 are significant. He is credited for breaking The Beatles in Canada six months before the U.S., sparking Beatlemania in North America. He helped launch the career of Anne Murray, and he is responsible for the release of too many noteworthy Canadian albums to count throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s. “I’ve always had an eclectic taste, but the only thing I’m not into is rap,” he confesses. If you ask him about the Canadian bands that never got their due, he’ll tell you that Toronto’s The Ugly Ducklings were “just as good as The Rolling Stones,” and that Vancouver’s Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck “had interesting-looking press pictures,” but “didn’t quite make it.” Or that Bobby Curtola was "the first genuine Canadian pop star, who has never received the credit he deserved," and Terry Black “was very good-looking" and "I thought, well ‘this guy’s gonna go far.'" He went so far that nobody ever heard of him again. (White's line, not mine.) "Times Are Changing" by Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck circa 1969. Terry Black performing "Unless You Care" on American Bandstand in 1964. White knows his music, and has been championing music in Canada since he fell into the business in 1957. How a British expat ended up climbing his way to the top of the Canadian music industry ladder is another story altogether. So here it goes. When White arrived in Canada from England in 1957, he was an out-of-work reporter with dreams of working at the Toronto Star or The Telegram. “They politely told me that I had no experience in Canada, so why don’t I go off to the boondocks and get some experience?” White says. “I looked in The Telegram and there was a shipping job at Capitol Records. I thought, ‘What’s a shipper?’, because in England they’re called warehouse men. I went down there, and there was about 75 people all going for two jobs. I got the job simply because I had references, and the guy that was interviewing me thought it was so funny that there was going to be a shipper who brought references with him. He took a chance on me. The next day I forgot where the place was and almost lost the job.” White worked his way from the stock room, sorting through heaps of 78s and 45s, then moved onto the order desk, and then onto promotions after UK-based EMI bought Capitol (U.S.)—a merger that allowed for more autonomy for the label’s Canadian operations. Using a one-page hype sheet, dubbed the Sizzle Sheet—an innovation created by White to help push singles, and later LPs, which eventually expanded to two pages—the young promotions manager started to get influencers from across the country to play Capitol releases and promote their artists. Capitol Records Canada's Sizzle Sheet from 1963. “I faithfully did it every week,” he says. “I sent it to every radio station and every program director and every entertainment reporter at every paper I could think of, and I got them all working against each other in radio. I would tell Red Robinson in Vancouver that CHUM in Toronto was playing Cliff Richard, and then I would tell CHUM that Red Robinson was playing The Yardbirds and I started to get a lot of feedback from them, and I kept that going for years.” Cliff Richard, Britain's answer to Elvis Presley, was hugely popular in Canada in the '60s. As White says, "he was so popular I could have released a new album by him every day." The Yardbirds' eponymous 1965 hit "For Your Love." As part of the first A&R division in Canada, White also established the Capitol 6000 series, which became very popular among collectors. Initially targeted towards the “average Canadian,” the series helped promote already established artists from England, including easy-listening chart-toppers from the '60s, including Matt Monro, Helen Shapiro, Frank Ifield, and The Shadows, and later diversified to include British Invasion acts and all genres of Canadian content. Long days spent scouring through new releases, trying to determine which records to put out and which ones to trash was a common routine for White. After everyone had left for the evening, he would turn up the volume on the stereo, and listen to all of the singles that had just come in from EMI in England. When he happened upon a group of newcomers from Liverpool, called The Beatles, he was intrigued, but not in the earth-shattering way that one might expect. “I had a pile that was for ‘yes, I’m going to release that,’ ‘maybe’ and ‘no,’” says White. “I had just listened to a lot of crap, and then I got to The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do.’ I thought ‘Oh, these guys aren’t too bad.’ Not the best lyrics I’ve ever heard, but there was something so simple about it. I put it in the ‘maybe’ pile and thought, ‘Well, let’s just go with it.’ I just released it on a whim, because I thought they really had something.” The Beatles' "Love Me Do" was a flop when it was first released in Canada, despite climbing the charts in the U.K. The record, “Love Me Do,” was a flop. It sold a mere 150 copies, and radio stations refused to play the single. Despite the initial lackluster response, White released several more Beatles’ singles, “Please, Please Me” and “From Me to You,” which saw slight improvements in sales. “Then ‘She Loves You’ hit and all hell broke loose,” says White. “It was the first time that CHUM Toronto, which was a big station, went on them. Then, of course, they claimed that they had discovered The Beatles, but CHUM used to do that. It was a little station in Oshawa that actually discovered them. They were the first ones to play a Beatles record in Canada.” "She Loves You" was the first Beatles single that caught on in North America. It was late 1963, and Beatlemania in North America had just begun. White’s foresight had stirred on the biggest musical craze the country had ever seen. Paul White and fellow Capitol Records Canada executives presenting The Beatles with a Gold-certified record at their Maple Leaf Gardens concert in 1964. “I had salesmen jumping down my throat, saying ‘Let’s get the album out! Let’s get the album out!,’” White says. “I phoned EMI, and they sent over the master tapes first class the next day on a plane, and we had 25,000 copies printed up in two days…we had sold 50,000 copies in the first couple of weeks.” With the rise of British Invasion acts, like The Beatles, Manfred Mann and The Rolling Stones, the ‘60s became a lucrative time for the Canadian music industry, but not so much for Canadian artists. “Capitol Canada became very rich, so I suddenly had budgets to sign groups,” he says. “Unfortunately the Capitol sales groups got in a state of inertia, because they didn’t have to go out and sell The Beatles or Gerry and the Pacemakers or The Animals or Herman’s Hermits to dealers. You could just walk in and get orders right away. But release an album by The Staccatos and ‘Hey, I’ve got to do some work here.’” "Half Past Midnight" by Ottawa's The Staccatos, released in 1967. Despite the industry’s reluctance to support its own artists, regional hotbeds across the country continued to churn out high-calibre talent. Whether the vast majority knew it or not, the Canadian music scene during the ‘60s was thriving. “Toronto’s Yorkville scene, Ottawa, Edmonton and Winnipeg were the four biggies,” says White. “The Canadian music scene and its musicians were dynamic, especially Yorkville in Toronto. A lot of Americans were draft dodgers, and a lot of good musicians came up here. They mingled with the local musicians, and you had this hotbed of talent. I mean, my god, when you think about the Riverboat Club that had all of the folk singers. Walking through Yorkville in the ‘60s was so energizing. There were coffee shops right next to each other—all of them chock a block full. You ran over to Avenue Road and you’d see a rock group doing experimental things...I don’t want to sound like I’m so Torontonian, but Toronto in the ‘60s sort of had it. It was where you had to be. You could go down Yonge Street and there was Ronnie Hawkins playing in the clubs. It was just an amazing time.” During his first few years as an A&R manager, White made deals with Toronto’s Ronnie Hawkins, The Ugly Ducklings, and David Clayton-Thomas for his anti-war single “Brainwashed,” which climbed the Canadian charts in the summer of ’66, along with The Sugar Shoppe, who went straight to an American deal with Capitol’s U.S. leg. David Clayton-Thomas' 1966 anti-war single “Brainwashed.” The Ugly Ducklings' first single "Nothin’" from 1966. The garage rock band, who were heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones, later became Mick Jagger's "favourite Canadian band." The Sugar Shoppe’s 1968 song “Skip A Long Sam.” He also signed The Esquires and The Staccatos from Ottawa, along with Alberta’s Wes Dakus and Barry Allen, who, White says was "the first Canadian Capitol artist to have a real Canadian hit" with "Lovedrops," which was #1 on CHUM. The Esquires' 1964 ballad "Tragedy." When the A&R reps in Quebec couldn’t deliver enough local content, White deliberately signed the biggest star in the province to send a message: Quebec artists sell records, so work harder. Pierre Lalonde singing his 1971 hit "Attention, la vie est courte." “Pierre Lalonde was huge in Quebec,” says White. “I gave him a huge advance to leave Trans-Canada records, and come to Capitol. The only way that I could attract other French-Canadian artists, and for them to see that Capitol Records meant business, was to sign a big star…and that’s when we eventually signed Beau Dommage, who became monsters down there.” Quebec folk-rock group Beau Dommage performing "Un incident à Bois-des-Fillon" in 1975. In the early years of the A&R division, White wore two hats, acting as both the promotions manager and A&R manager. Working with limited budgets, he used out-of-town visits to radio stations as opportunities to find new talent, and even looked to popular variety programs on CBC or CFTO (now called CTV) to discover artists without having to travel. “I saw Anne Murray on Singalong Jubilee and I watched it for a few weeks,” says White. “What I liked about her was that she was so completely natural with this guitar slung up in front of her and no shoes, and a voice that I just couldn’t believe. I mean, I just fell in love with that voice.” Though Murray was already signed to another label, called Arc Records, an agreement was made to get her out of the contract early. White signed Murray to a five-year deal with Capitol Records, and released her multi-million selling album, This Way Is My Way, featuring the international hit “Snowbird.” And the rest is history. Paul White presenting Anne Murray with an RPM Gold Leaf Award for "Snowbird" in 1970. White would release many more iconic albums with Murray. Even today, he still recalls hearing the playback of “You Needed Me” off her 1978 album Let's Keep it that Way for the first time with Murray and producer Jim Ed Norman. “When the strings started on “You Needed Me,” you could feel a shiver going down all of our spines, and you knew one of the reasons you’re in the business is because of days like this,” he says. “We just turned and looked at each other and said ‘Jesus!’” Anne Murray performing her spine-tingling hit "You Needed Me" on Johnny Cash's 1979 Christmas Special. Anne Murray became a household name in both Canada and the U.S., paving the way for other Canadian artists, and helping to put Canada on the international map. “That was the lesson that the industry still had to learn, because they still didn’t want to go out and work hard to push Canadian artists,” White says. “I would always be pushing new Canadian artists. It wasn’t until Anne Murray that they all realized that they could sell Canadian artists, and it wasn’t just Capitol Records, it was the whole industry. It was very strange, but that’s certainly changed over the years.” — Julijana Capone
- [Learn about Collections Management at NMC](https://amplify.nmc.ca/learn-about-collections-management-at-nmc/) - Maybe it was a friend, a parent, or a finicky neighbour. This person was determined to preserve their keepsakes in mint condition for as long as possible. Whether it was a used luxury car, a newly purchased baseball hat, or their “soon-to-be-priceless” beanie baby toys, these items were not meant to purely exist in the present moment, but in the future as well.
- [The Power of Music Part 1: How music brought life back to Eve](https://amplify.nmc.ca/eves-story/) - My name is Sara Pun and I am an accredited music therapist and music educator. I have a Master’s degree in music therapy and my main instrument is the piano. I also play clarinet, guitar, Japanese taiko drums, Balinese gender wayang, and sing. My favorite composer is Chopin and his Nocturne in E-flat major. I also have a passion for world music. Music is my life and most importantly, I believe in the power of music. What is Music Therapy? The simplest definition of music therapy is: therapy with music. Imagine a typical therapy session with a counsellor: You’re sitting in a room and talking about your issues with a certified therapist. The therapist uses techniques to help you understand your problems and clarify your feelings. The next step may be to find a solution for your problems. If there is no immediate solution, the therapist can help you accept the situation and find some healthy coping mechanisms to reduce the impact the problems may have on you. Does this sound familiar? Now imagine a music therapy session: The room is filled with instruments. Some dialogue may occur in the beginning of the session, but then both therapist and client begin to play music together. The communication, revelation, and healing lies within the music. Music holds universal appeal. It captures and maintains our attention. It can express emotions, when words fail. It is creative and focuses on our strengths rather than our weaknesses. It engages the brain in a powerful way, and can re-engage memory and speech pathways. It is enjoyable and motivating. Music is powerful. A Gift of Music made by the Canadian Association for Music Therapy. Who participates in music therapy? Clients can include people of all ages and backgrounds with varying needs, but also include people who may struggle with speech. These diagnoses can include Autism, Alzheimer’s disease, or a disability. Music is a creative way of expressing oneself and can address physical, mental, and spiritual goals. The Canadian Association for Music Therapy (CAMT) defines music therapy as: Music therapy is the skillful use of music and musical elements by an accredited music therapist to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Music has nonverbal, creative, structural, and emotional qualities. These are used in the therapeutic relationship to facilitate contact, interaction, self-awareness, learning, self-expression, communication, and personal development. The benefits of music therapy According to the CAMT some benefits include: Increase communication Improve cognition Reduce behaviors (such as anxiety) Improve social skills and interaction Improve emotional regulation Enhance awareness of self and the environment Improve expression both verbally and non-verbally Create a sense of control over life through successful experiences There has been countless research about the effects of music on health. One of those researchers is Dr. Oliver Sacks, a practicing physician and professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Centre. At the Hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging entitled, “Forever Young: Music and Aging”, Dr. Sacks stated: The power of music is very remarkable [...] One sees Parkinsonian patients unable to walk, but able to dance perfectly well or patients almost unable to talk, who are able to sing perfectly well [...] I think that music therapy and music therapists are crucial and indispensable in institutions for elderly people and among neurologically disabled patients. According to the American Association for Music Therapy research has shown music therapy can relieve pain and reduce stress and anxiety. Music has been shown to cause physiological changes, including: Improved respiration Lower blood pressure Improved cardiac output Reduced heart rate Relaxed muscle tension Music has also been shown to: Reduce depression in older adults Maintain or improve a person’s emotional well-being Enhance social and emotional skills and assist in recall and language skills Reduce problem behaviours Music can have a significant effect on a patient’s perceived effectiveness of treatment, including self-reports of pain reduction, relaxation, and respiration rate. Music has also affected a patient’s perspective on behaviors and self-reported anxiety levels. Lastly, there has also been an effect on a patient’s choice of anesthesia and amount of analgesic medication. Excerpt from Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory. The Alive Inside documentary contains a popular YouTube video of Henry, a senior with Alzheimer’s disease. The video demonstrates the power of music. *Please note in standard music therapy practices, the process would involve a music therapist working with a client using live music. There are three steps a music therapist would conduct during the session: Identify goals with or for the client. These goals range from physical, emotional, to social goals, such as increasing the mobility of one’s right arm, to decreasing anxiety, to alleviating loneliness. Develop a relationship with the client. This is one of the most crucial distinctions between using music and engaging in music therapy. The music therapist bonds with the client and gains rapport with that person. The trusting relationship between therapist and client helps the client achieve their goals. Cater responses to the client and address the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of a client. It is the therapist’s job to be supportive of the client at all times and help direct the client to grow and reach their goals. Eve’s story As a music therapist, I have worked at the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital in the long-term care unit. The unit cares for many seniors with varying stages of dementia. The seniors who live here have a high need for care since they have a permanent stay at the hospital. One of the seniors I’ve worked with is a woman named Eve (the patient’s name has been changed in order to protect her identity). A tall woman with brown hair and downcast eyes, Eve suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, along with many other patients at the hospital. This year marks Eve's twentieth year living in long-term care. Eve was not always like this. Ten years ago she was active and awake, happily pacing the hallways back and forth. Now, she sits in a wheelchair all day and can’t walk on her own. Eve’s life is a little more mundane now, as she can’t use her arms or legs, or even talk. She can’t participate in recreation activities with other patients because of her limited mobility. The only way Eve can communicate is through eye contact or by smiling or frowning. As each year passes, her health deteriorates. Eve is slowly losing contact to the outside world. I decide to include Eve in the music therapy program at the hospital. She is part of a small group of six members—some are in wheelchairs, others are not—but all of them have Alzheimer’s disease in different stages. At first, Eve appeared to be the same: distant and still with glassy eyes. My heart reached out to her, and my first interaction was to gently lower myself to her eye level and slowly and warmly sing her name. She showed little response, but I didn’t give up and continued to sing her name emphatically and repeatedly. After some time, I sensed something shift within her. Suddenly, her expression changed and she broke out into a wide smile that reached ear to ear. Her face completely transformed into one of life and joy. I was deeply touched. This was a rare moment. It had been years since Eve has responded to anyone, but in this moment, she responded to my voice. After this incredible breakthrough, I continued to see Eve week after week and she progressed with a few triumphs. She is now able to move her slender, fragile fingers on the drum one at a time, or move her feet forward in short bursts. Although her responses are subtle, it’s clear Eve is present and an active participant in the therapy sessions. For Eve, music is the motivator and the hook that reaches deep within her and pulls her back into the present moment. Music provides a space where we can communicate and connect to one another. Music is powerful. Our relationship began to blossom—the more Eve is exposed to music, the more she participates and is able to respond. One day, I started to improvise a tune on an open vowel. With time and patience, Eve surprised me by humming the faintest sound. Her voice was wispy, but it was there, nonetheless! One of the great discoveries happened on a rather uneventful workday. I was passing by some of the patients in the hallway when I saw Eve and stopped to say “hello.” She turned to me, her eyes locking into mine and said intently, “h...i...” I was taken aback. Did Eve just say “hi,” or had I simply imagined it? This was the first word I have ever heard her say since knowing her. What was more impressive was the confident quality in her voice. Eve had found her voice through the power of music! Even though Eve appeared to have limited outward signs of life and expression, she was still there inside, waiting to emerge and be rediscovered. I am privileged to have been a witness to Eve's incredible journey through music. Music is life-giving, and in Eve's case music was the gift she needed the most. A comment about music Music is an invaluable and therapeutic resource to have in our community, especially in places like senior homes, hospitals, and schools. Music touches many of us on a personal and social level that can address the physical, mental, and spiritual parts of ourselves. Eve’s story demonstrates that music can revive, invigorate, and sustain life. Overall, music plays an important and powerful role in our everyday lives and the greater community as a whole. –Sara Pun, Music Therapist sworldmusic.com
- [Look, listen, smell, but don't touch (unless we say so)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/look-listen-smell-but-dont-touch-unless-we-say-so/) - When we talk about the unique collection here at NMC, we often use the term “living collection.” This refers to the fact that some of the musical artifacts in the collection are still in functioning condition and continue to be used. Not all of the instruments can be played, however. Approximately 300 of the 700 musical instruments in our existing collection are classified as “living”, which in turn is about 15% of the total collection materials at NMC. In this blog post, we get into the specifics involved in operating and caring for our living collection. If you missed the previous two installments of our new “In the collection” blog spot, please check them out at the links below!
- [3D Scanning and Printing: A Look into the Future of Artifact Preservation and Access](https://amplify.nmc.ca/3d-scanning-and-printing/) - Imagine a world where you could make whatever you want, just by pressing “print”.
- [Rita Chiarelli: The Queen of Canadian Blues](https://amplify.nmc.ca/rita-chiarelli-the-queen-of-canadian-blues/) - o iconic blues singer-songwriter Rita Chiarelli, blues music was always the most honest expression in music. The expression was real. It was about life—the anger, joy, and sadness—and you could hear it in the lyrics. The Queen of Canadian Blues, as Chiarelli has come to be known, was the daughter of Italian immigrants, born in the working-class steel town of Hamilton in the early ‘50s. “In Hamilton, we identified with blues music,” says Chiarelli. “We identified with hard work and hard times—that blue-collar mentality. That’s the kind of town it was.” Chiarelli’s parents worked difficult jobs that paid very little at nearby cotton mills. And although they were strict, they were supportive of their daughter’s passions. “Singing seemed like an impossibility,” she says. “But they believed I deserved to be heard. For traditional Italian parents, that’s a huge leap of faith. I give them credit for that.” With Hamilton’s close proximity to Michigan, radio frequencies from the U.S. spilled onto local airwaves, offering the nascent singer her first taste of the blues. She soaked up the soulful tunes of ‘60s powerhouse singers, such as Big Mama Thornton, Janis Joplin, and Odetta. “Hearing blues music for the first time was a revelation,” she recalls. To feed her growing hunger for the blues, she would sift through bargain bins of ‘45s, finding obscure jams by some of the artists that she had heard on American stations, including her first record, Jackie Wilson and Linda Hopkins’ “Shake a Hand.” “Shake a Hand” performed by Jackie Wilson and Linda Hopkins. The young songstress would eventually cut her teeth performing at dances and the odd club shows despite being underage. After high school, the girl with the three-octave voice went out on the road, touring through Michigan and New York, and later Canada, with her nine-piece R&B band, Battleaxe. “I just worked a lot to be the best I could be,” she says. “I worked all the time.” In those early years of touring the Canadian blues circuit, Chiarelli played her fair share of seedy joints, and she was usually the only woman on the bill. “I remember doing sound check at the King Eddy in Calgary, and when I looked around the room at all of pictures of blues artists that have played there, I counted 50 pictures and only two were women,” she says. “Koko Taylor and Marcia Ball were the only two women out of 50 pictures.” “I played them all—The Eddy in Calgary, The Windsor in Winnipeg, The Yale in Vancouver, Harpo’s in Victoria,” she continues. “They all had the same scary feeling during the day, but they became magic at night. When people are cheering you on and you’re rockin’ very little else matters.” Moving to Toronto in the ‘80s, she started jamming and performing with artists, including Ronnie Hawkins. After a prolonged period of overproduced disco and pop, Chiarelli says there was a return to roots music with acts, such as Jack de Keyzer, Handsome Ned, Gary Kendall, and rockabilly trio The Razorbacks, filling Toronto clubs. “Queen Street was rich with places to play in those days,” she says. “The Horseshoe Tavern, Albert’s Hall, X-Rays—all kinds of places. It was an exciting time in Toronto.” In 1989, Chiarelli’s single "Have You Seen My Shoes?” caught the attention of filmmaker Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo), who included her song in his movie Road Kill, attracting some exciting new exposure for the blues artist. "Have You Seen My Shoes?" from the 1989 soundtrack for Roadkill. Several years later, McDonald would again turn to Chiarelli for a tune, featuring her cover of Bob Dylan’s "Highway 61 Revisited” in his 1991 follow-up, Highway 61. Though she had been touring North America for at least a decade, she released her first studio album, Road Rockets, in 1992. Eight more studio releases would follow, including the JUNO Award-nominated Just Getting Started (1995) and Breakfast at Midnight (2001). As blues societies started to spring up in Toronto, more and more industry people began to take notice of Chiarelli. And at the very first Maple Blues Awards in 1997, Chiarelli won Female Vocalist of the Year. It would be her first of many subsequent Maple Blues Awards. Chiarelli performing live. Photo supplied by artist. With several successful albums behind her, Chiarelli released an album of Italian folk songs in 2006 as a tribute to her heritage. Veering outside of the genre that she had become known for was a risk, but one that paid off. And it remains one of her best-selling albums to date. “People loved it,” she says. “It’s a different genre than people expected from me, but it was very passionate, very expressive, and people understand that. It just shows you how music transcends.” That yearning to go deeper creatively had always been important to her, however. The singer-songwriter embarked on a musical pilgrimage to the birth of the blues in 2001, driving from Toronto to the American South down Highway 61, dubbed the ‘Blues Highway,’ which leads to New Orleans, Mississippi and Louisiana. She made stops in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where blues great Bessie Smith died, and Rosedale, Mississippi, where Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil to become a great guitarist, and then came across Angola, Louisiana, the site of the largest and bloodiest prison in the U.S., where many blues artists recorded music while they served time, including Lead Belly. “I couldn’t get the place out of my mind,” she says about her first visit to the prison. “It’s haunting.” It was on that initial visit that she conceived the idea to create a concert film where she would preform with the inmates, rather than for them. “It was all spontaneous,” she adds. “There were no plans for this.” After getting permission to film in the prison, she contacted McDonald who immediately agreed to direct the project. From 2001 to 2009, the two would take many trips to Angola, finally unleashing the finished product in 2012. Featuring the stories of inmates and their harrowing and emotional accounts of redemption, the film—Music from the Big House—is a testament to the power of music. Official trailer for Music from the Big House. “Some of their crimes you’d be out in 10 or 12 years in Canada,” says Chiarelli. “In the U.S., you’re there for life. Angola is a heavy place. You can see it in the eyes of these inmates. The power of music is what keeps them together. When they’re singing, they aren’t angry. They’re releasing it all… It was an incredible experience.” Chiarelli's hit song, "These Four Walls," appears on the film's soundtrack. Indeed, Chiarelli has touched countless lives through her music. And while she has received critical acclaim and won numerous awards for her work, she still just wants to make the best music possible. “I have had people tell me that certain songs of mine have moved them to tears, sadness and joy,” she says. “It’s a wonderful thing to hear as an artist and as a songwriter. “Awards are wonderful, but at the end of the day you will be remembered for your body of work. That’s what sustains us as artists.”
- [Who turned out the lights? A glimpse at the effects of light damage on museum collections](https://amplify.nmc.ca/who-turned-out-the-lights/) - Have you ever walked into a museum gallery and had to wait a second for your eyes to adjust to the darkened space? Ever tried to read the fine print on a text panel or get a glimpse of the details on an artifact, only to give up after a few minutes cause you didn’t have enough light?
- [The Power of Music Part 2:  What happens behind closed doors? The music is revealed.](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-power-of-music-part-2-what-happens-behind-closed-doors-the-music-is-revealed/) - n my first article, I wrote about what music therapy is. For the readers who missed it, you can read it here: Eve's Story. What is music therapy again? A quick definition of music therapy: the use of music in a specific, clinical way to reach therapeutic goals with a client. These goals can include reducing anxiety, expressing and exploring repressed emotions, improving depression, and a whole wide range of other issues. Music therapists can help treat people diagnosed with mental health issues, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and more. Music therapy is an alternative form of therapy. This form of therapy may be appealing to those who may find it difficult to express their emotions into words, or who may be drawn to the creative arts. Either way, music is a powerful way to access our emotions and brain function, and in some ways, can be a more effective therapy than traditional therapies. There has been countless research about how music affects the brain with some stunning results. Some examples of these affects include allowing patients to sing who have experienced stroke and Parkinson patients dance who struggle with gait and tremors. The University of Calgary is conducting a program called the Music Walking Program that utilizes music as a reward to encourage Parkinson patients to walk and improve their gait. The Calgary Project uses music and dance to help people with Parkinson’s disease. Professor Anne Flynn partnered with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks and Parkinson Alberta. What kind of music? The next big questions are what kind of music is used in music therapy, and how does it work, and what kind of science and methodology is behind it? First of all, the use of music in three key areas: Passive – The use of music without a music therapist. The client listens to music passively, such as on the radio or iPod. There is no interaction with another person. Receptive – Listening to music created by a music therapist. The client does not play, but receives the music aurally. The music therapist is actively creating music and responding to the client. Active – Both the client and music therapist play music together. The interaction is active and both client and therapist are constantly responding to one another. Passive music In my first article, I showed a YouTube video of Henry, a senior with Alzheimer’s disease. In the video Henry’s expression appears to be dormant. After the headphones are placed over his ears, his face becomes animated when he hears music from his youth. His eyes widen and he begins to sing along confidently, full of spirit. The transformation is incredible and demonstrates the power of music. This video does not represent music therapy. Music therapy would involve a music therapist who could respond to Henry. I wonder how much more of an experience Henry could have if a music therapist was present with him. A music therapist could sing and talk with him. Perhaps the music therapist could grow his response and extend his enthusiasm into every day life. This type of work demonstrates the power of working with a therapist. The change and growth is supported by the trusting relationship developed between client and therapist. Excerpt from Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory. Receptive music Imagine you are a patient in a hospital, lying in bed, weak and you can't lift your arms or legs very well. When I worked at the Banff Mineral Springs Hospital, I visited many patients who were quite sick. Since they were bedridden, they missed many of the social activities. For patients like these, receptive music therapy is the best approach to take. The music therapist may decide to improvise by playing slowly in order to match the patient’s rate of breathing. The matching of the patient’s breath with the music helps the therapist to connect with the patient. It is a way to say “I am here, I am with you, and you are not alone.” Familiar songs can also be used to comfort the patient. Music with a gentle pulse and with a waltz tempo (in 3/4 time) can be very effective because lullaby music and love songs share these two qualities. The manner of the music therapist’s presence should be calm and gentle. Music therapists in Montreal at Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital use receptive music to help premature babies recover faster. Similar practices are seen in the United States. Excerpt from A Better Baby Lullaby: Music Therapy for Preemies, The New York Times. Active music Active music making is the most common practice in music therapy. Depending on the goals of the client, active music making can be very effective. Some goals may be measurable, such as using the drum to motivate someone with a physical disability to increase the use of their weak arm. In some hospitals, physiotherapy and music therapy are complimentary therapies where music acts as a great motivator to achieve these goals. Other goals may be less concrete, such as the goal of to increase socialization among residents in a seniors’ home or the reduction of anxiety. These goals can be addressed in a variety of ways. One method may be for both therapist and client to pick an instrument and improvise together. Music therapist Dr. Heidi Ahonen from Wilfrid Laurier University employs a technique called music-centered psychotherapy where the music reveals hidden emotions to foster discussion and further the therapeutic process. Here is an example. A client enters a music therapy room filled with instruments. They have a problem with loss and grief but can’t express it. Instead of using words, the therapist suggests the client choose an instrument to play. They choose the gong. Before the therapist plays on their main instrument, the piano, they inform the client that the improvisation will be recorded for a reflection and discussion afterwards. Once the music is over, the therapist plays the music back to the client and asks for their thoughts about what the music may represent. In this example, the physical recording of the music improvisation can be a starting point of discussion. The client can begin to express and explore their feelings about the current problem. A typical session The format of a music therapy session can be as unique as the music therapist. A typical session involves a greeting song which serves as a warm up, a large participation section where both client and therapist play together, ending with relaxing and receptive music, and finally, followed by a good-bye song. A girl named Rada In September 2013, my two colleagues and I traveled to Nepal to volunteer with the local non-profit organization, Volunteer Society Nepal. We wanted to travel to a country where none of us have been to before and at the same time, volunteer our skills as music therapists. At one of the local orphanages, Centre for Children with Intellectual Disabilities, we came across a girl named Rada. We learned she may have been abused as a child. Rada has some severe mental and physical disabilities, and she is blind. Unfortunately, we only had limited information to work with since it was difficult to attain a proper diagnosis in Nepal. Through observation we quickly learned she was often alone, sitting and mumbling to herself. We decided to work with Rada and encourage her to sing. One of our aims was to hear her voice. Our goal was to communicate to her she was in a safe environment where she could express herself. This video clip recorded with Rada shows us greeting her in a hello song. We play softly and give her space to improvise. You will see she begins to vocalize and smile. The interpreter later informed us she may have been repeating abusive phrases she heard in the past. The case of Rada demonstrates how music can reach through despite the barriers of language and mental disability. Music choice? At this point in time, there is no specific music that is the magic elixir that can heal all ailments. Music is a creative art form and musical choices are as unique as people. Rap may be therapeutic for one person, but may be unbearable for another. It is important for the music therapist to ask a potential client their likes and dislikes in music (e.g. songs, genres, and sounds) and past musical experiences (e.g. lessons and participation in musical groups). Depending on the therapeutic goals, the music therapist—with the help of the client—will choose what type of music to incorporate into the session. Evidence for certain kinds of music Some evidence has shown classical music can stimulate the brain and increase neurologic function. The Mozart Effect, a concept first developed in 1991, has had some controversial support for this theory. The research study suggested that listening to Mozart's music could boost brain function while completing spatial tasks and could help the brain development of babies. The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music is a special method used in music therapy. The client is induced to a state of relaxation while listening to the classical music. The therapist becomes the client’s “guide” and talks to the client during the musical listening. Many issues can be explored through the analysis of symbols and meanings created by the client during this type of listening. Lastly, the discovery of new music can be good for your brain, for any client, at any age. Learning something new is always beneficial for stimulating your brain. New music such as engaging in a new sound, listening to a new genre, or learning a new instrument might just do the trick. That being said, don’t give up on classical music just quite yet, as there is hard evidence that shows taking music lessons for at least a year can boost a child’s IQ by as much as three points. Music, a mysterious force Music is a creative art. It is difficult to pin down exactly how music works and why it affects us in such powerful ways. Scientific research is just starting to unravel the mystery of how music interacts with the brain. Think of music as an untapped resource at our finger tips. Music can be fun, enjoyable, and serve to improve human health and wellness in significant ways. So do your brain a favour and keep dancing to the music.
- [The Start of a New Era: The Olympic Console Restoration](https://amplify.nmc.ca/olympic-console-restoration/) - Out of the many amazing programs offered at NMC, our Artist in Residence program is one of the coolest. Here, artists at various levels of professional development are given the opportunity to use, sample, and record with unique musical instruments from the NMC collection.
- [New Additions to the Collection: Charles Brasher Resonator Guitars](https://amplify.nmc.ca/artifact-donations/) - Take a walk through one of NMC’s many exhibition stages, and you might think to yourself, “Where did all this stuff come from? How did these historical artifacts end up in a place like Calgary?”
- [Origin Stories––Blood, Sweat & Tears "Spinning Wheel"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-blood-sweat-tears-spinning-wheel/) - David Clayton-Thomas got his start much like many of the other great Canadian songwriters of the 1960s–– as an underage musician playing Toronto’s Yonge Street strip. He honed his chops by sitting in on jam sessions with legendary Arkansas rockabilly wildman Rompin’ Ronnie Hawkins and his band The Hawks, before they were known as The Band. “The bars on the strip used to have weekend matinees, which didn’t serve liquor, so the young, underage musicians of Toronto could come and watch or sit in with their idols, and The Hawks were really our idols,” he says. In those early days, the bar scene on the Yonge Street strip was a germination point for some extraordinary talent. On a Saturday night it was not uncommon to catch trumpet virtuoso Dizzy Gillespie or blues greats like B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters performing at one of the local hotspots like The Colonial Tavern. “A lot of the R&B artists and blues bands from the U.S., particularly Detroit and Chicago, loved to play up here in Toronto because there was no colour bar,” notes Clayton-Thomas. “In the '60s, a black band in Detroit played in the black clubs, but here audiences just loved them. “That made a real impression on us as young Canadian musicians,” he adds. “We grew up going to see some of the greatest players in the world. Those guys are really what started what is called the ‘Toronto Sound.’” At the same time, Toronto’s Yorkville neighborhood housed a vibrant artistic community and was the epicenter of the city’s folk music and counterculture scenes. “Everyone hung around there,” he says. “I used to play the little clubs on Yorkville Ave. at night, and then sit and have coffee in the daytimes at the little sidewalk cafés with Neil, John Kay, Joni––we all knew each other.” But, Yorkville couldn’t last forever. Eventually, the price of local real estate, among other things, skyrocketed and rent became too exorbitant for the club owners to afford. The cafés were quickly replaced by hip, new shops, and the artists no longer had anywhere to perform. “They basically swept through Yorkville in a matter of two weeks and shut it down. Once that happened, there was no music here; there was no music industry. The bars on the strip basically became Top 40 and R&B clubs that only played the hit parade and required you to wear a suit. In Yorkville, the artists were writing their own music so within one summer we were all gone to the States. While most packed their bags for Los Angeles, some like Clayton-Thomas, headed for New York in search of jazz. During his Yorkville years, he had discovered the sounds of Ray Charles, Joe Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, and Lenny Breau, and so the Big Apple had a certain allure. Prior to leaving Toronto, Clayton-Thomas fronted a band called The Bossmen. In the summer of 1966, the band even had a Canadian Top 20 hit with their now infamous anti-war anthem, “Brainwashed.” “At that point, I was already experimenting with guys like Tony Collacott, who was a very gifted jazz pianist, and using jazz musicians in a rock context, so in my mind I was already on a parallel course to joining Blood, Sweat & Tears,” he says. Upon making the move to New York, Clayton-Thomas immediately gravitated towards the city’s infamous Greenwich Village scene. “Yorkville really was a microcosm of Greenwich Village,” he says. “A lot of the blues artists like John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, and other guys that I teamed up with, had all played up here, so when I arrived in New York I went straight to Greenwich because that’s where I was comfortable––it was like a great big Yorkville. Granted, Greenwich Village was like eight square blocks, but at that time it was the world headquarters of the music industry. Everything was happening in New York, so within those borders you met everybody. “I lived upstairs from a place called the Café Wha?, and Jimi Hendrix, who was still going by Jimi James then, was playing in the basement at a club called The Underground. Carole King and James Taylor were at The Bitter End. Actually, I used to sub in for James and a band called The Flying Machine on Saturday afternoons because he couldn’t make it in from Boston or wherever the heck he was coming from. So, it was very much a community thing.” Also at that time, Clayton-Thomas was working a regular gig uptown with the house band at a club called The Scene. One night, folk singer Judy Collins came in. So blown away by what she had heard, Collins returned the following evening and brought Bobby Colomby and Jim Fielder of Blood, Sweat & Tears with her. “Like I said, the scene was small so I knew Bobby from around town. Blood, Sweat & Tears had already released their debut album, Child Is Father To The Man, on Columbia but then they broke up so Bobby was looking for a new singer. Anyway, they came in and were knocked out, and it ended up with me joining the band.” Things seemed to move at lightning speed after that. “We knew right from the first rehearsal that we had a very special combination,” says Clayton-Thomas. “It was different and there was nothing else out there like it. We got a gig playing a little club called Café au Go Go on Bleeker Street, and we played there four or five nights a week. The club only seated 150 people, but there were always a thousand people lined up on the sidewalk trying to get in.” When less than a year later in December of ‘68, Blood, Sweat & Tears released their self-titled sophomore album, which featured the David Clayton-Thomas penned “Spinning Wheel,” the band rocketed to international acclaim. By Christmas of the following year, they had the number one album in the world. Interestingly, Clayton-Thomas had written the song two years prior to joining Blood, Sweat & Tears and had even recorded it while still in Toronto. “I actually recorded the song for an [independent] Canadian company called Arc Records, which is long gone now, but they were horrified,” he says with a laugh. “The label guys were just like, ‘No, no. We want another ‘Brainwashed.’ This sounds like jazz. Jazz doesn’t sell. We can’t make any money off of jazz.’ They basically ripped up my contract and rejected the record, so I stuck it back in my guitar case and carried it around with me for the next two years. “When I joined Blood, Sweat & Tears, I played it for them and because they were all jazz musicians they related to it immediately. They basically took the demo from Canada and wrote horns to it.” And what a difference those horns made. Their impact is something Clayton-Thomas attributes to the strength of BST horn player Lew Soloff. “I recently had the honour of going down to Rochester, NY, to induct the late Lew Soloff into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame at the Eastman School of Music. It was during the course of that week that I realized just how important his trumpet was to the sound of that song. “There’s never been another one like Lew,” he adds. “Even to this day when I’m playing shows or hiring musicians I’m always saying, ‘Can you play that Lew Soloff solo?’ If you can't hit the double high G at the end of that solo, you don’t get the gig. And, there are very few who can.” On his most recent album, Canadiana, which was released via ILS Group/Universal in late 2016, Clayton-Thomas opted to re-record “Spinning Wheel” as a tribute to his late friend and bandmate. “When the record company first asked me to re-record the song I just thought, ‘Man, I’ve sung it fifty-thousand times. How could I do anything new with it?’ But, Lew’s passing sort of gave me a different feeling about it. I wanted to do the song because I realized that his lead trumpet was what made that record what it was. I will forever be grateful to him for that.” Though the re-recorded version of “Spinning Wheel” is more of a jazz-swing tune, Clayton-Thomas ensured that the trumpet solo was constructed note for note from Lew’s original piece. “I went to our trumpet player, Jason Logue, and said, ‘Will you transcribe that Lew Soloff solo? We’re going to play it note for note just like the original as a tribute to Lew.’ And he just looked at me and said, ‘Transcribe it? Are you kidding? Every trumpet player in the world knew that song in high school.’” At the time of its original release, “Spinning Wheel” went on to top the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1970, taking the honour for Best Instrumental Arrangement while Blood, Sweat & Tears won in the Album of The Year category. And, though it’s been nearly 50 years since then, the mark of a truly great pop song is its ability to maintain meaning even as the cultural background appears to shift and change. “'Spinning Wheel' was really just my way of saying, ‘Hey, don’t get too caught up in movements because everything comes full-circle,” says Clayton-Thomas. “In 1969 everyone was talking about the anti-war revolution and within five years we had Ronald Reagan. Today, a reality TV star is the President of the United States, so there you have it.”
- [Origin Stories––The Stampeders' "Sweet City Woman"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-the-stampeders-sweet-city-woman/) - As far as iconic Canadian pop songs go, “Sweet City Woman” from The Stampeders is a bonafide classic. Released in 1971, the song put the Calgary group on the musical map.
- [Origin Stories––Mars Bonfire on Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-mars-bonfire-on-steppenwolfs-born-to-be-wild/) - It’s amazing how many classic pop songs started out as B-sides but ended up becoming mega hits when somebody decided to turn over the record.
- [Origin Stories––Bryan Potvin on the Northern Pikes' "She Ain't Pretty"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-bryan-potvin-on-the-northern-pikes-she-aint-pretty/) - When the Northern Pikes got their start in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1984, the city wasn’t exactly the hotbed of Canadian musical culture. For a group of hungry, young musicians who were hoping to combat hair metal and new wave with a guitar rock sound of their own, theirs was an isolated existence.
- [Origin Stories––Andy Kim on "Rock Me Gently"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-andy-kim-on-rock-me-gently/) - Andy Kim left his childhood home in Montreal for New York City to chase a career in music at the age of 16. With little more in his arsenal than a single song that he had written on a cracked second hand guitar, Kim navigated his way to New York’s famed Brill Building where he found success under the mentorship of legendary songwriter and producer Jeff Barry almost immediately.
- [It’s like Disneyland for Canadian music! — The Northern Pikes on recording at Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/northern-pikes-recording-at-studio-bell/) - Calgary, Alberta: a premiere place to record a record? Come again. The home of the world’s most famous Stampede is not the first place one thinks of when recalling locales where great albums were made. With the opening of Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), that perception is changing fast. Artists ranging from Luke Doucet and Randy Bachman to Boston alt-rock band Guster and The Northern Pikes have all recorded projects recently at this one-of-a-kind facility.
- [Lennie Gallant's Maritime Anthem "Peter's Dream" Inducted Into Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/lennie-gallants-maritime-anthem-peters-dream-inducted-into-canadian-songwriters-hall-of-fame/) - A Lennie Gallant sighting doesn't cause much of a stir in Charlottetown. After all, he was born and raised on Prince Edward Island, and has never really moved away. The waitress isn't star-struck, and nobody comes up to interrupt his meal, but in a region that appreciates its excellent songwriters, Gallant has long been considered one of the very best.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 2): Big In Japan – How Mashmakhan Rocked The Far East](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-2-big-in-japan-how-mashmakhan-rocked-the-far-east/) - Years before it became a rock cliche, thanks to live albums from the likes of Cheap Trick and Deep Purple, Montreal's Mashmakhan were indeed the biggest thing in Japan. They set a record that lasted for decades on the Japanese charts, and helped change rock 'n' roll concerts in that country forever. But until the band set foot in Tokyo in July of 1971, they barely had an idea they were big stars abroad.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music (Track 3): Cohen's Comeback – How a Tribute Album Revived Leonard Cohen's Career](https://amplify.nmc.ca/great-moments-in-canadian-music-track-3-cohens-comeback-how-a-tribute-album-revived-leonard-cohens-career/) - It seems unthinkable today, but there was a time back in the '80s when Leonard Cohen's status as a music icon was in jeopardy. Before the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the triumphant world tours, and a million covers of "Hallelujah," some, including Cohen himself, questioned whether he had a career left in popular music. Then along came an impeccably timed tribute album which became a smash hit, and re-introduced Cohen as a master songwriter, putting his songs back on the charts for the first time in a decade.
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music: How Ocean Grabbed A Worldwide Hit Away From Anne Murray](https://amplify.nmc.ca/moments-in-canadian-music-how-ocean-grabbed-a-worldwide-hit-away-from-anne-murray/) - She knew it was a hit. Anne Murray loved songwriter Gene MacLellan's "Put Your Hand In The Hand" just like she loved his song "Snowbird," the one that had rocketed her to fame in 1970. She had it all planned out, to follow up that hit with "Put Your Hand in The Hand." But thanks to some meddling U.S. record company execs, and an opportunistic grab by an unknown Toronto band, Anne saw it slip through her fingers. "Put Your Hand In The Hand" would become a worldwide, multi-million selling hit for Ocean instead, a five-piece Toronto club act that had never recorded before. And Anne's still mad about letting that hit get away.
- [Origin Stories: Colin James "Five Long Years"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/origin-stories-colin-james-five-long-years/) - Having grown up performing alongside and touring the country with a band of folk musicians nearly three times his senior, Colin James caught the itch that tends to enter career musicians at an early age. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, James dropped out of school at the age of 16 and spent the remainder of his teenage years on the road between Winnipeg, Montreal, and Saskatoon before eventually planting roots in Vancouver, BC.
- [Behind the Scenes in NMC's Collection: Condition Reporting](https://amplify.nmc.ca/condition-reporting/) - Have you ever loaned someone an item of yours, only to have it returned in worse condition than when you had it? Maybe that stain on your favourite t-shirt was there before you let your best friend wear it for the weekend, but then again, maybe it wasn’t…
- [Interview with NMC Artist in Residence, Émile Bilodeau](https://amplify.nmc.ca/interview-with-nmc-artist-in-residence-emile-bilodeau/) - Québec singer-songwriter Émile Bilodeau is a rare musical phenomenon. Having achieved incredible success on the back of his debut opus 2016’s Rites de passage, Bilodeau has been busy taking the province by storm with his energetic brand of blues and pop-rock infused folk.
- [Collections Pick: Gary Buck Bass Guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/directors-pick-gary-buck-bass-guitar/) - As we end our sixth week of Studio Bell’s closure and continue our “new normal” of working from home, I've been reflecting on what we as an organization have been able to accomplish over the past number of years, along with the opportunities that I've had to build, maintain and preserve a collection of musical instruments and artist memorabilia. The journey has been both rewarding and difficult, filled with a sense of pride, accomplishment, and at times desperation—particularly when we rely solely on donations or loans to build a world-class collection. A collection built by donation is done by building relationships, creating strong partnerships, and by respecting that it takes time. Over the next number of weeks, possibly even months, join me as I share anecdotes about some of my favourite collection items, the history behind them, and stories about the people who supported our vision to be a national catalyst for discovery, innovation, and renewal through music.
- [Collections Pick: The “Dolmetsch” Clavichord](https://amplify.nmc.ca/directors-pick-the-dolmetch-clavichord/) - NMC's Director of Collections and Exhibitions delves into some of his favourite items in the NMC Collection. The “Dolmetsch” Clavichord is this week's pick.
- [Collections Pick: The 143 Pianos We Lost to the 2013 Flood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/collections-pick-the-143-pianos-we-lost-to-the-2013-flood/) - Growing up in Calgary, we lived near the Glenmore Reservoir and I spent my summers floating down the Elbow River, like many others. I never imagined the river that brought so much joy would cause so much destruction years later. June marks the anniversary of the 2013 Alberta Floods and the loss we suffered to the National Music Centre Collections. Below is a reflection of the year that we lost 143 pianos.
- [Record Rewind: Blue Rodeo's 'Casino' At 30](https://amplify.nmc.ca/https-amplify-nmc-ca-record-rewind-blue-rodeos-casino-at-30/) - To this day, Casino is a fan favorite and contains some of Blue Rodeo’s most-loved live songs. Released late in 1990, the record features 10 economical, radio-friendly songs, but Casino marks a transitional and tumultuous period in Blue Rodeo’s career.
- [How to Help the Music Community Right Now](https://amplify.nmc.ca/how-to-help-canadian-music-right-now/) - By NMC Staff The profound impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt by those working in the Canadian music industry. More and more festivals and live music events across the country are being called off and venues are temporarily closed. As a result, a crucial source of income has disappeared for our community. Here are six ways to support the music scene right now—and maybe tune-up your playlist along the way. 1. Donate

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## Audio Posts

- [Canadians in California: 1965 - 1975](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/canadians-in-california-1965-1975/) - Listen to a curated playlist of Canadian musicians who made their mark during the pivotal era of the California folk-rock movement. From the bohemian hills of Laurel Canyon and the star-making studios of Los Angeles to the psychedelic ballrooms of San Francisco and the seaside sanctuaries of Malibu, some of the most influential moments in
- [Out Loud and Proud: A Canadian Pride Playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/lgbtqia2s-pride-playlist/) - June 28 marks International Pride Day. In honour of the day, we've assembled a playlist with some of our favourite Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ artists. Icons and rising stars alike, spanning a huge range of genres and regions in the country, come together for an hour and a half of great music. Celebrate the day by singing
- [You Oughta Know: Celebrating Emerging Canadian Women in Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/you-oughta-know-celebrating-emerging-canadian-women-in-music/) - This Women’s History Month, turn up the volume and celebrate the future of Canadian music—powered by women. From coast to coast to coast, Canadian women are redefining the sound of today. You Oughta Know: Celebrating Emerging Canadian Women in Music shines a spotlight on the rising voices shaping our nation’s musical landscape. Featuring artists like
- [Made in Canada: Tracks Inspired by the True North](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/made-in-canada-a-selection-of-hits-about-the-true-north/) - From songs that paint vivid portraits of our breathtaking landscapes to tracks that capture the Canadian spirit, this playlist is packed with homegrown hits. Featuring the country's legends, like Ian & Sylvia and Joni Mitchell, and contemporary songsmiths, like Kacy & Clayton and The Jerry Cans, it’s the perfect soundtrack for cruising down Highway 1,
- [Love & Legacy: A Master T-Curated Playlist for Black History Month](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/love-legacy-a-master-t-curated-playlist-for-black-history-month/) - Curated with love by Master T, Love & Legacy is a tribute to Black Canadian artists – past, present, and future. This playlist celebrates the vibrant sounds of Canada, featuring homegrown Alberta talents LATISHA, Tea Fannie, and K-Riz, alongside Canadian Music Hall of Famers Oscar Peterson and Deborah Cox, plus hip-hop mavericks K-OS and DijahSB,
- [Pass the Mic: A Master T-Curated Playlist for Black Music Month](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/black-music-month-playlist/) - To soundtrack your Black Music Month, former MuchMusic VJ Master T has curated a playlist of songs made by Black Canadian artists over the years, highlighting the country’s talent across generations. The playlist features throwbacks by Oscar Peterson and Liberty Silver, tracks from rising stars like Nonso Amadi and Sinzere, songs from today’s hitmakers like Drake and
- [True North Twang: Best of Canadian Country](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/true-north-twang/) - To soundtrack your Calgary Stampede, we've created a playlist of Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame legends, shining the light on some of the best to come from Canada's vast country music scene. The playlist features classics by Ian Tyson and Anne Murray, hits from Terri Clark, a track from this year's inductee k.d. lang,
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 2: David McLeod on Sharing Culture Through Songs](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-2-david-mcleod/) - David McLeod (Ojibway/Métis) is the General Manager of Native Communications Incorporated (NCI) and the Co-Chair of NMC's Indigenous Advisory Committee. In episode 2 of NMC Amplifier, he discusses the work being done through the committee, as well as 25 years of collecting Indigenous music, the resilience of Indigenous culture, and learning stories through songs. Hosted
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 7: The Future of Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-7-the-future-of-music/) - In episode 7 of NMC Amplifier, hear a discussion on the future of music with panelists Evan Hu, Beni Johnson, Curtis Running Rabbit-Lefthand, and Mariya Stokes, which was captured during Country Music Week in 2022 in Calgary, Alberta. The discussion takes into consideration concepts like placemaking, tech innovations, adaptability, diversity, inclusion, and equity, and more
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 8: The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer Reveal How 'Live at the King Eddy' Was Born](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-8-the-harpoonist-the-axe-murderer-reveal-how-live-at-the-king-eddy-was-born/) - Vancouver-based rock ‘n’ blues duo The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer share details about their 2023 JUNO Award-nominated live album, Live at the King Eddy, what went into making the live record and concert film, and the legendary Rolling Stones Mobile Studio that inspired it all. Hosted by Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of the
- [Sounds from NMC's Studios](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-studio-projects-playlist/) - Hear a playlist featuring tracks from Mariel Buckley, Rich Aucoin, Northern Cree, Sinzere, and many other artists who've recently recorded albums at the National Music Centre's world-class recording studios. National Music Centre’s recording studios are a special place for artists, producers, and engineers to collaborate and build a strong music community. It’s one of the
- [Let's Go Girls: A Women's History Month Playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmcs-international-womens-day-2024-playlist/) - To soundtrack your Women’s History Month, NMC’s Director of Programs, Stephanie Hutchinson, has curated a playlist of songs made by Canadian women, highlighting the country’s talent from coast to coast. The playlist features classics by Joni Mitchell and Shania Twain, iconic tracks from Jully Black and Nelly Furtado, and songs from today’s hitmakers like Ruth B. and
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 12: Randy Bachman Shares the Stories Behind His Beloved Guitars](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-12-randy-bachman-shares-the-stories-behind-his-beloved-guitars/) - In this special live episode of NMC Amplifier, one of Canada’s most renowned rockers, Randy Bachman, shares his deep love for guitars and discusses the instruments featured in NMC’s exhibition in his honour, Randy Bachman: Every Guitar Tells a Story. This episode was recorded with a live audience at Studio Bell, home of the National Music
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 11: Master T on the Evolution of Hip-Hop in Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-11-master-t-on-the-evolution-of-hip-hop-in-canada/) - In the latest edition of NMC Amplifier, former MuchMusic VJ Master T recalls his early musical influences, memorable moments at MuchMusic, and the evolution of hip-hop in Canada in celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary. Tony Young (a.k.a. Master T) has been at the forefront of music, dance, and culturally diverse television for over 40 years.
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 10: Robert Santelli on Creating 21st Century Music Museums](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-10-robert-santelli-on-creating-21st-century-music-museums/) - For episode 10 of NMC Amplifier, Grammy Award-winning music historian, producer, and educator Robert Santelli joins the podcast. Santelli has had an incredible career. He’s contributed to the cultural legacy of American popular music as the Executive Director of Bruce Springsteen Archives, Founding Executive Director of the Grammy Museum, and formerly of Experience Music Project
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 9: Keziah Myers on Unifying Black Music Professionals in Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-9-keziah-myers-on-unifying-black-music-professionals-in-canada/) - In episode 9 of NMC Amplifier, Keziah Myers, Executive Director at ADVANCE Music Canada, Canada’s Black music business collective, joins the podcast. She shares how her organization is helping to unify and advance Black music professionals through mentorship, advocacy, and community outreach. Hosted by Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of the National Music Centre, NMC
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 13: Avshi Weinstein on Violins of Hope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-13-avshi-weinstein-on-violins-of-hope/) - In the latest edition of NMC Amplifier, Avshalom (Avshi) Weinstein, a third-generation violin maker and owner of the Violins of Hope collection shares the history of Violins of Hope and the impact that the collection has had on worldwide Holocaust education. Violins of Hope is a poignant collection of string instruments dating from before and
- [Rock the Nation Playlist of Over 60 Years of Canadian Hits](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/rock-the-nation-playlist/) - Rock the Nation is a celebration of over 60 years of Canadian music, featuring songs from the ‘50s to present day that inspired, moved, comforted, and challenged a nation. It’s the soundtrack to generations and a musical reflection of a country’s evolution; a nation intent on building its own unique identity in a rapidly changing world.
- [6 Key Steps for Putting Together a Purposeful Playlist for Work, Home, and Life](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/6-key-steps-to-putting-together-your-purposeful-playlist-for-work-home-and-life/) - Get started on a purposeful playlist for all occasions. Photo credit: Leblond Studio Inc. As a certified music therapist and the President of JB Music Therapy, Jennifer Buchanan knows a thing or two about the power of music to heal, so we asked her to give our readers the key steps to creating a purposeful playlist for all occasions, followed by her own playlist to get you inspired to make your own. 1. Unpack your desired outcome for the playlist Identifying the most significant goal, objective, or need is the ultimate first step in the "purposeful" part of a playlist. If you are going through a particularly challenging transition or have significant concerns for your mental well-being, I recommend working with a psychologist, counsellor, or music therapist on this first step. 2. Choose a title with some feeling Title your playlist the feeling you wish to achieve to support the behaviour you hope to change. 3. Include songs to match Only include songs in this playlist that evoke the feeling you have identified, and remove all songs that don't strike the right chord (sorry for music pun). 4. Listen when you need it most Intentional music listening, at the right time, can help. Assess when you need it most. When you need a boost—waking up, driving to work, driving home, in the evening. Please note you may need different playlists for different times of the day. 5. Use a good quality sound source The quality of sound contributes to your feelings of health and enjoyment. 6. Stay open to new music Tap into some of the excellent streaming services out there, or your old vinyl collection that you haven't visited for a while, to help you explore new music. Having a music club, much like many have a book club, will also open your listening world. Other important considerations: If making a playlist for others—never make assumptions. If you are working with someone who cannot communicate for themselves (i.e., due to stroke or dementia), connect with your local music therapist to ensure the best possible and safest music choices are made. Also, this is just one playlist process. There are many others, including the top 10 albums, songs that soothe, a curation of your life-long personal soundtrack, and the 12 signature songs that give your friends a snapshot of what you are all about. Now, to get you going on creating your own playlist, I have made a top 10 list from my long personal soundtrack. The songs are chronological (to me) from my earliest memories and connections to an artist, to my most recent. They are Canadian (mostly). They are also the songs that showed up at significant points in my life—arriving at times of great change, pain, and/or growth. These are the songs that would have been playing on my radio, in the car, at the beach, and throughout the walls of my home, school, or offices. These are the songs that have settled deep in my being. They empower me. They challenge me. They are a piece of me. Sometimes words are not enough. I'm letting music start the conversation, so here we go. "Sunshine on My Shoulders" by John Denver OK, not Canadian, but this is truly my most significant earliest musical memory. John Denver, at my school in Langley, British Columbia sharing his story of walking with Chief Dan George and what that meant to him. This is one of the many songs he sang in our school gym that day and that I will never forget. "Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy Hello public school! You couldn't live in the lower mainland without this band playing loud and proud out of your neighbour's Camero. "If I Had a Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies I can't help but miss the whole group so many years later. We all knew all the words and sang it frequently. "O Siem" by Susan Aglukark This was the beginning of a whole host of women artists who started to speak to me through their music. I was so grateful to meet and spend time with Susan many years later and hear her life-changing stories up close and personal. "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan Not sure what to say here, but Sarah, Whitney Houston, and Eva Cassidy all soothed me. Perhaps even healed me. They inspired me during my Music Therapy training when I was so uncertain if I was on the right path. "Ironic" by Alanis Morisette Thank God for Alanis. She allowed me to express my frustration and rebelliousness. She let me shake off my insecurities and embrace my strengths. With her, in my head, I was able to move on. "Hallelujah" by k.d. lang The crowd disappeared at the Calgary Folk Music Festival, and all that was left was me, k.d. and every tear flowing from my eyes. Forever grateful. "Good Mother" by Jann Arden Jann has always been a part of my music listening, but following her story with her mom allowed me to process so many of my questions, saddness and hopes for the many elders I have had the honour to work with. "All By Myself" by Céline Dion Confession ahead. I was never a fan. Not sure why. And then. I went to watch her in Las Vegas with a few friends. Folks, no matter what you think of Céline, she is real. She is quirky, artistic, and professional. She LOVES to sing and make music. My ears were opened to her brilliance. "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd. This song has given me many days of motivation that I have needed during COVID. There is light on the other side. Jennifer Buchanan lives in Calgary, is a certified music therapist and President of JB Music Therapy, and the author of Tune In and Wellness Incorporated, available through the NMC Gift Shop.
- [NMC Rough Cuts: S01E01 Celeigh Cardinal](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-rough-cuts-celeigh-cardinal/) - Catch a performance and interview with JUNO Award-winning singer-songwriter Celeigh Cardinal as part of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell. NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature a handful of Canadian artists, who've produced an original song during a one-day recording
- [NMC Rough Cuts: S01E02 Pat Clifton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-rough-cuts-pat-clifton/) - Listen to the latest edition of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, featuring Pat Clifton. A conscious rapper, producer, songwriter and pianist, Clifton makes sense of the world through intimate, sometimes unapologetic, storytelling. In this episode, Clifton discusses and performs his song, "The Light." NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by
- [NMC Rough Cuts: S01E03 Kate Stevens](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-rough-cuts-kate-stevens/) - In the the latest instalment of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, Kate Stevens reveals the story behind her sweet retro-pop tune, "Through and Through," about celebrating the simple joys of being in love. NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature
- [NMC Rough Cuts: S01E05 Joanna Borromeo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-rough-cuts-joanna-borromeo/) - For NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, JUNO-nominated artist Joanna Borromeo shares the meticulous process behind writing, producing, and recording her neo-soul and funk-inspired ode to the life (and trials) of an artist, "Boulevard." NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 1: Dan Mangan on Decentralizing the Music Industry](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-1-dan-mangan/) - Dan Mangan is a two-time JUNO Award-winning and two-time Polaris Music Prize nominated musician and songwriter. In 2017, he co-founded Side Door, a community marketplace platform matching performers with spaces to create shows anywhere, including interactive ticketed online shows. In the premiere episode of NMC Amplifier, he discusses the start-up and how it is helping
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 6: Darcy Ataman on Changing Lives Through Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-6-darcy-ataman-on-changing-lives-through-music/) - In episode 6 of NMC Amplifier, Make Music Matter Founder and CEO Darcy Ataman discusses how his not-for-profit organization is changing lives through music. Make Music Matter helps to empower marginalized voices and uses the arts to heal with its innovative music therapy program Healing in Harmony. Initially designed for trauma survivors in conflict and
- [Boogey the Beat’s Curated Playlist of Must-Hear Indigenous Artists](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/boogey-the-beats-curated-playlist-of-must-hear-indigenous-artists/) - Churning out beats for more than half of his life, Boogey the Beat (aka Les Boulanger) has rightfully earned his namesake. The Winnipeg-based Anishinaabe producer and DJ has lent his beats to artists like The Halluci Nation (formerly A Tribe Called Red), Snotty Nose Rez Kids, and even rapper-turned-Manitoba-NDP-leader Wab Kinew. Known for cuts that
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 4: Jennifer Buchanan on Using Music to Heal](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-ep-4-jennifer-buchanan-on-using-music-to-heal/) - Renowned music therapist and author Jennifer Buchanan discusses how she discovered the practice of music therapy, its power to heal, and her books Wellness Incorporated: The Health Entrepreneur's Handbook, and Wellness, Wellplayed: The Power of a Playlist. Hosted by Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of the National Music Centre, NMC Amplifier seeks to move the
- [CNM Amplifier Ep. 3: Louis-Jean Cormier sur Être francophone au Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/cnm-amplifier-ep-3-louis-jean-cormier-sur-etre-francophone-au-canada/) - L'auteur-compositeur-interprète québécois maintes fois primé Louis-Jean discute des nuances d'être un artiste francophone au Canada, de la valeur du Centre national de musique, de la façon dont son écriture a été inspirée par le décès de son père et de son ancien groupe, Karkwa. Animé par Andrew Mosker, président et chef de la direction du
- [NMC Amplifier Ep. 0 – Trailer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-amplifier-episode-0/) - The National Music Centre (NMC) is unveiling NMC Amplifier, an interview-style podcast that features some of the most inspiring people in Canada and around the world who are making the world better through music. The podcast launches on June 7, 2022, right here on Amplify, and on all your favourite streaming platforms, in both video
- [The Best Canadian Hockey Songs of All Time](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/the-best-canadian-hockey-songs-of-all-time/) - Alright hockey fans, this is it! We've polled the staff and the votes are in. This is (possibly) the ultimate list* of (maybe) the best songs about the greatest game on earth (hockey) composed and/or performed by a Canadian artist (or band)** in no particular order. Honourable mentions not on Spotify: Keep the conversation going
- [NMC Rough Cuts: S01E04 Pierre Sabourin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/nmc-rough-cuts-pierre-sabourin/) - In this edition of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, Franco-Albertan singer-songwriter Pierre Sabourin discusses and performs, "Douceurs Aigues," a beautifully melancholic tune co-written with Ronald Tremblay, about a doomed relationship. NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature a handful of
- [Alone Together: NMC's Top Ten Canadian Livestreams](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/alone-together-nmcs-top-10-canadian-livestreams/) - By: Meaghan Lawrence and Maddie Alvarez Social distancing is an important part of keeping our community safe, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on great live music. Canadian artists from all genres have stepped away from their stages and turned to their screens to bring you live shows from their studios, living
- [Celeigh Cardinal Shares the Songs by Indigenous Artists that Inspire Her](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/bell-lets-talk-day-celeigh-cardinal-shares-songs-by-indigenous-artists-that-lift-her-up/) - Celeigh Cardinal is an Edmonton-based Métis singer-songwriter, a JUNO Award-winner, and the host of Full Circle on CKUA Radio. We asked her to join the conversation for Bell Let's Talk Day to share a personal playlist of songs by Indigenous artists that have inspired and uplifted her during the pandemic. Music has been playing a
- [A Valentine's Day Soundtrack to Make Your Heart Melt or Mend](https://amplify.nmc.ca/audio/a-valentines-day-soundtrack-to-make-your-heart-melt-or-mend/) - Valentine’s Day is around the corner, so we curated a playlist with some of our favourite Canadian songs on the theme of love. Be it tracks about falling in love, falling out of love or learning how to love again. Featuring tunes by our nation's best-knowns and some of the rising acts that you should

## Explore

- [NMC's Online Exhibitions](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore/nmcs-online-exhibitions/) - National Music Centre preserves Canadian culture and identity by sustaining our musical heritage. Our exhibitions exist to share the sounds, stories, instruments, and artifacts of our past and present in an innovative and engaging format accessible to all.
- [Live Concerts](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore/full-concert-videos/) - The National Music Centre elevates the live performance experience for diverse audiences large and small. Our performance venues, including the Studio Bell Performance Hall and historic King Eddy, host local, national, and international artists from across the musical spectrum. To see upcoming concerts and events at Studio Bell, visit studiobell.ca/whats-on To check out a show
- [The Original New Timbral Orchestra](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore/the-original-new-timbral-orchestra/) - One of the world’s largest synthesizers, TONTO is absolutely one of a kind. The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO) is the first multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, capable of producing many tone colours with different voices simultaneously. Beginning with a single Moog Series III Modular in 1968, creators Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff continued to expand TONTO
- [The Legendary King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore/the-legendary-king-eddy/) - Established in 1905, the King Edward Hotel was Calgary’s second oldest hotel and the longest operating bar and hotel when it closed in 2004. In 2008, the Eddy was acquired by the National Music Centre (NMC) and in collaboration with Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), the King Eddy was carefully reassembled, honouring the original plans

## Video Posts

- [OHSOTO'KINO: Lacey Hill Shares Message of Love and Acceptance on New Song](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-lacey-hill-shares-message-of-love-and-acceptance-on-new-song/) - Lacey Hill, an artist from the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in southwestern Ontario, shares a moving message of love and acceptance on her song, “Mm Hmm,” which channels the Haudenosaunee teaching that there is good in everyone. The song, which was written by Hill during the National Music Centre's OHSOTO’KINO Music
- [OHSOTO'KINO:  Marlon Deschamps on Being Raised by the Drum](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-marlon-deschamps-on-being-raised-by-the-drum/) - Powwow and round dance artist Marlon Deschamps reflects on his roots in the Cree Nation of Maskwacis, Alberta, a community renowned for its drumming traditions; his work with the Grammy-nominated drum group Northern Cree, and his upcoming solo album, recorded at the National Music Centre through the OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary. The conversation offers a heartfelt
- [OHSOTO’KINO: Beaatz Shares the Song That Saved His Life](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-beaatz-shares-the-song-that-saved-his-life/) - “If this is saving me in this moment, I know this song is going to save somebody else.” Beaatz, an award-winning Indigenous artist and producer from Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick, performs “Creator’s Gift,” and shares the story behind the song that saved his life. In 2025, Beaatz joined a group of Indigenous artists from
- [OHSOTO'KINO: Raven Reid Channels Her Experiences as Sixties Scoop Survivor Through Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-raven-reid-channels-her-experiences-as-sixties-scoop-survivor-through-music/) - “In music, I find healing and a space where I can actually be myself.” Indigenous folk singer-songwriter Raven Reid, originally from the Mikisew Cree First Nation in the Northwest Territories and now based in Saskatoon, channels her experiences as a Sixties Scoop survivor into raw, heartfelt songwriting, finding healing in the power of music. Hear
- [OHSOTO’KINO: Raymond Sewell on Music as Medicine](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-raymond-sewell-on-music-as-medicine/) - Rapper, published poet, and university professor Raymond Sewell reflects on growing up in Pabineau First Nation, New Brunswick, and writing for the land; the journey from poetry to rap and songwriting; and his upcoming new album, recorded at the National Music Centre through the OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary. The conversation explores Sewell’s travels across North America, from
- [Stream the 2025 Canadian Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stream-the-2025-canadian-music-hall-of-fame-induction-ceremony/) - The 2025 Canadian Music Hall of Fame Ceremony Presented by Music Canada streams nationwide today on CBC Gem and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel. Produced by CARAS, the 2025 celebration took place at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, earlier this year – and it was an unforgettable night for Canadian music.
- [Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame | In Conversation with k.d. lang](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/canadian-country-music-hall-of-fame-in-conversation-with-k-d-lang/) - Hear 2024 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee k.d. lang share intimate reflections on her extraordinary career with host Jackie Rae Greening, from her early days on stages all over Edmonton to notable collaborations and performances. k.d. lang and Builder inductee Gilles Godard visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in
- [k.d. lang on Hitting it Off with Tony Bennett](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/k-d-lang-on-hitting-it-off-with-tony-bennett/) - Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee k.d. lang reflects on her first meeting with Tony Bennett, the instant bond they shared, and her most cherished memories of the legendary crooner. k.d. lang and Builder inductee Gilles Godard visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in 2025 in celebration of their Hall of
- [k.d. lang on Performing “Hallelujah” at the 2010 Winter Olympics](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/k-d-lang-on-performing-hallelujah-at-the-2010-winter-olympics/) - "The second I got onto that stage...everything became so clear and slowed down.” Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee k.d. lang recalls the intensely emotional experience of performing “Hallelujah” at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. k.d. lang and Builder inductee Gilles Godard visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in
- [k.d. lang on Her Duet with Roy Orbison](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/k-d-lang-on-her-duet-with-roy-orbison/) - Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee k.d. lang shares the story behind her celebrated duet of “Crying” with Roy Orbison. k.d. lang and Builder inductee Gilles Godard visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in 2025 in celebration of their Hall of Fame inductions and an exhibition in their honour. Located
- [NMC Artist in Residence: Bebe Buckskin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-bebe-buckskin/) - Bebe Buckskin, a Cree/Métis artist from the great muskeg of Northern Alberta, channels Northern grit and soul through her signature blend of classic blues-rock, outlaw country, folk, and R&B. In 2024, she was awarded a week-long residency at National Music Centre to write and record new music using NMC's "living collection." She discusses the writing
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Brettyn Rose](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-brettyn-rose/) - Métis country-pop singer Brettyn Rose discusses incorporating her personal experiences into her music and her passion for country music. In 2024, Brettyn Rose, along with five other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day intensive artist development program that offered career guidance, mentorship from music industry
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Darrian Gerard](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-darrian-gerard/) - Métis pop-rock virtuoso Darrian Gerard discusses her early influences and starting her music journey online. In 2024, Darrian Gerard, along with five other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day intensive artist development program that offered career guidance, mentorship from music industry leaders, and the opportunity
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Jarrid Lee](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-jarrid-lee/) - Plains Cree musician Jarrid Lee discusses discovering his gift for music and his goals for the future of his career. In 2024, Jarrid Lee, along with five other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day intensive artist development program that offered career guidance, mentorship from music
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Osani Balkaran](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-osani-balkaran/) - Guyanese/Cree abstract rapper and music producer Osani Balkaran discusses drawing his influences from nature and people along with collaborating with other artists. In 2024, Osani Balkaran, along with five other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day intensive artist development program that offered career guidance, mentorship
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Grace Clark](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-grace-clark/) - Métis artist Grace Clark discusses her musical influences, family history, and upcoming career plans. In 2024, Grace Clark, along with five other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day intensive artist development program that offered career guidance, mentorship from music industry leaders, and the opportunity for
- [NMC Violins of Hope Artist in Residence: Daniel Pelton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-daniel-pelton/) - Watch Daniel Pelton, the National Music Centre’s Violins of Hope Artist in Residence, share the story behind his new album inspired by the novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. The award-winning saxophonist and composer from Calgary, who leads The Daniel Pelton Collective, a group of rotating musicians that perform his original works and arrangements, was given
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Kaeley Jade](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-kaeley-jade/) - Métis singer-songwriter, actor, and multidisciplinary artist Kaeley Jade discusses her upbringing and how her community and family have shaped her worldview and creative voice. In 2024, Kaeley Jade, along with five other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day intensive artist development program that offered career
- [NMC Artist in Residence Presented by Partake Brewing: Tess Roby](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-tess-roby/) - Tess Roby, a genre-blending artist, musician, and producer, shares the story behind her creative journey and the launch of her record label, SSURROUNDSS, which she founded to “create the space I couldn’t find for myself.” As the first-ever NMC Artist in Residence, presented by Partake Brewing, Roby used the opportunity to push the boundaries of
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Kimball Theatre Organ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-tour-presented-by-bell-kimball-theatre-organ/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. In the golden age of silent film, movies were anything but silent. Sound effects and soul-stirring musical scores were often produced live through the use of a theatre organ. These huge, multi-part instruments were a crucial part of
- [OHSOTO'KINO:  Warscout on Spreading the Spirit of the Drum](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-warscout/) - Recipients of NMC’s OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary, Warscout, discuss the healing power of the drum, the differences between recording and performing music, and their upcoming Christmas album with David McLeod, Chair of NMC’s National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. Established in 2006 and respected across the Powwow Trail, Warscout consists of singers from Sweetgrass First Nation in
- [Jens Lindemann and Friends Pay Tribute to Rhapsody in Blue Live at Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/jens-lindemann-rhapsody/) - Watch trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann and Canadian pianist Ian Parker perform George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” in honour of the composition's 100th anniversary. This once-in-a-century concert features the famed Steinway “Rhapsody in Blue” piano from the National Music Centre collection. One of only 24 models ever made, the piano was built in 1998 to commemorate
- [Violins of Hope: Socalled - "Oy Avram"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/violins-of-hope-socalled-oy-avram/) - Montreal musician Socalled and his string quartet perform the Yiddish song "Oy Avram" at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, as part of their Violins of Hope performance. The Calgary debut of a program of Yiddish songs that has toured internationally, the event featured an all-Jewish string quartet, playing historic instruments from the
- [Violins of Hope: Socalled - "Kinderyorn"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/violins-of-hope-socalled-kinderyorn/) - Montreal musician Socalled and his string quartet perform the Yiddish song "Kinderyorn" at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, as part of their Violins of Hope performance. The Calgary debut of a program of Yiddish songs that has toured internationally, the event featured an all-Jewish string quartet, playing historic instruments from the Violins
- [Violins of Hope: Socalled - "Jacob Gegna Taqsim"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/violins-of-hope-socalled-jacob-gegna-taqsim/) - Montreal musician Socalled and his string quartet perform the Yiddish song "Jacob Gegna Taqsim" at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, as part of their Violins of Hope performance. The Calgary debut of a program of Yiddish songs that has toured internationally, the event featured an all-Jewish string quartet, playing historic instruments from
- [OHSOTO'KINO: Chelsie Young on Finding Inspiration and Overcoming Obstacles](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-chelsie-young/) - Recipient of NMC’s OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary, Chelsea Young, discusses her journey, her gratitude for Indigenous trailblazers, and how an escape from domestic violence led her to a career in music with David McLeod, Chair of NMC’s National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. Originally from the Bigstone Cree Nation in Northern Alberta and now based in Edmonton,
- [Pass the Mic: Anthony T. Russell, Joyce Nseya, and Sam Obadero](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/pass-the-mic-anthony-t-russell-joyce-nseya-and-sam-obadero/) - As part of National Music Centre’s 2024 Black History Month celebration, Calgary-based artists Anthony T. Russell and Joyce Nseya, and established filmmaker and photographer Sam Obadero each had a selection of their artwork on display at Studio Bell. They joined former MuchMusic VJ Master T at the Pass the Mic event to discuss their works
- [Pass the Mic: Nonso Amadi](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/pass-the-mic-nonso-amadi/) - Fresh off a JUNO Award nomination for Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year, Canadian-Nigerian singer-producer Nonso Amadi performed a selection of his songs at Studio Bell as part of National Music Centre’s Pass the Mic event. In honour of Black History Month 2024, National Music Centre and former MuchMusic VJ Master T hosted a special
- [Pass the Mic: Liberty Silver](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/pass-the-mic-liberty-silver/) - Liberty Silver, the empress of soul and first Black woman to win a JUNO Award, shared some wisdom from her 50-year-career and dazzled the audience at Studio Bell with her performance. In honour of Black History Month 2024, National Music Centre and former MuchMusic VJ Master T hosted a special event reflecting on Black Canadian
- [Pass the Mic: Wakefield Brewster](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/pass-the-mic-wakefield-brewster/) - Watch former Calgary poet laureate Wakefield Brewster perform two poems, including one written exclusively for the Pass the Mic the event. In honour of Black History Month 2024, National Music Centre and former MuchMusic VJ Master T hosted a special event reflecting on Black Canadian music as the mic was passed from one generation to
- [Pass the Mic: Jorja](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/pass-the-mic-jorja/) - Young Calgary artist Jorja sang a rendition of “Pretty Funny” by Lindsay Mendez during National Music Centre’s Pass the Mic event. In honour of Black History Month 2024, National Music Centre and former MuchMusic VJ Master T hosted a special event reflecting on Black Canadian music as the mic was passed from one generation to
- [OHSOTO’KINO: PIQSIQ on Tradition and Innovation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-piqsiq/) - Recipients of National Music Centre’s OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary, PIQSIQ, discuss their northern upbringing, finding inspiration, and their contemporary adaptation of Inuit throat singing with David McLeod, Chair of NMC’s National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. PIQSIQ’s Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Inspired by the haunting northern beauty, the sisters blend
- [OHSOTO'KINO: Twin Flames on Sharing Music and Life Together](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-twin-flames/) - Recipients of NMC's OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary, Jaaji and Chelsey June of Twin Flames discuss cultural identity, healing through song, and their musical journey so far with David McLeod, Chair of NMC's National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. Husband-and-wife duo Twin Flames delivers harmony-driven music through a mix of English, French, and Inuttitut from coast to coast.
- [NMC Artist in Residence: Chad Price](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-chad-price/) - Toronto-based artist Chad Price shares his process of building the instrumental and melodic shell for a new song, harnessing inspiration from Neil Young's 1935 Martin guitar. Chad Price's experience as a self-managed pop-R&B artist made a big impression in CBC Music's Toyota Searchlight contest where he was named the 2022 winner. Among other prizes, he
- [OHSOTO’KINO: Blackstone Singers Talk Life on the Powwow Trail](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-blackstone-singers-talk-life-on-the-powwow-trail/) - Acclaimed nehiyaw (Plains Cree) powwow and round dance group Blackstone Singers talk about performing on the powwow trail, the bonds created and memories formed on tour, social media’s ability to propel powwow groups, and the power of powwow for healing. David McLeod, Chair of NMC’s National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee, spoke with a new generation
- [Canadian Music Hall of Fame | In Conversation with Nickelback](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/canadian-music-hall-of-fame-in-conversation-with-nickelback/) - 2023 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Nickelback reflect on their induction, career, and impact on music with Jesse & JD of CJAY 92. Nickelback visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in 2023 in celebration of their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and exhibition in their honour that runs
- [Hip-Hop 50 | Hip-Hop Roundtable Hosted by Master T](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/hip-hop-50-hip-hop-roundtable-hosted-by-master-t/) - Watch a roundtable discussion hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Master T, featuring Contra of Cartel Madras, Temia, Mouraine, Da Kid T, Sargeant X Comrade, RTC Profit, Wyzewon and Beni Johnson. National Music Centre in partnership with 10 at 10 Music & Culture presented a special event in honour of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The
- [NMC Artist in Residence: Mattmac](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-mattmac/) - Mattmac, a blind music producer and recording artist from Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba, shares the message behind his track, “Break Me Down,” and some of the tools he used to create the song in collaboration with rapper-producer Question ATL, and songwriter-producer Jacky Levare. In 2023, Mattmac was the winner of CBC Music’s Searchlight
- [NMC Artist in Residence: MAJOR LOVE](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/artist-in-residence-major-love/) - Edmonton pop-rock act MAJOR LOVE and producer Marcus Paquin (Stars, The Barr Brothers) discuss the inspiration behind “Same Face,” about the beauty industry's unrealistic expectations of eternal youth and trying to defy those beliefs. MAJOR LOVE is the moniker of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Colleen Brown – and a collaboration featuring Alberta rock darlings Scenic
- [Hip-Hop 50 | Breakdance Battle with Juicebox Crew and Endless Possibility](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/hip-hop-50-breakdance-battle-with-juicebox-crew-and-endless-possibility/) - Two Calgary breakdance crews, Juicebox Crew and Endless Possibility, show off their best moves in celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The National Music Centre (NMC in partnership with 10 at 10 Music & Culture presented a special event hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Master T in honour of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The event
- [Hip-Hop 50 | Graffiti Artist JD War Paint Breaks Down Hip-Hop Anniversary Piece](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/hip-hop-50-graffiti-artist-jd-war-paint-breaks-down-hip-hop-anniversary-piece/) - Calgary graffiti artist JD War Paint breaks down an artwork inspired by hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The National Music Centre (NMC in partnership with 10 at 10 Music & Culture presented a special event hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Master T in honour of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The event brought together members of the
- [Hip-Hop 50 | Alberta Rappers Pay Tribute to Hip-Hop’s Legacy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/hip-hop-50-alberta-rappers-pay-tribute-to-hip-hops-legacy/) - Calgary rappers ZHE the Free, Tea Fannie, Ricca Razor Sharp, and AC Iller perform tributes to hip-hop's 50 anniversary from a Western perspective. The National Music Centre in partnership with 10 at 10 Music & Culture presented a special event hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Master T in honour of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
- [Hip-Hop 50 | DJ Pump Gives Hip-Hop Masterclass](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/hip-hop-50-dj-pump-gives-hip-hop-masterclass/) - DJ Pump honours 50 years of hip-hop with a masterclass in DJing. The National Music Centre in partnership with 10 at 10 Music & Culture presented a special event hosted by former MuchMusic VJ Master T in honour of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The event brought together members of the Alberta hip-hop community to
- [Alberta Spotlight: "Truth in the Sea" by Selci](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-alberta-spotlight-truth-in-the-sea-by-selci/) - Winnipeg-via-Calgary electro-pop artist Selci performs at the Alberta Spotlight series at Studio Bell.
- [Alberta Spotlight: "Driving in the Dark" by Mariel Buckley](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-alberta-spotlight-driving-in-the-dark-by-mariel-buckley/) - Alt-country act and Project WILD winner Mariel Buckley performs at Studio Bell.
- [Alberta Spotlight: "Burial Ground" by WAKE](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-alberta-spotlight-burial-ground-by-wake-2/) - Alberta grindcore act WAKE performs "Burial Ground" with the Alberta Spotlight series at Studio Bell.
- [The 2020 NMC Gala: RISE UP! A Celebration of Resilience](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/gala2020/) - Filmed from both the legendary King Eddy and the architecturally-stunning Studio Bell, this year's virtual gala is hosted by CCMA Award-winning country artist Brett Kissel and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inducted broadcaster Jackie Rae Greening, the event will include performances by Jann Arden, Brett Kissel, Corb Lund, Tanika Charles, Jan Lisiecki, Celeigh Cardinal, Louis-Jean Cormier, and the Marcus Trummer Band. Amber Marshall and Shaun Johnston of CBC’s long-running CBC series Heartland will also make guest appearances.
- [AiR: Jiajia Li performs inside Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-air-jiajia-li-performs-at-studio-bell/) - As part of the Stingray Classical Artist in Residence program, the National Music Centre (NMC) welcomed Calgary based flautist and composer Jiajia Li. To conclude her residency, Li performed a rendition of her original piece "Flute and Drum Under the Sunset" amidst the stunning architecture of Studio Bell.
- [AiR: Tanika Charles perfoms at Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-air-tanika-charles-perform-at-studio-bell/) - Chosen from the 2019 Long List of 40 artists to receive a five-day residency at Studio Bell, Charles’ sophomore album, The Gumption, landed her a spot on this year’s long list. It’s the second nomination for Charles whose 2016 debut, Soul Run, also earned a Polaris long list recognition.
- [The 2021 NMC Gala: NIISITO! Celebrating 5 Years](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/gala2021/) - Welcome to NIISITO!, the National Music Centre’s 2021 fundraising gala presented by Mawer Investment Management. Bienvenu à NIISITO!, le Gala-bénéfice 2021 du Centre national de musique. This year's gala is filmed on location at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre on Treaty 7 territory in Moh’kinsstis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- [Sarah McLachlan on the Unexpected Success of Lilith Fair](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-sarah-mclachlan-on-unexpected-success-of-lilith-fair/) - Multiple JUNO Awards-winner Sarah McLachlan discusses the inspiration, challenges, and successes of Lilith Fair.
- [Tune in to Music at Work](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/tune-in-to-music-at-work/) - The National Music Centre is thrilled to introduce an exciting new series in collaboration with Jennifer Buchanan, music therapist and founder of JB Music Therapy. This five-session series, titled ‘Tune in to Music for Health, Happiness, and Success,’ delves into how professionals, educators, artists, wellness practitioners, and many more can harness the transformative power of
- [Tune in to Music for the Artist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/tune-in-to-music-for-the-artist/) - The National Music Centre is thrilled to introduce an exciting new series in collaboration with Jennifer Buchanan, music therapist and founder of JB Music Therapy. This five-session series, titled ‘Tune in to Music for Health, Happiness, and Success,’ delves into how professionals, educators, artists, wellness practitioners, and many more can harness the transformative power of
- [Tune in to Music in the Classroom](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/tune-in-to-music-in-the-classroom/) - The National Music Centre is thrilled to introduce an exciting new series in collaboration with Jennifer Buchanan, music therapist and founder of JB Music Therapy. This five-session series, titled ‘Tune in to Music for Health, Happiness, and Success,’ delves into how professionals, educators, artists, wellness practitioners, and many more can harness the transformative power of
- [Tune in to Music in Healthcare](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/tune-in-to-music-in-healthcare/) - The National Music Centre is thrilled to introduce an exciting new series in collaboration with Jennifer Buchanan, music therapist and founder of JB Music Therapy. This five-session series, titled ‘Tune in to Music for Health, Happiness, and Success,’ delves into how professionals, educators, artists, wellness practitioners, and many more can harness the transformative power of
- [Tune in to Music for Optimum Wellness](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/tune-in-to-music-for-optimum-wellness/) - The National Music Centre is thrilled to introduce an exciting new series in collaboration with Jennifer Buchanan, music therapist and founder of JB Music Therapy. This five-session series, titled ‘Tune in to Music for Health, Happiness, and Success,’ delves into how professionals, educators, artists, wellness practitioners, and many more can harness the transformative power of
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 7: Power Playlists to Boost Your Motivation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-7-power-playlists-to-boost-your-motivation/) - Led by award-winning music therapist Jennifer Buchanan, Track 7 of the Power of the Playlist series discusses music's motivational power. Motivation comes in spurts. For some people, it lasts; for others, motivation is brief and fleeting. For all of us, navigating the dynamic moments of motivation in our lives means managing the “ups” and balancing
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Dani Lion](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-dani-lion/) - Performing artist, audio engineer, and music producer Dani Lion (hailing from the Saik'uz First Nation in B.C.) shares her desire to make music with a lasting impact and how she is carrying on the songs and language of her community. In 2023, Dani Lion, along with three other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell,
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: LJ Tyson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-lj-tyson/) - Singer-songwriter LJ Tyson (hailing from Big River First Nation in Saskatchewan) shares how they have begun to embrace their queer identity within their music, and how their personal experiences influence their songwriting. In 2023, LJ Tyson, along with three other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a
- [OHSOTO'KINO Artist Spotlight: Frannie Klein](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-frannie-klein/) - Anishinaabe prairie singer-songwriter Frannie Klein shares how coming from a musical family played a huge role in her pursuit of music and how inspiration for lyrics can strike at any time. In 2023, Frannie Klein, along with three other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 1: The Meaning of the Mixtape](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-1-the-meaning-of-the-mixtape/) - For Track 1 of the Power of the Playlist series, dive into the meaning of the mixtape with award-winning music therapist, Jennifer Buchanan. In this session, learn about the history and evolution of the equipment many of us have come to know, love, and spend endless hours using; explore the feelings around the different experiences
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 2: The Art and Science of Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-2-the-art-and-science-of-music/) - Led by award-winning music therapist Jennifer Buchanan, Track 2 of the Power of the Playlist series explores the art and science of music. In this session, explore the latest research at the intersection of music, emotional wellness, and neuroscience; learn about music therapy and how different elements of music affect our behaviours, actions, and feelings;
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 3: Set Yourself (and Others) Up for Success](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-3-set-yourself-and-others-up-for-success/) - Led by award-winning music therapist Jennifer Buchanan, Track 3 of the Power of the Playlist series will set you up for success with the tools to build your playlists. The first step in creating your playlist is to put together the right toolkit. In this session, explore examples of what to look for when you
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 4: Your Personal Soundtrack](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-4-your-personal-soundtrack/) - Led by award-winning music therapist Jennifer Buchanan, Track 4 of the Power of the Playlist series will take you deeper inside your personal music memory. We are always collecting music, but some of our collection gets temporarily forgotten. However, under the right circumstances, all music is retrievable. In this session, you'll learn the best way
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 5: Power Playlists to Activate Your Memories](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-5-power-playlists-to-activate-your-memories/) - Led by award-winning music therapist Jennifer Buchanan, Track 5 of the Power of the Playlist series explores music’s incredible capacity to trigger memories. In this episode, you'll learn how to start a "music hub" to build social connections and more fun memories in your life, how music affects those who may be losing their memory
- [The Power of the Playlist — Track 6: Power Playlists to Regulate Your Mood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-power-of-the-playlist-track-6-power-playlists-to-regulate-your-mood/) - Led by award-winning music therapist Jennifer Buchanan, Track 6 of the Power of the Playlist series explores how the universal art form of music can impact your mood. Music has the capacity to evoke powerful emotions that transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries. Listening to a favorite song triggers a common pattern of brain activity, regardless
- [OHSOTO’KINO Artist Spotlight: Robin Cisek](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-robin-cisek/) - Métis electro-pop artist Robin Cisek shares how mental health challenges shaped her lyrical content, and how she uses music as a tool to inspire healing and recovery and connect with people. In 2023, Robin Cisek, along with three other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, for a five-day
- [Speak Up! Panel with Fawn Wood, Eekwol, and Shane Ghostkeeper, hosted by David McLeod](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/speak-up-panel/) - Watch as National Music Centre (NMC) presents a discussion on the power of music for reconciliation, hosted by David McLeod, curator of NMC's Speak Up! exhibition that recognizes trailblazing Indigenous musicians. The panelists are Cree artist Fawn Wood, recipient of the first JUNO Award for Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year in 2022; néhiyaw
- [Nickelback on Cracking the Songwriting Code](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nickelback-on-cracking-the-songwriting-code/) - 2023 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Nickelback talk about building their songcraft and finally cracking the songwriting code. Nickelback visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in 2023 in celebration of their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and exhibition in their honour that runs until February 2024. Watch
- [Nickelback on Joining the Canadian Music Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nickelback-on-joining-the-canadian-music-hall-of-fame/) - 2023 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Nickelback share what it’s like to be inducted alongside some of Canada’s biggest names. Nickelback visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in 2023 in celebration of their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and exhibition in their honour that runs until February
- [Nickelback Share the Best Advice Ever](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nickelback-share-the-best-advice-ever/) - 2023 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Nickelback share the advice that continues to resonate. Nickelback visited Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in 2023 in celebration of their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and exhibition in their honour that runs until February 2024. Watch the band’s full interview
- [Q&A with Geddy Lee](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-qa-with-geddy-lee/) - Exhibition highlights include Lee’s iconic Rickenbacker 4001, which appeared on numerous Rush recordings from the ‘70s and ‘80s; his signature 1972 Fender Jazz bass, heard on “Tom Sawyer” and many of Rush's more recent recordings; a 1952 Fender Precision bass, an early example of the world’s first mass-produced electric bass; a 1961 Höfner “Cavern” bass, identical to Paul McCartney’s signature instrument used during the Beatles’ early days in Liverpool; and so many more rare and eccentric instruments from around the world.
- [In Conversation with Terri Clark and Jackie Rae Greening](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-in-conversation-with-terri-clark-and-jackie-rae-greening/) - In May 2018, the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) formally inducted Terri Clark and broadcaster Jackie Rae Greening into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. To conclude the ceremony, Clark and Greening sat down to discuss their lives, their careers, and where Canadian country music is headed.
- [Malcolm Cecil on Creating TONTO](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-malcolm-cecil-on-creating-tonto/) - TONTO is an acronym for The Original New Timbral Orchestra. It was created by Malcom Cecil and Robert Margouleff in 1968, and marked the first attempt at creating a universal language for different synthesizers to communicate with each other, which was revolutionary at the time.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Saxophone vs. Clarinet](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-saxophone-vs-clarinet/) - Evan the Educator settles things once and for all, which instrument is better: the saxophone or the clarinet (scientifically speaking)
- [Eldersong: Finding and Celebrating Our Voice](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/eldersong-finding-and-celebrating-our-voice/) - Hosted by the charismatic Bob Chartier, Eldersong weaves song and stories by seven seniors together into a 90-minute show in celebration of Seniors' Week. Artists performing include Barry Luft, music inspirer and philosopher; Doc Mehl, cowboy poet and songwriter; Eilish Hiebert, a true daughter of the folk music and Irish Celtic music traditions; and Edna
- [NMC Learning at Home: Back to the Kimball](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-back-to-the-kimball/) - Used to soundtrack movies during the silent film era of the 1920s, the Kimball Theatre Organ is one of the most popular items in the National Music Centre collection. For NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator demonstrates how to play the instrument and shows off some of its quirky features and many accoutrements. Then
- [NMC Presents: Ellen Doty with Wyatt C. Louis Sponsored by ATB](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-ellen-doty-with-wyatt-c-louis-sponsored-by-atb/) - Soulful jazz-pop vocalist Ellen Doty performs a holiday concert live at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The concert also features Nêhiyaw singer-songwriter Wyatt C. Louis as the opening act and folk-soul artist TAYLR in a special duet that captures the spirit of the season. This concert is sponsored by
- [Women's Day Showcase: Nice Horse, Mariel Buckley, and Bebe Buckskin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/womens-day-showcase/) - In celebration of International Women’s Day, National Music Centre presents an afternoon of female-led tunes from a lineup of artists who are making their mark on the Canadian music scene.
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy—Shred Kelly](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy-shred-kelly/) - Shred Kelly is a five-piece alternative folk rock band that emerged from the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The band’s progressive pairing of acoustic instrumentation with electric counterparts, harmonies, and driving rhythm continues to develop and reach new heights. Watch their performance for the Bell Live concert series, presented by the National Music Centre and
- [NMC Artist in Residence: Sargeant X Comrade](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/artist-in-residence-sargeant-x-comrade/) - Calgary lo-fi soul act Sargeant X Comrade break down the making of its deep house-inspired track "Love Someone," about unrequited love. The group also shares some of the instruments used to create the song, which resulted from a 2022 artist residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre.
- [OHSOTO'KINO: Joel Wood on the Power of the Drum](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-joel-wood-on-the-power-of-the-drum/) - A recipient of NMC's OHSOTO’KINO Recording Bursary, Joel Wood discusses the power of the drum and shares some of his teachings with David McLeod, Chair of NMC's National Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. Hailing from Maskwacis, Alberta in Treaty 6 Territory, Wood is a Plains Cree, JUNO Award-nominated traditional powwow and round dance artist. In 2022,
- [OHSOTO'KINO Music Incubator Showcase](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-music-incubator-showcase/) - Join us in celebrating the next wave of Indigenous talent! Presented by the National Music Centre (NMC), this showcase features the 2022 OHSOTO’KINO Music Incubator participants. The participating artists include Ojibway experimental jazz musician Chuck Copenace (member of the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation in Treaty 3 and now based in Winnipeg); Electric Religious, the project of
- [Stingray Classical Artist in Residence: Andrea Botticelli](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stingray-classical-artist-in-residence-andrea-botticelli/) - Classical pianist Andrea Botticelli shares her experience exploring the National Music Centre's historical instrument collection. As a Stingray Classical Artist in Residence, Botticelli spent an extended period of time at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, playing and researching the Dulcken Fortepiano (1791) and the replica Bartolomeo Cristofori Grand Piano (2000), specifically. Using
- [NMC Artist in Residence: Rayannah](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-rayannah/) - Franco-Manitoban electronic musician and producer Rayannah breaks down a new composition inspired by artificial intelligence and our relationship to algorithms and social media. During a 2022 artist residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, Rayannah was able to experiment with NMC's "sandbox" of synths, including the E-mu 2000, to create a new
- [OHSOTO'KINO Artist Spotlight: Jade Turner](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-jade-turner/) - Cree country artist Jade Turner (member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation in Treaty 5) shares how songwriting became her safe haven from being bullied as a young girl, and how she uses music as a tool to talk about difficult topics and connect with other Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. In 2022, Jade Turner, along with
- [NMC Artist in Residence: John Wort Hannam](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-artist-in-residence-john-wort-hannam/) - Folk singer-songwriter John Wort Hannam shares the story and songwriting process behind his tune, "Lucky Strikes," inspired by a conversation with a woman one late night at a bar. The song brings a three-hour conversation and 30-year personal history to life, resulting in one beautiful, striped-down three-and-a-half-minute song. In 2022, while an Artist in Residence
- [One Big JAM "Vignettes" feat. Tendavillage](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/one-big-jam-vignettes-feat-tendavillage/) - Tendavillage is a musical group based out of Calgary, Alberta. The central creative force for the band is Kate Melvina, who writes, produces, and edits all the music herself. For fans of smooth R&B, galactic space funk, jazz, and everything in between. In 2022, One Big JAM partnered with the National Music Centre (NMC), Scotiabank
- [One Big JAM "Vignettes" feat. Priscille Bukasa](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/one-big-jam-vignettes-feat-priscille-bukasa/) - An established favourite in the Calgary spoken word scene, Priscille Bukasa has been writing and performing for over 10 years. Along with her passion for performance, she believes strongly in supporting the next generation of artists, lending her expertise to up-and-coming young poets. In 2022, One Big JAM partnered with the National Music Centre (NMC),
- [One Big JAM "Vignettes" feat. Kate Stevens](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/one-big-jam-vignettes-feat-kate-stevens/) - Kate Stevens is a vivacious Calgary R&B singer-songwriter, whose buoyant stage persona mirrors her heart-on-sleeve lyrical sensibilities. In 2022, One Big JAM partnered with the National Music Centre (NMC), Scotiabank Backbeat, and Calgary Arts Development to showcase five artists from the Calgary community at Studio Bell: ZENON+, Wyatt C. Louis, Kate Stevens, Priscille Bukasa, and
- [One Big JAM "Vignettes" feat. ZENON+](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/one-big-jam-vignettes-feat-zenon/) - ZENON+ is an award-winning alt-R&B musician who writes, plays keys, guitar and delivers smooth, powerful vocals with plenty of soul. In 2022, One Big JAM partnered with the National Music Centre (NMC), Scotiabank Backbeat, and Calgary Arts Development to showcase five artists from the Calgary community at Studio Bell: ZENON+, Wyatt C. Louis, Kate Stevens,
- [One Big JAM "Vignettes" feat. Wyatt C. Louis](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/one-big-jam-vignettes-feat-wyatt-c-louis/) - Wyatt C. Louis is a Nêhiyaw singer-songwriter based in Moh'kinstsís on Treaty 7 territory. He has made an impact on the eclectic landscape with songs built from soaring melodies, railroad-like finger picking and quiet, haunting vocals and lyrical phrasing. In 2022, One Big JAM partnered with the National Music Centre (NMC), Scotiabank Backbeat, and Calgary
- [OHSOTO'KINO Artist Spotlight: Chuck Copenace](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-chuck-copenace/) - Ojibway experimental jazz musician Chuck Copenace (member of the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation in Treaty 3 and now based in Winnipeg) describes how he found the trumpet, playing jazz as a young Indigenous person, and the healing power of music. In 2022, Chuck Copenace, along with four other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at
- [OHSOTO'KINO Artist Spotlight: Zoey Pricelys Roy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-zoey-pricelys-roy/) - Nehiyaw-Dene and Métis spoken word/rap artist Zoey Pricelys Roy (member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Treaty 6) shares her fascination with linguistics, rhythm, and flow, and how, at a young age, she found poetry and learned to subvert the alphabet to aid in her word play. In 2022, Zoey Roy, along with four other
- [OHSOTO'KINO Artist Spotlight: Electric Religious](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-electric-religious/) - Electric Religious is the project of Métis singer-songwriter and guitarist Brandon Baker (hailing from Treaty 6). Here he discusses how the spirit of Jimi Hendrix inspired his namesake, and music as a gateway to exploring his Métis identity. In 2022, Brandon Baker, along with four other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of
- [OHSOTO'KINO Artist Spotlight: Melody McArthur](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/ohsotokino-artist-spotlight-melody-mcarthur/) - Pop-inspired R&B artist Melody McArthur (member of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8) talks about her early country influences, how her sound evolved into a melding of genres, and finding her place as an artist. In 2022, Melody McArthur, along with four other emerging Indigenous artists, converged at Studio Bell, home of the National
- [AMIS 2022: The Radio as a Musical Instrument—Five Composition Practices from Electronic Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-radio-as-a-musical-instrument-five-composition-practices-from-electronic-music/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Radio as a Musical Instrument: Five Composition
- [AMIS 2022: "I Can't Turn Off What Turns Me On"—A Queer Phenomenology and the St. Vincent Signature Electric Guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-i-cant-turn-off-what-turns-me-on-a-queer-phenomenology-and-the-st-vincent-signature-electric-guitar/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. "I Can't Turn Off What Turns Me On":
- [AMIS 2022: New Soundscapes on the “Ligeti guitar”—Chopin, Kurtág, and Saariaho (Lecture-recital)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-new-soundscapes-on-the-ligeti-guitar-chopin-kurtag-and-saariaho/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. New Soundscapes on the “Ligeti guitar”: Chopin, Kurtág,
- [AMIS 2022: Italian Non-sounding Musical Instruments in the Age of the Marvelous—Functional Objects Without Function](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-italian-non-sounding-musical-instruments-in-the-age-of-the-marvelous-functional-objects-without-function/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Italian Non-sounding Musical Instruments in the Age of
- [AMIS 2022: The Serafin Violinmaker Family—Macro to Micro Level Approach for the Study of Two Violins Held in the Correr Museum in Venice](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-serafin-violinmaker-family-macro-to-micro-level-approach-for-the-study-of-two-violins-held-in-the-correr-museum-in-venice/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Serafin Violinmaker Family: Macro to Micro Level
- [AMIS 2022: Historical Instruments in Virtual Acoustic Environments—A Framework for the Generation of Interactive Virtual Acoustic Objects and Multimodal Organological Datasets](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-historical-instruments-in-virtual-acoustic-environments-a-framework-for-the-generation-of-interactive-virtual-acoustic-objects-and-multimodal-organological-datasets/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Historical Instruments in Virtual Acoustic Environments: A Framework
- [AMIS 2022: Arching Post-1960 Musics—Four Experiences of Engagement (Roundtable Presentation)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-arching-post-1960-musics-four-experiences-of-engagement/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Arching Post-1960 Musics: Four Experiences of Engagement (Roundtable
- [AMIS 2022: The Pervasive use of English in Electronic Music Instrument Design and its Effect on Non-native Speakers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-pervasive-use-of-english-in-electronic-music-instrument-design-and-its-effect-on-non-native-speakers/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Pervasive use of English in Electronic Music
- [AMIS 2022: Rebuilding the 5th Triad A Range](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-rebuilding-the-5th-triad-a-range/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Rebuilding the 5th Triad A Range Jason Tawkin
- [AMIS 2022: Preserving and Sharing the EMI Music Canada Archive at the University of Calgary (Roundtable Presentation)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-preserving-and-sharing-the-emi-music-canada-archive-at-the-university-of-calgary/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Preserving and Sharing the EMI Music Canada Archive
- [AMIS 2022: Hugh Le Caine’s Electronic Sackbut, 1946 to 1954](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-hugh-le-caines-electronic-sackbut-1946-to-1954/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Hugh Le Caine’s Electronic Sackbut, 1946 to 1954
- [AMIS 2022: The Ondes Martenot—A Brief History and Contemporary Design Trajectory, 1928–2022](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-ondes-martenot-a-brief-history-and-contemporary-design-trajectory-1928-2022/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Ondes Martenot: A Brief History and Contemporary
- [AMIS 2022: An Ancient American Piano with Clues About Piano Origins](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-an-ancient-american-piano-with-clues-about-piano-origins/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. An Ancient American Piano with Clues About Piano
- [AMIS 2022: The Early Piano in America, 1745–1810](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-early-piano-in-america-1745-1810/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Early Piano in America, 1745–1810 Thomas Strange
- [AMIS 2022: “Clicking the Ivory”–A.M. Virgil's Tekniklavier Revisited](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-clicking-the-ivory-a-m-virgils-tekniklavier-revisited/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. “Clicking the Ivory” – A.M. Virgil's Tekniklavier Revisited
- [AMIS 2022: The Instrumental Women of Fender](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-instrumental-women-of-fender/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Instrumental Women of Fender Jayme Kurland Jayme
- [AMIS 2022: The Mysterious Affair of Queen Marie Antoinette’s Harp—A Case for the Harp Detective](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-mysterious-affair-of-queen-marie-antoinettes-harp-a-case-for-the-harp-detective/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Mysterious Affair of Queen Marie Antoinette’s Harp:
- [AMIS 2022: George Hooper Mead—One of Canada’s First Instrument Makers, 1827-1851](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-george-hooper-mead-one-of-canadas-first-instrument-makers-1827-1851/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. George Hooper Mead: One of Canada’s First Instrument
- [AMIS 2022: Tuning, Timbre, and Technique—Reconsidering the 19th-Century Double Bass](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-tuning-timbre-and-technique-reconsidering-the-19th-century-double-bass/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Tuning, Timbre, and Technique: Reconsidering the 19th-Century Double
- [AMIS 2022: Hexagram or Star of David? A Modern Interpretation of Markneukirchen Violin Inlays Under the Microscope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-hexagram-or-star-of-david-a-modern-interpretation-of-markneukirchen-violin-inlays-under-the-microscope/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Hexagram or Star of David? A Modern Interpretation
- [AMIS 2022: The Hochbrucker Family and the Adoption of the Pedal Harp before 1760](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-hochbrucker-family-and-the-adoption-of-the-pedal-harp-before-1760/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Hochbrucker Family and the Adoption of the
- [AMIS 2022: What is an Early Banjo? An Exploration of an Instrument’s Relationship to Organology and Ethnomusicology](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-what-is-an-early-banjo-an-exploration-of-an-instruments-relationship-to-organology-and-ethnomusicology/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. What is an Early Banjo? An Exploration of
- [AMIS 2022: From Datasheet to Dancefloor—The Elektron Sid Station](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-from-datasheet-to-dancefloor-the-elektron-sid-station/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. From Datasheet to Dancefloor: The Elektron Sid Station
- [AMIS 2022: A Breath of Modernity! Camille Saint-Saëns and Wind Instruments](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-a-breath-of-modernity-camille-saint-saens-and-wind-instruments/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. A Breath of Modernity! Camille Saint-Saëns and Wind
- [AMIS 2022: Historic Cardboard and Metal Discs Revisited](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-historic-cardboard-and-metal-discs-revisited/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Historic Cardboard and Metal Discs Revisited Heike Fricke
- [AMIS 2022: Tone, Technique, and Technology—Nineteenth-Century Debates on Italian Flutes](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-tone-technique-and-technology-nineteenth-century-debates-on-italian-flutes/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Tone, Technique, and Technology: Nineteenth-Century Debates on Italian
- [AMIS 2022: A Flute by Any Other Name—The Uncommon and Curious Dolzflöte](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-a-flute-by-any-other-name-the-uncommon-and-curious-dolzflote/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. A Flute by Any Other Name: The Uncommon
- [AMIS 2022: The Puerto Rican Tiple Requinto Costero—From the Museum Collection to its Revival](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-puerto-rican-tiple-requinto-costero-from-the-museum-collection-to-its-revival/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Puerto Rican Tiple Requinto Costero: From the
- [AMIS 2022: Apache Fiddles—Tradition, Forced Assimilation, Commerce, and Museums](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-apache-fiddles-tradition-forced-assimilation-commerce-and-museums/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Apache Fiddles: Tradition, Forced Assimilation, Commerce, and Museums
- [AMIS 2022: Contemporary Innovations for the Đàn Bầu Monochord in the Canadian-Vietnamese Diaspora](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-contemporary-innovations-for-the-dan-bau-monochord-in-the-canadian-vietnamese-diaspora/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Contemporary Innovations for the Đàn Bầu Monochord in
- [AMIS 2022: The Tape Recorder as a Musical Instrument—Placing Hugh Le Caine’s Special Purpose Tape Recorders in Context](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-tape-recorder-as-a-musical-instrument-placing-hugh-le-caines-special-purpose-tape-recorders-in-context/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Tape Recorder as a Musical Instrument: Placing
- [AMIS 2022: The Electronic Sackbut Project](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/amis-2022-the-electronic-sackbut-project/) - The American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) promotes better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. In June 2022, their annual meeting was held at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. The Electronic Sackbut Project Tom Everrett Tom Everrett,
- [NMC Artist in Residence: Jhyve](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/artist-in-residence-jhyve/) - Scarborough-based R&B artist Jhyve breaks down the making of a song and shares a snippet of his tune, "Numb." As the winner of CBC Music's Toyota Searchlight 2021 contest, Jhyve beat out nearly 2,500 other participants. Among other prizes, he was awarded a week-long residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, in
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy—Celeigh Cardinal](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy-celeigh-cardinal/) - With a confident voice and boundless energy, Edmonton-based JUNO winner Celeigh Cardinal connects deeply with her audience through humour, passion and love. Watch the soul-folk songstress perform for the Bell Live concert series, presented by the National Music Centre and recorded live at the historic King Eddy in Calgary.
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy—Dan Davidson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy-dan-davidson/) - Alberta’s country sensation Dan Davidson has created undeniable momentum in the last few years, with six CCMA nominations, 10 CMAB awards, a gold record, a number 1 selling Canadian song and record, top 20 charting numbers, and hundreds of performances. The fun, sincere energy Dan brings to country music is truly unique. Watch his performance
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy—The Steadies](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy-the-steadies/) - The Steadies aren't invited to the party—they are the party. This high-energy Canadian power trio mixes pop-rock with world-beat, funk and reggae, creating a sound they’ve dubbed, ‘island-rock.’ Watch their performance for the Bell Live concert series, presented by the National Music Centre and recorded live at the historic King Eddy in Calgary.
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy—Justine Tyrell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy-justine-tyrell/) - Soulful singer Justine Tyrell has been making waves across the country with her smooth vocals and refreshing blend of contemporary R&B with an early 2000s throwback influence. The Canada-born songstress packs soulful vocals, catchy hooks, and moody sonics into one incredible sound. Watch her performance for the Bell Live concert series, presented by the National
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy—Sargeant X Comrade](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy-sargeant-x-comrade/) - Sargeant X Comrade can be described as the pioneers of lo-fi soul. Recognized for their unique sound infused with jazz, soul, funk, dancehall, and hip-hop, the duo was named BreakOut Artist of the Year at the 2021 Western Canadian Music Awards. Watch their performance for the Bell Live concert series, presented by the National Music
- [Black Future Showcase | "Low Light (In This Space)" by Odario](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/black-future-showcase-low-light-in-this-space-by-odario/) - Toronto-based hip-hop act Odario performs "Low Light (In This Space)" as part of a showcase of rising Black Canadian voices in celebration of Black Future Month at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Special thanks to Scotiabank, FACTOR, and the Government of Canada for making this event possible.
- [Black Future Showcase | "War" by Justine Tyrell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/black-future-showcase-war-by-justine-tyrell/) - Calgary R&B artist Justine Tyrell performs "War" as part of a showcase of rising Black Canadian voices in celebration of Black Future Month at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Special thanks to Scotiabank, FACTOR, and the Government of Canada for making this event possible.
- [Black Future Showcase | "Nerve" by Nuela Charles](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/black-future-showcase-nerve-by-nuela-charles/) - Edmonton soul singer Nuela Charles performs "Nerve" as part of a showcase of rising Black Canadian voices in celebration of Black Future Month at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Special thanks to Scotiabank, FACTOR, and the Government of Canada for making this event possible.
- [Women's Day Showcase | "Cowgirl" by Nice Horse](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/womens-day-showcase-cowgirl-by-nice-horse/) - Five-time CCMA-nominated country band Nice Horse perform "Cowgirl" as part of a showcase in celebration of International Women’s Day at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Special thanks to Scotiabank, FACTOR, and the Government of Canada for making this event possible.
- [Women's Day Showcase | "Driving Around" by Mariel Buckley](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/womens-day-showcase-driving-around-by-mariel-buckley/) - Calgary-born Americana songwriter Mariel Buckley performs "Driving Around" as part of a showcase in celebration of International Women’s Day at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Special thanks to Scotiabank, FACTOR, and the Government of Canada for making this event possible.
- [Women's Day Showcase | "Medicine" by Bebe Buckskin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/womens-day-showcase-medicine-by-bebe-buckskin/) - Nehiyawewin Métis blues-rocker Bebe Buckskin performs "Medicine" as part of a showcase in celebration of International Women’s Day at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre. Special thanks to Scotiabank, FACTOR, and the Government of Canada for making this event possible.
- [Black Future Showcase: Justine Tyrell, Nuela Charles, and Odario](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/black-future-showcase-2022/) - In celebration of Black Future Month, National Music Centre is pleased to present a showcase of rising Black Canadian voices.
- [NMC Rough Cuts: Celeigh Cardinal](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-rough-cuts-celeigh-cardinal/) - JUNO Award-winning singer-songwriter Celeigh Cardinal is featured in the premiere episode of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell. In this instalment, she talks about her song, "There Ain't No Way," and performs a new arrangement of the tune. NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over
- [NMC Rough Cuts: Joanna Borromeo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-rough-cuts-joanna-borromeo/) - For NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, JUNO-nominated artist Joanna Borromeo shares the meticulous process behind writing, producing, and recording her neo-soul and funk-inspired ode to the life (and trials) of an artist, "Boulevard." NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature
- [Stingray Classical: Stefan Maier, Allyson Hop & Karl Hirzer – "There is a Mist that No Eye Can Dispel"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stingray-classical-artist-in-residence-there-is-a-mist-that-no-eye-can-dispel/) - "There is a Mist that No Eye Can Dispel" is a work by Stefan Maier with Allyson Hop and Karl Hirzer that came to life during their Stingray Classical artist residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre (NMC), in August of 2021. In the weeks leading up to the residency, Maier created
- [Stingray Classical Artist in Residence: Jean-Michel Blais – "Improvisation 2"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stingray-classical-artist-in-residence-jean-michel-blais-improvisation-2/) - Watch Montreal-based artist Jean-Michel Blais perform "Improvisation 2." The Polaris Music Prize short-listed musician creates post-classical piano music that blends his classical skill and precise pop sensibility with synthetic accompaniment. In 2019, while the Stingray Classical Artist in Residence at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, Blais performed an intimate workshop illuminating his personal
- [NMC Rough Cuts: Pierre Sabourin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-rough-cuts-pierre-sabourin/) - In this edition of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, Franco-Albertan singer-songwriter Pierre Sabourin discusses and performs, "Douceurs Aigues," a beautifully melancholic tune co-written with Ronald Tremblay, about a doomed relationship. NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature a handful of
- [NMC Rough Cuts: Kate Stevens](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-rough-cuts-kate-stevens/) - In the the latest instalment of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, Kate Stevens reveals the story behind her sweet retro-pop tune, "Through and Through," about celebrating the simple joys of being in love. NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the National Music Centre (NMC). Over five episodes, we'll feature
- [NMC Rough Cuts: Pat Clifton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-rough-cuts-pat-clifton/) - Watch the latest edition of NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell, featuring Pat Clifton. A conscious rapper, producer, songwriter and pianist, Clifton makes sense of the world through intimate, sometimes unapologetic, storytelling. In this episode, Clifton discusses and performs his song, "The Light." NMC Rough Cuts presented by Bell is a podcast series by the
- [NMC Learning at Home: Holiday Earworms](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-45/) - 'Tis the season of earworms. For this episode of NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator explores how songs get stuck in your head and introduces viewers to the concept of solfège, or giving each note in the scale a name and character to make it easier to sing. Then watch as he takes the
- [Stingray Classical Artist in Residence: Sarah Davachi – "Instrumental II"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stingray-classical-artist-in-residence-sarah-davachi-untitled-2/) - Canadian electroacoustic composer and musician Sarah Davachi performs, "Instrumental II," using a Hammond B-3 organ (1957), known for its iconic tone that has helped to define the sound of a wide multitude of musical genres such as soul, funk, prog rock, blues, and jazz. In 2021, Davachi spent a week as the National Music Centre’s
- [Stingray Classical Artist in Residence: Sarah Davachi – "Instrumental I"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stingray-classical-artist-in-residence-sarah-davachi-untitled-1/) - Canadian electroacoustic composer and musician Sarah Davachi performs, "Instrumental I," using a vintage Hammond Novachord (1939). Decades ahead of its time, the Novachord is considered the very first analog, fully polyphonic synthesizer. In 2021, Davachi spent a week as the National Music Centre’s Stingray Classical Artist in Residence, experimenting with a vast collection of musical
- [Stingray Classical Artist in Residence: Sarah Davachi – "Instrumental III"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/stingray-classical-artist-in-residence-sarah-davachi-untitled-3/) - Canadian electroacoustic composer and musician Sarah Davachi performs, "Instrumental III," using a Klop Pipe Organ and a vintage EML ElectroComp 101 synthesizer. In 2021, Davachi spent a week as the National Music Centre’s Stingray Classical Artist in Residence, experimenting with a vast collection of musical instruments.  This online concert is sponsored by Stingray and
- [NMC Learning at Home: What Instrument Should I Learn?—Guitar Vs. Piano (Part 2)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-what-instrument-should-i-learn-guitar-vs-piano-part-2/) - In this instalment of NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator answers why the piano might be the best instrument for you to learn. One reason to try an electric piano is that this elegantly built instrument produces beautiful notes without having to tune it. Try out different flavours of modes, get an intro to
- [Sinzere Shares Anthem of Resilience with "Active" Video](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/sinzere-shares-anthem-of-resilience-with-active-video/) - Calgary hip-hop tour de force Sinzere is sharing the video for "Active," an anthem of resilience, off her latest EP, Highkey. The video shows Sinzere in the role of a boxer preparing for the fight of her life: her versus herself. What follows is a gruesome fight for peace. After being knocked out in the
- [NMC Learning at Home: What Instrument Should I Learn?—Guitar Vs. Piano (Part 1)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-what-instrument-should-i-learn-guitar-vs-piano-part-1/) - Want to learn how to play an instrument but not sure where to start? Over the next few episodes of NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator makes a pitch for why the guitar or piano might be best for you. In this instalment, he focuses on the guitar and gives an introduction to chord
- [NMC Learning at Home: Notation 101](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-notation-101/) - How do you write down music? Evan the Educator explores that very question, providing an introduction on music notation. He illustrates how to write the pitch of a note and how to play that note at the right time using symbols and lines on a staff, or a type of musical graph. Support music in
- [T. Buckley Shares Lyric Video for "Before I Get to Turn Around"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/t-buckley-shares-lyric-video-for-before-i-get-to-turn-around/) - Folk-roots singer-songwriter T. Buckley is giving us a sneak peek from his forthcoming album, Frame by Frame, with a lyric video for lead single, "Before I Get to Turn Around." The video features photos from his recording sessions at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, where the album was produced before the second
- [NMC Learning at Home: Why I Love My Looper](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-why-i-love-my-looper/) - Resident sound scientist Evan the Educator shares his favourite gizmo, the looper. Learn why playing around with one has taught him the most about music and patterns of sound. He'll also teach you how to make a loop to strengthen your sense of rhythm. Try loop experiments online here and check out a voice spinner
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Solar Drones](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-presented-by-bell-solar-drones/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. The National Music Centre commissioned renowned artist Patrick Marold to create a sculptural work, titled Solar Drones. Each wooden vessel was constructed from the salvaged soundboards of pianos destroyed in Calgary's 2013 flood. The Solar Drones translate the
- [NMC Learning at Home: Did Suzuki Work?](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-did-suzuki-work/) - Are you a "Suzuki kid"? Or rather, someone who learned the Suzuki method on violin at an early age? Evan the Educator digs deep into the technique created by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki, explaining how it works and if it might be right for you. Support music in Canada by donating to the National Music
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Neil Peart "Hockey Night in Canada" Drum Kit](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-tour-presented-by-bell-neil-peart-hockey-night-in-canada-drum-kit/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. Custom-built for Neil Peart of the band Rush, this iconic drum kit was used during Peart’s percussion-heavy rendition of the “Hockey Night in Canada” theme song, seen in the opening sequence of the hockey telecasts on TSN. Inspired
- [NMC Learning at Home: Let's Spoon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-spoons/) - One of the best things you can do with a spoon aside from eating ice cream is make music. Evan the Educator shares some techniques so you can learn the basics and master the art of spoon-playing. Now grab yourself a pair of spoons and get spooning! Support music in Canada by donating to the
- [Stingray Classical AiR: Robin Hatch performs with TONTO and live Q&A](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/air-robin-hatch-performs-with-tonto-and-live-qa/) - Robin Hatch is a Toronto neoclassical artist interested in instrumental composition as a storytelling medium, the forced narrative of the linear experience of performance, and melodies that focus on the intersection between contemporary neoclassical music, minimalist electronica, progressive rock, and free jazz. Watch her perform with monster synth TONTO (aka The Original New Timbral Orchestra)
- [NMC Learning at Home: Saxophonist Tries the Oboe](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-saxophonist-tries-the-oboe/) - Is there anything Evan the Educator isn't willing to play? The answer is no. In this episode, he dips his toes into a category of instruments that he's never tried until now: double reeds. Learn the difference between single and double reeds and why it's challenging for a single reed player to transition to a
- [NMC Learning at Home: Why This Shape?](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-why-this-shape/) - Have you ever wondered why an instrument is the shape that it is? In this episode, Evan the Educator explains how shape and size affect resonance, and how the frequencies they create affect sound waves. Support music in Canada by donating to the National Music Centre (NMC). NMC is a registered charity and your donation
- [Friday Night at the King Eddy: Amelie Patterson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-66/) - Bow Valley folk-pop songwriter Amelie Patterson is a pop music workhorse with hooks to spare. Watch her live streamed performance below with opener Benjamin Longman as part of the National Music Centre's hybrid live music and virtual concert series, Friday Night at the King Eddy, sponsored by Bell. You can also order takeout from the King
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: ARP 2600](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-tour-presented-by-bell-arp-2600/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. Most famous for providing the “voice” for Star Wars’ beloved R2-D2, the ARP 2600 is one of the most iconic analog synthesizers ever built. Only about 3,000 units were produced during the 2600’s nearly decade-long production period, but
- [NMC Learning at Home: Audio Effects](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-audio-effects/) - Audio effects are tools you can use to play with recorded sound. Play with time, volume, and pitch to create all sorts of unusual sounds. Ready, set, sound experiment! Go HERE to play around with audio effects at home. Watch HERE to see a previous episode on the Electric Guitar. Click HERE for an instalment
- [NMC Learning at Home: Interval Training](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-interval-training/) - Do you want to boost the power of your musical mind? Well then you've got work on your intervals! Evan the Educator shows you how to memorize and master your intervals in this episode. Watch HERE to learn how intervals make a singable song. Go HERE to see a previous episode on harmony and ratios.
- [Scotiabank Backbeat presents: Khari Wendell McClelland's Freedom Singer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/livestream-scotiabank-backbeat-presents-khari-wendell-mcclellands-freedom-singer/) - On February 8, National Music Centre (NMC) welcomed Vancouver artist Khari Wendell McClelland to present songs from his acclaimed album, Freedom Singer, in recognition of Black History Month. McLelland is joined by JUNO nominee and for NMC Artist in Residence Tanika Charles.
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Mellotron M400](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-tour-presented-by-bell-mellotron-m400/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. The idiosyncratic sound of the Mellotron, an analog sampling instrument, is one of the most iconic in the history of electronic music. Ever listened to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin or Radiohead? If so, you’ve probably heard it. The
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Elton John Songwriting Piano](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-tour-presented-by-bell-elton-john-songwriting-piano/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. English pop star Elton John acquired this vertical piano at some point in the early 1960s—using it exclusively as his songwriting instrument until 1972. Colloquially referred to as a birdcage piano, this style was especially popular with players
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Jack Richardson Recording Console](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-tour-presented-by-bell-jack-richardson-recording-console/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. One of the most influential producers in Canadian music history, Jack Richardson founded Nimbus 9 Productions in 1968—signing the company’s first act soon after, an up-and-coming Winnipeg band called The Guess Who. Many great artists made the trek
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Wurlitzer SideMan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-presented-by-bell-wurlitzer-sideman/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. The first drum machine to be made available on the commercial market, the SideMan was initially devised to provide percussive accompaniment for an organist or pianist. The name even refers to the old term for studio musicians, brought
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Roger Luther Moog](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-presented-by-bell-roger-luther-moog/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. The modular synthesis technology developed by Moog incorporated various modules for sound production, manipulation, and amplification within a single cabinet—allowing for uninhibited methods of experimentation and control. This innovation set the standard that was followed and expanded on
- [Top 10 Hits Tour presented by Bell: Robb Wave Organ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/top-10-hits-presented-by-bell-robb-wave-organ/) - Explore the Top 10 Hits of NMC's collection online with musically trained tour guides presented by Bell. Designed by Canadian inventor, designer and business executive Frank Morse Robb (1902 – 1992), the Robb Wave electromechanical organ was one of the first instruments to produce sound via electronic means—and the first electric organ to be manufactured
- [RBC Master in Residence: Steven Page](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/rbc-master-in-residence-steven-page-live-stream/) - A select group of emerging songwriters, who have been workshopping with Page, refining their work, and learning about the craft of composition and lyric writing, will present their work during a Songwriters’ Circle, followed by a live oral history and short performance by Page. CKUA’s Terry David Mulligan will host and interview the acclaimed songwriter.
- [Arkells live with Frank Turner at the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/arkells-live-at-the-king-eddy/) - On February 4 we partnered with X92.9 to offer Arkells and special guest Frank Turner the historic King Eddy for a secret pop-up show. Doors were at 11:11 and they walked in at 12:04. Thanks to Last Gang, Universal, X.929, Frank Turner, and Arkells for an amazing night!
- [Paul Brandt CCMA Induction Live](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/paul-brandt-ccma-live/) - Tune in on Monday, June 11 at 6:00 pm MST for a very special announcement from the Canadian Country Music Association and a short performance by 2017 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Paul Brandt, LIVE from Studio Bell.
- [Cheryl Foggo's We Were Here (John Ware Reimagined)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-we-were-here-john-ware-reimagined/) - Since 2012, writer Cheryl Foggo and singer-songwriter Miranda Martini have collaborated multiple times on incarnations of Foggo’s play, John Ware Reimagined, a story that reflects on Foggo’s own journey of growing up black in a cowboy obsessed city and interweaves it with the powerful, myth-shattering journey of John Ware.
- [RBC Live from the King Eddy: Robert Adam](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/rbc-live-from-the-king-eddy-robert-adam/) - Robert Adam is part of a new wave of queer country artists who are reinventing the genre. He offers an inclusive take on modern country music, telling stories of the people left behind, while creating a universally empathetic message to all. Watch his live streamed performance for the National Music Centre's hybrid live music and virtual concert series, RBC Live from the King Eddy.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Harpsichord—Evolution of the Piano (Part 3)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-33/) - Evan the Educator's exploration into the evolution of the piano continues in Part 3 of the series. A superstar instrument of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the harpsichord is in the spotlight for this week's NMC Learning at Home. If you want to see the harpsichord in glorious action, watch Bach's Concerto for three harpsichords
- [RBC Live from the King Eddy: Lucette](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-rbc-live-from-the-king-eddy-lucette/) - Lucette is the moniker of Edmonton-bred artist Lauren Gillis whose self-described “country infused dream-pop” sound eschews the rootsy clichés of Americana music Watch her live streamed performance for the National Music Centre's hybrid live music and virtual concert series, RBC Live from the King Eddy.
- [RBC Live from the King Eddy: Sinzere](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-rbc-live-from-the-king-eddy-sinzere/) - A tour-de-force hip hop act, Sinzere started first as a singer, then joined a dance crew, went on to become a DJ and rapper, and then melded all those modes into one multi-faceted music identity. There is no single musical box that the Calgary-based artist can be put into. For her, music serves as a vessel to inspire people through her cutting-edge lyrics, and deep cinematic sound. Watch her live streamed performance for the National Music Centre's hybrid live music and virtual concert series, RBC Live from the King Eddy
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Roman Rabinovich](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-roman-rabinovich/) - Uzbek-born piano virtuoso Roman Rabinovich’s playing has been described as compelling, dynamic, and highly sensitive. Since winning the 2008 Rubinstein International Piano Competition, he has performed throughout the United States and Europe to great critical acclaim, including praise from The New York Times, BBC Music Magazine, and others.Watch his live streamed performance for the hybrid live music and virtual concert series, Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy, presented by the National Music Centre and Honens.
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Dmitry Nesterov](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-dmitry-nesterov/) - Dmitry Nesterov arrived on the Canadian music scene from Russia in 1992 when he became a Laureate in the first Esther Honens Calgary International Piano Competition. Since settling in Canada with his family in 1994, Nesterov has appeared as a soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony, the Lethbridge and Red Deer Symphonies as well as with numerous orchestras in Russia.
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Donovan Seidle and Friends](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-donovan-seidle-and-friends/) - Donovan Seidle is a versatile musician—equally comfortable performing in the concertmaster chair or in the soloist spotlight as he is on the conductor’s podium of a scoring stage. As Assistant Concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic Director/Concertmaster of the Kensington Sinfonia, Donovan maintains a busy orchestral performance schedule.
- [Friday Night at the King Eddy: John Wort Hannam](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-friday-night-at-the-king-eddy-john-wort-hannam/) - Hailing from Lethbridge, folk-roots artist John Wort Hannam has been releasing Alberta-made, lyrically-driven roots music since 2003. Of the seven albums he’s released in that time, he’s racked up a JUNO nomination, and numerous Western Canadian Music Award and Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, among other recognitions
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Land's End Ensemble](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-lands-end-ensemble/) - JUNO-nominated Land’s End Ensemble (John Lowry, violin; Beth Root Sandvoss, cello; Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano; Vincent Ho, Artistic Director) is dedicated to introducing audiences to new music by Canadian and international composers, and to performing landmark chamber works of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- [Friday Night at the King Eddy: ROOKS](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-friday-night-at-the-king-eddy-rooks/) - ROOKS is a three-piece rock band from Calgary. The band features Jay Bowcott on guitar and vocals, Darryl Swart on drums and Brent Rossall on bass. Their sound is unapologetic guitar rock, drawing influences from bands like Thin Lizzy, the Rolling Stones, and the Black Keys.
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Kensington Sinfonia](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-kensington-sinfonia/) - Kensington Sinfonia is a string chamber ensemble that has been presenting classical and crossover concerts in Calgary for over 30 years.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Math and Music—Harmony and Ratios (Part 2)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-math-and-music-harmony-and-ratios-part-2/) - In Part 2 of the Math and Music trilogy, Evan the Educator delves into how ratios work to affect harmony. Hear how humans unlocked the mysteries of harmony and get introduced to philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. Try an experiment at home using any stringed instrument and learn to use simple ratios to create different kinds of harmonies.
- [Friday Night at the King Eddy: Lyrique](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-friday-night-at-the-king-eddy-lyrique/) - Lyrique is a Philippines-born, Calgary-based hip hop artist who fuses moody R&B and melodic rap beats. Compared to the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, and Mac Miller, his rhymes offer messages of hardship and hope.
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Trio Nobara](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-trio-nobara/) - Violinist Laura Reid, cellist Kathle+D10en de Caen, and Prairie Debut alumna pianist Akiko Tominaga unite as Trio Nobara in a program celebrating the pinnacle composers of three musical periods.
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy: Josué Valdepeñas and Karl Hirzer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy-josue-valdepenas-and-karl-hirzer/) - Josué Valdepeñas and Karl Hirzer are both members of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). Josué Valdepeñas is the Assistant Principal Cellist at CPO. Hirzer is a pianist and the Associate Conductor at CPO.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Bows Are the Best](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-bows-are-the-best/) - What makes a violin so special? It has a lot to do with the bow. Evan the Educator looks at how the bow has the ability to control notes.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Mandolin vs. Banjo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-mandolin-vs-banjo/) - It's the ultimate stringed-instrument showdown. In the latest episode of NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator looks at the differences between the mandolin and the banjo. Find out which one is easier to play, which is more versatile, and which one is more fun!
- [NMC Learning at Home: World's Oldest Instrument?](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-worlds-oldest-instrument/) - What is the world's oldest Instrument? We'll probably never know, but that won't stop us from exploring the possibilities. In this video, Evan the Educator makes a simple flute from a stalk of rhubarb. Learn to make one for yourself!
- [RBC Live from the King Eddy: Wyatt C. Louis](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-rbc-live-from-the-king-eddy-wyatt-c-louis/) - Wyatt C. Louis is a Plains Cree folk singer-songwriter based in Moh’kinstsís (Calgary). With songs built from soaring melodies, railroad-like fingerpicking, lyrical phrasing and quiet, haunting vocals, he is making a name for himself in the eclectic city. Watch his live streamed performance at 8:30 pm MT for the National Music Centre's hybrid live music and virtual concert series, RBC Live from the King Eddy
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Oscilloscope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-oscilloscope/) - What does sound actually look like? Evan the Educator delves into this question through an oscilloscope and a variety of sound tech tools to encourage your exploration.
- [AiR: A Tribe Called Red with Malcolm Cecil](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-air-a-tribe-called-red-with-malcolm-cecil/) - Bear Witness and 2oolman of JUNO Award-winning electronic act A Tribe Called Red discuss how working with the mothership of synths forever affected their workflow with TONTO creator Malcolm Cecil.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Synthesizer—What is a Synth? (Part 1)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-25/) - Evan the Educator dives into 2021 by exploring the inner-workings of a synthesizer, a musical instrument that turns electrical signals into sound. He'll use a toy to make this complex instrument easier for young synth enthusiasts to understand, while illustrating how everything comes together and the endless possibilities. Look for more lessons that connect science
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Synthesizer—Decode the Moog (Part 2)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-27/) - In Part 2 of The Synthesizer series, Evan the Educator explores the Moog modular synth, a one-of-a-kind musical machine created by a true synth aficionado, Roger Luther. Evan will explain a patch and the various sounds being produced, such as the heartbeat bass drum, snare drum, menacing notes and the lead, while showing how all
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Synthesizer—Sound Painting (Part 3)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-26/) - In Part 3 of The Synthesizer series, Evan the Educator will use a Minimoog to illustrate how a synth is excellent for controlling timbre or the quality of sound, tone colour, and character. In the process, he'll show you how to craft different sounds and even share what they look like using a spectrogram. If
- [NMC Learning at Home: Pegboard Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-39/) - Did you know? You can make all sorts of instruments with a pegboard. For this episode, Evan the Educator shows you how to make stringed instruments using a pegboard with violin tuning pegs, fishing line, guitar strings, and rubber bands. Get ready for some DIY music-making fun!  Support music in Canada by donating to
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Drum Beat](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/editor-35/) - Hi-hats, snares, kicks! Evan the Educator shows you how to put the beat into a drum beat using an online drum machine. Build a beat, then use it as a metronome to stay on rhythm. Follow along at home HERE and watch a previous episode to see Evan build a DIY drum kit HERE. 
- [Alberta Spotlight: nêhiyawak​ with FOONYAP Live Stream](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/alberta-spotlight-nehiyawak-with-foonyap-live-stream/) - Hailing from amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory, nêhiyawak tells stories—their story—capturing time through honeyed vocals and a cacophony of electronic and analog sounds. Balancing their Indigenous heritage with the present, the band blends indie-rock guitar and dance floor synths alongside steady beats of carved cedar log and hand drums. Within the framework of the conventional song, the band creates and adds their own history while sharing with their audiences a unique expression of Indigeneity in Canada today.
- [The Story of TONTO](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/the-story-of-tonto/) - The Original New Timbral Orchestra (TONTO), the world's largest analog synthesizer, has found a new home at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta. This is the story of how TONTO went from a dream to a reality, and then found a new life and home at NMC.
- [Secret Calgary: Return of the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/secret-calgary-return-of-the-king-eddy/) - The National Music Centre was happy to support in the research for this TELUS Optik Local documentary on the King Eddy by director Laura O'Grady. The King Edward Hotel was Calgary’s “Home of the Blues,” a legendary club that hosted some of the world’s best musicians. When the Eddy was condemned and doomed for demolition, loyal patrons vowed to keep the club alive.
- [Joshua Van Tassel and James Bunton – NMC Artists in Residence](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/joshua-van-tassel-and-james-bunton-nmc-artists-in-residence/) - “Impossible Instruments” is the project of award-winning Toronto-by-way-of-Halifax musician Joshua Van Tassel and Toronto sound designer James Bunton. The goal of their residency at Studio Bell was to take classic instruments from NMC’s collection—which spans over 450 years of music technology–and remix them in a way that’s never been heard before.
- [NMC Artist in Residence, Jeremy Dutcher](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/video-nmc-artist-in-residence-jeremy-dutcher/) - Jeremy Dutcher is an emerging Toronto-based composer and vocal artist. This classically trained operatic tenor takes every opportunity to blend his Wolastoq First Nation roots into the music he creates, blending distinct musical aesthetics that shape-shift between classical, contemporary, traditional, and jazz to form something entirely new.
- [Anders Muskens on the 1791 Dulcken Fortepiano](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-anders-muskens-on-the-1791-dulcken-fortepiano/) - As part of the Stingray Classical Artist in Residence program, the National Music Centre (NMC) welcomed piano scholar Anders Muskens to Studio Bell. During his residency, he explored NMC's collection of rare harpsichords and pianos.
- [In Conversation with Sylvia Tyson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-in-conversation-with-sylvia-tyson/) - Join the most recent inductee into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Sylvia Tyson, and music industry journalist Larry LeBlanc, as they discuss her trailblazing career. From her legendary contribution as one half of Ian & Sylvia, to her solo career and time with country-folk supergroup Quartette, gain intimate insight into the three-time Hall of Famer’s experience and perspective on a life in music.
- [Artist in Residence Tom Phillips & The D.T.s](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-artist-in-residence-tom-phillips-the-d-t-s/) - Tom Phillips & The D.T.s are a six–piece band from Calgary led by esteemed songwriter Tom Phillips. With tunes that span honky–tonk country to contemporary roots/folk and guitar-based rock, their creative lineage lies somewhere between George Jones, Jackson Browne, David Wiffen, and The Afghan Whigs. The D.T.s (Difficult Transitions) are comprised of four seasoned veterans (of The CoDependants, Art Bergman, The 6L6s, The Men of Constant Sorrow), along with two relative newcomers who bring incredible musicianship and “hair standing up on the back of your neck” harmonies to the mix.
- [Barenaked Ladies on their Iconic Band Name](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-barenaked-ladies-on-their-iconic-band-name/) - Learn about "the smartest thing" the Barenaked Ladies ever did when they chose their now-iconic band name. The band visited Studio Bell in 2018 in celebration of their induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. “It’s still hard to get our heads around,” said Ed Robertson during their Hall of Fame plaque ceremony. “We’re the band that makes fun of the bands in the Hall of Fame.”
- [Barenaked Ladies Talk About 'The Yellow Tape'](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-barenaked-ladies-talk-about-the-yellow-tape/) - Canadian rockers Barenaked Ladies tell the story of their career-making third release, The Yellow Tape.
- [Tom Cochrane on "Life is a Highway"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-tom-cochrane-on-life-is-a-highway/) - Hall of Famer Tom Cochrane explains the story behind his most famous hit.
- [Sarah McLachlan on Growing Up with Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-sarah-mclachlan-on-growing-up-with-music/) - Canadian singer-songwriter and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Sarah McLachlan explains how music shaped her childhood in Nova Scotia.
- [Barenaked Ladies on their DIY Approach](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-barenaked-ladies-on-their-diy-approach/) - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Barenaked Ladies explain their unconventional self-promotion during the band's rise to popularity.
- [Tom Cochrane on "Lunatic Fringe" and John Lennon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-tom-cochrane-on-lunatic-fringe-and-john-lennon/) - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Tom Cochrane talks about his biting political anthem, "Lunatic Fringe," which almost never got released.
- [Tom Cochrane on His Influences](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-tom-cochrane-on-his-influences/) - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Tom Cochrane shares his own Canadian musical influences.
- [Sarah McLachlan on Moving To Vancouver](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-sarah-mclachlan-on-moving-to-vancouver/) - Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan explains how her first record deal and her move to Vancouver shaped her career in music.
- [Tom Cochrane on Having No Plan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-tom-cochrane-on-having-no-plan/) - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Tom Cochrane reflects on having no plan, and his unexpected rise to fame.
- [Barenaked Ladies on the Importance of Humour](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-barenaked-ladies-on-the-importance-of-humour/) - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Barenaked Ladies explain how humour plays a role in their music.
- [Tom Cochrane on Bird on the Wire](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-tom-cochrane-on-bird-on-the-wire/) - Multiple JUNO Award-winner Tom Cochrane shares how a moment hearing Leonard Cohen's signature song, "Bird on the Wire," moved his music career forward.
- [Sarah McLachlan on Surfacing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-sarah-mclachlan-on-surfacing/) - Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Sarah McLachlan reflects on her most successful album yet, and losing perspective in the process.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Making a Sound Sandwich](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-making-a-sound-sandwich/) - As part of the NMC Learning at Home series, Evan the Educator teaches you how to take household items to build the world's simplest musical instrument.
- [Alberta Spotlight: Ellen Doty ft. Ruben Young](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-alberta-spotlight-ellen-doty-ft-ruben-young/) - Soulful singer-songwriter Ellen Doty performs as part of Alberta Spotlight with R&B vocalist Ruben Young. The song, "Already Home," was part of the duo's collaboration in December 2018 with Monogram Coffee. Proceeds from the coffee and download purchases of the holiday single helped to to raise over $7,000 for Inn From the Cold.
- [AE West: FOWLER Performs "Is This What Love's About?"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-fowler/) - Erika Fowler (aka FOWLER) performs "Is This What Love's About?" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program in partnership with the National Music Centre. Artist Entrepreneur West (AE West) is a five-week creative entrepreneurship program designed to help emerging artists from all genres build sustainable businesses and careers in music. The program culminates with an artist showcase in the historic King Eddy in Calgary, Alberta.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Instrument Exploration Toolkit](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-instrument-exploration-toolkit/) - Evan the Educator outlines the National Music Centre's scientific method of looking at musical instruments: The Instrument Exploration Toolkit.
- [AE West: Electric Religious Performs "Catherine"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-electric-religious-performs-catherine/) - Electric Religious performs "Catherine" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program in partnership with the National Music Centre.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Sonica Synthesizer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-sonica-synthesizer/) - Evan the Educator highlights the sonica, a quirky electronic instrument in the National Music Centre's collection. Built in 1979 by Frank Eventoff, it sounds like a cross between a theremin, sitar, and violin.
- [AE West: Ellen Braun Performs "Okay"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-ellen-braun-performs-okay/) - Ellen Braun performs "Okay" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program in partnership with the National Music Centre.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Voice and Spectrograms](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-the-voice-and-spectrograms/) - For NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator uses different tools and technology to show you how the voice works and introduces you to spectrograms, a visual representation of sound.
- [AE West: GoldenChild Performs "Lifetime"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-goldenchild-performs-lifetime/) - GoldenChild performs "Lifetime" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program in partnership with the National Music Centre.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Build a Beat](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-build-a-beat/) - What time is it? It's time to build a beat. In the latest edition of NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator unpacks the drum set piece by piece and shows you how to make the world's cheapest drum kit, so you can play along at home!
- [AE West: Kayla Williams Performs "Swimming in November"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-kayla-williams-performs-swimming-in-november/) - Kayla Williams performs "Swimming in November" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program in partnership with the National Music Centre.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Theremin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-theremin/) - For NMC Learning at Home, Evan the Educator looks at the theremin, a 100-year-old instrument of the future. It's the granddaddy of electronic instruments and the only one you play without ever actually touching it!
- [AE West: Melody McArthur Performs "Implore"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-melody-mcarthur-performs-implore/) - Melody McArthur performs "Implore" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program.
- [NMC ON: Daedalus on Inventing the Instrument](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-on-daedalus-on-inventing-the-instrument/) - Best known for his output on pioneering UK label Ninja Tune, Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder imprint, and others, DJ and producer Daedelus (aka Alfred Darlington) helps bridge the gap between creator and observer.
- [AE West: Crystal McGrath Performs "Harsh Light of the Day"](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-ae-west-crystal-mcgrath-performs-harsh-light-of-the-day/) - Crystal McGrath performs "Harsh Light of the Day" at the King Eddy as part of the AE West program.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Mountain Dulcimer (Part 1)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-mountain-dulcimer/) - What makes a "folk instrument" a "folk instrument"? This week, Evan the Educator answers that question by exploring the mountain dulcimer. It's an unusual yet familiar instrument that's a close cousin to the banjo and mandolin. Evan also introduces his own family of musicians and instrument builders.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Mountain Dulcimer (Part 2)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-mountain-dulcimer-part-2/) - Can Evan the Educator actually make a mountain dulcimer out of cardboard and a hockey stick? Find out in this week's episode of NMC Learning at Home. If you missed the previous episode, watch it HERE.
- [NMC Learning at Home: "O Canada" and the Singable Song](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/nmc-learning-at-home-o-canada-and-the-singable-song/) - To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of "O Canada" as our national anthem, Evan the Educator looks at what makes a singable song. Learn to think like a composer to see how intervals are part of the ingredients of a catchy tune. Then exercise your musical mind by memorizing all of the intervals with this interval trainer HERE.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Electric Guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-electric-guitar/) - It's the instrument that rocks the most. You know the one: it's the electric guitar. Learn what differentiates an acoustic from an electric guitar and how pickups affect tone and timbre. But most importantly, learn to appreciate the beauty of noise and distortion!
- [NMC Learning at Home: Hammered Dulcimer—Evolution of the Piano (Part 1)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-hammered-dulcimer-evolution-of-the-piano-part-1/) - https://amplify.nmc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screen-Shot-2020-07-25-at-4.40.39-PM-1.png
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Trumpet](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-trumpet/) - The trumpet is one of the superstars of the musical instrument world. In this episode, Evan the Educator looks at the history of early horns, from ancient times to the modern.
- [NMC Learning at Home: The Clavichord—Evolution of the Piano (Part 2)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-the-clavichord-evolution-of-the-piano-part-2/) - Evan the Educator continues delving into the evolution of the piano in Part 2 of the series. In this episode, he explores the clavichord. With a keyboard included in its design, it's a big leap from its predecessor, the hammered dulcimer. Hear the clavichord's distinctly soft sound; and learn a bit about the instrument that came after it, the clavinet.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Cristofori's Piano—Evolution of the Piano (Part 4)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-cristoforis-piano-evolution-of-the-piano-part-4/) - In Part 4 of our exploration into the evolution of the piano, Evan the Educator highlights a replica of an instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori, credited as the inventor of the piano. Learn what made his modifications revolutionary and how they relate to the modern piano.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Build-a-Bellows (and the World's Cheapest Pipe Organ)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-build-a-bellows-and-the-worlds-cheapest-pipe-organ/) - Evan the Educator is back with another ingenious DIY creation. In this episode, he'll build the cheapest pipe organ out of recorders and some homemade bellows.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Math and Music—Rhythm and Ratios (Part 1)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-math-and-music-rhythm-and-ratios-part-1/) - Over several videos, Evan the Educator will look at the ways math and music come together. In this episode, he explores how ratios have applications to music and uses them to build rhythms. Learn how to use a metronome and phrases for subdividing, creating rhythmic patterns and ultimately, becoming a better musician.
- [NMC Learning at Home: Math and Music—Consonance and Dissonance (Part 3)](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-learning-at-home-math-and-music-consonance-and-dissonance-part-3/) - In Part 3 of the Math and Music trilogy, Evan the Educator explores the difference between consonance and dissonance through polyrhythms and ratios
- [NMC ON: In Conversation with Markus Resch](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-nmc-on-in-conversation/) - Markus Resch is the co-owner and contemporary creator of Mellotron, the iconic polyphonic tape replay keyboard used by the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, and many others. At NMC ON, Resch presented a workshop with the instrument and delved into Mellotron’s origins.
- [Artist in Residence: Hermitess](https://amplify.nmc.ca/video/watch-artist-in-residence-hermitess/) - Calgary-based harpist Hermitess explains how she aimed to bring the sound of a classical string quartet in a stranger, darker direction during her residency at Studio Bell.

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- [The Entrepreneur Shift Banner Ad](https://amplify.nmc.ca/?web_ad=the-entrepreneur-shift-banner-ad)
- [Mawer Double Box Ad](https://amplify.nmc.ca/?web_ad=mawer-double-box-ad)
- [Mawer Big Box Ad](https://amplify.nmc.ca/?web_ad=mawer-big-box-ad)

## Categories

- [Read](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/)
- [Listen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/listen/)
- [Watch](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/)
- [Featured](https://amplify.nmc.ca/featured/)
- [Scotiabank Backbeat](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/scotiabank-backbeat/)
- [Record Rewind](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/record-rewind/)
- [Instrumental](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/instrumental/)
- [Collections Pick](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/collections-pick/)
- [Origin Stories](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/origin-stories/)
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/great-moments-in-canadian-music/)
- [Behind the Scenes in NMC’s Collection](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/behind-the-scenes-in-nmcs-collection/)
- [NMC Learning at Home](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/nmc-learning-at-home/)
- [The NMC Gala](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/the-nmc-gala/)
- [Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/stingray-classical-live-from-the-king-eddy/)
- [Friday Night at the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/friday-night-at-the-king-eddy/)
- [RBC Live from the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/rbc-live-from-the-king-eddy/)
- [Alberta Spotlight](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/alberta-spotlight/)
- [AE West](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/ae-west/)
- [NMC ON](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/nmc-on/)
- [Artist in Residence](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/artist-in-residence/)
- [RBC Master in Residence](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/rbc-master-in-residence/)
- [In the Spotlight](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/in-the-spotlight/)
- [Top 10 Hits Tour Presented by Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/top-ten-hits-tour/)
- [Live from Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/live-from-studio-bell/)
- [Halls of Fame Interviews](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/halls-of-fame-interviews/)
- [Curated Playlists](https://amplify.nmc.ca/listen/curated-playlists/)
- [Great Canadian Music Venues](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/great-canadian-music-venues/)
- [NMC Rough Cuts](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/nmc-rough-cuts-watch/)
- [NMC Rough Cuts](https://amplify.nmc.ca/listen/nmc-rough-cuts/)
- [NMC Presents: Bell Live at the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/nmc-presents-bell-live-at-the-king-eddy/)
- [Canadian Labels](https://amplify.nmc.ca/read/canadian-labels/)
- [NMC Amplifier Podcast](https://amplify.nmc.ca/listen/nmc-amplifier-podcast/)
- [OHSOTO'KINO](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/ohsotokino/)
- [NMC Presents](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/nmc-presents-watch/)
- [AMIS Conference 2022](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/amis-2022/)
- [One Big JAM](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/one-big-jam/)
- [The Power of the Playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/power-of-the-playlist/)
- [In Conversation with Nickelback](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/in-conversation-with-nickelback/)
- [Hip-Hop 50](https://amplify.nmc.ca/hip-hop-50/)
- [Tune in to Music for Health, Happiness, and Success](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/tune-in-to-music/)
- [The Power of Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/the-power-of-music/)
- [Women's History Month](https://amplify.nmc.ca/womens-history-month/)
- [Pass the Mic](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/pass-the-mic/)
- [Violins of Hope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/watch/violins-of-hope/)

## Tags

- [Bruce Cockburn](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bruce-cockburn/)
- [Sarah McLachlan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sarah-mclachlan/)
- [Rita Chiarelli](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rita-chiarelli/)
- [Bobby Curtola](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bobby-curtola/)
- [Jack Richardson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jack-richardson/)
- [Red Robinson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/red-robinson/)
- [Stan Klees](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stan-klees/)
- [Paul White](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/paul-white/)
- [king eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/king-eddy/)
- [tonto](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tonto/)
- [All Touch](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/all-touch/)
- [Amplify](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amplify/)
- [Avoid Freud](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/avoid-freud/)
- [Carole Pope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/carole-pope/)
- [For Those Who Think Young](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/for-those-who-think-young/)
- [Kevin Satples](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kevin-satples/)
- [NMC](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nmc/)
- [Rough Trade](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rough-trade/)
- [True North Records](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/true-north-records/)
- [David McPherson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/david-mcpherson/)
- [Music Inspired By The Group of 7](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-inspired-by-the-group-of-7/)
- [Rheostatics](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rheostatics/)
- [Record Rewind](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/record-rewind/)
- [Blue Rodeo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/blue-rodeo/)
- [Jim Cuddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jim-cuddy/)
- [Anne Murray](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anne-murray/)
- [Gene MacLellan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/gene-maclellan/)
- [Bad Manors](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bad-manors/)
- [Crowbar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/crowbar/)
- [Frank Davies](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/frank-davies/)
- [Oh What a Feeling](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/oh-what-a-feeling/)
- [Bebe Buckskin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bebe-buckskin/)
- [Chad VanGaalen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/chad-vangaalen/)
- [NMC Learning at Home](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nmc-learning-at-home/)
- [Paul Brandt](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/paul-brandt/)
- [Canadian Music Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music-hall-of-fame/)
- [Jann Arden](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jann-arden/)
- [National Music Centre](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/national-music-centre/)
- [Studio Bell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/studio-bell/)
- [Amelie Patterson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amelie-patterson/)
- [John Wort Hannam](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/john-wort-hannam/)
- [Lyrique](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lyrique/)
- [ROOKS](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rooks/)
- [Sargeant X Comrade](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sargeant-x-comrade/)
- [T. Buckley](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/t-buckley/)
- [Celeigh Cardinal](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/celeigh-cardinal/)
- [Louis-Jean Cormier](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/louis-jean-cormier/)
- [Tanika Charles](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tanika-charles/)
- [Artist in Residence](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/artist-in-residence/)
- [Rich Aucoin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rich-aucoin/)
- [Sarah Davachi](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sarah-davachi/)
- [Lucette](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lucette/)
- [RBC Live from the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rbc-live-from-the-king-eddy/)
- [Wyatt C. Louis](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/wyatt-c-louis/)
- [Josué Valdepeñas](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/josue-valdepenas/)
- [Karl Hirzer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/karl-hirzer/)
- [Kensington Sinfonia](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kensington-sinfonia/)
- [Land’s End Ensemble](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lands-end-ensemble/)
- [Prairie Debut](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/prairie-debut/)
- [Stingray Classical](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stingray-classical/)
- [Instrumental](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/instrumental/)
- [Adam Baldwin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/adam-baldwin/)
- [Gibson Les Paul](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/gibson-les-paul/)
- [Bob Mersereau](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bob-mersereau/)
- [Great Moments In Canadian Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/great-moments-in-canadian-music/)
- [Shirley Eikhard](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/shirley-eikhard/)
- [Blackie & the Rodeo Kings](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/blackie-the-rodeo-kings/)
- [Colin Linden](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/colin-linden/)
- [Great Moments In Canadian Muic](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/great-moments-in-canadian-muic/)
- [Howlin Wolf](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/howlin-wolf/)
- [Keb Mo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/keb-mo/)
- [Pleyel Duoclave Grand Piano](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pleyel-duoclave-grand-piano/)
- [restoration](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/restoration/)
- [Bell Let’s Talk Day](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bell-lets-talk-day/)
- [music and healing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-and-healing/)
- [Bernie Finkelstein](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bernie-finkelstein/)
- [Nuela Charles](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nuela-charles/)
- [AE West](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ae-west/)
- [love songs](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/love-songs/)
- [Valentine’s Day](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/valentines-day/)
- [Music Therapy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-therapy/)
- [JB Music Therapy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jb-music-therapy/)
- [Trio Nobara](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/trio-nobara/)
- [Black History Month](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-history-month/)
- [Scotiabank Backbeat](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/scotiabank-backbeat/)
- [Sinzere](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sinzere/)
- [Mellotron](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mellotron/)
- [synthesizer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/synthesizer/)
- [Malcolm Cecil](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/malcolm-cecil/)
- [Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-country-music-hall-of-fame/)
- [Terri Clark](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/terri-clark/)
- [Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-songwriters-hall-of-fame/)
- [Nice Horse](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nice-horse/)
- [Friday Night at the King Eddy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/friday-night-at-the-king-eddy/)
- [Annie Lux](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/annie-lux/)
- [Benjamin Longman](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/benjamin-longman/)
- [Cheryl Foggo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cheryl-foggo/)
- [John Ware Reimagined](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/john-ware-reimagined/)
- [Mariel Buckley](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mariel-buckley/)
- [Mariya Stokes](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mariya-stokes/)
- [JUNO Awards](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juno-awards/)
- [Polaris Music Prize](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/polaris-music-prize/)
- [In the Spotlight](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/in-the-spotlight/)
- [Melody McArthur](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/melody-mcarthur/)
- [Robin Hatch](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/robin-hatch/)
- [Nick Schofield](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nick-schofield/)
- [Glass Gallery](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/glass-gallery/)
- [Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/times-changed-high-lonesome-club/)
- [John Scoles](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/john-scoles/)
- [54-40](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/54-40/)
- [The Green Album](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-green-album/)
- [Brad Merritt](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/brad-merritt/)
- [Neil Osborne](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/neil-osborne/)
- [Dave Ogilvie](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dave-ogilvie/)
- [Yamaha D-85 Electone](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/yamaha-d-85-electone/)
- [Sloan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sloan/)
- [One Chord to Another](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/one-chord-to-another/)
- [dance club](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dance-club/)
- [Die Maschine Cabaret](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/die-maschine-cabaret/)
- [Music Venue](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-venue/)
- [The Collective Cabaret](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-collective-cabaret/)
- [Winnipeg](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/winnipeg/)
- [Winnipeg Underground](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/winnipeg-underground/)
- [Daniel Lanois](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/daniel-lanois/)
- [Bob Lanois](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bob-lanois/)
- [Master Sound Recording](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/master-sound-recording/)
- [Grant Avenue Recording](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/grant-avenue-recording/)
- [Bob Doige](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bob-doige/)
- [Great Moments In Candian Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/great-moments-in-candian-music/)
- [Julian Taylor](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/julian-taylor/)
- [The Ridge](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-ridge/)
- [Staggered Crossing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/staggered-crossing/)
- [StagX](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stagx/)
- [great canadian venues](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/great-canadian-venues/)
- [Juliette Jagger](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juliette-jagger/)
- [Massey Hall](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/massey-hall/)
- [The Quintet](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-quintet/)
- [Dave McPherson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dave-mcpherson/)
- [Dundurn Press](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dundurn-press/)
- [The Horseshoe Tavern](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-horseshoe-tavern/)
- [The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-legendary-horseshoe-tavern/)
- [The Shoe](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-shoe/)
- [Horseshoe](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/horseshoe/)
- [Last Pogo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/last-pogo/)
- [Jack Starr](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jack-starr/)
- [Toronto](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/toronto/)
- [Kelly McMichael](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kelly-mcmichael/)
- [Allison Russell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/allison-russell/)
- [Outside Child](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/outside-child/)
- [Bird of Chicago](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bird-of-chicago/)
- [Po’ Girl](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/po-girl/)
- [Songs of Our Native Daughters](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/songs-of-our-native-daughters/)
- [Artifact Profile](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/artifact-profile/)
- [Chamberlin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/chamberlin/)
- [collections-featured](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/collections-featured/)
- [Tape Replay](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tape-replay/)
- [instrument](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/instrument/)
- [sackbut](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sackbut/)
- [Tony DeFranco](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tony-defranco/)
- [The DeFranco Family](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-defranco-family/)
- [Tiger Beat](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tiger-beat/)
- [Junos](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/junos/)
- [Junos 50](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/junos-50/)
- [2021 Junos](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/2021-junos/)
- [Norther Cree](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/norther-cree/)
- [Rockin' the Rez](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rockin-the-rez/)
- [Powwow](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/powwow/)
- [Steve Wood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/steve-wood/)
- [Randy Wood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/randy-wood/)
- [Charlie Wood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/charlie-wood/)
- [Earl Wood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/earl-wood/)
- [The Wood Brothers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-wood-brothers/)
- [Saddle Lake Cree Nation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/saddle-lake-cree-nation/)
- [The Northern Cree Singers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-northern-cree-singers/)
- [FMC](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/fmc/)
- [Folk Music Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/folk-music-canada/)
- [PIQSIQ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/piqsiq/)
- [VILDA](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/vilda/)
- [Eldersong](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/eldersong/)
- [Kylie V](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kylie-v/)
- [Big Blue](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/big-blue/)
- [Joel Plaskett](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joel-plaskett/)
- [Joel Plaskett Emergency](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joel-plaskett-emergency/)
- [Thrush Hermit](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/thrush-hermit/)
- [Down at the Khyber](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/down-at-the-khyber/)
- [David MacPherson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/david-macpherson/)
- [evan the educator](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/evan-the-educator/)
- [nudie cohn](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nudie-cohn/)
- [nudie suits](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nudie-suits/)
- [calgary stampede](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/calgary-stampede/)
- [stampede](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stampede/)
- [Bill Borgwardt](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bill-borgwardt/)
- [ATB Oral Histories](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/atb-oral-histories/)
- [Joyce Smith](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joyce-smith/)
- [Rae Spoon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rae-spoon/)
- [Northern Cree](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/northern-cree/)
- [Boy Golden](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/boy-golden/)
- [shope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/shope/)
- [KT Lamon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kt-lamon/)
- [Like A Motorcycle](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/like-a-motorcycle/)
- [NMC Rough Cuts](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nmc-rough-cuts/)
- [Edith Butler](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/edith-butler/)
- [Singalong Jubilee](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/singalong-jubilee/)
- [Charlotte Cornfield](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/charlotte-cornfield/)
- [Gibson J-50](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/gibson-j-50/)
- [Highs In The Minuses](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/highs-in-the-minuses/)
- [truth and reconciliation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/truth-and-reconciliation/)
- [Crown Lands](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/crown-lands/)
- [Mi' kmaq](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mi-kmaq/)
- [Jipijka’m](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jipijkam/)
- [White Bufallo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/white-bufallo/)
- [Behrooz Mihankhah](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/behrooz-mihankhah/)
- [Korg SV1](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/korg-sv1/)
- [Joe Henderson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joe-henderson/)
- [Lydium](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lydium/)
- [Black Narcissus](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-narcissus/)
- [Anthony OKS](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anthony-oks/)
- [In The Garden](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/in-the-garden/)
- [Anthony Sannie](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anthony-sannie/)
- [The Tragically Hip](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-tragically-hip/)
- [Road Apples](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/road-apples/)
- [April Wine](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/april-wine/)
- [Myles Goodwyn](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/myles-goodwyn/)
- [Somewherelse](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/somewherelse/)
- [Anna Wiesen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anna-wiesen/)
- [Pat Clifton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pat-clifton/)
- [Allyson Hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/allyson-hop/)
- [Stefan Maier](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stefan-maier/)
- [Lowest of the low](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lowest-of-the-low/)
- [Shakespeare My Butt](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/shakespeare-my-butt/)
- [Ron Hawkins](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ron-hawkins/)
- [Stephen Stanley](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stephen-stanley/)
- [David Alexander](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/david-alexander/)
- [John Arnott](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/john-arnott/)
- [Alia O’Brien](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/alia-obrien/)
- [Blood Ceremony](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/blood-ceremony/)
- [Badge Époque Ensemble](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/badge-epoque-ensemble/)
- [Jean-Michel Blais](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jean-michel-blais/)
- [Kate Stevens](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kate-stevens/)
- [Hannah Georgas](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/hannah-georgas/)
- [Pierre Sabourin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pierre-sabourin/)
- [Matt Horseman](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/matt-horseman/)
- [Jhyve](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jhyve/)
- [CBC Searchlight](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cbc-searchlight/)
- [Joanna Borromeo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joanna-borromeo/)
- [mental health](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mental-health/)
- [music and wellness](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-and-wellness/)
- [Portia White](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/portia-white/)
- [Black Canadian Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-canadian-music/)
- [Nova Scotia](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nova-scotia/)
- [Neil Young](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/neil-young/)
- [Harvest](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/harvest/)
- [Calgary](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/calgary/)
- [Black artists](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-artists/)
- [Rap](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rap/)
- [Soul](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/soul/)
- [International Women's Day](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/international-womens-day/)
- [banjo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/banjo/)
- [clawhammer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/clawhammer/)
- [allison de groot](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/allison-de-groot/)
- [old-time](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/old-time/)
- [Men Without Hats](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/men-without-hats/)
- [Safety Dance](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/safety-dance/)
- [Rhythm of Youth](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rhythm-of-youth/)
- [Canadian music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music/)
- [Odario](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/odario/)
- [Black Future Showcase](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-future-showcase/)
- [Justine Tyrell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/justine-tyrell/)
- [Women's Day Showcase](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/womens-day-showcase/)
- [bell live](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bell-live/)
- [dan davidson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dan-davidson/)
- [The Steadies](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-steadies/)
- [Shred Kelly](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/shred-kelly/)
- [Jazz](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jazz/)
- [Holly Cole](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/holly-cole/)
- [Japan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/japan/)
- [Karen Bliss](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/karen-bliss/)
- [Indie Labels](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indie-labels/)
- [Justin Time](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/justin-time/)
- [Mi’kmaq](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mikmaq/)
- [Fiddle](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/fiddle/)
- [Morgan Toney](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/morgan-toney/)
- [Cape Breton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cape-breton/)
- [korea town acid](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/korea-town-acid/)
- [jessica cho](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jessica-cho/)
- [JUNO](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juno/)
- [JUNOS 2022](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/junos-2022/)
- [JUNO Songwriters Circle](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juno-songwriters-circle/)
- [Deborah Cox](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/deborah-cox/)
- [Adrian Sutherland](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/adrian-sutherland/)
- [Cree music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cree-music/)
- [Indigenous music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indigenous-music/)
- [2022 JUNOS](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/2022-junos/)
- [Midnight Shine](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/midnight-shine/)
- [Indigenous artist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indigenous-artist/)
- [Ishkōdé Records](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ishkode-records/)
- [Amanda Rheaume](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amanda-rheaume/)
- [Digging Roots](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/digging-roots/)
- [Aysanabee](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/aysanabee/)
- [NMC Amplifier](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nmc-amplifier/)
- [Amplifier](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amplifier/)
- [Podcast](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/podcast/)
- [Music Podcast](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-podcast/)
- [Dan Mangan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dan-mangan/)
- [Canadian Music Podcast](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music-podcast/)
- [ohsoto'kino](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ohsotokino/)
- [joel wood](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joel-wood/)
- [nmc amplify](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nmc-amplify/)
- [David McLeod](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/david-mcleod/)
- [Playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/playlist/)
- [Pride](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pride/)
- [LGBT](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lgbt/)
- [Canadian](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian/)
- [listen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/listen/)
- [LGBTQIA2S+](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lgbtqia2s/)
- [Pride Day](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pride-day/)
- [URBNET](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/urbnet/)
- [hip hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/hip-hop/)
- [Canadian labels](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-labels/)
- [Canadian indie](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-indie/)
- [indie hip hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indie-hip-hop/)
- [Major Love](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/major-love/)
- [Jennifer Buchanan](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jennifer-buchanan/)
- [Ken Tobias](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ken-tobias/)
- [The Bells](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-bells/)
- [Stay Awhile](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/stay-awhile/)
- [CBC](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cbc/)
- [Bill Medley](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bill-medley/)
- [amis](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amis/)
- [amis 2022](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amis-2022/)
- [amis conference](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/amis-conference/)
- [American Musical Instrument Society](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/american-musical-instrument-society/)
- [Instruments](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/instruments/)
- [Darcy Ataman](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/darcy-ataman/)
- [Canadian Country Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-country-music/)
- [Royalty Records](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/royalty-records/)
- [The Original New Timbral Orchestra](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-original-new-timbral-orchestra/)
- [John Leimseider](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/john-leimseider/)
- [Angie C](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/angie-c/)
- [randall prescott](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/randall-prescott/)
- [family brown](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/family-brown/)
- [ccma](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ccma/)
- [Country Music Week 2022](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/country-music-week-2022/)
- [rayannah](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rayannah/)
- [Happy?](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/happy/)
- [Ed Cherney](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ed-cherney/)
- [ohsoto'kino music incubator](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ohsotokino-music-incubator/)
- [Chuck Copenace](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/chuck-copenace/)
- [Jade Turner](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jade-turner/)
- [Electric Religious](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/electric-religious/)
- [Zoey Pricelys Roy](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/zoey-pricelys-roy/)
- [breakout west](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/breakout-west/)
- [indigenous playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indigenous-playlist/)
- [boogey the beat](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/boogey-the-beat/)
- [wcma](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/wcma/)
- [tova](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tova/)
- [saskatchewan music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/saskatchewan-music/)
- [One Big JAM](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/one-big-jam/)
- [ZENON+](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/zenon/)
- [Priscille Bukasa](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/priscille-bukasa/)
- [Tendavillage](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tendavillage/)
- [the power of the playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-power-of-the-playlist/)
- [how to make a playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/how-to-make-a-playlist/)
- [Evan Hu](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/evan-hu/)
- [Beni Johnson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/beni-johnson/)
- [Curtis Running Rabbit-Lefthand](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/curtis-running-rabbit-lefthand/)
- [Country Music Week](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/country-music-week/)
- [Future of Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/future-of-music/)
- [Music panel](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-panel/)
- [loreena mckennitt](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/loreena-mckennitt/)
- [the visit](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-visit/)
- [canadian albums](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-albums/)
- [Christine Fellows](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/christine-fellows/)
- [Beardsell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/beardsell/)
- [Tenor guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tenor-guitar/)
- [rolling stones mobile](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rolling-stones-mobile/)
- [ian blurtons future now](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ian-blurtons-future-now/)
- [second skin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/second-skin/)
- [great big sea](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/great-big-sea/)
- [play](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/play/)
- [East Coast music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/east-coast-music/)
- [Maritimes music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/maritimes-music/)
- [celtic music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/celtic-music/)
- [maritime music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/maritime-music/)
- [newfoundland music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/newfoundland-music/)
- [Rock](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rock/)
- [pop music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pop-music/)
- [Rock the nation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rock-the-nation/)
- [twin flames](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/twin-flames/)
- [cree](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cree/)
- [juno nominees](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juno-nominees/)
- [kathleen edwards](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kathleen-edwards/)
- [failer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/failer/)
- [juno awards photos](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juno-awards-photos/)
- [edmonton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/edmonton/)
- [Women in music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/women-in-music/)
- [female luthiers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/female-luthiers/)
- [Canadian luthiers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-luthiers/)
- [Women](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/women/)
- [Luthiers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/luthiers/)
- [Guitar makers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/guitar-makers/)
- [Linda Manzer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/linda-manzer/)
- [Manzer Guitars](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/manzer-guitars/)
- [CARAS](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/caras/)
- [Trooper](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/trooper/)
- [Trooper Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/trooper-hall-of-fame/)
- [Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music-hall-of-fame-induction/)
- [Trooper induction](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/trooper-induction/)
- [Terri Clark Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/terri-clark-hall-of-fame/)
- [2023 Canadian Music Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/2023-canadian-music-hall-of-fame/)
- [Country Music Hall of Fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/country-music-hall-of-fame/)
- [chad price](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/chad-price/)
- [Vivek Shraya](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/vivek-shraya/)
- [blackstone singers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/blackstone-singers/)
- [Québécois music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/quebecois-music/)
- [French Canadian music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/french-canadian-music/)
- [Félix Leclerc](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/felix-leclerc/)
- [L’alouette en colère](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lalouette-en-colere/)
- [The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-harpoonist-the-axe-murderer/)
- [Live album](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/live-album/)
- [behind-the-scenes](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/behind-the-scenes/)
- [canadian band](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-band/)
- [Black music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-music/)
- [advance music canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/advance-music-canada/)
- [Black music in Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-music-in-canada/)
- [Master T](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/master-t/)
- [Meastro](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/meastro/)
- [Michie Mee](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/michie-mee/)
- [Canadian Hip-Hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-hip-hop/)
- [Canadian Rap](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-rap/)
- [Cadence Weapon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cadence-weapon/)
- [MuchMusic](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/muchmusic/)
- [Kardinal Offishall](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kardinal-offishall/)
- [The Rascalz](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-rascalz/)
- [Choclair](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/choclair/)
- [Saukrates](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/saukrates/)
- [Nickelback](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nickelback/)
- [2023](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/2023/)
- [Polaris Prize](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/polaris-prize/)
- [Filipino Canadian](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/filipino-canadian/)
- [Kulintang music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kulintang-music/)
- [Robert Santelli](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/robert-santelli/)
- [Grammy Museum](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/grammy-museum/)
- [Bob Santelli](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bob-santelli/)
- [Rob Santelli](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rob-santelli/)
- [Rolling Stone](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rolling-stone/)
- [music museums](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-museums/)
- [music history](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-history/)
- [country music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/country-music/)
- [ccma hall of fame](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ccma-hall-of-fame/)
- [the road hammers](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-road-hammers/)
- [hip-hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/hip-hop-2/)
- [50th anniversary hip hop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/50th-anniversary-hip-hop/)
- [tony young](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tony-young/)
- [hip-hop 50th anniversary](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/hip-hop-50th-anniversary/)
- [hip-hop 50](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/hip-hop-50/)
- [Daniel Monkman](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/daniel-monkman/)
- [Zoon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/zoon/)
- [Manitoba music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/manitoba-music/)
- [Anishinaabe](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anishinaabe/)
- [Elisapie](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/elisapie/)
- [breakdancing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/breakdancing/)
- [juicebox crew](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juicebox-crew/)
- [endless possibility](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/endless-possibility/)
- [Frannie Klein](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/frannie-klein/)
- [graffiti](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/graffiti/)
- [JD War Paint](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jd-war-paint/)
- [ZHE the Free](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/zhe-the-free/)
- [Tea Fannie](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tea-fannie/)
- [Ricca Razor Sharp](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ricca-razor-sharp/)
- [AC Iller](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ac-iller/)
- [dani lion](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dani-lion/)
- [Saik'uz First Nation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/saikuz-first-nation/)
- [Greg Keelor](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/greg-keelor/)
- [Five Days in July](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/five-days-in-july/)
- [DJ Pump](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dj-pump/)
- [DJ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dj/)
- [DJing](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/djing/)
- [Canadian bands](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-bands/)
- [The Pursuit of Happiness](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-pursuit-of-happiness/)
- [Love Junk](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/love-junk/)
- [LJ Tyson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lj-tyson/)
- [Big River First Nation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/big-river-first-nation/)
- [Queer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/queer/)
- [canadian classic rock](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-classic-rock/)
- [randy bachman](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/randy-bachman/)
- [bachman turner overdrive](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bachman-turner-overdrive/)
- [the guess who](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-guess-who/)
- [guitars](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/guitars/)
- [canadian guitars](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-guitars/)
- [Ron Sexsmith](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ron-sexsmith/)
- [The Andy Kim Christmas](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-andy-kim-christmas/)
- [Black music history](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-music-history/)
- [Afro](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/afro/)
- [Afro beats](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/afro-beats/)
- [Chromeo](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/chromeo/)
- [Adult Contemporary](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/adult-contemporary/)
- [Millenial music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/millenial-music/)
- [2000s Canadian music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/2000s-canadian-music/)
- [nelly furtado](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nelly-furtado/)
- [IWD2024](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/iwd2024/)
- [CBC Music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cbc-music/)
- [Mattmac](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mattmac/)
- [Indigenous Canadian music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indigenous-canadian-music/)
- [pop-trap](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/pop-trap/)
- [canadian recording studios](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-recording-studios/)
- [Canadian record labels](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-record-labels/)
- [Canadian women](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-women/)
- [Female record labels](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/female-record-labels/)
- [The Dead South](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-dead-south/)
- [Tanya Tagaq](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tanya-tagaq/)
- [Whitehorse](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/whitehorse/)
- [kiesza](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/kiesza/)
- [Black Music Month](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-music-month/)
- [Violins](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/violins/)
- [Jewish music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jewish-music/)
- [Holocaust](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/holocaust/)
- [Holocaust music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/holocaust-music/)
- [Violins of Hope](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/violins-of-hope/)
- [Avshi Weinstein](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/avshi-weinstein/)
- [Music in the holocaust](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-in-the-holocaust/)
- [holocaust violins](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/holocaust-violins/)
- [Yiddish music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/yiddish-music/)
- [Socalled](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/socalled/)
- [Montreal music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/montreal-music/)
- [historic instruments](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/historic-instruments/)
- [Burnstick](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/burnstick/)
- [rhapsody in blue](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rhapsody-in-blue/)
- [gershwin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/gershwin/)
- [jens lindemann](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jens-lindemann/)
- [george gershwin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/george-gershwin/)
- [Carroll Baker](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/carroll-baker/)
- [Women in country music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/women-in-country-music/)
- [From Me to You: The Beatles in Canada 1964-1966](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/from-me-to-you-the-beatles-in-canada-1964-1966/)
- [Piers Hemmingsen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/piers-hemmingsen/)
- [Rock history](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rock-history/)
- [Canadian music history](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music-history/)
- [The Beatles in Canada](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-beatles-in-canada/)
- [Beatlemania](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/beatlemania/)
- [k.d. lang](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/k-d-lang/)
- [CCMA Awards](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ccma-awards/)
- [Music museum](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-museum/)
- [k.d. lang and the reclines perform](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/k-d-lang-and-the-reclines-perform/)
- [k.d. lang stage outfit](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/k-d-lang-stage-outfit-2/)
- [Indie record labels](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indie-record-labels/)
- [Theory of a Deadman](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/theory-of-a-deadman/)
- [jonathan simkin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jonathan-simkin/)
- [Marianas Trench](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/marianas-trench/)
- [Carly Rae Jepsen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/carly-rae-jepsen/)
- [Canadian guitar players](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-guitar-players/)
- [Martin & Coupa](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/martin-coupa/)
- [Chet Atkins](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/chet-atkins/)
- [guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/guitar/)
- [Tess Roby](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/tess-roby/)
- [DijahSB](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dijahsb/)
- [Metis music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/metis-music/)
- [Metis Nation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/metis-nation/)
- [The Truth We Hold](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-truth-we-hold/)
- [New album](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/new-album/)
- [Metis Week](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/metis-week/)
- [Nigerian music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/nigerian-music/)
- [Afrobeats](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/afrobeats/)
- [Afro6ix Takeover](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/afro6ix-takeover/)
- [Jeffrey Benson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jeffrey-benson/)
- [Toronto music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/toronto-music/)
- [music venues](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/music-venues/)
- [the shore club](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-shore-club/)
- [indie pop](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indie-pop/)
- [R&B](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rb/)
- [Clairmont The Second](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/clairmont-the-second/)
- [Canadian artist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-artist/)
- [Begonia](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/begonia/)
- [Winnipeg music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/winnipeg-music/)
- [songwriting](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/songwriting/)
- [Canadian songwriters](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-songwriters/)
- [CMI Music Incubator](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cmi-music-incubator/)
- [JUNO artist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/juno-artist/)
- [Jimmy Rankin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jimmy-rankin/)
- [The Rankin Family](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-rankin-family/)
- [Martin guitar](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/martin-guitar/)
- [Canadian MC](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-mc/)
- [Black Canadians](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-canadians/)
- [Ontario music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ontario-music/)
- [Black albums](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/black-albums/)
- [Canadian instruments](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-instruments/)
- [Wurlitzer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/wurlitzer/)
- [Organ](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/organ/)
- [July Talk](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/july-talk/)
- [Canadian music legends](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music-legends/)
- [How to Sing for Money](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/how-to-sing-for-money/)
- [Fredericton](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/fredericton/)
- [New Brunswick](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/new-brunswick/)
- [Maritime music history](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/maritime-music-history/)
- [Leonard Cohen](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/leonard-cohen/)
- [Canadian music venues](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-music-venues/)
- [Canadian theatres](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-theatres/)
- [Canadian piano](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-piano/)
- [Henry Herbert piano](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/henry-herbert-piano/)
- [Quebec music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/quebec-music/)
- [Ada Lea](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ada-lea/)
- [Canadian indie rock](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-indie-rock/)
- [when i paint my masterpiece](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/when-i-paint-my-masterpiece/)
- [Roland SP404 sampler](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/roland-sp404-sampler/)
- [Canadian sampler](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-sampler/)
- [Leo Negro](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/leo-negro/)
- [funk](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/funk/)
- [Glass Tiger](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/glass-tiger/)
- [Sam Reid](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sam-reid/)
- [Jim Vallance](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jim-vallance/)
- [Alan Frew](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/alan-frew/)
- [Canadian songwriting](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-songwriting/)
- [Breaking Kayfabe](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/breaking-kayfabe/)
- [University of Calgary archives](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/university-of-calgary-archives/)
- [University of Toronto archives](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/university-of-toronto-archives/)
- [Anne Murray Centre](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anne-murray-centre/)
- [Anne Murray fans](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/anne-murray-fans/)
- [Here You Are](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/here-you-are/)
- [New Anne Murray album](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/new-anne-murray-album/)
- [Canadian playlist](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-playlist/)
- [Laurel Canyon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/laurel-canyon/)
- [60s music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/60s-music/)
- [California music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/california-music/)
- [Joni Mitchell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/joni-mitchell/)
- [Buffalo Springfield](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/buffalo-springfield/)
- [CSNY](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/csny/)
- [Denny Doherty](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/denny-doherty/)
- [Steppenwolf](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/steppenwolf/)
- [Canadian folk-rock](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-folk-rock/)
- [LA music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/la-music/)
- [Laurel Canyon music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/laurel-canyon-music/)
- [1960s music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/1960s-music/)
- [Los Angeles music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/los-angeles-music/)
- [The Mamas and The Papas](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/the-mamas-and-the-papas/)
- [Bruce Palmer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bruce-palmer/)
- [Dewey Martin](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/dewey-martin/)
- [Crosby Stills Nash & Young](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/crosby-stills-nash-young/)
- [Henry Diltz](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/henry-diltz/)
- [John Einarson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/john-einarson/)
- [Folk-rock history](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/folk-rock-history/)
- [Sunset Boulevard](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/sunset-boulevard/)
- [Our House](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/our-house/)
- [Ladies of the Canyon](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/ladies-of-the-canyon/)
- [Oscar Peterson](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/oscar-peterson/)
- [Canadian jazz](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-jazz/)
- [Jazz music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jazz-music/)
- [Andy Milne](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/andy-milne/)
- [Bill King](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/bill-king/)
- [Canadiana Suite](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadiana-suite/)
- [Marlon Deschamps](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/marlon-deschamps/)
- [Cree Nation](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cree-nation/)
- [Indigenous drummer](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indigenous-drummer/)
- [Indigenous rap](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/indigenous-rap/)
- [Raymond Sewell](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/raymond-sewell/)
- [No Borders Here](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/no-borders-here/)
- [Canadian legends](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-legends/)
- [Jane Siberry](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/jane-siberry/)
- [CSHF](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/cshf/)
- [Mimi on the Beach](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/mimi-on-the-beach/)
- [80s music](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/80s-music/)
- [Canadian songwriter](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-songwriter/)
- [Lay it on the Line](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/lay-it-on-the-line/)
- [Hockey song](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/hockey-song/)
- [Rik Emmett](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/rik-emmett/)
- [Canadian rock bands](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/canadian-rock-bands/)
- [Voyageur](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/voyageur/)
- [Billionaire](https://amplify.nmc.ca/tag/billionaire/)

## Explore Categories

- [Exhibitions](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore-category/exhibitions/)
- [Artifacts](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore-category/artifacts/)
- [Performances](https://amplify.nmc.ca/explore-category/performances/)