by Sheldon Birnie

Well, friends, the grass is turning green, the trees are budding, and sleeves are being cut off t-shirts at an alarming rate. That can mean but one thing: Festival Season is upon us, Manitoba! Get ready! Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

It’s playoff time, folks! If you haven’t been utterly bummed out by the results thus far, keep your chin up; the Sharks are bound to go all the way. Right?

With the Jets dead in the water by the third period of their final game, three out of four Canadian teams out of the running in the first round, and summer bearing down on us like a freight train, it’s understandable that many are losing interest. But not the hockey diehards!

Last week, we spoke with Canadian songwriter Jay Aymar on his way down the Hillbilly Highway. Aymar has written one of the best hockey songs going, and it got me thinking that the time is right for a Top 5 Round-Up about the Best Game You Can Name. So here goes. Game on! Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

Toronto based troubadour Jay Aymar is hitting the road for his fourth cross-Canada tour, making an early stop in Winnipeg at the Folk Exchange on Friday. Aymar has been writing songs for over 20 years, going hard at it in the 90s before applying the breaks a bit until a song of his jump started his performing career a few years back. With a keen eye for the details of everyday life, and a storyteller’s approach to the narrative form, Jay Aymar is a great Canadian songwriter slugging it out on the Hillbilly Highway. He checked in with us just before hitting the road on Tuesday. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

Country  music lost a legend last week. George “The Possum” Jones was quite simply country music’s greatest singer, one of its greatest songwriters, and a legendary personality who will never be seen again in Music City. As the old adage goes, “they broke the mold when they made George Jones.” Amen. Continue Reading »

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by Sheldon Birnie

Last week, I was deep in the desert of southern California, waiting on Coachella festival to get cranked up. Of equal interest to me, though, was the proximity of Coachella to the Joshua Tree National Park. Perhaps most famous among pop music circles for inspiring arguably U2′s best album (if you can stomach any of them, that is), this beautiful space holds a special place in the hearts of country-rock fans as the spiritual home of Gram Parsons. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

Chasing a Song is a brand new documentary from local filmmaker Charles Konowal. Some of y’all might remember Charles’ work on Happily Dysfunctional: The Story of Transistor 66 Records. Konowal’s latest is a study of the art of songwriting, by way of local songwriter Scott Nolan, who Konowal met while working on Happily Dysfunctional. The film is a beautifully shot, stirring contemplation of what makes Nolan tick as an artist, with some special appearances from Bobby Stahr and Jesse DeNatale. Shot in Winnipeg, Oklahoma, and Folsom Prison in California, Chasing a Song takes the viewer on quite the trip along the Hillbilly Highway. Stylus caught up with Konowal recently to chat about the making of the film. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

If you were anywhere near Twitter this week, or the decrepit social media hulk that is Facebook, you probably heard about Brad Paisley’s new tune “Accidental Racist” and the shitstorm of vitriol it inspired in pretty much everyone. After getting lambasted online, Paisley took to Twitter to defend the tune, telling folks he wrote the tune to “evoke feelings” and “wouldn’t change a thing about it.” Continue Reading »

by Kabir Kaler

Hello and welcome to another issue of Kollection. Today I will take you through a game I actually waited for years to play on my PC called Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. Continue Reading »

by Kabir Kaler

Hello and welcome to Kontroller.  Today I will be talking about a game that brings something new, yet is a little nostalgic, called DMC: Devil May Cry.

Before I go on I need to say that this DMC is a new game with its own timeline that is completely separate from previous Devil May Cry entries. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

One of the hardest working bands in rock n roll is hitting Winnipeg this week, and I for one could not be happier.

Lucero are a long-running, hard-touring band out of Memphis, Tennessee. Having been out on the road for well over a decade, playing up to or over 200 shows a year, the band are far from slowing down, even as they edge into their 40s. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

The Hillbilly Highway from Winnipeg to Austin and back was a long, winding, and often ice covered one. But we made it. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

Well, friends, I’ve been in Austin for less than two days, and I’ve been to the White Horse Tavern twice.

The bar is a classic roadhouse, serving up cans of Lone Star on the cheap and pumping out foot stompin’, honky tonkin’ tunes. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

Winnipeg’s Matt Colpitts (aka The Reverend Rambler) has been slowly building himself a reputation around the Heart of the Continent as a dynamic performer and an authentic songwriter — not to mention the city’s best one-man-band. Continue Reading »

by Sheldon Birnie

I’ve been a big fan of Memphis, Tennessee’s Lucero for years now. So when it was announced late in 2012 that the band would be finally playing in Winnipeg, I nearly lost it. I immediately contacted their management to arrange for an interview. After some back and forth in January, I finally completed a nice little chat with Lucero guitarist Brian Venable last week. Continue Reading »