Although I have spent decades in the music industry, many of you know I have deep roots in the Celtic world, being a first generation Scot who was always reminded by my Mum about our heritage. As the story goes when she knew she was ‘going home’, she asked that we not mourn her but to celebrate her life and to hold our family traditions close to our hearts.

And so the Beach Celtic Festival was ‘born’. Slated to be a one day event only to be a celebration of life, thanks to the many people who have been there for me, we are now entering our 14th year in the beautiful setting of Kew Gardens in the Beach, Toronto, Ontario.

This year’s line up is stellar to say the least.

Geoff Gibbons, a veteran singer/songwriter from Vancouver, has an excellent new body of work that really deserves to be heard. I was alerted to this talented performer by Canadian Pop Encyclopedia of Pop Music author Jaimie Vernon who had worked with Geoff with his band Silverlode. The band released two albums and garnered some airplay and recognition with the band.

Geoff started out with an acoustic guitar and a host of great role models, Cat Stevens, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to name a few and of course The Eagles. All these influences are evident in his work.

Geoff has collaborated as a songwriter with artists like Jeff Carlisi of .38 Special-Lynard Skynard, Dawn Langstroth the daughter of Anne Murray and Nashville writers James Dean Hicks and Peter McCann to name a few. His songs have been used for TV shows such as Higher Ground, Just Cause and Robson Arms. Geoff also wrote the score and the songs for Lions Gate Film's "Wolf Moon" aka "Dark Moon Rising.”

If success is measured in longevity then the Mariposa Folk Festival is one of the most prosperous events around.

In 1961 the folk revival was at its peak with performers that included Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, and Joan Baez to name a few. In light of that popularity the Mariposa Folk Festival was created.

Bruce Cole was a photographer who witnessed the ascension of the festival from its early stages of a simple event, to becoming an internationally known incubator of folk stars everywhere. Bruce was involved starting in 1971 and took photos of some of the best musicians around.

“It was the first few years that it was on Toronto Island, before that it was in Orillia,” said Bruce in an interview with Cashbox. The event has since moved back to Orillia and this year it was reported by CTV Barrie that it could top the record-setting attendance of 24,000 people that it made back in 2010. The Orillia Packet & Times later verifired that claim by revealing that the Mariposa Folk Festival had approximately 27,000 attendees this year.

In high school, I travelled to Kingston or sat around Colin Blamire’s house to listen to these guys jam and share their passion with us all. In as many years as I have lived away from the town we went to high school in, The Fimisters had not played together. But in the last several years these guys have not only gotten back together, they have released their second album. So, when the opportunity to interview them about the new adventure in their lives came up, I was both excited and nervous, for I hadn’t seen these guys in 20 years!

Say the name Beamer Wigley to yourself. Then say it a couple more times. Then write it down somewhere, put it in a memo in your phone and tell all your music loving friends about him. That way when he makes it big you can tell folks “remember I told you about him?” And his chances of success are definitely there.

As we all know, talent is of course, a huge prerequisite for “making it” but there are other components. Desire, perseverance and then the right people in a position to make it happen getting on board with you. Beamer Wigley can put a check mark next to all of the above. He is a talented young man, has the desire and perseverance. “ I have no plan “B”, this is what I want to do with my life” Then the most important piece that you can’t control, the right people running your career path.

The brainchild (and dream) of singer, songwriter and recording artist Frank Zirone, ONES is a special music production presenting the North American number one hits of The Beatles with a very special nod to Canada. Unknowingly, this particular project has been years in the making, beginning with that very first Beatles performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Throughout Zirone's years of writing, recording and performing, The Beatles and their music have deeply influenced his career almost every step of the way.

Zirone's long history in the music business makes him well suited to create and produce a show such as ONES. He has been nominated for a Juno, toured around the world and worked with acts such as The Monkees, Loverboy, Herman’s Hermits, Saga, Gary Puckett, Max Webster, Randy Travis and Triumph. Frank’s body of work, extensive history and reputation have earned him the respect of some of the finest musicians in Canada, allowing him to gather unequalled talent for his production of the ONES show.

The Beaches International Jazz Festival is a 10-day music festival held each year in the lakeside Beaches community of Toronto in the month of July. Originally started in 1988, it is now one of Canada's largest free jazz festivals with nearly 800,000 attendees, throughout its 10-day span.

The Festival takes place across a number of venues; stage concerts are held in several different parks within the area and also along a two kilometre stretch of the Beach main street - Queen Street East.

The first thing you feel when you hear Tanika Charles talk about her music and performing is the passion in her voice. Tanika is filled with passion; about her songs, her music, her band, her loves, her life. Her passion, performance and songwriting combine the strength of her soul while showing her vulnerable side through her music.

‘’I was surrounded by music growing up. My Dad, Leonard, always had great records playing so I heard Spiro Jiro, George Benson, Chante Moore, George Duke, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and so many more. I always loved the soulful vocals of Patti LaBelle, Nina Simone and Etta James but the one that really was a huge influence on me was Paula Abdul. I am a dancer and a singer and so she really has it all.”

“My older brother Rudy is also a greatly multi-talented man; he can play any instrument so he inspired me as well.”

When Steve Clark introduced Chris “Travis” Townes, Pat Lalonde and Ted Lalonde to Shelley Buffitt and her daughter Alysha Carman in May 2016 to perform at a benefit concert in Marathon, Ontario in June, little did they know that nine months later they’d be Mercy The Band.

“Shortly after the June 2016 concert in Marathon, I became quite ill. Unfortunately, we had to cancel a couple of gigs that Steve booked for us in August and September, 2016. I also had to leave the Clay Williams “Canal Pursuit” marathon run, in which I was selected Crew Chief. I took the next few months to recover and in February 2017, I received a call from Chris “Travis” asking if I was able to perform for The 6th Annual Unplugged for Cancer Concert in Marathon in March,” explains Shelley. The group got together within days to start practicing and the performance went very well. On March 22nd they officially became Mercy The Band and began collaborating on original material. What followed was a recording session on April 29th at Pennock Studio in Thunder Bay, with Producer (Steve) Clark and Sound Engineer Bob Kovacs.

Submitted by Don Graham

You’re Eric Andersen. You have iconic status, you have a Gold Membership card to the folk elite club with fellow members like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Joni Mitchell. You were there when the great folk boom exploded. This is your time to bask in the golden light and soft glow of all you have accomplished in your music career. That’s what one would think.

Last year, 2016, Cashbox Magazine Canada started the wheels turning on a new branch of the publication, Cashbox Canada Television. Cashbox CEO and Editor in Chief Sandy Graham, “I wanted to take Cashbox to a new dimension, take advantage of our digital capabilities and reach our growing audience in a different way. The idea of having video interviews seemed like the logical step and offered so many possibilities.”

Harbourfront Centre’s 2017 summer season celebrates Canada’s cultural heritage with Sounds of Home, a sonic tribute to the strength of the diversity found across the land known as Turtle Island. The season kicks off on June 27with Here in the 6ix: Celebrate Multiculturalism Day, a program offering a full day of free events reflecting Toronto’s rich cultural mosaic.

Four distinct weekend festivals in July form the core of a programming vision that gathers Canadian talent from coast-to-coast-to-coast for an array of evocative and entertaining events ranging from concerts, comedy shows, family activities, culinary events, and late-night afterparties. Audiences and visitors are invited to join us throughout the summer on Toronto’s waterfront to relax on our lakeside vista and enjoy these curated festivals, your favourite annual festivals, and season-long events, such as the Summer Music in the Garden classical music series, and our weekly Free Flicks outdoor film series and Dancing on the Pier events.

Every year around this time when winter has finally played itself out and summer is warming up for its annual residency, everything starts to change. The greens return, the sky becomes a deeper blue and the golden sun is once again the star of the show. And music on radio and playlists changes as well. Used to be you planned releases around the seasons and certain songs were held back as “great summer song” material. Some of these hits are still being played or covered today. Nothing says summer, even 60 years later like “Summertime Blues”, Lovin’ Spoonful’s “ Summer in the City”, and of course don’t we all feel better, practically or metaphorically, when it’s “ summertime and the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high?”

Some of the following list is from last year’s informal poll and some are from today. Hopefully this will make you think of your favourite summer song.

The Hammers are back ! A new album and a new single from The Road Hammers, Canada’s premiere country rock band is about to explode onto the airwaves.

Norbert Putnam, bass player, arranger and record producer can now add author to his list of occupations. Actually more of a raconteur. The talented and well respected Putnam has a new book, Music Lessons Vol. 1, that just hit the shelves this month And oh the stories he can tell ! We asked Norbert from his home in Florence, Alabama, what prompted the writing of his memoirs? “My wife Sheryl and I were living in Hilton Head, North Carolina and going to these get togethers and parties with these moneyed people, non music folks, and they all wanted to talk about the music business and what I’d seen and done. They funny thing is most of them seemed more interested in the lesser known artists I had worked for and with. One night at an architect’s house they asked me about working with Jerry Jeff Walker. I explained that with Jerry Jeff we set up an actual bar in my studio. Then we’d sit around and drink and talk and then we’d record some. It was the atmosphere that Jerry Jeff was comfortable with.

“ Come and sing a simple song of freedom, sing like you’ve never sung before. Let it fill the air, tell the people everywhere, that we the people here don’t want a war.”

Those lyrics written by Bobby Darin are as relevant and true today as they were 48 years ago when Darin wrote them.

It’s true we’ve had wars since, the Gulf War and the Persian War and unrest in the Middle East but somehow, although we had military involved, it was never a threat in our own backyard. It always seemed far away. It’s a little different now. Now you have two unstable leaders with access to nuclear codes and  we can feel the breath of the threat on our necks. Nuclear war never seemed a possibility to me because level heads on both sides know that with each having the deadly weapons, nobody wins. But these are not level headed times.

Toronto blues harpist David Rotundo heard James Cotton perform at the El Mocambo in 1991. “He blew one note on the harmonica that hypnotized me...” The next day, Rotundo went out and bought a harmonica. “...and I’ve been playing the blues ever since.” Obsession with the blues led Rotundo on a diesel-fuelled roots tour of blues epicentres of the United States including – New Orleans, Clarksdale, Austin, Memphis and Chicago with little more than his wits and a bag full of harmonicas. “I wanted to hear and experience the real thing.” He returned to Canada with a visceral perception of the blues and a deep knowledge of blues history. After making the stories his own, he earned the right to tell them. Rotundo has developed his own language of the blues, honing the technique that gives the voice power and authenticity. Proof of his impact shows in the fact that he has been nominated for a Maple Blues Award for 11 consecutive years!

The debut album by Toronto hip hop/rap artist Boland has been a long time coming but the artist will be here for a long time .

The title of the project ‘Shades’ suits both the album and the artist. The album shows the many “shades” this young poet has observed and documented in his life and “shades” suits for his signature sunglasses.

Debbie Green is not a household name but to the musical giants she influenced, taught and mentored she is a cornerstone to their careers and musical force to be revered and respected.

It’s best to go back to the beginning to get the full story on her influence on the folk music boom of the 50’s in America and beyond.

Deborah Green was born in New York City in 1940, her Dad was Vice President at Macy’s Department Store and her mother devoted a lot of her time and energy to charity work. Her life was middle class normal, growing next to a golf course on Staten Island. Her life changed when her parents split up when she was four years old.

She enrolled in The Putney School, a boarding school in Vermont. The school had a good music program and it was there that Debby showed her interest in music.

There are a few artists that I personally look forward to hearing new stuff from. Manitoba’s Doc Walker are near the top of that list. So when I caught wind of Weathervane, the boys new 9 nine song set, I was eager to hear what they had come up with this time. And as I had hoped, they didn’t disappoint. It seems every time I review a Doc Walker album it’s “their best to date.” No surprise Weathervane just moved into the “best yet” ranking.