Playing Hugh’s Room next weekA strange gratitude about TorontoIt has been less a backdrop to this lifethan asprawling rehearsal hallevery decadeleaves one more ghostleaningagainst the wall smoking A unique listening roomstill  standingwhere songs still have a chanceto arrive intactinstead […]

There is sort of a hush in the room just before a solo. A collective inhalation. Everyone present understands that a small trial is about to begin. The audience hopes. […]

It is tricky to make a joke on stage. You can feel people checking whether you’re joking, confessing, or being accidentally honest. A line you thought clearly ridiculous can land […]

Open stage nights are usually modest affairs. A few chairs, tables, a borrowed PA, twelve people pretending not to rehearse in their heads while silently panicking about what they’re about […]

I’m performing in Stratford soon, the town where Richard Manuel first learned how to turn feeling into music. It’s strange and moving to bring my songs into the place that […]

To her, these were songs about the world being wrong. About gatekeepers misunderstanding originality. About experts mistaking sensitivity for weakness. She took pride in her resilience, in the fact that […]

The high school performance was like that Dead song – what a long strange trip it’s been. I sat there listening to them grind through songs from the ancient record, […]