Saturday – July 2nd, 2022
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in the Tropic of Canada, Lawrence Gowan enjoyed a lengthy and successful solo career with four Platinum and three Gold albums and one Gold single to his credit, prior to joining Styx in 1999 as keyboardist and one of their three lead vocalists.
At age 19, Gowan achieved an ARCT in classical piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
As a solo artist, he released six studio albums in the ’80s and ’90s, leading to a Best Of… greatest hits record in 1997. Gowan’s second album, Strange Animal (1985), was recorded at Tittenhurst Park in England, then the home of Ringo Starr and former home to John Lennon, who recorded his highly influential Imagine album (1971) in the same home studio. Strange Animal went triple platinum in Canada, and the video for “A Criminal Mind” (a song he continues to perform solo and also with Styx) won the Juno Award for Best Video of 1985.
Gowan albums have featured guest appearances from Jon Anderson of Yes, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Jerry Marotta and David Rhodes of Peter Gabriel, Tony Levin of Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, Robert Fripp of King Crimson, and John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful. In 1998, Gowan was invited to play his original piece “Healing Waters” with the BBC Orchestra at the opening of Princess Diana’s Memorial at her home in Althorp, England. Four of Gowan’s songs have been certified with SOCAN (ASCAP) Classic Awards, each having surpassed 100,000 spins on Canadian radio. In 2011 he was awarded a star on the Walk of Fame from his hometown of Scarborough, Toronto Canada.
As a member of Styx, Gowan has recorded four studio albums, three live DVDs/Blu-rays and toured the world over, playing more than 1,600 shows with the band. He continues to abide in the hope that the Gods of Rock will smile upon him for many years to come.
Saturday – July 9th, 2022
Proving there’s strength in numbers since forming in 1997 in Vancouver, indie rock band The New Pornographers’ remarkable success remains a testament to the musical magic that is inevitably conjured when the very talented come together as one entity.
With eight studio albums to its credit – the latest being In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights – The New Pornographers’ winning formula of combining multi vocalists with power pop elements has consistently won the band critical acclaim.
The New Pornographers’ name was chosen by Carl Newman, who has since revealed he came up with it after watching a Japanese film called The Pornographers. Three years later, the band released its debut album Mass Romantic – the first of four albums placed in the top 40 on The Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a band’s album, or a solo album released by one of the band’s members, ranked in the top 40 on that list each year.
But the accolades didn’t stop there. In 2007, Blender magazine ranked Mass Romantic the 24th best indie album of all time. And, in 2009, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band’s second studio album Electric Version at number 79 in its listing of the 100 Best Albums of the Decade.
All of The New Pornographers’ original members were prominent on the Vancouver music scene prior to forming the band. Notable among them is singer Neko Case whose exceptional career as a solo artist saw her release seven albums and receive a Grammy Award nomination in 2014 for Best Alternative Music Album for 2013’s The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You – likely the long song title in the history of music, modern or otherwise.
Alongside Case, the current band configuration features original members John Collins (bass), Dan Bejar (vocals/guitar) and Newman (vocals/guitar). Also in the mix are Todd Fancey (lead guitar), Kathryn Calder (vocals/keyboards/guitar) and Joe Seiders (drums/vocals). Touring with the band as a backing vocalist and percussionist since coming into the fold in 2021 is Nora O’Connor.
Released in 2019, In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights has spawned three singles to date, the first being Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile followed by The Surprise Knock and One Kind Of Solomon. Earlier charting singles in Canada include Your Hands Together (2010), Brill Bruisers (2014) and High Ticket Attractions (2017).
Saturday – July 16th, 2022
Dwayne Gretzky are Canada’s reigning champs of nostalgia and a can’t miss live music experience; a curated nostalgia trip that captures the unique joy of turning a radio dial and being surprised by the familiar. A 10+ piece juggernaut that brings to life the greatest songs of all time, this talented group of Toronto musicians ignites audiences with their charm, fidelity and theatrical flair. Celebrating classic pop and rock, from Fleetwood Mac to Fatboy Slim, Dwayne Gretzky has delivered electrifying renditions of over 700 songs.
Since the band’s inception in 2011, Dwayne Gretzky has developed a fervent fan base across Ontario and parts of Canada on the strength of their live show – performing classic songs with faithful precision in packed venues and major festivals, and playing alongside the Rolling Stones, and being offered other major opportunities that belie the tag “cover band” .
When a pandemic shut down in-real-life gatherings globally, it was expected that the joy felt at a Dwayne Gretzky show would be shelved until further notice. Nobody could have guessed that an 18+ month hiatus on live events would prove to be a catalyst for growth for a group whose bread and butter is packing venues.
However, it’s been the COVID lockdowns that have launched Dwayne Gretzky beyond the “local legend” status they’ve held for years thanks to the success of two epic live streams. For the first time, the Dwayne Gretzky experience was felt by people beyond a festival or music venue, as the band brought the party into people’s living rooms. Over 180,000 unique visitors caught Dwayne Gretzky from home over 2 marquee livestream events.
Dwayne Gretzky’s audience is now more widespread and thirsty than ever before. As we return to “normal”, Dwayne Gretzky continues to shatter conventions and bring people together in a celebration of the songs we all forgot we loved.
