BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition July 2019

JULY 2019 

FREE 

RISING 

STAR 

JESSIE 

REYEZ 

FIGHTS 

TO KEEP 

IT REAL 

PLUS 

YVR PRIDE 

PLANNER 

FOLK FEST 

HAVIAH 

MIGHTY 

JIM 

CUDDY

YOUR 

OLD FLAMES 

ARE BACK 

JOHNFLUEVOGSHOESGRANVILLEST··WATERST··FLUEVOGCOM

Contents 

Up Front 

4 

6 

9 

10 

The Guide 

Hip-hop’s sensitive wunderkind 

Khalid walks down 

the red carpet towards the 

star-studded Fvded In The 

Park. 

Drink 

In search of the ultimate 

summer spritz; three alternatives 

to the classic Aperol 

blend 

That’s Dope 

Levo’s home infuser takes 

cooking with herbs to a 

whole new level of reefer 

madness. 

Fashion 

Dr. Martens teams up with 

The Who to create a line of 

gear for a new generation. 

Music 

13 

23 

27 

32 

Concert Previews 

Haviah Mighty, Jonah Yano, 

Fat Mike’s Punk In Drublic, 

Jim Cuddy, The Jerry Cans 

and more! 

The Playlist 

All the singles we can’t stop 

listening to this month 

Album Reviews 

Bleached, Daniel Caesar, 

Killy, Sum 41, Skye Wallace, 

Bruce Springsteen and 

more! 

Live Reviews 

Anderson .Paak, Billie Eilish, 

Jamila Woods, Slum Village 


RISING 

STAR 

JESSIE 

REYEZ 

FIGHTS 

TO KEEP 

IT REAL 

Cover Story 

24 

PLUS 

YVR PRIDE 

PLANNER 

FOLK FEST 

HAVIAH 

MIGHTY 

JIM 

CUDDY 

Jessie Reyez 

Canada’s rising R&B 

sensation, Jessie Reyez, 

keeps her family close and 

her honesty dialed up as 

she readies to climb bigger 

stages. 

FREE 

Travel 

34 Cross-Canada Camping 

Music Festival Guide 

From camping under the stars to 

camping with the stars, Canadian 

music festivals are plugging in to 

electrify the camping experience. 

Screen Time 

37 

38 

39 

Yesterday 

Director Danny Boyle reimagines 

a world without The 

Beatles. 

Wild Rose 

Jessie Buckley plays a wild 

dreamer in boot stomping country 

music drama. 

Marianne & Leonard 

Director himself part of love 

triangle in heartfelt doc about 

relationship between songwriter 

Leonard Cohen and his muse, 

Marianne Ihlen. 

Rae Sremmurd brought the bass to 

Breakout Fest on June 16. Check out 

our review of this show and more 

online at beatroute.ca 

YVR 

41 

42 

43 

44 

45 

Khatsahlano Festival 

Annual multi-block mega party 

takes over the streets of Kitsilano 

for the biggest block party of the 

summer. 

YVR AGENDA Agenda 

Star Wars goes to the symphony, 

Nardwuar becomes a star, Block 

Rockin’ Beats and more! 

YVR PRIDE 

A Q&A with Pride Carnival curator 

Jaik Puppyteeth plus essential 

2019 Pride guide. 

Vancouver Folk 

Music Festival 

There’s more than folk folks at 

this festival that jumps genres 

with Basia Bulat, Corb Lund, 

Larkin Poe and many more. 

YVR MUSIC 

Yamantaka//Sonic Titan’s 

psychedelic noh-wave and Stef 

Chura defiant voice. 

DARROLE PALMER 

JULY 2019 BEATROUTE 3

The Guide 

JULY 

Khalid: 

Hip-hop’s 

sensitive 

wunderkind 

Fvded in the Park 

Saturday, July 6 

Holland Park (Surrey) 

Tix: $150-$210, fvdedinthepark.com 

A 

t the age of 21 R&B/soul artist Khalid has 

been nominated for five Grammys, hit quadruple 

platinum with his debut single 

“Location” and is now embarking on 

his first international arena tour. 

Khalid began writing his debut album, 

American Teen, right before being crowned 

prom king at his high school in El Paso, TX. 

Since then, the wunderkind has skyrocketed 

to stardom with features on Logic’s suicide 

awareness anthem, Lorde’s “Handmade Dynamite 

(Remix),” and a spot on the Black Panther 

soundtrack alongside other hip-hop superstars 

including Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak. 

Khalid’s first album was inspired by his loneliness 

due to constantly moving around the country 

with his military mother. The biggest transition 

was his move from New York to Texas, marking 

the beginnings of American Teen and setting him 

down a path that would take his music to places 

he never imagined. 

In April, Khalid released his second studio 

album, Free Spirit, alongside an accompanying 

short film and is now touring around the world. 

Watching the 45-minute featurette provides a unique 

snapshot into the creative and humanistic spirit 

of the young artist as he explores themes of love, 

friendship and longing. 

Khalid might just be one of the most sensitive 

and sentimental personalities in hip-hop 

today, which seems to count more than 

ever as he continues blazing new trails 

on stage, on the screen and in his 

personal life. 

Khalid performs at Holland Park in 

Surrey for Fvded in the Park on July 6 

 

By JOEY LOPEZ 

4 BEATROUTE JULY 2019 

Editor/Publisher 

Michael Hollett 

Senior Editor/ 

Western Canada 

Glenn Alderson 

Creative Director 

Troy Beyer 

Editorial Coordinators 

Jordan Yeager 

Sebastian Buzzalino 

Contributing 

Writers/ Coordinators 

Sarah Bauer • Jenessa Blanchet 

Ben Boddez • Sebastian Buzzalino 

Lauren Donnelly • Jaime Eisen 

Karina Espinosa 

Courtney Heffernan 

Kathryn Helmore • Safiya Hopfe 

Jeevin Johal • Brendan Lee 

Christine Leonard • Joey Lopez 

Sofia Montebello • Trevor Morelli 

Pat Mullen • Johnny Papan 

Tory Rosso • Yasmine Shemesh 

April Summers • Graeme Wiggins 

Jordan Yeager 

Contributing Photographers 

& Illustrators 

Sebastian Buzzalino 

Jerez Challenger • Stasia Garraway 

Jesse Gillett • Michael Grondin 

Zee Khan • Nolan Knight 

Tenzing Lama • Richmond Lam 

Mandy-Lyn • Darrole Palmer 

Liz Renstrom • Barry Russe 

Yung Yemi 

Advertising Inquiries 

Glenn Alderson 

glenn@beatroute.ca 

778-888-1120 

Distribution 

BeatRoute is distributed in 

Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, 

Edmonton, Winnipeg and 

Saskatoon 

Contact us 

2405 East Hastings St. 

Vancouver, BC 

V5K 1Y8 

e-mail: editor@beatroute.ca 

 

@beatrouteBC 

 

@beatroutemedia 

 

beatrouteBC 

beatroute.ca

UPCOMING SHOWS 

JUNGLE PUSSY SEPT 13 

CONJURING THE FUTURE #ISF2019 

JULY 6 

SAMMY JOHNSON 

JULY 25 

ZAKK SABBATH 

AUGUST 5 

THE DRUMS 

WEYES BLOOD 

SYML & EXES 

APRIL AUGUST 117 

APRIL AUGUST 11 14 

AUGUST APRIL 1116 

SUN KIL MOON 

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS 

JOSEPH 

APRIL SEPTEMBER 11 2 



TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT IMPERIALVANCOUVER.COM 


Drink 

THAT’S 

AMARO 

Often made with Aperol, the Amaro Spritz may well be the cocktail 

of the summer. Powered by bitter aperitifs and sparking 

wine, this delicious, refreshing and low-calorie sipper 

is a classic for a reason. 

By GLENN ALDERSON 

T 

he New York Times spilled 

their way onto some people’s 

shit lists recently with a 

stuffy and pretentious article 

calling out the Aperol Spritz 

as simply “not a good drink.” 

They claimed the effervescent summer 

beverage made popular by the company 

Aperol (Campari America) and their 

popularized hashtag #spritzlife was 

making a whole lot of noise around an 

aperitivo that wasn’t deserving of all 

the fuss or fizz. 

Messing around with hashtags 

on social media is no way to spend 

your summer, but the NYT got it all 

wrong. Road tested and popularized 

since the 50s, when you take away 

the brand appeal of Aperol, there’s an 

amaro, an Italian-style liqueur, at the 

heart of this classic cocktail and Aperol 

isn’t the only player in the game. 

Simple, easy-to-make, low cal and 

refreshing — Put an orange wedge on 

it and you’ve found your new summer 

squeeze. So pop a bottle of a favourite 

mediocre sparkling wine and spice up 

summer with these aperitif alternatives 

to the Aperol Spritz. 

THE ULTIMATE SPRITZ 

3 parts Prosecco or sparkling 

wine chilled 

2 parts your choice of amaro 

2 parts club soda or blood 

orange soda 

Garnish with orange slices, 

or pitted green olives 

CANADIANIZE 

YOUR SPRITZ 

Who needs Aperol 

with these local lights 

The Woods Amaro 

A rustic and creative 

aperitif true to the brand’s 

ethos, Woods Spirit 

uses rhubarb, gentian 

root, wormwood and 

BC botanicals including 

grand fir needles and 

blackberry honey to 

create a unique product 

that pairs well in spritzes 

or acts as an excellent 

sub for vermouth in any 

classic cocktail. Amaro is 

a multi-faceted and intoxicatingly 

layered digestif 

that boasts a syrupy 

sweetness, followed by 

the signature bitterness 

Amaros are often known 

and loved for. 

Bitterhouse Aperitifs 

Step up your cocktail 

game with Bitterhouse 

Aperitifs. Offering three 

varied options, set your 

patio party ablaze with 

DaMan, a grapefruit and 

pomello flavoured libation, 

heavy on the citrus 

notes; LaDame with its 

sweet notes of candied 

orange; or Rubato, a 

rhubarb-flavoured aperitif 

with a light bitterness that 

can also work as a great 

substitution for Campari 

in your next negroni. For 

those on the go, Bitterhouse 

now offer a full 

mixed spritz in a can. 

Odd Society Spirits 

Mia Amata Amaro 

Named after master 

distiller Gordon Glanz’s 

daughter, Mia, who also 

co-produced it, Mia 

Amata translates to “My 

beloved.” This complex 

digestive liqueur is flavoured 

with exotic botanicals 

including myrrh gum, 

kola nut, candied plum, 

vanilla and cacao. 

6 BEATROUTE JULY 2019

UPCOMING SHOWS 

SOLD OUT 

DAN CODY MANGAN KO & NOEL MILLER 

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS 

AUGUST FEB 136 

& 14 

TINY MEAT GANG LIVE 

LATRICE ROYALE: 

HERE’S TO LIFE! 

JULY 8 

AUGUST BURNS RED 

JULY 11 

RODRIGO Y GABRIELA 

JULY 14 

AHFOMAD FESTIVAL 

OPENING NIGHT 

FEBRUARY 7 

JULY 19 

MIYAVI 

JULY 25 

DEAN LEWIS 

AUGUST 15 

LIGHTS 

FEBRUARY 7 

AUGUST 16 

BURNA BOY 

AUGUST 17 

CAFÉ TACVBA 

AUGUST 23 

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT VOGUETHEATRE.COM

NEW! 

#SummerofSPRITZ

That’s Dope 

THE WEED 

LOVERS’ 

KITCHEN 

APPLIANCE 

HAS 

ARRIVED 

By CHRISTINE LEONARD 

T 

ake the mystery out of 

buying premade edibles. 

After all, the best way to 

know what’s going into an 

edible is to make it yourself. 

Whether you’ve been 

waiting for the right time to jump 

on the edible bandwagon or you’re a 

seasoned kief chef, the convenience 

of rendering your own countertop oil 

infusions might be the best option 

for your body and your wallet. 

Making the art of crafting DIY edibles 

easy, the LEVO is a remarkable 

and somewhat pricey little culinary 

gadget that is designed solely for the 

purpose of turning your botanicals 

(i.e. cannabis flowers or other edible 

herbs) into tasty and economical oils 

and butters. 

The brainchild of ganjapreneur 

Chrissy Bellman, LEVO introduces 

homemade infusions to the average 

consumer, offering a high-quality, 

healthy alternative to store-bought 

products, which may contain undesirable 

solvents and additives. 

Dishwasher safe and available in 

a range of appealing colours, these 

sleek appliances occupy no more 

space than a Keurig and can also be 

used for processing herbs of all kinds 

into restaurant-caliber sauces and 

compound-rich skincare products. 

Simply load in your favourite botanical 

along with your choice of 

consumable oil, butter or glycerin, 

set the timer and return to a golden 

bounty. Why not skip the fuss and 

muss of the laborious, time-consuming 

and, let’s face it, distinctly smelly 

are pre-dried and lightly cooked before 

infusion, unlocking their full potency. 

Both machines deliver carefully 

controlled and consistent heat that 

is applied for the duration of the infusion 

process to retain the bud’s desirable 

terpene (organic compounds) 

profiles, yielding the maximum flavour, 

odour and therapeutic benefits. 

No need to hover in the pantry – 

connecting to the LEVO app allows 

you to control your concoctions on 

the go, while also having access to 

LEVO’s Herb and Oil Calculator, custom 

recipes and more. Relax, man. 

Thanks to the unit’s WiFi connectivity, 

you can remotely set and check 

on your infusions and monitor the 

machine’s progress on your phone. , 

levooil.com 

traditional methods of deriving your 

own cannabis-based infusions? Simply 

press a few buttons, walk away 

and return to dispense your infusion 

into a mason jar. Wham! Bam! Careful 

with that amber jam! 

Eliminating unwanted emulsifiers, 

smoke and packaging, the basic 

LEVO model will set you back 

$199.99 USD and contains a stainless-steel 

reservoir that can infuse up 

to 16 ounces at one time. 

Priced at $449.99 USD when ordered 

from the manufacturer, or a 

comparable $459.99 from Canadian-based 

suppliers like TrimLeaf.ca, 

the LEVO II has “Activate” and “Dry” 

cycles that decarboxylates your 

chopped cannabis flowers and leaves 

for you. This means that the herbs 

THIS MONTH 

IN CANNABIS NEWS 

AND VIEWS 

THREE DOPE 

COOKBOOKS 

REVIEWED 

What to do with the triumphant oils of your kitchen 

witchery? There’s lots of ways to use canna-butters 

to create palatable treats ranging from salad dressings 

to cocktails. Fortunately, enterprising cookbook 

publishers aren’t far behind the cannabis industry 

when it comes to providing tasteful instructions and 

mouthwatering recipes that anyone can use to infuse 

their mealtime with a little me time. 

BONG APPÉTIT: MASTERING 

THE ART OF COOKING WITH 

WEED 

by the editors of Munchies 

Ten Speed Press, $40 

A proper MUNCHIES and Viceland 

television series joint, Bong Appétit 

is packed with 65 “high-end” 

recipes for the cannabis-tuned 

palette. Sophisticated North African 

Broccoli Salad and Sausage 

Pappardelle Bolognese dishes are 

mellowed out by fun noshes like 

Green Mac and Cheese and chocolatey 

Stoner Candy Bites with 

kettle chips and rainbow sprinkles. 

EDIBLES: SMALL BITES 

FOR THE MODERN 

CANNABIS KITCHEN 

by Stephanie Hua with Coreen 

Carroll 

Chronicle Books, $28.99 

“Let’s make some tasty edibles, 

and let’s not fuck up our friends.” 

Complete with a discussion of the 

effects and benefits of cannabinoids 

and terpenes, this gorgeous 

tome provides advice on enjoying 

and entertaining with unique 

recipes using sous vide infusions, 

canna-honeys, magical maple 

syrup and a seriously addictive 

hazelnut spread. 

GET BAKED: 

SPACE CAKES, 

POT BROWNIES AND 

OTHER TASTY 

CANNABIS CREATIONS 

by Dane Noon and Lex Lucid 

Spruce $10.99 

Witchetty grub for raucous tea 

parties. This potent UK export rolls 

out 40 recipes for hash-filled tucker, 

from savoury main meals to the 

sweetest of treats – The Ultimate 

Brownie. Suggesting a subtler 

stone for those who prefer a discreet, 

smoke-free high, Get Baked 

serves up history and humour. 


Fashion 

DOCTOR WHO 

Dr. Martens X The Who collab creates a walking, talking line for a new generation By KATHRYN HELMORE 

T 

ranscending trends, 

making a statement 

and never succumbing 

to predictability is 

an art form few brands can 

maintain. Steeped in controversy 

and contradiction, 

Dr. Martens footwear has 

been a battle cry of fascist 

skinhead movements in the 

70s, the punt of protest to 

80s punk movements and 

accessorized ripped jeans and 

introspection as the footwear 

of 90s grunge. 

As part of their AW 2019 

line Dr. Martens have collaborated 

with touring British 

royalty The Who, once again 

proving that their boots don’t 

just walk, they talk. 

The Who line captures 

the essence of Mod fashion 

culture: its boots, loafers and 

accessories subvert sacred 

symbols and pay homage to 

non-conformity. 

With The Who arriving 

in Vancouver on October 

21, this collab is a relevant 

throwback. Turn on “My 

Generation” and tune into 

the history, ideology and rebellion 

locked into the iconic 

stitching and grooved edges 

of this latest collection. 

1481 WHO 

The second style Dr. Martens 

ever made, it was crafted for 

industry yet made a statement 

when worn with braces, close 

cropped haircuts and non-conformity. 

The 1481 WHO Black 

Smooth replaces the trademark 

yellow stitching for a WHO red 

that complements the band’s 

symbol located at the heel. 

THE WHO 

BACKPACK 

Crafted from the hardwearing 

Kiev Leather and designed with 

a double carry handle and a 

buckle-fastened external pocket, 

the backpack does what Dr. 

Marten’s and The Who do best: 

fuse performance with style and 

expression. 

THE TOOMEY WHO 

For those who wish to rail 

against conformity, The Toomey 

WHO is Doc Martens take on 

the slip-on canvas shoe. With a 

lightweight sole and aggressive 

bumper, decorated with the 

WHO roundel on the lip and 

signature red and blue arrows 

on the ridge, the shoe embodies 

Doc Marten’s commitment to 

practical and comfortable style. 


1460 WHO 

Released April 1, 1960, the 

iconic 1460 rejected the timid, 

old-fashioned uniform of working 

class men. For the young generation, 

it was a tool of rebellion. 

With a Royal Air Force roundel 

at the heel, the 1460 WHO pays 

homage to The Who and Mod 

culture’s subversion of British 

symbolism and tradition. 

ADRIAN SMOOTH 

When paired with tailor-made 

suits with narrow lapels and 

Nouvelle Vague haircuts, the 

Adrian Smooth loafer, first released 

in 1980, was a disruption 

of gender roles. With the effeminate 

double tassel and kiltie 

fringe, combined with a Union 

Jack on the front panel, the 

Smooth Black is no exception. 

THE PRESSLER 

WHO 

Compared to its leather clad 

peers, The Pressler is more at 

home in a half pipe than a political 

rally. A modern skate shoe 

with a comfortable lightweight 

sole, this comparatively low 

profile piece is brought to life 

with the iconic WHO logo in the 

corner and red stripes decorating 

the shoe’s stitching and 

grooved edges. 

JULY 19 TO 21 2 1 0 

9 

JERICHO BEACH PARK 

BASIA BULAT | THE HAMILTONES 

DAVID HIDALGO | LARKIN POE | CORB LUND 

REBIRTH BRASS BAND | SAM ROBERTS BAND 

CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON 

THE AERIALISTS | BLACK STRING | DANNY BOUDREAU BAND | MATTHEW BYRNE 

CELEIGH CARDINAL | ANDREW COLLINS TRIO | COPPERHEAD | THE DARDANELLES 

DESIREE DAWSON TRIO | STEVE DAWSON | BROTHER TITO DELER 

DWAYNE DOPSIE & THE ZYDECO HELLRAISERS | BOBBY DOVE 

RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT | MIKE FARRIS & THE FORTUNATE FEW | LUCA FOGALE 

FRONT COUNTRY | AMOS GARRETT & JULIAN KERR | RAINE HAMILTON STRING TRIO 

ZAKI IBRAHIM | ILLITERATTY | KIRCHEN, COX & MCRAE | KITTY AND THE ROOSTER 

JOEY LANDRETH | LA MEXCALINA | GEORGE LEACH BAND | LE VENT DU NORD 

LOCARNO | LONESOME ACE STRINGBAND | LOS PACHAMAMA Y FLOR AMARGO 

DON MCGLASHAN | PABLO MENENDEZ & MEZCLA | MIDNIGHT SHINE 

IRISH MYTHEN | NAMGAR | TAL NATIONAL | OKTOPUS | MARIN PATENAUDE 

THE RAD TRADS | JOHN REISCHMAN AND THE JAYBIRDS | RIIT 

PHARIS & JASON ROMERO | LUCY ROSE | ROSIE & THE RIVETERS 

SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS | VIVEK SHRAYA/TOO ATTACHED | RUBY & SMITH 

SON OF JAMES | NANO STERN TRIO | EMILY TRIGGS 

TSATSU STALQAYU (COASTAL WOLF PACK) 

| SUNNY WAR 

WWW.THEFESTIVAL.BC.CA 


MUSiC 

Artist to Watch 

A MIGHTY 

NEW FORCE 

IN HIP-HOP 

Brampton Ontario’s 

MC Haviah Mighty 

raps to empower 

By COURTNEY HEFFERNAN 

I’m hoping that 

I can continue to 

push hip-hop in the 

direction of being more 

accepting so more 

people will understand 

the music women 

are making and 

enjoy it. 

YUNG YEMI 

After a fiery performance 

at the NXNE festival stage 

in downtown Toronto, Haviah 

Mighty is still in constant 

motion, waving to fans and 

chatting with photographers, 

all while assisting 

her crew with equipment 

takedown. 

The rising hip-hop star 

has performed four times 

throughout the week, 

including at halftime at a 

Toronto Raptors outdoor 

viewing party in her Brampton 

hometown, and her energy 

hasn’t diminished. On top of 

that, Mighty’s most ambitious 

album to date, 13th Floor, 

was released a month ago to 

acclaim, earning her a spot on 

the recently announced 2019 

Polaris Music Prize Long List. 

Mighty is a commanding 

presence on stage. Her raps are 

CONTINUED ON PG. 14 k 


MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS 

V A N C O UVER 

Win a Party for you 

and 4 Friends! 

YUNG YEMI 

HAVIAH MIGHTY 

JOIN US AT 900 GRANVILLE ST 

ENTER AT DUBLINCALLING.COM/VANCOUVER 

@DUBLINCALLINGVAN 

k CONTINUED FROM PG. 13 

dexterous and her movements 

are athletic. Though only a small 

number of people were present 

at the start of her show, her 

electric performance turned 

passersby into a captivated audience. 

And by the time she played her last 

song, the crowd stretched down Yonge 

Street for more than half a block. 

When Mighty jumps from the stage to 

greet her fans after the show, she speaks 

with the warmth and enthusiasm of an 

artist who genuinely appreciates her audience. 

She says one of the most consistent 

aspects of her live shows is the “upbeat 

energy I’m getting back from the audience, 

no matter where the show happens or 

what the audience is like.” 

Even when she plays to a large crowd, 

which she is doing more often, Mighty aims 

to connect. 

“It’s important to connect with people 

by looking at them, by being in the same 

space as them, by sharing the experience 

with them and creating less of a separation,” 

she says backstage after her gig. 

This sense of connection creates a “more 

rewarding” experience for her audience 

and for her. 

In conversation, Mighty is engaging and 

self-assured. “I feel more confident in what 

I’m saying,” she says, when she finally sits 

down to relax. Her confidence is evident 

in the type of music she included on 13th 

HAVIAH MIGHTY 


Phillips Backyard 

Weekender (Victoria) 

Tix: $39.50, 

backyardweekender.com 

Floor. On “Blame” and “Fugazi,” 

Mighty’s swagger and production 

quality rivals that of some of 

hip hop’s biggest names. 

Her growing acclaim has 

also given her the platform to 

address meaningful subjects. 

“Thirteen” is a moving song 

about slavery in North America and the 

ways it reverberates in the present as 

systematic oppression of Black people. 

She released the song now because “the 

social climate was ready to hear it and I 

was ready to say it,” she says. “I wasn’t 

going to release an album with a bunch 

of songs that were fun but not speak on 

something I feel passionate about.” 

Her passion is evident in her performance 

of “In Women Colour,” which she 

hopes will help her audience learn more 

about her and understand her “very 

personal experiences” as a Black woman 

in Canada. 

“There are many young women just 

like me who need to hear this,” she says. 

“I feel triumphant that I have overcome 

the things people have said. Had I let it 

change who I am as a person, ‘In Women 

Colour’ and 13th Floor wouldn’t exist.” 

As Mighty’s star continues to rise, she 

says, “I’m hoping that what I add to the industry 

can continue to push hip-hop in the 

direction of being more accepting so more 

people will understand the music women 

are making and enjoy it.” , 


NORTHERN 

LIGHTS 

Nunavut trailblazers The 

Jerry Cans want Canada 

to hear the unique Inuit 

voices of the north 

By JAIME EISEN 

I 

t’s soundcheck on Monday 

night during Toronto’s NXNE 

music and gaming festival and 

the back room of the Horseshoe 

Tavern feels like a family 

reunion. A tight group of smiling 

musicians are onstage 

jamming with Josh Q 

of Iqaluit blues outfit 

The Trade-Offs. Each 

member is taking their 

turn to solo before 

coming back together. 

“I feel like I haven’t hung out with 

my buddies in a long time,” says Q 

into the mic with a laugh. 

His buddies are The Jerry Cans, 

pioneers of the burgeoning Iqaluit 

music scene and curators of the 

second Nunavut Music Week, which 

ran from April 25 to 28, and its subsequent 

NXNE showcase. While 

Jerry Cans bassist Brendan “Dotes” 

Doherty and drummer Steve Rigby 

play onstage, frontman Andrew Morrison 

dances with his infant daughter 

to songs she obviously knows well. 

They’re far from home, but 

they’re in their element. 

Friends since childhood, Dotes, 

Morrison and Rigby started The 

Jerry Cans around a decade 

ago, playing classic 

rock covers at Iqaluit music 

hub, the Legion. Their 

self-described “Northern 

sound”—Celtic-inspired 

folk rock with reggae 

beats paired with traditional 

throat singing and 

lyrics sung in Inuktitut— 

THE JERRY CANS 

Sunday, July 28 

Squamish Constellation 

Festival 

didn’t emerge until Nancy Mike (accordion 

and throat singing) and Gina 

Burgess (violin) joined the group. 

The combined punctuation of Burgess’ 

high-energy fiddle and Mike’s 

throat singing give the roots rock 

base a distinctive cross-cultural feel. 

Their sound may have many shifting 

influences, but it’s always pointedly 

indebted to their home. 

Mike and Morrison—also romantic 

partners—write most of the lyrics 

together in Inuktitut, one of the 

principal Inuit languages of Canada, 

considered “vulnerable” by UNES- 

CO. They rarely sing in English, even 

translating covers. 

“We’ve gotten hate mail about 

how the frontman of this band is 

white,” Mike says. “But he speaks 

Tix: $80, single day pass, 

constellationfest.ca 

Saturday, August 3 

Canmore Folk Music 

Festival 

Tix: $45, single day pass, 

canmorefolkfestival.com 

Inuktitut because my family 

was supportive of him 

learning it throughout our 

relationship.” Conversations 

about accountability 

are essential to the group, 

even more so after a group 

of Inuit artists boycotted 

this year’s Indigenous Music 

Awards over cultural 

appropriation concerns. 

“We always try to listen to what 

our communities are saying these 

days about how we should move 

forward as a band,” says Mike. “We 

don’t ever want to move forward if 

people are uncomfortable with what 

we are doing.” 

Mike and her bandmates want 

to make sure Inuit voices are being 

heard—across the country, but also 

at home. 

“When you come from such a 

small place where there’s absolutely 

no history of this music business 

infrastructure, you have to figure out 

how to do it yourselves, and that’s 

what we did,” she says. “When it 

comes to Nunavut Music Week, our 

goal is to make sure the younger artists 

don’t have to struggle 

through the same shit 

we had to go through.” 

Inuit Association executive director 

Brian Winters echoes this 

sentiment in between sets later in 

the evening. He’s a huge fan of The 

Jerry Cans and the lineup of Indigenous 

artists they’ve curated for 

their showcase. 

“One of the biggest issues with 

the country we live in that we now 

call Canada is that it’s never recognized 

or made space for our languages 

or the things we’re saying,” 

he says. “The things we’re saying 

are so important—especially in 

our language. For people to hear 

that and respect that is just really 

beautiful.” 

The crowd swells around the 

stage when The Jerry Cans start 

to play. Some are fans from back 

home, wearing hats that proudly 

say “Inuk” and singing along in 

a language they all seem to know 

well. Many are hearing the band 

play for the first time. Everyone is 

transfixed. 

When asked how they approach 

bringing their unique northern 

sounds to a southern audience, 

Mike is quick to respond. “Do I 

have to explain anything to a 

southern audience?” she asks 

with a shrug. “Just hear it and 

feel it. That’s all.” , 



M 

FAT e 

i 

S 

iK 

P U n k 

DR 

ubL 

i N 

i c 

ALAN SNODGRASALAS 


NOFX’s Fat Mike lives life on the edge and occasionally falls off. 

F 

PUNK IN DRUBLIC 

CRAFT BEER & 

MUSIC FESTIVAL 

Edmonton: 


Edmonton EXPO Centre 

Vancouver: 


PNE Amphitheatre 

Tix: $69.50, 

ticketleader.ca 

at Mike lives a life of absurdity. 

The NOFX leader is bringing 

his Punk In Drublic Craft Beer 

& Music Festival to Western 

Canada this month, continuing 

his infamous legacy of 

testing the limits of what people 

can and can’t do. 

As the frontman of NOFX, 

one of the world’s most successful 

and controversial independent 

punk acts, he’s built a career on writing 

quick, catchy tunes and pushing people’s 

buttons. 

Born Michael Burkett, Fat Mike is the 

first to admit that he could care less about being offensive. 

He wears his love for punk rock, kinky sex, 

alcohol and cocaine like patches on a denim vest. 

Burkett’s drunken, drug-fuelled escapades were 

filmed for the NOFX tour documentary Backstage 

Passport. In the NOFX book Hepatitis Bathtub and 

Other Stories, he discusses the first time he drank 

his girlfriend’s urine. In 2010, while performing as 

his alter-ego Cokie the Clown, Burkett passed what 

was assumed to be shots of tequila to members of his 

audience. After knocking their drinks back, Burkett 

played a video of himself “topping up” the bottle, 

walking on-stage moments later and serving a bitter 

piss-tequila concoction to that same audience. He 

was met with echoes of laughter, disgust and appall. 

But there are some lines even he can’t cross. At 

Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival in 2018, Burkett 

riffed on a joke made by NOFX guitarist Eric 

Melvin about the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, 

the deadliest mass shooting in United States 

history. It had happened only eight months prior in 

the same city. Their comments immediately resulted 

in a downward spiral for the band. Beer sponsor 

Stone Brewing Co. cut all ties with the band and 

many NOFX shows were cancelled, including Burkett’s 

2018 Punk in Drublic Festival. He says it was 

the worst week of his life. 

“I don’t apologize for shit and I did apologize for 

this,” Burkett says. “Fletcher [Dagge] from Pennywise 

said ‘Think about the eight-year-old girl whose 

mother didn’t come home.’ That really hit home 

with me. I apologized and I meant it. If someone 

still has a problem with it, that’s their problem. I 

didn’t shoot anybody. I made a joke that was insensitive 

and it’s probably the thousandth time 

I’ve done that. I didn’t apologize for the country, 

I apologized for the people that lost somebody. It 

was a shitty thing to say.” 

By JOHNNY PAPAN 

The storm has calmed for Burkett and his 

projects. His label, Fat Wreck Chords, is still 

running strong and Punk in Drublic is returning 

this year. Burkett also released a new 

record, You’re Welcome, under his Cokie 

the Clown alter-ego. An artistic turnaround 

for Burkett,You’re Welcome is an acoustic, 

piano-laden, intimate expression of his life 

experiences; an unveiling of haunting memories 

usually masked by his boisterous public 

front. 

“It wasn’t therapeutic,” Burkett says. “It was very 

difficult to do. The first song is about me finding my 

wife after she tried to kill herself in the bathtub. I 

found her just in time. When I sing that live, it’s acapella. 

The crowd is absolutely silent. No one’s moving, 

no one’s filming. It’s like giving a eulogy. I did a 

show at SXSW and never saw a crowd like that before. 

Damian from Fucked Up! said it was the most awkward, 

uncomfortable thing they’ve ever seen. I like 

that feeling. And then there’s the song ‘Fair Leather 

Friends.’ That one really fucking hurts me.” 

“Fair Leather Friends” is about Burkett feeling 

betrayed by his closest friends after beginning a relationship 

with adult film star Soma Snakeoil. Friends 

stopped coming for dinner at his house, and the couple 

wasn’t invited to social gatherings. Burkett remembers 

being invited to a bonfire that honoured the birthday 

and life of deceased No Use For A Name frontman 

Tony Sly. It was an annual event Burkett didn’t even 

know about until he and Snakeoil split up. 

“I didn’t go,” he says. “I’m only invited now that 

I’m divorced from Soma? He was one of my best 

friends. I recorded half his records with him. We 

toured together. And they didn’t invite me because 

of the woman I was with. That’s why I have a hard 

time singing this song. It’s embarrassing. I can’t believe 

people would do that.” 

Other stories told on the Cokie album include 

Burkett being neglected by his father, finding his 

roommate who hanged himself, and being the one 

to help his suffering mother reach eternal slumber. 

“If you’re going to do something, fucking go for 

it,” Burkett concludes when asked why he felt inclined 

to pursue a project that brings him so much 

pain. “I wanted to sing about the worst tragedies of 

my life. It’s not a commercially viable record, it’s 

a fucking big bum out, but it touches people. I’d 

rather touch people than write fucking Offspring 

songs and talk about taking her home and making 

her dessert. Some of the songs don’t make me look 

good. It’s really ugly and heartbreaking, but music 

is supposed to make you feel.” , 

FAT MIKE’S 

TOP 5 

THINGS TO DO AT 

PUNK IN DRUBLIC 

1 

Over 40 Locally Brewed Craft 

Beers to Choose From 

Analog Brewing, Best of Kin, 

Hells Basement, Outcast 

Brewing and Troubled Monk 

are among the many beer 

offerings in Edmonton. Breweries 

featured in Vancouver’s 

festival include Andina, Bridge, 

Luppolo, Mariner, Yellow Dog 

and more. 

See the full list at http://punkindrublicfest.com/ 

2 

No Beer Lineups 

“We would sit around and 

talk about everything that’s 

wrong with festivals, like waiting in line for 

a beer. We fixed that. We found different 

ways to do it so you don’t have to wait in 

line.” 

3 

Rock Throwing 

“You buy three rocks for 

five bucks and you get to 

throw rocks at plates. If you 

smash a plate, you win a 

beer!” 

4 

Wheel of Misfortune 

“We have three dominatrixes 

on tour and not only do 

they beat me up every night 

on the bus, but they have a 

wheel. Five bucks gets you 

two spins. You can get paddled, 

they’ll make you eat an egg… 

whatever, it’s all bad. My favourite 

is ‘take beer’ where they knock the 

beer out of your hand. One time 

these guys bought 10 spins for their 

friend. He got so fucked.” 

5 

Hang Out With Fat Mike 

“I hang out with these fans. I like to 

watch shit and I like to hang out with people. 

Punk rock is about community. I was 

so bummed out when I missed Anarchy 

Camp last year because when 

people bought VIP tickets and 

came early, they got greeted 

by me, or someone from 

NOFX or people from other 

bands like, ‘Hey, welcome to 

the show. Let’s take a picture.’ 

It’s punk, you know? 

I think it’s nice.”


JIM 

CUDDY 

This isn’t 

his first 

rodeo. 

After three-plus decades 

with Blue Rodeo and five 

solo records, Canada’s 

honey-voiced roots 

legend keeps it fresh 

creating with his pals. 

By MICHAEL HOLLETT 


A 

fter turning off the main 

highway, about 90 minutes 

outside Toronto, you 

drive down a dirt road 

followed by another dirt 

road that leads to a dead 

end to get to Canadian 

music legend Jim Cuddy’s 

family’s farm. 

A modest A-frame 

with a new addition attached and a weathered 

barn dot a rolling landscape with a hilltop 

view of a pond and woods below. Cuddy 

offers a warm welcome and a seat at an 

immense harvest table in a bright and sunny 

kitchen that’s clearly been designed to be the 

focal point of indoor activity in this beautiful 

country place that he and his wife bought 

with his sisters-in-law years ago. 

Cuddy will be heading back down that 

dirt road soon for another summer of touring, 

including a bunch of Western Canada 

gigs, both with his original band, Blue Rodeo, 

as well as his decades old solo project, 

The Jim Cuddy Band (JCB). 

More than 30 years into a monumental 

music career, Cuddy, clearly, still loves to 

play. 

After serving up drinks, Cuddy rubs his 

hands together in glee discussing making 

music with friends, whether it’s around a 

campfire, in the barn just outside, or on stage 

in front of tens of thousands of people. 

“It’s easy to keep it fresh,” he 

says with a smile. “JCB has been a 

band for 21 years. Remarkable for 

any band, let alone a second band. 

Playing is fun for us. We don’t get 

enough chance to do it.” 

Playing live means, there’s always 

something to figure out. The 

musicianship and the adaptability 

of the players allows Cuddy to constantly 

reimagine his shows and 

the nature of the performances. 

“The lifeblood of a band is to 

play together, we have so many 

great times when we’re doing gigs. 

We enjoy it, that’s what’s fun. It’s 

enjoyable playing music and it’s 

enjoyable playing with people 

who are really really good.” 

“If there comes 

a time the Blue 

Rodeo guys 

say we should 

record, I’ll be 

ready.” 

BLUE RODEO 

Medicine Hat: 

Thursday, July 6 

Canalta Centre 

Cuddy proudly beams, speaking of the 

great musicians he gets to work with in Blue 

Rodeo and JCB, and three artists — bedrock 

bass player Bazil Donovan, guitarist Colin 

Cripps and, occasionally, violinist Anne 

Lindsay — play with both outfits. 

Cuddy likes to stay busy, needs to, and he 

formed his solo band, in part, to fill the down 

time between Blue Rodeo projects. 

A self-described “schemer,” Cuddy loves 

making plans and hatching ideas. A recent 

scheme saw Cuddy turn this farm into a recording 

studio when he spied an opening 

in his schedule last September. Itching to 

make a new record, he spotted a three-day 

gap in his touring and decided to record 

a “live from the floor” album in his barn 

with his solo band and his latest, the 

excellent Countrywide Soul, is the 

result. 

He’s also a jammer. Regardless of 

how busy he is each year at Canada’s 

JUNO Awards, Cuddy and his 

friends host an epic, late-night 

jam suite that’s all about playing 

and little about schmoozing. 

And every summer, he and his 

family host a massive weekend 

long party at this farm, with 

camping, that inevitably ends 

up around the fire pit with 

guitars picked and voices 

blending around the flames. 

Playing guitar one night 

by himself in his barn, 

Edmonton: 

Saturday,August 10 

Edmonton Folk Festival 

Vancouver: 

Saturday,August 17 

Vancouver Folk Festival 

Tix: $45-88 

THE JIM 

CUDDY BAND 

Victoria: 

Thursday, August 15 

Butchart Garden’s 

Summer Concert Series 

Salmon Arm: 

Friday, August 16 

Salmon Arm Roots & 

Blues Festival 

Tix: $33.80-$85 

trapped inside by a torrential 

downpour, the acoustics and the 

setting inspired him to call the 

band in to record. 

And while Cuddy usually has 

a firm hand in his recording process, 

he wanted the players and the 

playing to define the new album. A 

tractor trailer with a mobile studio 

negotiated the tiny dirt road into 

the farm and Cuddy became just 

another player in the project. 

“I wanted to do it like a kitchen 

party; it’s part of the fun. We sat in 

our seats and we played the songs 

as if we were just playing them for 

each other, just sharing the joy of 

music, and it worked. You’re not 

editing when you’re just playing, 

you’re just enjoying how everybody plays. I 

just wanted to sit in my chair and be a member 

of the band. 

“A lot of times I didn’t listen to playbacks; 

typically I’d be listening to everything and 

that would be how we build a record. It was 

nice not to feel chained to every decision.” 

With everything being recorded live, there 

were no “do-overs,” no re-working of solos or 

fine tuning with edits. And clearly that was 

part of the fun for Cuddy. He loved giving his 

players the space to play. 

“It was fun in a three-ring circus, put-up 

the-tent and bring-in-the-jugglers kind of 

way. I like that, especially if it has a calm and 

friendly centre. It’s about what Steve Earle 

would say, “magnetize the fucker,” to put that 

joy on record.” 

He contrasts these sessions with Blue Rodeo’s 

process. 

“Blue Rodeo recording is very complicated 

because there are two singers, two songwriters 

and two methods and so it’s very different. 

Whatever we have done in the past will not be 

what we do in the future, if we record. 

“There was a little talk about making another 

record but there hasn’t been any talk 

since last summer. Greg Keelor has a solo record 

coming out so I don’t know when we’ll 

get to that point. If there comes a time the 

Blue Rodeo guys say we should record, I’ll be 

ready, or I’ll just keep going on my own. It’s 

fortunate for me to have these choices.” 

The new album features reworkings of 

some old Blue Rodeo and Cuddy tracks, two 

new songs and a couple of cool covers. 

Asked if we can expect a full album of covers 

some day, Cuddy’s hardcore work ethic 

comes out. 

“I would do one or two covers on an album, 

I wouldn’t do more than that. I feel like my 

worth as a musician is about songwriting and 

singing and if I’m not doing that, then I’m not 

doing my job. If the balance was more towards 

covers I just wouldn’t feel right. That is my job 

and I’m supposed to do my job. It might be fun 

but I wouldn’t be satisfied.” , 



J 

apanese-born, Toronto-based 

singer-songwriter Jonah Yano 

can’t believe the shape his life 

is taking. He went from being 

unknown, working at a small 

cafe to having future-jazz innovators 

BADBADNOTGOOD on his gorgeous new 

single, “Nervous”, from his debut EP of 

the same name. 

Yano’s smooth voice has a tempered 

sound that oozes confidence and soul, 

sounding like the lovechild of James 

Blake and Norah Jones. 

Yano was born in Hiroshima and moved 

to Port Coquitlam, BC, when he was four. 

“Half of my family are musicians or 

have musical history,” he says. “My 

grandma did a royal conservatory and my 

father is a folk songwriter in Japan.” 

After playing music throughout high 

school in BC, Yano gave up on the idea of 

pursuing it entirely. 

“I thought it was so unrealistic. It was a 

self-doubt thing. I went to university and 

dropped out, did some travelling to ‘find 

myself’ and then moved to Toronto and 

got back into music three years ago.” 

Being in Toronto proved fruitful for 

Yano after he befriended BADBADNOT- 

GOOD drummer Alex Sowinski at a show 

Artist to Watch 

JONAH 

YANO: 

LIVING 

THE DREAM 

for T-dot duo MONEYPHONE. Yano says 

the scenario feels like a scene straight out 

of a biopic. 

“Isn’t it crazy? Like, what the fuck is 

going on? Alex and I developed a friendship 

naturally. Obviously the conversation of 

music was going to come up eventually. I 

played him the demo for ‘Promise’ and he 

said, ‘Cool, let me show this to the guys and 

we’ll play on it.’ Like, sure man, I’m not even 

freaking out at all right now. Sure, send it 

to the rest of BADBADNOTGOOD, that’s 

normal and within the realm of reality.” 

Yano released his debut EP, Nervous, 

with LA-based label Innovative Leisure 

last month, who caught wind of his release 

right before he self-published it online, 

stopping him just in time so that they could 

give the project the proper professional 

treatment it deserves. 

Although he plans on continuing his 

creative relationship with BADBADNOT- 

GOOD, Yano has bigger goals in mind. 

“My biggest goal is to go to Japan and 

write songs with my dad. I haven’t seen 

him since I was 10 years old and that will 

be my magnum opus. How fucking cool 

would that be?” 

Nervous is out now on all streaming 

platforms. 

By Joey Lopez 

KYLE BERGER


EVERY 

FRIDAY 

REWIND FRIDAY 

EVERY 

SATURDAY 

NITE MOVES 

BI-WEEKLY 

SATURDAY 

BYE FELICIA! 

TUE 2 PRIESTS 

FRI 5 CIVILIANA FRI 5 

DOORS 7:00PM 

SAT 6 FRI 12 FRI 12 

DOORS 10:30PM 

BYE FELICIA! *** 

URSULA MAJOR 

DOORS 7:00PM 

DOORS 10:30PM 

REWIND FRIDAY 

W/ ALAN & BAZZ 

TANGLERS GLORY DAYS!! *** 

DOORS 10:30PM 

AND GUESTS 

NASTY WOMEN 

COMEDY 

SAT 13 NITE MOVES MON 15 FRI 19 

DOORS 10:30PM 

DOORS 7:00PM SHOW 8:00PM 

DOORS 10:30PM 

SWITCH *** 

SAT 20 IQ MANIA 3 SAT 20 

DOORS 10:30PM 

BYE FELICIA! 

ALMA BITCHES, BERLIN, SHAY 

DIOR, RAYE SUNSHINE 

SUN 21 

VANCOUVER FOLK 

FESTIVAL PRIVATE PARTY 

MON 22 

BILTMORE CABARET’S: 

TUE 23 

SOUNDS FROM THE BASEMENT 

WILLIE WATSON 

DOORS 9:00PM 

DOORS 8:00PM 

FRI 26 

DOORS 7:00PM 

GRIZFOLK 

REWIND FRIDAY *** 

FRI 26 SAT 27 NITE MOVES *** MON 29 

DOORS 10:30PM 

W/ ALAN & BAZZ 

DOORS 10:30PM 

DOORS 7:00PM 

NASTY WOMEN 

COMEDY 

IQ 2000: 

TUE 30 WED 31 

RuPaul’s Drag Race Trivia 

DOORS 8:00PM 

THE BETHS 

*** - BILTMORE 11TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT 

- CLUB NIGHT - PRIDE EVENT 

FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO WWW.BILTMORECABARET.COM

Be one of the first 

to know about sales, 

events, promotions 

and clinics 

BECOME A 

Long & mcquade 

INSIDER 

sign up today 

and enjoy sweet savings, special offers and exclusive contests! 

Have access to exclusive 

contests,“insider only” 

in-store events and more 

Be automatically 

entered to win a $ 100 

gift card each month, 

and a $ 500 shopping 

spree 4x per year! 

l o n g - m c q u a d e . c o m 

Visit www.long-mcquade.com/insider 

VANCOUVER NORTH VANCOUVER RICHMOND 

368 Terminal Ave. 

(604) 734-4886 

1363 Main St. 

(604) 986-0911 

6760 No 3 Rd. 

(604) 270-3622 

PLUS 11 

MORE STORES 

IN B.C. 

DAN’S HOMEBREWING SUPPLIES 

Huge selection 

of beer and 

wine-making 

equipment & 

ingredients 

835 East Hastings ST. Vancouver, BC • 604-251-3411 beermaking.ca 


The Playlist: 

10 

2 

songs in heavy rotation at the BR offices right now 

4 

1 

5 

8 

6 9 

HAZELWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY - THE VINYL DISH 

1 

The Free Nationals 

Time 

(Ft. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis) 

Mac Miller’s first posthumous 

release couldn’t have been left in 

better hands. The backing 

band for his close friend 

Anderson .Paak pairs 

his laid-back drawl 

with a shimmering 

funk instrumental 

and the smooth vocals 

of R&B diva 

Kali Uchis. 

3 

2 Selci 

Truth In The Sea 

A direct hit from this rising Calgary-based 

pop star, Selci lays 

down an ocean of entrancing electro-R&B 

to set yourself adrift on. 

The slowly ascending synths 

weave around her delicate, 

echoing vocals and surprise 

whistle tones. 

3 

Taylor Swift 

You Need To Calm 

Down 

The rebranded, pastel-coloured 

Swift takes aim at her haters 

on the second single from 

her upcoming project. The 

track features some 

impossibly catchy 

building harmonies 

and some shoutouts 

to the LGBT 

community. We 

wonder though, if 

she’ll ever let that 

snake emoji thing go. 

4 

The Dirty Nil 

Astro Ever After 

These prolific punks are building 

momentum for their third album 

with a track that alternates between 

quieter verses showcasing 

Luke Bentham’s passionate high 

notes and a shockingly distorted 

chorus. Headphone users beware 

— or indulge. Whichever works. 

Mariel Buckley 

5 Casting Stones 

The Albertan alt-country/roots artist 

directs her earnest delivery and 

poignant lyricism at political topics, 

imploring people to give voice to 

the voiceless. The extended bluesy 

guitar solo only enhances her 

powerful message. 

6 

Lower Dens 

Young Republicans 

An upbeat indie-pop satire that 

paints the disillusioned youth 

of the political party as some 

kind of cannibals, frontman 

Nate Nelson singing the lyrics 

with wide-eyed joy over 

a retro beat. This is definitely 

one of the strangest 

political tracks this year. 

7 

7 Dreamville 

Down Bad 

(Ft. JID, Bas, J. Cole, EARTHGANG & 

Young Nudy) 

One of the first two singles released 

from the massive compilation 

on the way from J. Cole’s 

Dreamville record label, this posse 

cut is mostly driven by throwback 

sounds and JID’s youthful voice on 

the chorus - but we’ll give the best 

verse to Cole. 

8 Kindness 

Hard To Believe 

Fresh off of impressive production 

work with everyone from Solange 

to Robyn, the multi-talented singer-songwriter 

teases the September 

launch of his new album and 

links up with two more dynamic 

voices, Jazmine Sullivan and 

Sampha, for a piece of chilled-out 

synth-funk. 

9 Notifi 

Won’t Get Lonely 

This track is so Toronto it’s a wonder 

that Drake’s OVO label didn’t 

immediately snap him up when it 

dropped. An eerie alt-R&B track, you 

could easily mistake this for the 6ix 

God if you didn’t know any better. 

Except this guy also produced this 

hard-hitting beat. 

10 

The Underachievers 

Wasteman 

This up-and-coming Brooklyn duo 

adopt a word from the UK grime 

scene to throw at their detractors. 

Absolutely nobody else can sound 

this hard while making references 

to Ariana Grande and Cyndi Lauper 

hits within the same track. 


COVER STORY 

CANADA’S 

NEXT HUGE 


By JORDAN YEAGER 

POP STAR JULY 2019 BEATROUTE 25

I like 

keeping the 

people who know 

me best around 

me. They keep me 

grounded and 

authentic. 

JESSIE REYEZ 


Squamish Constellation 

Festival 

Tix:$65-$80 single day, 

$199-$425 weekend pass: 

constellationfest.ca 

W 

e could all learn 

something from 

Jessie Reyez. She 

holds her roots 

close, whether 

that’s the city 

she was born in 

(Toronto), the 

suburb she was 

raised in (Brampton) 

or her closest friends (among 

them, her parents, siblings, nieces 

and nephews). Reyez speaks quickly, 

but her timbre is laidback and reflective; 

she knows herself, and she’s not 

afraid for others to know her, too. 

Take one listen to her raw and soulful 

take on R&B and this becomes even 

more evident. Her vulnerable and 

sincere lyrics pull no punches; in fact, 

the Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter 

describes herself as brutally 

honest. 

That honesty first caught people’s 

attention with the release of 

“Gatekeeper,” a track she wrote after 

producer Noel “Detail” Fisher 

tried to coerce her into sexual acts 

in exchange for fame. Reyez turned 

that dehumanizing, objectifying experience 

on its head and, in the years 

since, has collaborated with Daniel 

Caesar, Normani and Calvin Harris, 

among many others. While she admits 

that sometimes her brutal honesty 

might get her into trouble, she’s 

self-aware enough to know that what 

she values above all else is holding 

herself accountable. 

“Not to throw a pity party or anything, 

but I’ve dealt with 

a lot of people in life who 

have been dishonest with 

me,” says Reyez. “It’s 

scarred me to the point 

where I just don’t want 

to be a hypocrite, and I 

don’t want to treat people 

the way I’ve been treated in the 

past that’s left me so bruised. Maybe 

that’s why I’m honest, sometimes 

brutally honest, sometimes crude, 

because I just don’t want to put 

someone else through the suffering 

that I’ve been through. And it shows 

up in my life, and it shows up in my 

relationships, and it shows up in my 

music by default. 

“Of course it’s gotten me into trouble, 

but I feel like the trouble that it 

gets me into is at least present,” she 

continues. “It’s something that I can 

go through right then and there, as 

opposed to having a lie that might 

get worse over time and accumulate, 

because that’s usually what lies do. I 

think the truth always comes out no 

matter what, so you can either deal 

with it then if you fuck it up, or you 

can deal with it in a few years on top 

of paying interest karma.” 

Much of her mindset – which 

might come off as blunt, but is rooted 

in empathy and compassion – can 

be attributed to her parents. Reyez 

describes her mom as “patient” and 

her dad as “resilient,” and she learns 

from them every day when she sees 

how they react in any given situation. 

“I’m lucky to have the guidance 

of my mom. My mom is 

the one that will tell me 

that sometimes I have to 

be a little more delicate. 

Not everyone is expecting 

that bluntness, so I 

just have to be a little bit 

more delicate to make 

sure that I’m not being mean and 

just being honest. They’re sometimes 

synonymous, which is funny: mean 

and honest.” 

Some artists define success as a 

wall full of accolades and a bank account 

full of zeroes. Reyez wouldn’t 

disagree – like anyone putting in the 

time to master their craft, she wants 

recognition for her hard work. But 

success has a deeper meaning for her 

than platinum plaques and shelves of 

trophies. 

“There’s three things I want before 

I feel like I can properly rest,” 

says Reyez. “I want to buy my dad 

a farm, and I want to found an orphanage 

and name it after my mom. 

My dad’s always been very close to 

nature and animals. He grew up in a 

rough household – he lost his mom 

and grew up with his evil dad. But he 

had a homie in Colombia who had a 

farm, and a lot of his childhood memories 

were at that farm. He just loves 

it, so it would be dope to get him his 

own. And my mom started off as a 

preschool teacher. If you were to see 

my mom with kids… you know how 

there’s, like, horse whisperers? She’s 

a kid whisperer. When I was growing 

up, our downstairs was a daycare and 

TOP 3 PICKS 

of the Squamish 

Constellation 

Festival 

Bahamas 

Getting his start as a 

touring guitarist for everyone 

from Feist to Jack 

Johnson, the Canadian 

folk musician has picked 

up JUNO Award nominations 

for each one of his 

four solo albums, winning 

in Alternative and Music 

Video last year for his 

project Earthtones. 

Serena Ryder 

A staple in the Canadian 

music scene for the last 

15 years, we’re willing to 

bet you still have her 2012 

single “Stompa” stuck in 

your head after all this 

time. Now running her own 

radio program in Toronto, 

Ryder will be bringing her 

impressive three-octave 

range and folk-rock sensibilities. 

A Tribe Called Red 

The 2018 Group of the 

Year JUNO winners named 

themselves after the 

groundbreaking hip-hop 

group A Tribe Called 

Quest because they 

wanted to put out similar 

messages of political protest. 

Catch their innovative 

blend of traditional Indigenous 

music with modern 

electronica. 

By Ben Boddez 

we lived upstairs. Even if there were 

seven kids and screaming babies, my 

mom would stay calm and peaceful. I 

feel like there are not a lot of people 

in the world who can actually do that. 

There are teachers that shouldn’t be 

teachers because they lack that patience, 

they lack that ability. But she 

has that innately.” 

The third thing she wants, understandably, 

is recognition – “Grammys 

and plaques and everything on 

my wall to solidify that I mastered 

music.” 

Reyez is so close with her family 

that she brings her parents on tour. 

One time, her dad even went crowd 

surfing. But they weren’t always the 

best of friends. Like many of us, 

Reyez distanced herself from her 

family in her teenage years. But after 

going through a breakup that left her 

battling depression, she noticed that 

her family were the ones waiting for 

her on the other side. 

“I think that’s the first time I realized, 

for me, blood is thicker,” she 

says. “A lot of people say ‘Don’t let 

this industry change you.’ I see why 

it would be easy for someone to 

change, and I feel like keeping the 

people who know me best around me 

is the best mirror that I could have. 

They keep me grounded and authentic. 

They remind me of who I am and 

why I started.” 

Recently, Reyez has learned how to 

turn inward and keep herself grounded, 

too. Whether it’s through practicing 

meditation or eating her greens, 

self-care is an increasingly important 

element of her day-to-day routine. 

“This is going to sound real funny, 

but I just this year started being 

conscious of what self-love is,” says 

Reyez. “Awareness of mental health 

and physical health and how they’re 

intertwined. It took me a long time 

to even realize that, and I was so focused 

on work and life and moving, 

but you can’t let yourself get overwhelmed. 

You can’t let yourself lose 

that peace, because the second that’s 

gone, if I’m the engine that’s moving 

this whole operation, then what happens? 

I have to look out for myself to 

make sure that I’m looking out for 

everyone else. 

“I’m happy that I’m working on 

my discipline, and it’s permeating in 

different areas of my life. It’s permeating 

in how I move from meeting to 

music, and it’s permeating in what I 

eat and how I treat myself. I’m proud 

of making that a priority this year, 

and I’m going to make sure that it 

stays a priority in my life.” , 


Reviews 

MUSiC 

Album Review 

THE BLACK KEYS 

Let’s Rock 

Easy Eye Sound / 

Nonesuch Records 

It’s been a hot minute since we 

last heard from The Black Keys, 

but their heavy blues rock 

refrain remains the same. Reunited 

with his better half and 

percussionist Patrick Carney, 

vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach 

demonstrates that getting back 

in their brotherly Rubber Belt 

groove was as easy as falling 

off a tandem bicycle. 

Recorded from scratch at 

Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound 

studios in Nashville, Let’s Rock 

reportedly came together 

with very little preparation or 

premeditation. Edging away 

from the disco ball and asphalt 

sizzle of 2011’s El Camino and 

the polished tones of 2014’s 

Turn Blue, the stripped-down 

nostalgia of Let’s Rock offers 

heartfelt tribute to the ultimate 

tool of the trade - the electric 

guitar. Irresistibly retro, yet 

tuned to a modern frequency, 

the album is already commanding 

the airwaves thanks to 

catchy-as-hell and radio-ready 

singles like “Lo/Hi,” “Eagle 

Birds” and “Go.” These three 

Cowtown-meets-Motown 

forerunners preface an album 

stacked with glossy, voluptuous 

ditties that bump ‘n’ grind 

like a preacher’s daughter. 

Thumping bass notes and 

gliding vocals add sleek lines 

to “Shine a Light,” padded out 

by lux backups from guest 

vocalists Leisa Hans and Ashley 

Wilcoxson. Lonely forest 

mating ritual “Eagle Birds” 

gets down and dirty, while the 

stomping Austin gospel of “Lo/ 

Hi” hits the album’s two sweetest 

spots - earnest storytelling 

and an unrelenting boogie beat 

that drives the drama towards 

satisfaction. 

At peace with the past, the 

sugarcoated dirge “Walk on 

Water” echoes Auerbach’s time 

as “king of a one-horse town,” 

but you know you’re being 

lured in for the big come up 

when “Tell Me Lies” struts into 

Karmatown. 

Yep, The Black Keys have returned 

to form nicely, which is 

most fortunate because we’ve 

been waiting. 

Christine Leonard

MUSiC ALBUM REVIEWS 

Interview 

KILLY 

Light Path 8 

Secret Sound Club 

ABBATH 

Outstrider 

Season of Mist 

SUM 41’S 

SOBERING 

NEW WORLD 

ORDER 

SUM 41 

Order In Decline 

Hopeless Records 

Punk teens of the early 2000s 

were shocked when Dave 

“Brownsound” Baksh announced 

his departure from Sum 

41 in 2006. A founding member of 

the band, Baksh’s Indo-Guyanese 

background complemented with his 

shreddy, heavy guitar playing made 

him a unique and recognizable figure 

in the scene at the time. After 

nine long years, Baksh returned 

to Sum 41 at the Alternative Press 

Awards in 2015 and appeared on 

the band’s 2016 album 13 Voices. 

Three years later, the band is ready 

to come in heavier and harder with 

their new record, Order In Decline. 

“We were in agreement that we 

had to come out of the gates really 

strong on this record,” Baksh says. 

“The album’s title is based on a 

system that has never worked — 

the order of the world. Not only 

in our continent, but all over the 

place. The order of everything 

seems to be in decline, in our view. 

It seems like we’re kind of leaving 

the next generation out to dry.” 

Overall, Order In Decline is 

aggressive in sound and mature 

in composition. It walks a fine line 

between punk rock and metal 

yet still finds room for melancholic, 

reflective ballads. It is the 

second record written by Sum 41 

frontman Deryck Whibley since 

overcoming major health complications 

caused by alcoholism. 

“Man, even if he was a garbage 

person to be around sober, I’ll 

still be happier than when he 

was deep into the drinking,” says 

Baksh. “Being home, hearing 

about what was going on and not 

being able to reach out, it hurt a 

lot. Now, the friendship that we 

had since the first day of high 

school in transportation technology 

class, you know, it’s been 

rekindled. I think it’s stronger than 

it was before.” Johnny Papan 

Following a recent JUNO nomination 

for Breakthrough Artist of 

the Year, Toronto rapper Killy has 

dropped a sophomore project that 

shows off his versatility amid a 

variety of cinematic and orchestral 

instrumentals. 

Killy stands tall at an intersection 

between trap music and more melodic, 

alt-rock-influenced hip-hop, 

blending hard-hitting trap instrumentals 

and flows with his unique 

nasally vocal delivery and cryptically 

poetic lyrics. 

Light Path 8 adheres to quite 

a few modern day rap trends, but 

Killy turns the rap game on its head 

and disrupts them on almost every 

song with surprising, genre-bending 

moments, showing his potential and 

versatility as a rapper and songwriter. 

Killy’s pop instincts are much 

more fluid than his penchant for 

rapping, tapping into some Post 

Malone-inspired inescapable 

earworms on tracks like “Eye for 

an Eye” and “Simulation.” These 

shorter track lengths and poppy 

melodies are designed for streaming 

on repeat and getting stuck in 

your head — and it works. 

Killy has said he named his latest 

offering Light Path 8 because he’s 

focused on the journey rather than 

the destination, and it’s through this 

collection of songs that he’s proving 

to find his way out of the dark 

depths of a competitive industry. 

Best Track: Track: Evil Eye 

 

Ben Boddez 

Abbath Doom Occulta is the 

corpse-painted face and venomous 

voice of black metal in his 

Norwegian homeland. Born Olve 

Eikemo, the 45-year-old multi-instrumentalist 

has famously served 

as Immortal’s lead vocalist, lyricist, 

guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and 

drummer. 

An extreme and extremely versatile 

artist, his eponymous offshoot 

metal project, Abbath, recently 

reformed with a fresh lineup and a 

renewed sense of purpose. 

The aggressive quartet’s current 

incarnation attacks Abbath’s 

sophomore effort with rapid-fire 

percussion, caustic vocals and 

power guitar enslaughts. Plunging 

headlong into the heat of an epic 

fantasy battle, the album fuses 

the new wave of heavy metal with 

rhapsodic melodies and Abbath’s 

own dark philosophies. 

Delivered with face-flaying furosity, 

white-knucklers like “Harvest 

Pyre,” the wiley “Scythewinder” 

and wildly imaginative “The 

Artifex” prove as intricate as they 

are intense. Occulta growls like a 

lion, pacing between the bars of 

solid steel and shadowy malice on 

“Bridge of Spasms,” cheering on 

the band’s hellish machinations. 

Ominous and oozing with 

goblinesque screams, “Pace Till 

Death” hails the flames and traps 

the audience between inferno and 

abyss. Wrapping up their harrowing 

eight-song saga with a pang 

of nostalgia, Outstrider makes a 

grand exit with an amped-up cover 

of Bathory’s “Hecate.” 

Best Track: Harvest Pyre 

Christine Leonard 


Interview 

SKYE WALLACE 

Skye Wallace 

Independent 

BLEACHED 

CHANNEL 

THEIR INNER 

BLONDIE 

The self-titled album from Toronto 

based artist Skye Wallace claims 

the sloppy grunge reminiscent of 

Courtney Love and her posse of 

furious friends, yet pauses on the 

precipice. The album flips between 

wildly energetic to greasy and 

moody and is nevertheless slow, 

polished and rhythmic; elements 

that betray the singer’s classic vocal 

training and background in folk. 

While a gritty departure from her 

dark-folk history, Wallace’s album 

nevertheless remains inspired by 

the Canadian landscape and experience. 

Her split residence between 

Toronto and Vancouver, combined 

with a vagabond existence that 

dragged her across Newfoundland 

and Yukon, informs an album that 

plays out like a Canadian fantasy 

tale. 

“Coal in Your Window,” the 

album’s first single, is an old-school 

story of forbidden romance about 

a boy and a girl who secretly hook 

up in the boiler room. Yet, this ain’t 

your basic barn-yard, rolling-in-thehay 

romp. The lyrics might be folk, 

but the guitar solos are straight 

out of an 80s superhero knock out 

scene and the harmonics deliver a 

raw and gritty punch. 

Vancouver audiences will experience 

Wallace’s signature fusion of 

folk and punk at the Wise Hall on 

July 9. 

Best Track: Coal in Your Window 

Kathryn Helmore 

BLEACHED 

Don’t You Think You’ve 

Had Enough? 

XL Recordings 

At the end of 2017, sisters 

Jennifer and Jessie Clavin 

knew they wanted to take their 

music in a new direction. Their 

sunshine drenched garage punk 

band, Bleached, just wrapped 

up two major tours opening 

for Paramore and the Damned. 

Inspired by the energy those 

bands elicited each night, the 

Clavins resolved to go back to 

the drawing board and write the 

kind of live bangers that would 

be fit for stadiums. 

Up until that point, the LA 

rockers have benefited from lo-fi 

fuzz and playful punk jams. But 

according to Jennifer Clavin, it 

was only a matter of time before 

Bleached dove into different 

sonic territory. “I feel like a lot 

of bands over time put out one 

disco song, even if it’s not part 

of the plan,” Clavin laughs. “Like, 

Metallica’s ‘Jump in the Fire’ has a 

disco beat throughout, and it’s one 

of their best songs, in my opinion. I 

slowly realized that I was drawn to 

that kind of sound.” 

For their upcoming album, 

Bleached worked with producer 

Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend, 

Sleigh Bells), whose penchant 

for vintage gear complemented the 

band’s 70s-inspired aesthetic. The 

resulting Don’t You Think You’ve 

Had Enough? is glossy and upbeat, 

a dance record that shows the 

most growth for the band out of all 

their releases to date. Tracks like 

“Hard to Kill” and “Somebody Call 

911” are slick, disco-infused tunes 

à la Blondie. Meanwhile “Rebound 

City” recalls the rock and roll ethos 

of the Runaways, maintaining the 

edge of Bleached’s earlier work. 

It’s also the most collaborative 

effort between the two sisters, who 

returned to their original two-piece 

set up. Clavin is quick to praise her 

sister, Jessie, who took over the 

majority of the guitar work for this 

album. 

“She mainly plays guitar live, 

but she’s honestly the best bass 

player I know,” she says. “She was 

controlling all the bass, and I think 

because of that it ended up being 

this dancier record.” 

More than creative exploration, 

the Clavin sisters underwent significant 

personal changes that fuelled 

the majority of their song writing. 

It’s the first time the two open up 

about their sobriety, a theme that 

underscores the entire album. 

In her lyrics, Clavin reflects on 

ending toxic relationships and 

friendships, shedding self-destructive 

habits, and the difficulty of 

leaving the past behind. She later 

realized that her raucous lifestyle 

only hindered her ability to write 

music from a truly honest place. 

“I was really working on being 

present. When I was drinking and 

partying, I thought I needed that 

kind of lifestyle to help me write 

music, which I think is something a 

lot of artists struggle with,” Clavin 

admits. “But as a sober person, I 

knew to get to that creative place 

I needed to be present. And I realized 

playing music in itself is a form 

of meditation that forces you to be 

present.” 

Clavin says she learned not to 

judge herself in the moment and to 

allow her ideas to take shape on 

their own. As she began to examine 

her life with greater self-awareness, 

she also opened herself up to 

the idea of self-love. It’s something 

she accepted when, on an impulse, 

she decided to retreat to her 

aunt’s house alone one weekend. 

There, she immersed herself in 

the beauty of the surrounding 

California desert and decided to 

write one great song. 

“I ended up writing ‘Daydream,’ 

which is one my 

personal favourite songs from 

the album,” she says. “It was this 

real moment of clarity where I 

realized, ‘Okay, I got this. Being 

sober totally works for me.’ 

Because the other version of me 

would’ve just bought a bunch of 

wine and gotten wasted trying to 

write something.” 

The two sisters, newly motivated, 

have made some of their 

most focused and ambitious 

music on Don’t You Think You’ve 

Had Enough?. They may have 

freed themselves from unhealthy 

influences, but their bond together 

continues to be as strong 

as it has ever been. 

“I have to remind myself of 

how lucky I am to have my sister 

at my side, because I have other 

musician friends that are sober, 

but the rest of their band isn’t,” 

she says. “I know it amazes 

people that we can get along together. 

But it’s really comforting 

to be in a band with her. In the 

end, I think we just have a lot of 

fun with it, which is why it works 

out so well.” 

Karina Espinosa 


MUSiC ALBUM REVIEWS 

DANIEL CAESAR 

CASE STUDY 01 

Golden Child Recordings 

Toronto’s alternative R&B neo-soul 

king Daniel Caesar dropped his 

sophomore project CASE STUDY 

01 as a surprise on a packed 

release day, but still managed to 

grab all the much deserved online 

attention. 

After his excellent breakthrough, 

Freudian, fans were left waiting for 

more of his high-concept songwriting 

and aching falsetto. The album 

opens with American physicist J. 

Robert Oppenheimer’s famous 

atomic bomb speech, and Caesar 

satisfies those desires by dropping 

the musical equivalent of one 

immediately after. 

In true Torontonian fashion, 

CASE STUDY 01 is an eclectic 

mix of sounds, mostly staying true 

to his passionately crooned slow 

burns while honoring where Caesar 

came from with a couple of other 

welcomed diversions. Jamaican 

music is a huge part of the Toronto 

scene and Caesar has Jamaican 

roots. Hearing this side of him on 

“Cyanide” is almost as nice as his 

return to the gospel music he grew 

up on, with a soulful choir enhancing 

tracks like “Open Up” and 

“Restore The Feeling.” 

It wouldn’t be a Caesar album 

without some deep ruminations on 

life either, as he ponders the heat 

death of the universe, scientific 

phenomena, and – most affectingly 

– struggles with staying true to his 

faith on “Too Deep To Turn Back.” . 

Best Track: Open Up 

Ben Boddez 

K.FLAY 

Solutions 

Interscope/Night Street 

K.Flay is finished caring what 

anyone thinks. Solutions, her third 

full-length offering, is a 10-track altpop 

hip-hop album whose singles 

hint at a project brimming with catharsis. 

She wrote the album after 

returning home from her last tour 

and finding herself in a dark headspace. 

After revisiting what made 

her happy in childhood, before 

vices like drugs and alcohol made 

emotional suppression easier than 

self-reflection, she was inspired 

to return to that mindset through 

doodling, long phone calls with her 

mom, and reconnecting with music 

in its purest form. Solutions is the 

result. 

The album opens with “I Like 

Myself,” an affirming anthem about 

accepting the fact that maybe 

we’re all more average than we 

present ourselves to be on social 

media. 

K.Flay slows down and gets 

more pensive on “Nervous,” which 

is a just-as-synthy but less bassheavy 

exploration of the nervous 

excitement of a new relationship 

when that uncertainty over where 

things stand still lingers heavily in 

the air. 

Solutions uses instrumentation 

sparingly in a way that complements 

K.Flay’s confident vocals 

and refined lyricism, which weave 

the album together from track one 

to finale “DNA.” 

The project is a personal one 

that offers an intimate glimpse into 

the mind of an artist whose energy 

is palpable. 

Best Track: Nervous 

Jordan Yeager 

BRUCE 

SPRINGSTEEN 

Western Stars 

Columbia Records 

Western Stars is a 180 degree 

departure from Springsteen’s 

recent studio records, shifting the 

emphasis from bass, drum and 

guitars to lush, rich and elegant 

orchestral arrangements. They 

reverberate from the Southwestern 

States combining Springsteen’s 

brisk acoustic work with the 

sweeping, country-pop overtones 

of Jimmy Webb’s stellar LA studio 

hits from the late 60s. The production 

is majestic and panoramic — a 

soundtrack arching across the 

desert floor and open skies cast 

upon Hollywood’s big screen. 

While melodies swell, sometimes 

stratospheric, Springsteen’s storytelling 

pulls it all down into quiet, 

intimate pockets. Many characters 

bare a resemblance to those found 

in 1987’s Tunnel Of Love, with lives 

burdened and broken by choices 

made that can’t be undone. 

Yet there’s also the freewheeling 

hitchhiker, first to appear on the 

record, who’s got no destination in 

mind except raking in the experience 

of each ride. At the desert 

cafe, truckers and bikers meet, the 

roadhouse overflows with drink 

and dance where “summer girls in 

the parking lot slap their make-up 

on and flirt the night away.” 

Western Stars is a complex landscape, 

optimistic and joyous as it is 

desolate, fatalistic and bittersweet. 

In it Springsteen draws on people 

and places as well as his own history 

grounded in that corner of the 

universe resulting in a remarkable 

concept album where the magic 

flows once again. 

Best Track: Moonlight Motel 

 

Brad Simm 

GIRLFRIEND 

MATERIAL 

Cool Car 

Dine Alone 

Led by Tokyo Police Club keyboardist 

Graham Wright, Girlfriend 

Material fleshes out the sounds 

from the band’s 2017 self-titled EP 

with jangly pop hooks and plenty of 

lyrics about relationships, breakups, 

and recoveries. 

These songs effectively portray 

a confidence for the here and now, 

rather than an aching for what 

should have been. First single, 

“First of the Month,” recalls the 

fantastic guitar licks and tempo 

changes that made TPC’s debut 

album so fun to listen to, retaining 

a youthful cynicism about the world 

today. 

Maturity also shines through on 

Cool Car. With experienced musicians 

like fellow TPC member Josh 

Hook and Hollerado’s Jake Boyd 

rounding out the project, Wright is 

confident and free to write songs 

from the heart. 

Sonically, it’s not too far from 

anything we’ve heard from Tokyo 

Police Club or Hollerado before, 

but the songs on Cool Car display 

an energy and infectiousness that 

will have you bobbing your head 

and singing along. If you’re looking 

for a side hustle to complement 

your rotation of Can-rock faves this 

summer, Cool Car is the pimped 

out Toyota Tercel you’ve been 

waiting for. 

Best Track: First of the Month 

Trevor Morelli 

THOM YORKE 

ANIMA 

XL Recordings 

Some dream theorists suggest 

that within our unconscious, dwell 

alternate versions of our personalities. 

One such logician, Carl Jung, 

conceptualized the idea of “Anima” 

as representing the unconscious 

feminine qualities of the male 

psyche. This approach seems 

fitting for the title of Radiohead 

lead singer Thom Yorke’s new 

solo album, whose falsetto voice 

and undiscerning vulnerability has 

always been the focal point of his 

music. 

ANIMA is an electronic record, 

like his last release Tomorrow’s 

Modern Boxes. Opening track 

“Traffic,” begins with a simple UK 

House beat but becomes chaotic 

and busy as Yorke’s tender vocals 

weave in and out between inconsistent 

patterns. The tracks aren’t 

messy; the production remains 

calculated, but the unpredictable 

trajectory of the songs keeps them 

exciting. 

It’s not all overly complicated 

though. Tracks “Twist” and “Dawn 

Chorus” ditch the club vibe for 

more delicate melodies, further 

exploring Yorke’s feminine dreamscapes. 

But this only lasts until the 

album’s final track, “Runwayaway,” 

which meshes nightmarish ambient 

rhythms with electronically altered 

vocals, leaving you gasping for air 

upon awakening. 

For a full scale experience, 

check out the album’s visceral accompanying 

short film directed by 

Paul Thomas Anderson, available 

now on Netflix. 

Best Track: Impossible Knots 

Jeevin Johal 


LOCAL ALBUMS 

AK- 747S 

Movies 

Independent 

ZANE COPPARD 

Of Love 

Independent 

HOT TUB 

Sunrise EP 

Independent 

THE JINS 

Death Wish 

604 Records 

The Jins are a neo-grunge indie 

rock band that unmistakably look 

and sound like Nirvana. 

They’ve been a ubiquitous force 

as one of the preeminent up and 

coming bands in Vancouver’s 

indie music scene. On their new 

EP, Death Wish, the party seems 

to have caught up with them. The 

lead singer’s Cobainian belching 

breathes frustration and cynicism. 

There’s a lot to love radiating from 

the bittersweet heartbreak of “She 

Said” and the heavy face-melting 

absolutism of “Death Wish.” The 

Jins continue their sonic progression 

as their song structures 

mature, leading the band onto a 

unique plateau that is all their own. 

Joshua Sheppard 

Movies is a noisy, grief laden 

offering of surrealistic punk. Opening 

track “Snitches” throws the 

first blow with plenty of grit and 

crunchy distortion, an anger-filled 

offering that effectively smashes 

the state in sound and spirit. 

The vexation continues as 

vocalist Rob Nuclear’s agonizing 

bellow screeches from the depths 

of a sorrowed soul. The tightly 

wound trio reverberates from the 

core of Vancouver’s Downtown 

Eastside to the furthest corners 

of the city, searching for any remnants 

of an underground scene 

that might still understand them. 

Melodic, emotive and raw, the 

self-described “weird punk” that 

AK-747s are casting is the sonic 

equivalent of drinking Nick Cave’s 

dirty bath water, and then going 

back for seconds. 

Johnny Papan 

Sounding like it was recorded on 

a broken Tascam four-track recorder 

in a truck stop somewhere 

in Nebraska, Zane Coppard’s solo 

debut, Of Love, is a sprawling and 

breathless collection of experimental 

sounds and crooning. 

Coppard verges on Jeff Buckley 

levels of emotion at times, other 

times dark and brooding or lucid 

and shimmering like a glacial tarn. 

To Coppard, “love in element form 

is water” and you certainly get 

that sense. The record washes 

over like a slow, romantic drizzle. 

Although mastered and mixed by 

Smash Boom Pow bandmate and 

brother Ulysses Coppard, Of Love 

showcases his own artistic voice 

with fluidity and aplomb. 

Sean Orr 

Despite standing at only four 

tracks in length, electronic musician 

Hot Tub’s debut EP is built 

to let the mind wander to many 

places over its short runtime. A 

house musician that veers closer 

to Daft Punk’s uplifting funk than 

the genre’s traditional repetitive 

fist-pumping mixes, Hot Tub presents 

a great mixture of in-yourface 

electronic hooks and quieter, 

more contemplative areas that 

sound like a relaxing come-down 

after the party. 

Hot Tub is an accomplished guitarist 

and pianist, and impressively 

plays all his instruments live while 

adding his own dreamy, echoed 

vocals. Each track is an engaging 

slow build from start to finish. 

Ben Boddez 


Live 

MUSiC 

ANDERSON 

.PAAK 

Wednesday, June 19 


The sold-out PNE Amphitheatre 

came out to rage on a cloudy 

weekday evening in Vancouver 

for hip-hop/soul mastermind 

Anderson .Paak. 

The crowd was rowdy from 

the start, not waiting long before 

starting a swirling mosh pit at the 

front of the stage. .Paak came out 

fully dialled in a bright colourful 

short-sleeved button up and gave 

it all back to his fans with his 

explosive stage presence, effortlessly 

switching between being 

the energetic frontman running 

back and forth across the stage 

to, of course, playing the drums 

that he’s so infamously known for. 

After all of the extremes of 

.Paak’s set, from fireworks to 

confetti, he closed out his show 

with a touching tribute to his late 

friend Mac Miller, with a giant 

photo of the two together projected 

on the screen behind him. 

If anyone who was there is 

asked whether or not Anderson 

.Paak at the PNE Amphitheatre 

was the best show of the summer, 

the only appropriate way to 

respond would be with a loud and 

proud, “Yes lawd!” 

 

Joey Lopez 

ZEE KHAN 

JAMILA 

WOODS 

Thursday, June 27, 2019 

The Biltmore Cabaret 

Wrapping up her Legacy! 

Legacy! Tour with a sold out 

show at the Biltmore Cabaret, 

Jamila Woods’ ethereal energy 

rippled across a sea of 

spellbound Vancouverites as 

they recited her lyrics back at 

her with raw passion. 

Armed with a live band, 

Jamila and her talented posse 

of musicians ran through the 

new album in its entirety with 

ease. 

Through her music Woods’ 

seems to have concocted a 

colour-by-numbers formula 

for wooing a crowd. A product 

of the Chi-town spoken word 

scene responsible for the 

likes of Saba and NoName, 

Woods is one of Illinois’ finest. 

From songs about Frida Kahlo 

to “exes that got you fucked 

up,” Woods’ lyrical prowess 

hones in on a spectrum of 

personal, emotional and societal 

concerns that resonated 

with the contemplative crowd. 

On “Betty,” the opening 

track on Legacy! Legacy!, 

Woods sings; “I am not your 

typical girl, throw away 

that picture in your head.” 

Following an evening spent in 

her magnetic presence, this 

statement can be confirmed; 

her artistry is no ordinary feat. 

 

 

April Summers 

TENZING LAMA 


BILLIE 

EILISH 

Friday, June 1, 2019 


Billie Eilish channeled all the 

energy from her now legendary 

recent Coachella performances 

and showed Vancouver why she 

is the new star of pop music. 

Dressed in a white sweatsuit 

with a clown print, Eilish had the 

sold-out crowd singing to every 

word of every song. She even 

managed to get everyone to put 

down their phones urging all her 

followers that “This is the only 

moment we got, bro.” 

Whether she was jumping, 

dancing or performing in a bed 

that dropped down from the 

top of the stage, Eilish proved 

she is more than prepared for 

her throne as pop queen. The 

homeschooled 17 year-old sang 

flawlessly as she performed her 

hits, including “Bad Guy” and “I 

Wish You Were Gay” with her 

brother and producer, Finneas 

by her side. 

When Vancouver fans of 

Eilish fell asleep after the show 

that night, they were surely 

dreaming of the next time Eilish 

performs here, which is guaranteed 

to be on a much bigger 

stage. Darrole Palmer 

TENZING LAMA 

SLUM 

VILLAGE 

Tuesday, June 25 , 2019 

Imperial Vancouver 

Hip-hop heads were treated to 

a showcase of skilled artists 

paying tribute to the genre 

when Slum Village checked 

into the Imperial with their 

stylings of old school lyrical 

prowess. 

Their set played out like a 

Greatest Hits compilation, with 

co-founder T3 joined on stage 

by the impressive Young RJ. 

The unforgettable beats and 

flawless flows of Slum Village 

proved timeless as an infectious 

bout of head bopping 

broke out when they dropped 

their 2002 classic, “Tainted.” 

It would be remiss to not 

address the J Dilla shaped 

elephant in the room, considering 

he produced the majority of 

their work. Since the legendary 

producer’s passing, the rap 

group have continued to fly the 

flag high in his honour. 

Slum fans had come for their 

dose of old school hip-hop and 

bangers like “Get Dis Money,” 

“Thelonious” and “Fall in Love” 

had the chill crowd hanging on 

to every word of the magnetic 

emcees. 

The seasoned performers 

succumbed to calls for an encore, 

toasting their fallen friend 

as they finished with their 

Kanye collaboration “Selfish,” a 

ditty which bangs just as hard 

in 2019 as it did in the early 

00s. April Summers 

ZEE KHAN 

RIO 

THEATRE 

1660 EAST BROADWAY 

JULY 

5 

JULY 

7 

JULY 

8 

JULY 

9 

JULY 

10 

JULY 

12 

14 

18 

JULY 

19 

Friday Late Night Movie 

Andrei Tarkovsky’s 

11 DIRTY DANCING 

JULY 

JULY 

JULY 

JULY 

20 

JULY 

21 

JULY 

23 

24 

JULY 

JULY 

26 

27 

JULY 

30 

JULY 

JULY 

GORDON LIGHTFOOT 

IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND 

* Additional times www.riotheatre.ca 

Richard Linklater’s 

DAZED AND CONFUSED 

PULP FICTION 

STALKER 

STRANGE ADVANCE 

Live! 

Arnold Schwartzenegger in 

COMMANDO 

David Lynch’s 

DUNE 

The Gentlemen Hecklers Present 

THE NEVERENDING STORY 

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” 

All Indiana Jones... All Night Long! 

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 

THE TEMPLE OF DOOM 

THE LAST CRUSADE 

Bastille Day Double Bill! 

AMELIE 

& 

Sofia Coppola’s 

MARIE ANTOINETTE 

“Tricks are for kids” 

Uma Thurman in 

KILL BILL Vol 1. & Vol. 2 

Steven Spielberg’s 

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS 

OF THE THIRD KIND 

Documentary 

APOLLO 11 

Double Bill! 

Sigourney Weaver in 

ALIEN & ALIENS 

Stanley Kubrick's 

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 

Andrei Tarkovsky's 

SOLARIS 

Director in Attendance! 

PARALLEL LOVE 

The Story of a Band Called Luxury 

Jodie Foster & Matthew McConaughey 

CONTACT 

THE CRITICAL HIT SHOW 

#DNDLIVE 

Ryan Gosling 

DRIVE 

Friday Late Night Movie 

April O’Peel Productions’ 

TITTIES FOR KITTIES 

A Fundraiser for VOKRA 

SPICE WORLD 

With Live Drag Shadowcast! 

31 

JULY The Geekenders Present 

Harry Potter’s Birthday 

Burlesque 

*www.riotheatre.ca for additional times 

COMPLETE LISTINGS AT WWW.RIOTHEATRE.CA 

S 


TRAVEL 

CROSS-CANADA CAMPING 

MUSIC FESTIVAL GUIDE 

CAMPOUT 

& ROCK OUT 

C 

amping festivals: 

because sometimes, 

we all need 

an excuse to go 

days on end without 

showering. 

Whether you’d rather 

spend the weekend on 

a muddy, dusty farm 

surrounded by people 

wearing onesies and sucking 

on soothers or bring 

your parents, nephew, and 

litter of puppies to camp in 

a clean, cool river-side RV, 

the coast-to-coast selection 

of festivals in Canada 

is unparalleled. 

While they might vary in 

content – some emphasize 

electronica, while others 

are exclusively metal – festival 

culture in general aims 

to foster a sense of family 

and give their guests a 

transcendent, ephemeral 

experience of feeling at 

home. 

Music, painting, yoga, 

performance art and a 

cozy, beer-stained tent to 

return to at the end of the 

night… what more could 

you need? (Sunscreen. 

The answer is sunscreen.) 

By JORDAN YEAGER 

Shambhala 

34 BEATROUTE JULY 2019 

Winnipeg Folk Festival 

Shambhala

River & Sky Music/Camping Festival 

ASTRAL HARVEST: July 4-7 on 

1 the North Country Fair festival 

grounds near Driftpile, AB 

“Home is not a place, it’s a feeling.” 

Astral Harvest is more than just 

a music festival – their itinerary also 

features almost 20 seminars about 

topics ranging from beekeeping to 

cultural appropriation vs. appreciation 

to ayahuasca and Inka healing 

techniques (BYOA). There are yoga 

classes, fire shows, aerialists, and 

bubble blowing parties. Camping is 

first-come first-served, so if you’re 

bringing the whole family, arrive 

early and claim a plot on the quieter 

Family Camping site. 

2 

WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL: July 

11-14 at Birds Hill Provincial Park 

near Winnipeg 

Despite the name, Winnipeg Folk 

Festival hosts artists who play indie, 

electronic, pop, and a wide variety 

of other genres, too. They have 

Tarot readings, puppetry, an LED 

gallery and a costume booth to outfit 

you for the day. Kacey Musgraves 

is one of their headliners this year 

– don’t forget to wait until she says 

“yee” before you say “haw.” 

Winnipeg Folk Festival is another 

contender that offers two campgrounds 

to suit your needs. The 

Festival Campground has room for 

6,000 people and feels like a little 

commune, with everyone making 

art and friends between the tents. 

The Quiet Campground is a third of 

the size, so you’re covered whether 

you’d rather find your new best 

friends or get a good night’s sleep. 

RIVER & SKY MUSIC/CAMPING 

3 FESTIVAL: River & Sky Music/Camping 

Festival: July 18-21 near Sudbury, ON 

Situated along the Sturgeon 

River, River & Sky works closely 

with locals to create a sustainable 

retreat to nature for festival-goers. 

This festival is a smaller one, and 

they believe that a smaller, more 

intimate experience is best both 

for the environment and for the 

visitors. The campground is situated 

in Fishers’ Paradise, a quiet haven 

outside West Nipissing, Ontario that 

grants visitors access not only to 

the river but also to a lake. Bring 

your kayaks, your donut-shaped 

floaties, and your pups, because 

River & Sky is one of few festivals 

that welcomes pets. 

4 

CANADA’S 

TOP 5 

FUTURE FOREST: 

July 26-29 near Fredericton, NB 

Future Forest doesn’t think of 

its guests as audience members, 

but rather as active participants 

in the creation of a communal 

experience. Hosted in a 200-acre 

wilderness preserve, the festival 

originally began in 2012 as a fundraiser 

for friend of the fest DJ Jay 

Hamilton when he was diagnosed 

with cancer. It’s this community 

vibe that they strive to recreate 

year after year; instead of corporate 

sponsors, they invite local 

artisans to sell their wares, from 

jewelry to clothing to handblown 

glass (anyone need a new pipe?). 

5 SHAMBHALA: 

August 9-12 at the Salmo River 

Ranch near Nelson, BC 

Shambhalove, Shambhalife – 

those who frequent Shambhala 

think of it as a second home. Every 

year, thousands of attendees 

flock to the farm for the electronic 

fest. Each of the festival’s six 

stages has its own stage director, 

ensuring that the universes they 

create will never be the same 

from one year to the next. Don’t 

forget a face mask – you will be 

breathing in dust and cow manure. 

Shambhala also stays away from 

corporate sponsors. For a festival 

that often sells out within minutes, 

it’s about as grassroots as you 

can get. 

Shambhala is a lifestyle, and 

people who frequent the fest go all 

out for it every year. You want to 

paint a school bus and sleep in it 

for a week? Bring it! Rather build a 

wooden pirate ship, affix it to your 

truck and drive that over? Please 

do! Each year, the themes of their 

campgrounds change. This year’s 

haven’t been announced yet, so if 

you’ve got a vision, why not apply 

to start your own? 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: 

Laketown Shakedown: June 28- 

30 in Cowichan Valley, BC 

Midsummer Music Festival: July 

5-7 in Smithers, BC 

Armstrong Metalfest: July 12-13 in 

Armstrong, BC 

Hillside Festival: July 12-14 at 

Guelph Lake Conservation Area 

Vancouver Island Music Fest: July 

12-14 in Courtenay, BC 

Bass Coast: July 12-15 in Merritt, 

BC 

Starbelly Jam Music Festival: July 

19-20 in Crawford Bay, BC 

Evolve: July 19-21 in Moncton, NB 

Kispiox Valley Music Festival: July 

26-28 in Duncan, BC 

ArtsWells Festival of All Things 

Art: August 2-5 in Wells, BC 

Edge of the World Music Festival: 

August 9-11 in Haida Gwaii, BC 

Regina Folk Festival: August 9-11 

at Victoria Park, Regina


SCREEN 

TIME 

We believe 

in Yesterday 

Danny Boyle’s 

Yesterday imagines 

a world without The 

Beatles 

By PAT MULLEN 

I 

magine a world without The 

Beatles. Imagine all the people 

who never heard “Let It 

Be,” “Penny Lane,” “A Day in 

the Life” or any of their songs 

that revolutionized music. 

That’s the simple premise of 

Yesterday, which imagines a music 

history without Paul, John, George, 

and/or Ringo. The Fab Four are 

wiped from the Earth when struggling 

artist Jack Malick (Himesh 

Patel) wishes for a miracle, gets 

struck by a bus and awakens in a 

world in which only he knows The 

Beatles’ tunes. Ka-ching, ka-ching! 

While the film is as familiar as a 

Beatles’ song, it’s as impossible to 

resist. The script by Richard Curtis 

(Love Actually, About Time) gives 

audiences a sweet love story as 

Jack’s rise to stardom pulls him away 

from his devoted manager, Ellie (Lily 

James), as she stays in Suffolk to work 

her day job as a schoolteacher and he 

jets to LA to pursue his dream. The 

pair has great chemistry with James 

drawing on her Cinderella charm, 

while Patel creates an endearing underdog 

in Jack and fuels a soundtrack 

of summer fun performing The Beatles’ 

greatest hits. 

As Jack enjoys his success, his 

peers — including Ed Sheeran (who 

is a good sport about poking fun at 

himself) — yearn to know the stories 

that inspired “Strawberry Fields 

Forever” or “In My Life,” and the film 

sometimes strains under the simplicity 

of its premise as it reworks the 

same conflict over a few dozen Beatles’ 

songs. 

Jack’s success is bittersweet as he 

knows in his heart that he doesn’t 

come by it honestly, even though his 

exuberant covers of these songs electrify 

the crowds. He struggles with his 

betrayal of Ellie and with selling out 

his artistic integrity for success. His 

music brings joy to people around 

the world, which leaves him with the 

choice to erase The Beatles forever or 

continue living a lie. 

Directed with whimsical energy 

and the right flavour of cheese by 

Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 

Steve Jobs), Yesterday doesn’t seek 

to reinvent The Beatles’ music. Both 

the approach and the story are relatively 

safe, but the film is a novel exercise 

in nostalgia. 

The earnestness of the film 

is too sweet to deny as Jack 

saves Beatles’ tunes from 

oblivion and revisits Liverpool 

haunts like Abbey 

Road, Penny Lane, and Eleanor 

Rigby’s grave to jog 

his memory. Yesterday 

reminds audiences of the 

magic of The Beatles by 

making them recognize 

the ways in which music 

in general defines pivotal 

moments in their lives. 

Yesterday also makes 

a strong case that this gen- 

eration won’t see an act on par with 

The Beatles. As Jack navigates the biz 

and lets his soulless new manager 

(a deadpan funny Kate McKinnon) 

sculpt him into a star, Yesterday 

places The Beatles’ songs within the 

American Idol era in which stars are 

pre-packaged and manufactured like 

products. 

The hustle teaches Jack that a true 

artist is one who draws from his experiences 

and pours himself into 

his songs. The songs speak to 

Jack’s audience, but not in the 

same way Beatlemania made 

the Fab Four speak to their 

generation and inspire music 

fans today. Yesterday is 

an impossibly charming 

essay that reminds us why 

few artists live forever. 

Yesterday is now in 

theatres. 

Ed Sheeran was not 

Danny Boyle’s first 

choice for Yesterday. It 

was actually Coldplay’s 

Chris Martin. 


SCREEN TIME 

THREE 

CHORDS 

AND THE 

TRUTH 

Jessie Buckley plays 

a wild dreamer in 

Wild Rose. Think of 

a Glaswegian version 

of A Star is Born. 

By PAT MULLEN 

I 

f Ally Campana and Jackson 

Maine had a smokin’ hot threesome 

with Susan Boyle, the star 

born from the passionate tryst 

would be Rose-Lynn Harlan. 

Played by an outstanding Jessie 

Buckley, Rose is a hot mess of an 

aspiring singer/ex-con from Glasgow 

with dreams of being a country star. 

She struts out of the slammer with 

the confidence of Johnny Cash when 

the film introduces her sporting cowgirl 

boots and a sparking house arrest 

anklet. She returns to her two kids, 

named Lyle and Wynonna after her 

country idols, and mother Marion 

(Julie Walters) who shudders when 

Rose resumes talk of pursuing her 

dreams in Nashville. 

Rose’s day under house arrest is 

such a booze-fuelled bender that loses 

her gig at the Glasgow Grand Ole 

Opry and barely makes curfew. In an 

effort to straighten her out, Marion 

gets Rose a job cleaning the home of 

a wealthy socialite, Susannah (Sophie 

Okonedo). Rose makes the best of it, 

belting out country tunes as she vacuums 

the floor while guzzling Susannah’s 

whisky. When Susannah’s kids 

overhear Rose singing, though, Susannah 

gears into bleeding heart mode 

and makes it her mission to realize 

Rose’s dreams. 

Wild Rose deviates little from 

the well-trodden formula of movies 

about stars in the making. However, 

artists record traditional country 

songs over and again and director 

Tom Harper delivers a wild, moving, 

and boot-stompingly good cover on a 

film we’ve seen before. 

Wild Rose will make a country fan 

out of anyone since it lives by Rose’s 

belief that music is “three chords and 

the truth,” a motto tattooed on her 

arm that is best read when she raises 

her fist to her heart. 

Fuelled by an excellent soundtrack 

of country tunes, the film closes with a 

mic drop of an original song, “No Place 

Like Home” (written by actress Mary 

Steenburgen) that shows the range of 

Buckley’s talent as Rose reconciles her 

dreams with her duties in Glasgow. 

Buckley delivers on the promise 

of her breakthrough performance in 

last year’s Beast and creates a true 

dreamer in Rose, a woman of unbridled 

energy and hunger with one hell 

of a voice. She owns the stage as Rose 

accepts that the heart of Nashville 

beats wherever she plays her tunes. 

Wild Rose is a film for anyone who 

aspires to live the dream—and pursues 

it anyway long after realizing it’s 

out of reach. 

Wild Rose opens theatrically on July 5. 


LEONARD 

COHEN’S 

LOVE 

A great songwriter and his muse 

explored in Marianne & Leonard: 

Words of Love By PAT MULLEN 

D 

irector 

Nick Bromfield had a unique perspective 

in creating a remarkable documentary 

about the complicated love affair 

between Leonard Cohen and his legendary 

muse Marianne Ihlen — he was in the middle 

of a love triangle involving the tortured couple. 

Broomfield has a habit of inserting himself into 

his movies, but this time he’s both a character and 

an inquisitor as he reflects upon two lives that 

shaped his path. His personal inquiries drive docs 

like Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, 

Kurt & Courtney, Biggie & Tupac, and Tales of the 

Grim Sleeper. His latest film, Marianne & Leonard: 

Words of Love is his most personal film yet and it 

benefits from his ability to open himself up to enter 

his subjects. 

Words of Love chronicles the long relationship 

between the late Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian 

muse, also recently passed, Marianne Ihlen, 

which began in 1960 on the Greek island of Hydra 

and spanned decades, crossed continents, and inspired 

generations. She’s the girl Cohen sings “so 

long” to as well as many other musings. 

She would eventually say “so long” to Broomfield, 

who also had a relationship with Ihlen and 

made his first documentary on her advice, he looks 

at the romance of the poet and his muse with objectivity 

and poetic grace. He’s the Nick Carraway to 

Cohen’s Jay Gatsby and Ihlen’s Daisy Buchanan as 

he watches from an inquisitive distance. 

The doc features extraordinary footage of Cohen 

and Ihlen that Broomfield shot with D.A. Pennebaker 

(Don’t Look Back) over the summers in Hydra. 

This previously unseen material is a valuable 

archive of Cohen’s career as he flourished on the 

arty island with Ihlen as his inspiration. Both Cohen 

and Ihlen’s voices appear in archival interviews 

atop the footage, as they passed away in 2016 just 

three months apart, while Broomfield offers new 

interviews with their surviving friends and peers. 

This intimate glimpse into the creative process 

reflects on the poet’s ability to draw inspiration 

from a muse, but also stifle her in the service of his 

art. The doc offers stories of times good and bad as 

Cohen wrote songs like “Bird on a Wire” and “So 

Long, Marianne” while under her wing, but then 

was unfair to her own aspirations and responsibilities. 

Broomfield strikes a personal chord when he 

tells how the instability of Cohen and Ihlen’s onagain/off-again 

relationship had long-term mental 

health consequences for Ihlen’s son, Axel, who becomes 

the film’s tragic figure. 

Broomfield explains how Ihlen eventually left 

Hydra, moved home and settled while Cohen skyrocketed 

to fame. The film looks at Cohen’s success 

in the post-Marianne years as he expanded 

his audience by experimenting with musical styles. 

Broomfield presents an extensive range of concert 

footage that captures the deep, gravelly romanticism 

of Cohen’s voice. 

An extended sequence on “Hallelujah” takes 

audiences to the peak of Cohen’s ability to craft 

success through words of love. John Lissauer, who 

produced the record for Cohen, recalls how Columbia 

executives feared “Hallelujah” would ruin 

Cohen and says the label terminated him immediately 

upon hearing the song. Despite the song being 

one of the industry’s biggest successes, Lissauer 

says the label’s unexpected dislike for “Hallelujah” 

inspired Cohen’s retreats to Mt. Baldy monastery 

for extended periods of self-reflection. 

As Cohen’s fortune humbles him in later years, 

Broomfield returns him to Ihlen. The film provides 

intimate access to Ihlen’s’s deathbed where 

she receives a letter from Cohen that thanks her 

for the endless love and inspiration. Broomfield, 

surprisingly, doesn’t comment on the scene. He 

steps back, lets the words of love hang in the air, 

and invites audiences to appreciate a life they knew 

mostly through songs. 

Marianne & Leonard is a touching love letter to 

artists and the kindred souls who inspire them. 

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love opens in select 

Canadian theatres on July 12 and across Canada in the 

weeks that follow. 


JESSIE REYEZ • BAHAMAS • SERENA RYDER 

HALF MOON RUN • A TRIBE CALLED RED • WINTERSLEEP 

DEAR ROUGE • PEACH PIT • SHAD • JOCELYN ALICE • FOXWARREN 

COSMO SHELDRAKE • FAST ROMANTICS • SCENIC ROUTE TO ALASKA 

FRED PENNER • THE JERRY CANS • ART D’ECCO • THE BOOM BOOMS 

SARAH MACDOUGALL • LUCA FOGALE • daysormay 

PARKER BOSSLEY• JESSICKA • THE SUNSET KIDS 

HUNTING • BEGONIA • THE MODELOS 

SAM LYNCH • TAYLOR JAMES 

THE OOT N’ OOTS • THE KWERKS 

CAT MADDEN 

Sat and Sun 11:30 AM to 7PM 

Paueru Gai (Powell Street area) 

lineup subject to change 

MEDIA SPONSORS 

JUNE 16 

TO SEPT 29 

Organized by the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia in collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery 

Visionary Partners for 

Historical Exhibitions: 

Supporting Sponsor: 

Generously supported by: 

Supported by the Government of Canada / 

Avec l’appui du gouvernement du Canada: 

Huaijun Chen and Family 

Alberto Giacometti, Man Walking (Version I), 1960, bronze, edition 3/6, Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1961 

40 BEATROUTE_1/2Page-PrintAd.indd JULY 2019 1 

2019-06-14 5:16 PM

07.19 

YVR 

Cultures 

collide at the 

Khatsahlano 

Street Party: 

By YASMINE SHEMESH 

Kitsilano’s annual multi-block 

mega party has always been 

about celebrating both its past 

and future, whether it be honouring 

the area’s bohemian spirit and 

First Nations history or staging 

local music’s most exciting upand-comers. 

In 2015, in what felt like a sort 

of psychedelic mirage, Khatsahlano 

reunited original members of 

Kitsilano’s iconic Poppy Family — 

a stalwart of the neighbourhood 

back when it was the heart of 

Canadian counterculture. 

The summer festival, which is 

completely free, runs the long 

stretch of 4th Avenue in Kitsilano, 

from Burrard to MacDonald. 

Wander down the former 

Rainbow Road to take advantage 

of its eclectic array of shops and 

restaurants, from longtime mainstays 

like veggie eatery the Naam 

and Vancouver music slingers 

Zulu Records, to newer additions 

Chewie’s Biscuit Co. and sunglass 

retailer Warby Parker. 

As always, the music is the 

cornerstone of Khatsahlano. This 

year, for its eighth edition, nearly 

40 musical acts will be taking to 

the multiple stages, including Tonye 

Aganaba, Jody Glenham, Hey 

Ocean! and the Boom Booms. 

With vendors, art installations 

and food trucks dotted along the 

sidewalks, Khats is the perfect 

opportunity to support local 

business, celebrate the vast local 

talent and bask in the patchouli-scented 

aroma of community. 

Khatsahlano Street Party 

July 6, 2019 / West 4th Ave from Burrard 

to MacDonald 

k 

VANCOUVER’S ESSENTIAL JULY HAPPENINGS 


07.19YVRAGENDA 

THE PRODUCERS LOUNGE 

In Conversation with 

Sylvia Massey and Howard Redekopp 

When you’ve worked with Tom Petty, Johnny Cash and 

Anthony Kedis, there’s going to be wild tales to tell. Legendary 

music producer Sylvia Massey will be sharing these 

tales and some of her industry insight in conversation with 

Vancouver producer Howard Redekopp, known for his work 

with acts including the New Pornographers and Mother 

Mother. The two will be chatting up close and personal 

about music, production, inspiration, and, of course, rock and 

roll. Take a seat in the Bryan Adams-owned recording mecca 

and prepare to learn from two respected industry experts. 

July 6, 2019 / The Warehouse Studios 

YVRAgenda 

Electric Love Music Festival 

Presents Block Rockin Beats 

The Electric Love Festival is postponed until 2020 

due to venue troubles, but that won’t stop them from 

having a little fun in the meantime. The party starters 

are hosting the first-ever Block Rockin Beats (BRB) 

as their not-so-last hurrah. The one-day party will 

prove Electric Love still has a pulse, retaining the 

same free spirit as its parent festival with live performances 

from international artists like Opiuo and DJ 

Z-Trip, plus art installations and food vendors. 

July 27, 2019 / Waldorf Hotel 

Star Wars: The 

Empire Strikes 

Back in Concert 

It’s common knowledge that the 

battle for the galaxy intensifies 

in The Empire Strikes Back, 

but the Vancouver Symphony 

Orchestra (VSO) is looking 

to take music fans one step 

beyond a galaxy far, far away. 

As part of their Star Wars 

summer concert series, the 

VSO will be performing John 

Williams’ epic score alongside 

a screening of the thrilling fifth 

episode of the unfolding saga. 

Up on the big screen in front of 

the orchestra pit at the historic 

Orpheum Theatre, you’ve never 

seen or heard a Force quite like 

this. 

July 4-6, 2019 / Orpheum Theatre 

Doot 

Doola 

Doot 

Doo! 

The Vancouver-based 

king of the music 

interview, Nardwuar the 

Human Serviette has 

just been added to the 

BC Entertainment Hall 

of Fame. 

Nardwuar has been 

blowing people’s minds 

with his extensive musical 

knowledge and research 

on his interview 

subjects for more than 

30 years, skyrocketing 

in popularity after 

breaking through to 

an online audience 

with his YouTube 

channel. 

While he’s travelled 

the world interviewing 

everyone from Cardi 

B to Jay Z, he’s 

always stayed true 

to his roots. He’s 

had his own show 

every Friday on UBC’s 

CITR radio since 1987 

and regularly promotes 

Vancouver, often giving 

his interview subjects 

gifts representative of 

the city. 

“I can’t even explain 

myself; So for the 

group of people who 

nominated me to 

explain ‘Nardwuar the 

Human Serviette’ to 

the The BC Entertainment 

Hall Of Fame is 

incredible,” he says of 

the honour. 

Nardwuar dedicated 

the award to his 

mother, a high school 

teacher who he says 

“instilled in him a deep 

love of history.” 

He will receive a star 

on Granville Street’s 

Walk of Fame at a 

ceremony this summer, 

alongside fellow 2019 

inductees Colin James 

and Breaking Bad 

producer Moira Walley-Beckett. 

Keep on rockin’ in 

the free world Nardwuar, 

and doot doola 

doot doo! 


YVRPRIDE 

Show 

Your Pride 

We’d like to think it’s possible to have your rainbow cake and eat it too. 

With so much going on during Pride it can be tough to decide where to 

spend your time and money. This year, BeatRoute’s got you covered with 

his list of inclusive Pride events for all. 

By LAUREN DONNELLY 

Drag Carnival 

Celebrities, August 1 

Pop Puppyteeth hosts 

this gritty carnival of drag, 

performance, and comedy. 

Be dazzled by performers 

including Vixen von Flex 

and Rubberchild, in what 

promises to be an off-kilter, 

yet ah-mazing event. 

The Really Gay 

History Tour 

August 1-3, 5-7 

The Really Gay History 

Walking Tour starts from 

downtown to Davie Street 

and storyteller Glenn Tkach 

will entertain while showing 

sites of the city’s first gay 

bars, bookstore bombings 

and a secret gay village. 

Tickets $32-$35 at 

forbiddenvancouver.ca 

Downtown 

Queer Party 

Celebrities Underground, 

Friday, August 2 

Kick off Pride with this Davie 

Street dance party brought 

to you by local talents DJ 

Skylar Love of Lick and 

Babes on Babes, and DJ 

Krista of Downtown Vancouver 

Lesbian/Queer Dance 

Party, plus sets by DJs Adia 

and ManyBothans. 

Tickets $20.23 - $25.80 ticketweb.ca 

Dyke March 

August 3, McSpadden Park 

Celebrating its 16th year, the 

march starts at 11 am and 

moves down Commercial 

Drive to end at Grandview 

Park for a festival including 

local performers, artists 

and queer-friendly vendors. 

Pride Parade 

August 4 

What started as a protest 

has evolved over the years 

to something magnificent. 

Come gaze at how far 

we’ve come and to feel 

the love for the community 

that’s pushing the world 

further towards equality 

and inclusivity. 

Details at vancouverpride.ca 

Alternative Pride’s 

Backdoor Pride Edition 

Sunday, August 4, 

venue TBA 

Trust the folx at Alternative 

Pride presented by Vancouver 

Art and Leisure to 

mark the end of the week 

with a party of epic proportions. 

Dance the night away 

amid art installations and 

performances. 

Babes on Babes 

Sunday, August 4 

Fortune Sound Club 

Vancouver’s queer collective 

of artists, DJs and 

promoters is a reliably 

good time and a great 

way to discover new local 

talent. Multiple rooms of 

queer powerhouse talent 

from near and far, local 

queer dancers, four bars 

and karaoke –– it turns 

out heaven is a place on 

earth. 

Tickets $20-$22 

eventbrite.ca 

Untoxicated 

August 4, 2019 6-10 p.m., 

Davie and Thurlow 

Clean, Sober and Proud’s 

2019 event is a party you’ll 

actually remember. Pride’s 

substance free celebration 

takes place at the 

new Thurlow and Davie 

Street Stage. A sober 

dance party featuring 

Drag Race alumni Bob the 

Drag Queen, Alaska, Violet 

Chachki and local gems 

Raye Sunshine, Jaylene 

Tyme and Kendall Gender. 

Tickets $40 at 

eventbrite.com 

Late Night Snack 

Friday, August 2 and 

Sunday, August 4, Save 

on Meats 

West Hastings diner 

Save on Meats teams 

up with Alternative Pride 

to deliver the ultimate 

combo — Food specials 

meet drink specials meet 

drag performances. And 

when the party goes all 

night, consider staying 

up for the inaugural Late 

Night Snack Pride Brunch 

on Sunday. 

MANDY-LYN 

DRAG CARNIVAL: 

A Q&A with 

Jaik Puppyteeth 

Jaik Puppyteeth is hard at work in 

his Chinatown studio getting ready 

for Pride 2019. 

The artist is best known for 

queerly nostalgic creations with 

acerbic humour, but like most 

Vancouverites he has a million 

other projects on the go as well –– 

writing a regular column, masterminding 

comic strips, working on a 

new graphic novel and hosting the 

annual Drag Carnival during Pride 

Week as his surly clown alter ego, 

Pop Puppyteeth. He shares his 

thoughts on Pride with BeatRoute 

and teases what his annual Drag 

Carnival spectacle has in store for 

Vancouver this year. 

Drag Carnival / Celebrities Nightclub / 

Thursday, August 1 / 

$20: ticketweb.ca 

BeatRoute: What’s Pop Puppyteeth 

been up to these days? 

Jaik Puppyteeth: Pop Puppyteeth 

has been lying dormant, deep in 

the earth like a cicada, ready to 

make his annual appearance. 

BR: You’ve said performing as 

Pop Puppyteeth became a way 

of dealing with social anxiety. 

What’s Pop like? 

JP: Pop is sort of a washed-up 

antihero. He’s crude and selfish 

and borderline talentless. I like 

playing that role because putting 

on a bunch of prosthetics and a 

costume removes me from any 

semblance of my persona, and I 

can truly be the detached, raspy 

curmudgeon that I am inside. 

BR: This year the venue for the 

Drag Carnival has moved to Celebrities, 

why? 

JP: The first carnival was at my 

studio in Chinatown, then the VAL 

Villa, then the Rickshaw, and this 

year it’s going to be at Celebrities. 

I feel like my carnival is a nebulous 

entity that I’m always retooling and 

playing around with, and it doesn’t 

have a fixed home. This year I think 

it’ll be funny to have such a gritty 

spectacle in the heart of Davie 

Village. 

BR: How has Vancouver Pride 

progressed over the years? 

JP: I feel like there’s been a shift 

of DIY queer spaces harnessing a 

lot of queer energy and throwing 

amazing, inclusive, accessible 

events. I love the folx at Eastside 

Studios/Clubhouse, so keep an eye 

out for their events! 

BR: Where do you think it has 

room to grow? 

JP: There’s always a lot of work to 

be done. I feel like for every space 

that opens, there are two that 

close. There’s also a lot of antipathy 

and infighting within the queer 

community that would strengthen 

us as a whole if steps were taken 

to mend it. 

BR: Do you have a shareable favourite 

Vancouver Pride memory? 

JP: Last year when I was in my Pop 

Puppyteeth costume I went to an 

ATM to get some money for my 

merch booth, and the bank security 

thought I was robbing them! 

BR: Aside from Drag Carnival, 

what else are you looking forward 

to at Pride? 

JP: There are always so many fun 

events to go to. I think Untoxicated 

this year looks amazing. Also Late 

Night Snack at Save on Meats 

is always so good. I’m happy my 

event is on Thursday, so I have the 

weekend to go to other stuff. 


07.19YVRMUSIC 

Go Folk Yourself 



July 19 to 21, 2019 

By YASMINE SHEMESH 

W 

hen Gary Cristall 

co-founded the 



(VFMF) with Mitch Podolak in 

1978, he was a self-professed 

political activist who saw the 

stage as a platform for exciting 

ideas. 42 years later, the festival 

has retained its progressive spirit 

alongside principles of inclusivity 

and environmental stewardship. 

According to artistic director Debbi 

Salmonsen, those ideals are what 

has kept the fest going all these 

years. 

“Because of those values, 

people feel free to speak openly or 

identify however they wish to, and 

to speak to issues that might not 

be sanctioned at a festival that’s 

more corporate,” she says. 

For Salmonsen, honouring the 

festival’s legacy is about creating 

a mosaic of music that reaches 

and respects a multigenerational 

audience in a broad way. 

“Maintaining the festival’s artistic 

integrity, which has developed over 

many decades, is important,” Salmonsen 

adds. “Our festival has always 

been very proud to embrace 

diversity, gender identity, sexual 

orientation and various cultures of 

people from around the world.” 

This all-encompassing sense 

of awareness is also reflected in 

VFMF’s goal of being zero-waste. 

They refuse to sell plastic bottles 

— you can bring your own refillable 

containers or buy one on-site — 

have a composting program, and 

work with the Parks Board, as 

Salmonsen says, “to leave every 

blade of grass as we found it.” 

BeatRoute Picks of the Fest 

Zaki Ibrahim 

The wracking emotion Zaki Ibrahim 

experienced with the death 

of her father and the birth of her 

son months apart fuelled her latest, 

The Secret Life of Planets. 

As joy met grief there, the South 

African-Canadian artist fuses all 

the different parts of herself to 

create a soulfully sci-fi sound. 

Sunny War 

Ever wondered what American 

blues legend Robert Johnson 

would sound like in 2019? With 

a claw-hammer style that recalls 

another time and a soul-rattling vibrato, 

Venice Beach busker Sunny 

War is the closest you’ll get to your 

answer. 

Corb Lund 

Backed by his band, the Hurtin’ 

Albertans, alt-cowboy crooner 

Cord Lund is a celebrated writer of 

agricultural tragedies; a real-deal 

Canadiana troubadour who is also 

dynamite on the guitar. 

Basia Bulat 

If you’re looking for Good Advice — 

which also happens to be the name 

of Basia Bulat’s heartbreakingly 

beautiful new album — we suggest 

going see the chanteuse perform 

live with her signature auto-harp. 

Larkin Poe 

They might be descendants 

of Edgar Allan Poe, but sisters 

Rebecca and Megan Lovell are 

brilliantly unsettling in their own 

right, performing a unique brand 

of spooky Southern Gothic-tinged 

blues. 


STEF CHURA 

Establishes 

her defiant 

voice 

on sophomore 

album 

By KARINA ESPINOSA 

B 

efore her debut album Messes in 

2017, Detroit-based indie songwriter 

Stef Chura was playing 

bass in various local bands while 

writing and self-releasing her own music on 

Bandcamp. After gaining the attention of a 

few music blogs, comparing her sound to 

that of a buzzy indie rock band, Car Seat 

Headrest frontman, Will Toledo, reached 

out to Chura with a special request. 

“It’s funny, because literally that day I was 

listening to NPR and there was a segment 

on Will talking about his album, Teens of 

Denial,” she says. “Then I checked my inbox 

and there was a message from his agent 

asking me to go on tour with Car Seat 

Headrest. I had to check multiple times to 

make sure. I was like, ‘Wait, is this the same 

person I was just listening to on the radio? 

What the fuck!’” 

The serendipitous pairing would result in 

Chura opening for Toledo’s band in 2016 and 

then working with him on a seven-inch record 

the following year. The two hit it off, bonding 

over their Bandcamp beginnings and their 

mutual love of rugged guitars. Chura knew 

she trusted him enough to produce her next 

project and sent him 25 rough demos. 

Her sophomore album, Midnight, arrived 

last June. Toledo’s fine-tuning is evident, 

but the record is still firmly rooted in 

Chura’s experiences. She takes inspiration 

YVRMusic 

from the different interactions she’s had in 

her Detroit base, a place that’s seen its fair 

share of both collapse and resurgence. But 

it wasn’t so much the city as the characters 

she encountered that added to the emotional 

core of her album. 

“There’s a music scene out here that I’ve 

been in forever. A lot of the people that I 

met at house shows or dive bars are still 

running around in my mind, even after they 

moved on and grew up gracefully,” says 

Chura. “I think because I still know them, 

and because I live in Detroit, a lot of my 

songs are pretty personal.” 

Chura grew up listening to music in 

the 90s and early 00s, and it shows. On 

Midnight she’s gathered all her influences 

in a hefty mixture of gnarled guitar riffs 

and spirited vocals. Whether she’s jagged 

and disjointed on “Method Man” or playing 

with dynamics on the epic “Sweet Sweet 

Midnight,” every decision seems deliberate. 

The biggest difference between this 

record and Messes is the renewed vigour 

and self-confidence in Chura’s voice. Her 

distinctive yelp takes centre stage, drawing 

comparisons to such alt-rock powerhouses 

as Alanis Morissette, Karen O and Liz Phair. 

“I actually don’t think I sound like Liz 

Phair, only because I tried to cover her 

songs in a Liz Phair cover band and could 

never sing as low as her,” she laughs. “But 

I guess my voice wasn’t something I was 

thinking about too much; there wasn’t a reference 

point or guiding light for me. I think 

singing live each night just helped things 

come together naturally.” 

Intelligent and furiously exciting, Midnight 

is a product of the fruitful collaboration 

between two like-minded artists. But 

more than anything, it’s a testament to the 

growth of a budding musician with a lot 

more to show. 

Stef Chura performs at the 

Biltmore Cabaret on August 1. 

YAMANTAKA // 

SONIC TITAN: 

an explosive force 

of nature 

By CHRISTINE LEONARD 

Like the sound of the sky rending open, Toronto-based progressive 

art-rock collective Yamantaka // Sonic Titan enter the summer 

festival season. They are a musical meteorite streaking towards the 

planet’s surface and an explosive force of nature. The gender-bending 

experimentalists will be staging their psychedelic space-metal 

operas at Canadian dates including Yellowknife’s Folk on the Rocks, 

the River & Sky camp-out in Field, ON and Victoria’s Phillips Backyard 

Weekender. 

Holding a mirror up to the status quo, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan 

appropriates elements of pop, rock and heavy metal and blends 

them through influences gleaned from Buddhist, Haudenosaunee 

and First Nations traditions, along with their own mixed Asian-European 

heritages. Embedded in manga art, video games and science 

fiction themes, their enthralling tracks are ablaze with socio-political 

commentary. DIRT, their latest album released in 2018, is no 

exception. The album revolves around the story of abandoned turtle 

starship, Anowara, and the heroine Aentsik’s quest to collect the final 

remnant of arable soil. It’s the same edict the ecologically-minded 

band has espoused since the beginning: “If the trees die, we die,” 

says founding member and percussionist, Alaska B. 

“I think we are concerned about the same things any reasonable 

person should be concerned with: anthropogenic climate change, 

plastic pollution, overuse of antibiotics, animal extinction, unsustainable 

agriculture, pollution, corporate and government surveillance 

Indigenous rights, human rights, transphobia, sexism, racism, 

homophobia,” continues Alaska. 

“Our music is often interpreted to focus entirely around the 

cultural identity politics, but the lyrical content and themes in our art 

all deal with the suffering of living beings, environmentalism and the 

inevitability of death.” 

It’s a tall order for humanity, let alone a fringe-dwelling Canadian 

rock band, but if anyone’s up to the challenge, it’s the self-defining, 

fire-spitting, world-shaking, dirt-venerating music collective and 

theatre company who has earned the surname Sonic Titan. 

Edmonton: Thursday, July 11 / 9910 

Calgary: Saturday, July 13 / The Palomino 

Victoria: Sunday, July 28 / Phillips Backyard Weekender 


07.19YVRMUSIC 

The Cheat Sheet BR PICKS THE 5 ESSENTIAL LIVE MUSIC SHOWS 

PUNK 

METAL 

FOLK 

HIPHOP 

1 

THE TUBULOIDS/ 

BRONXXX 

Friday, July 5 at SBC 

Surf punks The Tubuloids put on a 

ridiculously fun show, made even 

better by Vancouver’s favourite 

punk venue/skate ramp combo. 

2 

AUGUST BURNS RED/ 

SILVERSTEIN 

Thursday, July 11 at The Vogue Theatre 

Early 00s era of metalcore/screamo, 

August Burns Red celebrate 

the 10th anniversary of their album 

Constellations by playing it in full. 

3 

PUNK IN DRUBLIC: NOFX/ 

BAD RELIGION/ANTI-FLAG 

Friday, July 12 at The Rickshaw Theatre 

A craft beer music festival with 

edge featuring some of the most 

classic names in punk. 

4 

ROCKET FROM 

RUSSIA FEST 

July 28 to 21 at the Wise Hall 

Vancouver’s favourite Russian 

hosts his annual shindig with his 

choice cuts from the local punk 

scene including The Corps, You Big 

Idiot and Dead End Drive In. 

5 

TEN FOOT POLE w/ 

OFF BY AN INCH/BLACKED OUT 

Friday, July 26 at Pat’s Pub 

SoCal pop punk veterans, Ten 

Foot Pole are touring their first 

new album in 10 years, Escalating 

Quickly.. 

1 

STRIKER/LOST NEBULA 

Wednesday, July 3 at The Astoria 

Striker’s approach to that classic 

metal sound, for all we know they 

are actually time travellers from 

the 80s. 

2 

COVENANT FEST 

July 4-6 at The Wise Hall 

The extreme music collective 

opens its inner circle and invites 

you to witness the three-day underground 

madness with acts like 

Antediluvian, Sortilegia and Dead 

Congregation. 

3 

BLACK WIZARD/ 

ANCIIENTS 

Friday, July 12 at The Rickshaw Theatre 

The riff train careens into the 

Rickshaw for a night celebrating 

10 years of Vancouver’s metal 

mainstays Black Wizard and fellow 

heavyweights Anciients. 

4 BUSHWHACKER/ 

THE HALLOWED 

CATHARSIS/REVENGER 

Friday, July 19 at The Astoria 

Tech-death, thrash and progressive 

sounds all come to hang out for 

Bushwhacker’s CD release shindig. 

5 

THE GOLERS/GROSS 

MISCONDUCT 

Friday, July 19 at Pat’s Pub 

Vancouver metal scene OGs The 

Golers bring you their punk and extreme 

metal mashup alongside the 

introspective, proggy death metal 

from Gross Misconduct. 

COUNTRY 

1 

LUCA FOGALE 

Sunday, July 14 at Squamish 

Constellation Festival 

Burnaby folk singer-songwriter 

Luca Fogale is touring in support 

of his second full-length album. 

2 

CORB LUND 

Sunday, July 21 at 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

Vancouver Folk Music Festival 

favourite, Albertan Corb Lund’s 

brand of alt-country is always a 

good time. 

3 

WILLIE WATSON 

Tuesday, July 23 at the 

Biltmore Cabaret 

Willie Watson has mastered the 

craft of speaking to souls through 

strong lyricism and deft instrumentals. 

4 

MIYA FOLICK 

Friday, August 2 at the Fox Cabaret 

More pop than folk, Miya Folick 

has never been one to do things 

the traditional way. Hit up this 

show if you want to see a band 

that was formed using Tinder. 

5 

THE JERRY CANS 

Sunday, July 28 at the Squamish 

Constellation Festival 

Heavily influenced by their upbringing 

in Iqaluit, Nunavut, The 

Jerry Cans combine folk music 

with traditional Inuit throat singing. 

See feature on Page 15. 

1 bbno$ 

Saturday, July 6 at Holland Park 

bbno$ has become a local legend 

for his fast-paced mumble rap and 

catchy production. Catch him at 

this year’s FVDED In The Park 

2 SONREAL 

Thursday, July 11 at 

The Commodore Ballroom 

Rapper SonReal started out 

recording songs on his computer 

and now features collabs with 

artists like Jessie Reyez on his 

new album. 

3 COMMON 

Tuesday, July 16 at 

The Commodore Ballroom 

A hip-hop mainstay, Common has 

been making music with substance 

for almost three decades. 

4 ZION I 

Friday, July 19 at Biltmore Cabaret 

Zion I is the passion project of 

rapper Baba Zumbi. The MC easily 

collaborates with electronic, rock 

and reggae groups. 

5 

BEAST COAST: Joey 

BadA$$ / Flatbush Zombies 

Thursday, July 25 at PNE Amphitheatre 

Fresh off the release of Escape 

From New York, this show promises 

to be high energy and hectic in 

the best way. 

EDM 

1 TRUTH 

Saturday, July 6 on the Queen of 

Diamonds 

Truth is a Kiwi duo who make 

deep, dark dubstep. Prepare to 

start tidal waves on the Ocean 

Commotion Boat Cruise. 

2 

RL GRIME 

Saturday, July 6 at Holland Park 

One of today’s hottest producers 

and DJs, RL Grime is one of the 

founders of trap music, so if 808s 

are your thing, snag your ticket to 

FVDED stat. 

3 

FOREIGN BEGGARS 

Saturday, July 20 at Red Room 

Foreign Beggars have been 

making hip-hop, dubstep and drum 

and bass in the UK’s underground 

scene as a collective since 2002. 

This is their final Vancouver show 

ever. 

4 CRANKDAT 

Friday, July 26 at Celebrities 

Nightclub 

His remix of Fetty Wap’s “Trap 

Queen” landed him on summer 

playlists everywhere three years 

ago. He’s since turned down a full 

ride athletic scholarship from Kent 

State to pursue music. 

5 

A TRIBE CALLED RED 

Saturday, July 27 at Squamish 

Constellation Festiva 

Bear Witness and 2oolman merge 

electronic music with hip-hop, 

heavy bass, and elements of Indigenous 

music for a live show that 

can’t be captured in the studio.

BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition July 2019

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?