Swamperella is a name synonymous with traditional Cajun music in Canada. Now celebrating its 20h year, this Toronto based group continues to honour the tradition from which their music stems while adding heartfelt and lively originals which dovetail beautifully into that tradition. Members include: Soozi Schlanger (fiddle, vocals, washboard); Peter Jellard (accordion, fiddle vocals); Conny Nowé (rhythm guitar); Rachel Melas (bass); Dave MacDougall (drum set , triangle). Swamperella has honed its musical chops over the years by playing to packed crowds at monthly cajun dances at the legendary Gladstone Hotel and has performed at kitchen parties, weddings and folk festivals across Canada. At the newly tarted up Tranzac last week, the crew showed no signs of slowing down, running through vintage zydeco material from such as Clifton Chenier, gorgeous Cajun waltzes with their roots in 17th Century France and original tunes from the band’s four albums, most recent being Leopard Skin Coat.

This week, it’s all about the Swansy. First up, Astral Swans, which is mostly just Matthew Swann. Astral Swans just laid down All My Favorite Singers Are Willie Nelson, a collection of stark psychedelic folk from the mindsets of Calgary’s Matthew Swann. Songs steeped in universal anguish, marveling at the world’s knack for enterprise and cannibalism, come across instead as subtle, reassuring lullabies.

Chart Attack premieres the latest single from Astral Swan’s debut LP, “What Calms You Down, Freaks Me Out”. Steeped in serene 60’s folk, 80’s no-wave alienation, and the insouciance of 90’s grunge, the track bears the ominous pleasance of Syd Barrett, Arthur Russell, Nick Drake, and fellow Calgarian Chad Van Gaalen.

In 2015, The High Dials are so on the radar of folks who think they define the nu-pop sensibility. In which case, dudes can claim O.G. stake, as ‘In The AM Wilds’, dropping Feb.3, is the duo’s fifth full-length cookie. This thing they’ve been doing is an amalgam of psychedelic, electronic, and folk rock influences, meshing with the compositions of singer-songwriter Trevor Anderson.

Centered around the band’s founders, Anderson and guitarist Robbie MacArthur, and operating with a rotating line-up, The High Dials have spent the last while working on soundtracks for two Montreal indie films, which led to a lot of experimentation. Any long-term band can slip into a comfort zone of lazy habits. That’s where producer Marc Bell (We Are Wolves, The Fugees) came into things. “Meeting Marc was huge because he really helped us stay fearless in moving forward. He knew nothing about our history. We were able to incorporate more of the influences that had always been there lurking but never really come through.”

They’re called The Confabulation and they’re the best acoustic supergroup you’ve barely heard. Once ya know the lineup’s David Woodhead– bass, ukulele, gourd banjo Bob Cohen – guitars, ukulele Doug Wilde – keyboard Rich Greenspoon – drumset, we know you'll be beating down the doors of the warm and welcoming Southern Cross Lounge. You get two shots at it; Fri.Jan.23 at 7.30 pm, Sat.Jan.24 at 9.30 pm Tranzac Club, Toronto.

After a successful summer tour from The Rockies to the Confederation Bridge supporting his latest acclaimed album Early Riser, Toronto songwriter Jerry Leger has been back on the road again with a string of dates across Ontario. The tour, which began November 7 at The Horseshoe Tavern with Doug Paisley and Jenny Whiteley, will touch down again in Toronto with a performance at The Dakota Tavern on December 12. Expect surprise guests and heartfelt mayhem. Get a taste of what to expect with the new video from Southern Souls for “One More Bad Penny”.

The Dakota gig isn’t quite the end though, as Jerry L and crew play Dec 19 at The Brownstone Cafe, Orillia, with the final wrap coming Dec 20 at The Clarkson Pub, Barrie, ON.

With the DNA of a rock’n’roll road dog in his genes, no surprise that Devin Cuddy’s all ready to take the band on its second cross-Canada tour this year, supporting current cookie Kitchen Knife. So it’s all stops in between Halifax to Vancouver on a tour that began on October 3. “It’s very important to us to bring this show to the doorsteps of Canadians everywhere”, says Devin Cuddy. “So come on out”.

Young Cuddy’s got something dif to offer in his rootsy country rock in that he passes on trends in favour of getting close to the sources of original rock’n’roll, honky tonk style country, barrelhouse piano, blues and jazz. So far it’s working out for the boy, having scored him a Juno nom for Roots / Traditional Album of the Year for his first record, Vol 1.Cuddy has said that Kitchen Knife was more of a ‘studio’ album that the debut, so checking how it translates live’ll be a bonus.

http://www.devincuddy.com

Toronto-based Andria Simone & Those Guys are on a major roll. They closed out June with a trip to Cognac, France to pick up an award as winner of the Hennessy artistry talent quest. During the week in France they opened for major European star Ben L’Oncle Soul and Monophonique as well as two or three other concerts, where they appeared on the same bills as Robert Plant, Taj Mahal, Lily Allen, Hiromi, Steven Seagal and Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne. Back in Toronto from Paris July 5 Andria and Those Guys will be met by two cars to drive them up to Jazz On The Mountain At Blue Mountain where they’ll open for The Commodores that evening.  July 9 finds the band in NYC to play the prestigious Rockwood Music Hall.

Back in the T.Dot, on July 19,it’s the main stage for the Beaches International Jazz Festival in Toronto’s East end. Come August 21 Andria Simone & Those Guys return to 3030 on Dundas Street West where they packed the room on their last show there, April 17. There won’t likely be many added summer dates , as the band have begun work on their as yet untitled sophomore album.

Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan were born to be together. They were both born in in the same hospital. albeit 3 years apart, in Buffalo, New York and both their families relocated to Ohio when they were young and both can trace their roots back to Alsace-Lorraine in France. To continue the similarities , both had blue eyes and brown hair, both had parents named John and Mary and sisters named Virginia. They finally met when they were both living in Florida and working in separate acts doing the club circuit, Misty as a keyboardist and Jack as a musician (piano/guitar and sax) and comedian. They met, fell in love, got married and began working together, writing and performing.  In 1969 they had released their first record, ‘Big Black Bird’ which charted for the duo but one year later came their big break through song.  In 1970 Tennessee Birdwalk became a # 1 record for Jack and Misty, landing them concert tours and spots on shows like Nashville Now and solidified their spot in music history, garnering a Grammy nomination and a host of awards.

It’s that blessed time of year again…no, it’s not! The CMW Holy Week is usually held in March but this year was changed to the more weather-friendly month of May. So far, that’s not by much, so all the more reason to spend your entire week avoiding the relentless winds by checking out as many of the umptillion bands on show in the city’s 60 venues as you can stomach. To help clarify/confuse your choices, here’s a random scattergun blast of acts you should know about.

This week’s big indie guitar showdown happens Tuesday Apr. 22, putting Black Lips (Phoenix Concert Theatre) up against We Are Scientists (Lee’s Palace). Breakups, breakdowns and a death in the band has not slowed down Black Lips. Eleven years on, these Atlanta garage legends continue to provoke and freak out audiences all over with their live show. This is, after all, the band which recorded their major label debut album, Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo, live off the floor of a dive bar in Tijuana, Mexico, that the band solemnly described as "absolutely nuts." Then there was India 2009, where the dudes got up to some onstage “antics’ which so outraged the audience, the Lips fled the city and eventually the country, abandoning the tour on account of the very real fear they’d be busted and thrown in the slammer for "homosexual acts". The band’s view: “Ian and Cole kissed, some weiners got pulled out, people lost their shit.”

Beautiful Nothing is here to tell you paying yer dues never goes outa style. Even while they tended their social media obligations, the five guys in the band also kept up a steady pace playing the Toronto rock circuit just about wherever someone would let them, all the while working on the sound ‘neath the steely gaze of the T.Dot’s  notoriously picky audiences. Also, industry savvy ones like Current Management’s Gerry Young, who knows a good  thing when he hears one and knows what to do with it. Which brings us to the altrock quintet’s first single release,    “Come Colour Me,” freshly in the hands of Canadian radio this week, with the accompanying video serviced to MuchMusic and MTV Canada.