Go North Music Festival Band Spotlight: Elliott BROOD

Last, but certainly not least: your Juno-winning Go North festival headliners Elliott BROOD.

For us in 2009, Elliott BROOD is where it all began. We first met in person at an Elliott BROOD show at the Majestic Cafe in Detroit, two Radio 3 bloggers doing what the community still does: meet up to share our love of the music and support the artists who make it. In those days, the band was still handing out wooden spoons and garage sale pots and pans for a raucous "Write It All Down For You." We still think their second full-length album, Mountain Meadows, is one of the most perfect Canadian indie albums ever made.

Their latest album, Ghost Gardens, is as nostalgic and poignant as those cherished memories, with of course some signature dark and cavalier foot stompers. In between, there was Days Into Years and a Juno for Roots & Traditional Album in 2015 for Work and Love. In between, we've been to The Ark in Ann Arbor to Bell's in Kalamazoo to Lee's Palace in Toronto to Windsor and Detroit again to see them. And this weekend, on Sat. Jul. 14, we'll be seeing them on St. Joseph Island.We hope to see you there.


Go North Music Festival Band Spotlight: Shred Kelly

If you haven't made plans for next weekend, now's the time! Tickets for the Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island, Ontario are only $40 ($15 for attendees ages 13-18) until the day of the festival. Wait for the gate on Sat., Jul. 14 and they're $50. Still a bargain for a great line-up of artists that includes Shred Kelly.

Over the years, some bands have become really special to us, and Shred Kelly is one of them. We discovered them in late 2011 at Windsor's Phog Lounge, and fell in love forever with their folk on steroids, fueled by Tim Newton's blistering banjo. They've delivered some of our most memorable shows, like NXNE 2014 at the Dakota Tavern, regularly appeared on our top show lists, and played at our wedding in Trinity Bellwoods in 2013.

Perhaps best known for their anthem "I Hate Work," we're also in love with their newest album, Archipelago. It's their most mature work to date, and really shows, and showcases, how far these shredders from the slopes of Fernie, B.C. have come.