by: Carey Rutherford Bet you’ve never been in a Canadian Standoff before, have you? It’s like a Mexican Standoff, but, more . . . Canadian. It started out innocently enough: Bruce Cockburn was hanging a plaque in Calgary‘s National Music Centre, as part of his Canadian Songwriters Hall of...

by Carey Rutherford The Palamino Smokehouse and Social Club is an interesting place. On a Friday night in April, the evening begins upstairs with the roots-grounded artist Erin Ross, whose folk-rockish set ends around the time the floorboards begin vibrating with the punk music fundraiser...

by Carey Rutherford Tim is back! Not that he’s ever been really gone, but Tim Buckley and his crew are setting up a little tour in western Canada this December, starting here in Calgary. He and co-Tim.buck.two’er Derek Pulliam recorded one of the tracks off of their upcoming album in The...

by Carey Rutherford Irony is the great equalizer in most parts of life, and it is always apparent in good art. Music offers many opportunities for irony, and the best part is when it’s not just hidden in the songs, but rampant in the musical environment, as well. For example, my first musical...

by Carey Rutherford Hey!! Haven’t you been listening to me? Didn’t the less than subtle hints I’ve been dropping about the local (and larger) live music scene register, or stir some moments of musical empathy? I mean, I’ve mentioned the pleasure of Re-Discovering Live Music in Small Places,...

by Carey Rutherford We know it’s coming. Anyone who’s been in this city for a decade has it carved into their forehead by now, and if you’ve lived in Calgary for your whole life you’ve moved from love to ecstasy to disenchantment to avoidance and back to acceptance. It’s like a 12 step...

by Carey Rutherford Isn’t it too early to be thinking about festivals? Isn’t the ‘festival’ intimately associated with the summertime, or at least the growing warmth of spring? Sure, there’s a winter festival, but that’s just for crazy Canucks who actually WANT to be outside in the winter,...

by Carey Rutherford Live music is everywhere: that’s the best part about it. And I don’t just mean on streets when the weather is fine, or in the train or bus stations when it’s not. Do you listen to the music in the media you consume? Do you hear the stuff that’s happening when you go in and...