Singer/Songwriter

Join us on Wednesday, August 14th for an intimate concert in The Aeolian's Dave Southen Lounge, featuring the one & only Sarah Smith!

The Aeolian's Save Our Stage Concert Series happens on Wednesday nights throughout August and will feature some amazing local performers!

These concerts are being held to help raise money for some much needed stage repairs, as we get ready to launch our 2019-2020 season!

Save Our Stage Concert Series: Sarah Smith
Wednesday, August 14th
Dave Southen Lounge, Aeolian Hall
7pm (Doors at 6:30pm)
$20 + Eventbrite Fee

----------------

SARAH SMITH

There are few artists who exude the depth of passion, spirit and talent as London, Ontario’s Sarah Smith does on a stage or in a recording studio. Music is more than a vocation for Smith: it is her calling. The combination of her extraordinary personal magnetism, breathtakingly emotive voice and empowering music has created an impressive following of devoted fans and true buzz on the Canadian independent music scene.

Smith lives music, loves music – it imbues every fibre of her being and the result of this all-encompassing devotion to her craft is a catalogue of compelling songs that are deeply personal and revelatory, and mesmerizing in their soul-bearing sincerity – especially in a live setting.

“I am just so blessed. I can’t believe how much I have filled my life with music. Although I have been trying to slow down a bit, I just have this incredible urge to play music. I really love it. Even when I am off the road, something else comes along, like a recording session or I am writing with someone else, or working on a music video. I am always busy with music and I love every second of it,” Smith said.

A working musician her entire adult life, after paying her dues in a number of different bands Smith came to prominence as the frontwoman and primary songwriter for the popular rock act The Joys – a staple on the Canadian club and festival scene beginning in 2005. .

The Joys had songs that charted nationally on Canadian college radio, and won Best Rock Act at the Jack Richardson Music Awards two years in a row. The music of The Joys has also been licensed to everything from Sony PlayStation to Teletoon, OUT TV and Chris & John’s Road Trip. And sales of more than 15,000 albums, primarily off the stage, landed them opening slots for the likes of The Trews, Sloan, Thornley, Big Sugar, Sam Roberts, Kim Mitchell, Robert Plant and Finger Eleven among others.

Seeking a more solitary and introspective creative outlet, Smith boldly stepped out as a solo artist in 2012 and has released three critically-acclaimed CDs, 2012s Stronger Now, 2014s The Journey, and an artistic masterpiece, 11, which was released in 2016. Also on the list of releases for 2018 were a LIVE CD as well as a Christmas CD titled A Christmas Wish. She also released a live DVD in 2015 and has built a substantial and ever-growing audience through more than 250 live performances a year – including becoming an in-demand artist throughout portions of Central Europe.

“I just played a few shows over there and one good show leads to another and the next thing you know there are agents and club owners and even fans calling you trying to get you to play in their town. I think people see that I am legitimate, that I am very passionate about what I do and that the songs and my emotional performance of those songs really connects with people – no matter what language they speak. The fans in places like Germany and Luxembourg and the Netherlands have been so amazing to me,” she said, adding that she continues to work hard at spreading her fan base throughout the rest of Europe and into the U.K.

Her albums feature songs that are emblematic of Smith’s remarkable ability to mine the depths of her heart and soul to create music that is profoundly moving, inspiring and instantly memorable. Songs from it were compelling enough to draw interest from Los Angeles film director Marina Rice Bader, who featured Smith’s music in her compelling film Anatomy of A Love Seen. The CBC series Cracked also featured some of Sarah’s songs.

“I am the worst songwriter because I just write about me and my feelings, my experiences, my emotions and my relationships. I write about my battle with drugs, my newfound inner spirituality and my pain. So it’s kind of like therapy,” she said. “The song Stars is about wanting to hit the road with someone you love and getting lost together – kind of like Thelma and Louise. Into The Light is about the deconstruction of an old relationship and rebuilding it back up into something new and better. Then there’s a song like Empty Void, which is literally about an empty spiritual void that I have tried to fill inside me. It’s a plea to my partner to just hang tight while I go off and try to find something to fill that void; that I will be back and when I do come back, I will know so much more about myself.”

Although Smith has only been a solo artist for a few years, her lifetime as a touring musician, the rigors of the road, a roller-coaster ride of a personal life, battles with demons, defeats and disappointments has shaped her into the strong, self-assured artist that she is today. A fixture on the southern Ontario music scene, Smith has been repeatedly rewarded for her skill, talent and prowess as a songwriter and performer.

She has been named Best Singer Songwriter at both the London Music Awards and Jack Richardson Music Awards on numerous occasions, as well as Best Rock Artist and Fan Favorite. She was also named the Best Adult Contemporary Artist at the Toronto Independent Music Awards in 2015.

As a solo performer, Smith has shared the stage with the likes of Emm Gryner, The Tea Party, Bif Naked and more. She is also fiercely independent, running all aspects of her business operation as well as the creative side. And while she is admittedly not comfortable as a music business schmoozer, she is adept at making the connections she feels are most important – with music fans.

Growing up in a deeply religious home, Smith’s earliest musical education came from child-oriented hymn books and spiritual songs. In high school she heard Alanis Morissette’s explosive and ground-breaking Jagged Little Pill album and, after acquiring her first guitar, a torrent of music began to flow out from her.

“I joined the Columbia House CD club and I remember some of the first CDs I got were by Bryan Adams, The Cars, Chicago’s Greatest Hits, Extreme’s Pornograffitti, Celine Dion … I was just trying to catch up. Then when I was 18 I went to New Zealand on what was supposed to be a school exchange, but I never went to school. I just played music and traveled around. While there I got into the music that was on the radio, including Crowded House,” she explained.

“I also went through this whole phase where I developed addictions and habits with alcohol and drugs – just living what I thought was the rock and roll lifestyle. I guess I was angry and rebellious, but I guess I survived and outgrew all that and am now channeling that energy, frustration and emotion into music. I guess music is my new addiction.”

And it is an addiction that Smith continues to share from coast to coast in Canada as well as with her burgeoning fan base in Europe. As a solo artist, in a duo or full band configuration, Smith commands the attention of concert goers with her riveting personal charm, her infectious energy, her compelling songs, and a voice that never wavers in its emotional honesty, it’s power and its darkly sweet elegance.

It is an experience not to be missed.

Combining timeless melodies with a contemporary folk-rock twist, singer-songwriter Ben Caplan explores the immigrant experience with profound understanding and wry humor on his latest album, Old Stock. Adapted from the acclaimed music-theater piece Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, the genre-warping album is inspired by the true story of two Jewish Romanian refugees coming to Canada in 1908. Through their travails, Caplan weaves a captivating concept album that reflects on modern issues from immigration to religion to sexuality through his dark, funny, and urgently heartfelt songs.

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story has been an international smash hit, winning dozens of awards and performing extended theatrical runs in more than 20 cities. Between theatre performances, Ben Caplan has been touring these songs with his magnificent band. With his enormous beard, unruly mane, intimately booming voice and beguiling charm, Caplan brings a striking presence to the stage.

Carol Welsman, a six-time Juno Award Nominee, is an internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist and pianist whose expressive vocal styling and dynamic stage presence have captivated audiences around the world.

Her recordings have earned her high critical acclaim, including being named one of the Top 5 albums of the year by USA Today (for her album “I Like Men: Reflections of Miss Peggy Lee”).

For her newly released album For You Carol turned to social media and her fans to choose the 15 tracks to be included in the recording, her first solo/piano vocal release.  Over 5000 votes were tabulated and those who participated in the contest were given an executive producer credit in the liner notes.  The tracks that were selected were originally recorded for an album conceived by renowned jazz promoter/producer Takao Ishizuka based on a  decade of promoting Carol’s tours and witnessing her success in Japan.  Originally titled as This Is Carol, it was released on Muzak Records in October 2016, followed by a sold out 10 concert Japanese tour.  The album was the #1 selling CD at jazz retail in Tokyo for six months and reached #5 on their Jazz charts and remains in the Top 20.

Carol is the granddaughter of Frank S. Welsman, founder and first conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a “Distinguished Alumnus” of Berklee College of Music in Boston, and in 2010, Carol’s Peggy Lee Tribute CD was voted Top 5 Album of the Year (all genres) in USA Today. She is fluent in English, French, Italian and Spanish, and she sings in all of these languages as well as Portuguese.

In support of the release of her latest album For You  Carol is currently touring as a duo (with guitar) or trio (guitar and bass) to complement the album music., throughout Canada and the U.S.

“Welsman is that rarest of discoveries: a fully formed artist with the musicality, imagination and looks to cruise to the top of the jazz vocal genre.” Audiences and fellow musicians agree, Carol is an extraordinarily talented musician and one of the finer vocalists and pianists on the scene today.
– Don Heckman, The International Review of Music

“Carol Welsman never disappoints.  Once again she wowed her Regina audience as one of the main headliners for the 10th Annual JazzFest Regina 2018.”
– Peter Champagne, JazzFest Regina Artistic Director

The Aeolian & Pride London Festival are proud to present POESY live at The Aeolian as part of Pride 2019!

POESY is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new Canadian voices. Influenced by innovative enigmatic artists like Kate Bush and Freddie Mercury, as well as 90s alternative rock queens PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, and Alanis Morissette, the Toronto-based artist has formed a gritty and unmistakable sound that demands to be heard. Pairing inspiration from her favourite novels with vulnerable confessions from her own life, POESY’s dark and powerful alt-rock rhythms makes it possible to dance and cry and wonder and hope all at once.

During her 2018 participation in CTV’s The Launch, POESY collaborated with composer/producer Stephan Moccio (Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne) to release the top 40 single Soldier of Love. The track drew comparisons to powerful rock front-women Amy Lee and Florence Welch and set the stage for POESY to be a new alternative voice to watch. She signed a major label deal with Big Machine Label Group in May (2018). Following the national success of the single, POESY went on to give spellbinding performances at several Canadian music festivals.

POESY has since joined forces with acclaimed producer and now-artist manager, Gavin Brown (Metric, Three Days Grace, Billy Talent) to build on her sound and artistic vision. The two have built up an eclectic, intensely emotional body of work to be released soon. Strange Little Girl is POESY’s first single from the project - an unapologetic feminist anthem, uniting unusual girls to step into the spotlight. POESY is a mirror for her audience; a place where they can see their own struggles, fears, desires, and dreams reflected back in an empowering larger than life performance to be shared together. Put simply, POESY is a force.

My Father’s Son, an indie folk song-writer from Montreal, QC, melds together intricate lyrics with the richness of simplified, acoustic sound. Singer/songwriter Mark Kulmala released his first album, Heart of Wood, in the fall of 2016. The album’s themes of fleeting innocence, love’s lost and found, determination, and the simple beauty of the landscape are sure to resonate with listeners.  Having played in varying bands, in a variety of genres, over the years this endeavour sees a paired down amalgamation of lived experiences, both personal and musical, poetically creating emotionally complex but subdued, reflective songs. An air of storytelling colours the music with sentimental and wholly relatable verses that immerse the audience in the beauty of shared experiences.

From festivals, to large halls, to living rooms - My Father's Son has shared the stage with some of Canada's best artists:

Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers, Dylan Menzie, Joey Landreth, Craig Cardiff, NQ Arbuckle, Zachary Lucky, Leyla McCalla, Belle Star, SloCan Ramblers, Carl Dixon, Skydiggers and Damhnait Doyle.

My Father's Son is releasing his sophomore album, The Greatest Thaw, on June 5, 2019. The album was recorded with Paul Pfisterer (The Beauties, RHYE) at Freckles Farm Studio in Chatsworth, Ontario. The album features Broken Social Scene's Lisa Lobsinger and was mixed by Dean Nelson (Beck). Broken Social Scene and Stars Front-of-House Engineer, Martin Davis Kinack, mastered the record.

This show will be a homecoming for My Father's Son, who started his career in London, Ontario before moving to Montreal.

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Ken Yates has steadily grown a reputation as one of Canada's brightest singer/songwriters.  His album "Huntsville", produced by Jim Bryson won two Canadian Folk Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year and New Artist of the Year.  He's received praise from the likes of John Mayer, was nominated as Sirius XM's The Coffee House Discovery of the Year and was recently on tour supporting the artist Passenger.

Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida need no introduction to most Canadians. As individual singer/songwriters—and in Raine’s case his additional body of work with Our Lady Peace—they have earned nearly every accolade their country can bestow, including a joint appointment to the Order of Canada for their efforts benefitting humanitarian causes. But ask them what their greatest success has been and they’ll tell you it’s their 20-year marriage and three sons.

They will also tell you that, like almost everyone in a long-term relationship, maintaining that bond has been a struggle at times. Their advantage is the musical bond they also share, which from the beginning produced songs for their own projects, and hits for other artists such as Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. However, it wasn’t until 2014 that they decided to embark on an entirely new creative path that would see them fully collaborate for the first time. As they seamlessly blended their musical identities, the pair dubbed the project MOON VS SUN and slowly amassed a cache of songs that expressed their thoughts and feelings in a uniquely honest and intimate way.

Live shows followed, and by 2018 the time had finally come to gather everything together and put it all in perspective. The results are an 11-track album - I’m Going To Break Your Heart: Music From the Motion Picture – along with a documentary film and more, which presents Raine and Chantal as no one has ever seen or heard before. “This is such a personal project that we deliberately wanted to do as much of it ourselves and not have any outside forces influence it,” Raine says.

Chantal adds, “That’s basically why it took so long. We didn’t even tell a lot of our industry friends and associates about it until it was pretty much finished. That helped to keep the process feeling natural, which was really refreshing for both us, not having to talk about what we were doing with other people.”

However, she quickly notes with a laugh that they still had to talk to each other. After several years of recording under their own roof, the pressures and distractions brought on by that prompted the couple to temporarily get as far away from their normal lives as they could. Their destination was the French island of Saint Pierre et Miquelon off the south coast of Newfoundland where they completed the bulk of the album and film, and also ultimately reconnected under the extremely isolated conditions.

Raine and Chantal are obviously aware of the risks inherent to opening themselves up as much as they do on I’m Going To Break Your Heart: Music From the Motion Picture, but whatever tension existed is now confined to the songs on the album, such as “Who’s To Say,” “Under The Stars,” and “I Love It When You Make Me Beg,” the last actually being one of their first true collaborations, written long before the idea of MOON VS SUN crystallized.

“Our relationship dynamic is a part of the music, you can’t have one without the other,” Raine says. “I think we surprised ourselves when we wrote ‘I Love It When You Make Me Beg’ because it captured a part of that dynamic without us really trying. That might have put us off doing more for a while because we knew we’d have to keep writing at that level.”

With that thought in mind, the album’s nuances come into sharper focus, particularly on the celebratory first single “Lowlight.” Its opening line, “You said we’re too young for dying, but we’re not kids anymore,” can be interpreted almost as a mission statement—trying to figure out which direction to take next on life’s journey. However, both Raine and Chantal see the song as a bridge between the album’s darker aspects to the hope that arose out of surviving those periods.

Describing “Lowlight”’s conception, Chantal says, “I was half asleep on the sofa when I heard Raine working on this beautiful melody. It made me hop up and get to the piano, and start adding this chant that immediately popped into my head. As the song developed, it became, for me, a metaphor of our creative partnership. We like to bounce off each other’s light—which I suppose is the best way to describe the meaning behind MOON VS SUN.”

A key track for Raine is “I Can Change,” which he says is also the key to the film. “You can see that song being conceived, written and recorded all in a little hotel room on the screen. I still can’t believe that happened. It’s what every artist strives for, and that’s why we do this, to capture some kind of magic. And to have it all on film makes it even more incredible.”

The knowledge of that elusive magic being within their grasp at any given moment is really what is driving the couple right now, and they’re hoping to generate a lot more of it for audiences during their upcoming tour. Chantal understands how fortunate they are to have this additional dimension to their relationship, and both want to see how far they can go within it. “I think every couple has to have that special thing that connects them, which of course doesn’t have to be music,” she says. “If they don’t have it, then the pressures of daily life and kids makes things really hard. I hope that people might get inspired in that way by what we’re doing, because I think when Raine and I play music together, we’re at our best.”

This doesn’t mean that either of them will abandon their individual musical pursuits, but they do acknowledge that the experience of making I’m Going To Break Your Heart has brought about a fundamental change moving forward, one they are more than happy to embrace. “For five years, all of this was just a fantasy for us,” Raine says. “Now it’s tangible, and when we write songs together, we know there can be a purpose to it. And part of that is also having something for our kids that can give them a better understanding of who we are. That’s a good feeling.”

Chantal agrees, saying, “I do think that this has set us up for the rest of our lives, as people and musicians, and that’s the best part,” she says. “Whenever I might find myself on stage again without Raine, I know it’s going to feel weird.”

Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida need no introduction to most Canadians. As individual singer/songwriters—and in Raine’s case his additional body of work with Our Lady Peace—they have earned nearly every accolade their country can bestow, including a joint appointment to the Order of Canada for their efforts benefitting humanitarian causes. But ask them what their greatest success has been and they’ll tell you it’s their 20-year marriage and three sons.

They will also tell you that, like almost everyone in a long-term relationship, maintaining that bond has been a struggle at times. Their advantage is the musical bond they also share, which from the beginning produced songs for their own projects, and hits for other artists such as Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. However, it wasn’t until 2014 that they decided to embark on an entirely new creative path that would see them fully collaborate for the first time. As they seamlessly blended their musical identities, the pair dubbed the project MOON VS SUN and slowly amassed a cache of songs that expressed their thoughts and feelings in a uniquely honest and intimate way.

Live shows followed, and by 2018 the time had finally come to gather everything together and put it all in perspective. The results are an 11-track album - I’m Going To Break Your Heart: Music From the Motion Picture – along with a documentary film and more, which presents Raine and Chantal as no one has ever seen or heard before. “This is such a personal project that we deliberately wanted to do as much of it ourselves and not have any outside forces influence it,” Raine says.

Chantal adds, “That’s basically why it took so long. We didn’t even tell a lot of our industry friends and associates about it until it was pretty much finished. That helped to keep the process feeling natural, which was really refreshing for both us, not having to talk about what we were doing with other people.”

However, she quickly notes with a laugh that they still had to talk to each other. After several years of recording under their own roof, the pressures and distractions brought on by that prompted the couple to temporarily get as far away from their normal lives as they could. Their destination was the French island of Saint Pierre et Miquelon off the south coast of Newfoundland where they completed the bulk of the album and film, and also ultimately reconnected under the extremely isolated conditions.

Raine and Chantal are obviously aware of the risks inherent to opening themselves up as much as they do on I’m Going To Break Your Heart: Music From the Motion Picture, but whatever tension existed is now confined to the songs on the album, such as “Who’s To Say,” “Under The Stars,” and “I Love It When You Make Me Beg,” the last actually being one of their first true collaborations, written long before the idea of MOON VS SUN crystallized.

“Our relationship dynamic is a part of the music, you can’t have one without the other,” Raine says. “I think we surprised ourselves when we wrote ‘I Love It When You Make Me Beg’ because it captured a part of that dynamic without us really trying. That might have put us off doing more for a while because we knew we’d have to keep writing at that level.”

With that thought in mind, the album’s nuances come into sharper focus, particularly on the celebratory first single “Lowlight.” Its opening line, “You said we’re too young for dying, but we’re not kids anymore,” can be interpreted almost as a mission statement—trying to figure out which direction to take next on life’s journey. However, both Raine and Chantal see the song as a bridge between the album’s darker aspects to the hope that arose out of surviving those periods.

Describing “Lowlight”’s conception, Chantal says, “I was half asleep on the sofa when I heard Raine working on this beautiful melody. It made me hop up and get to the piano, and start adding this chant that immediately popped into my head. As the song developed, it became, for me, a metaphor of our creative partnership. We like to bounce off each other’s light—which I suppose is the best way to describe the meaning behind MOON VS SUN.”

A key track for Raine is “I Can Change,” which he says is also the key to the film. “You can see that song being conceived, written and recorded all in a little hotel room on the screen. I still can’t believe that happened. It’s what every artist strives for, and that’s why we do this, to capture some kind of magic. And to have it all on film makes it even more incredible.”

The knowledge of that elusive magic being within their grasp at any given moment is really what is driving the couple right now, and they’re hoping to generate a lot more of it for audiences during their upcoming tour. Chantal understands how fortunate they are to have this additional dimension to their relationship, and both want to see how far they can go within it. “I think every couple has to have that special thing that connects them, which of course doesn’t have to be music,” she says. “If they don’t have it, then the pressures of daily life and kids makes things really hard. I hope that people might get inspired in that way by what we’re doing, because I think when Raine and I play music together, we’re at our best.”

This doesn’t mean that either of them will abandon their individual musical pursuits, but they do acknowledge that the experience of making I’m Going To Break Your Heart has brought about a fundamental change moving forward, one they are more than happy to embrace. “For five years, all of this was just a fantasy for us,” Raine says. “Now it’s tangible, and when we write songs together, we know there can be a purpose to it. And part of that is also having something for our kids that can give them a better understanding of who we are. That’s a good feeling.”

Chantal agrees, saying, “I do think that this has set us up for the rest of our lives, as people and musicians, and that’s the best part,” she says. “Whenever I might find myself on stage again without Raine, I know it’s going to feel weird.”

2018 Polaris Music Prize winner jeremy dutcher

"Tami Neilson is one of the most exciting artists in country music today. She’s bringing to country music what acts like Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings have brought to R&B. " -Jonathan Keefe, Country Universe, USA

With a soulful voice straight from the golden age of country and rockabilly music, Tami Neilson has been described as "A red-hot honky-tonker, somewhere between Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson with perhaps just a little bit of Peggy Lee sophistication.” (-Nick Bollinger, NZ National Radio)

Singing her heart out along endless roads and stages, from her days as a young girl in Canada touring with the Neilson Family band, opening for the likes of Johnny Cash, to her full blossoming in New Zealand as a formidable talent in her own right, Tami Neilson has won the Tui Award for each of her past four albums.

In 2014, Tami was also awarded the APRA Silver Scroll, New Zealand's most prestigious music award for excellence in songwriting, for her song “Walk (Back to Your Arms)”, as well as “Best Female Artist” at the National Country Music Awards and APRA’s “Best Country Song” at the NZ Country Music Awards. The release of her explosive album “Dynamite!” received rave reviews in MOJO, The Guardian (named “Top 10 Best Country Music Album”) and climbed to #1 on the NZ Music Charts. The 5 Star review in the NZ Herald claimed “This world-class album is a major statement from an artist at the top of her lyrical and vocal game.”

Now, just 18 months after “Dynamite!”, this prolific artist has released her follow-up album, “Don’t Be Afraid” to critical acclaim, debuting on the NZ Album Charts and the Independent Music Charts at #1, proving that the powerhouse that is Tami Neilson is a force to be reckoned with.