Sarah MacDougall

Every year at the Winnipeg Folk Fest I manage to stumble upon some music that I wasn't planning on seeing but end up loving. Sarah MacDougall is my random find this year. Her music really spoke to me and left me with a feeling of peacefulness and calmness.

I dunno, maybe you'll enjoy her beautiful voice too!

 

I feel like a Buddhist

If you're like me at all, then I know you're hyped for the 40th anniversary of the Winnipeg Folk Festival. In less than two weeks me and about half of Wolseley will cruise our bikes up to Birds Hill Park for 5 days of friendship, jokes, eats and great music.

This year's going to be special. I have that feeling you get deep down in your stomach that isn't excitement or nervousness, but giddiness. I feel like a kid again!

Here's Whitehorse - The dude Luke Doucet is a solid Wolseley boy!

This guy's from Quebec, and I lived there for a few years, so naturally I'd like him. He'll play the main stage on Friday night.

Summer gems

If you haven't heard this track yet, you will soon. From what I understand this band and song is taking Europe by storm. I can see why, it's so catchy.

Here's another gem I stumbled across the other day. We all know the original but to me this might take the cake. Most of my friends disagreed with me ;)

That's all I got for now. If I find any other gems I'll make sure to let you know.

Folk Festival 2013

On Saturday the 16th of March the Winnipeg Folk Festival released the line-up for this summers upcoming festival. I must say that I'm one person who is very excited about the performers this year and went out and purchased my ticket later that afternoon.

Folk Festival for me is a tradition. I've attended the festival since I was a kid and know that it's a place where I will bump into old friends. It is also a place for me where I seem to make peace with myself and the world around me. The experience differs from year to year, but the positivity that the festival instills in me always seems to remain the same. 

This week on the Morning Hike I will be featuring many of the performers so the listeners can gather a greater understanding of some of the talent that will be featured this year.

Here's a taste of what you can expect on the Hike this week. 

A face for radio

A few weeks back some buddies of mine came into the Red River Radio studio and shot Mike Cuma and myself in action.

Not bad boys, not bad.

But you be the judge.

Two things

First of all I just want to say how proud I am of my classmates hard work in promoting Red River Radio. I can say this jokingly and that is what do you do when you want to get noticed? Send in the cute girls.

Red River Radio made it to the front page of the Red River College website.

The second thing is that I have a new favourite song that is sung by a Canadian and is about one of Canada's most beautiful geographical regions.  

More good music

As the Morning Hike on Red River Radio keeps on keeping on the music seems to keep getting better as well. Just this past week station manager Dan uploaded a ton more great local Canadian Indie music. One thing that I can definitely say has contributed to the success of this new online radio station Red River Radio is the quality of music that the station manager has programed.

Here is a song from a Canadian Folk Rock band City and Colour that has just the right amount of harmonica. I must admit I am a fan of the harmonica but this gem by City and Colour is one I think even non supporters will enjoy.

Ahmadou this one's for you.

When I was younger, I spent some time living overseas in Ghana. While living in Ghana, I become best friends with a man from Senegal, Ahmadou. Ahmadou I miss you buddy and wherever you are today I'm sure you're doing just fine and spreading that positive vibe. I dedicate this track to you, and my memories of you and time spent in Ghana.

Mac Demarco

One perk about waking up at 5:30 am to do a morning radio show is that you're constantly looking for new music to share with your listeners. What this means is that while you're trying to make your listeners happy you also get to discover new music for yourself. One young Canadian musician who has caught my attention lately is a young man from British Columbia Mac Demarco. 

Demarco's great and has a very different sound. His lyrics are clever and his style is unconventional. I have been listening to him via Youtube videos for the past week and have given him plenty of play on Red River Radio. 

Here are a few gems I have enjoyed by him through my quest of discovering this young Canadian musician.  

Good stuff from a prospective young talent. 

The boys are back

After a longish break the boys from the morning show are back on Red River Radio. The holiday season is supposed to be relaxing, it’s supposed to be a time you spend with family and loved ones, and it's supposed to be a time that you recharge the batteries. However if your family is anything like mine, you know that there's no recharging of the batteries. It's simply, go go go. 


I did however spend lots of time with family and loved ones. I bought my 3 year old nephew his first pair of hockey skates and got to start giving him skating lessons. That was probably my highlight over the holidays. 

All that been said I am very happy to be back on air, playing my favorite music and telling stories and jokes with a friend. Being away from your work gives you lots of time to reflect about what you like about what you're doing and what you want to improve on. And being away for over a month has reinforced my belief that the best shows I've produced weren't well planned or organized. They were shows where we talked about stuff we were passionate about and stuff that we knew about. 

So my advice to anyone who is starting a new radio show or wants to get into radio is this. Talk about things you're passionate about, tell the truth and don't talk about things you don't know about. I know it sounds so simple but if you follow those three pieces of advice your listeners will respect you and enjoy listening to you.

So to end this blog I just want to say happy new year, and may 2013 be your year to do those things you've always wanted to do. Go get it, 2013 is your year if you want it to be.
Here is a band I've just discovered and I think they're great. Maybe you will too.