Slowcoaster | |
|---|---|
 Steven MacDougall performing at the Shoreline Festival in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Company House |
| Members | Steven MacDougall Mike LeLievre Devon Strang |
| Past members | Brian Talbot, Jordan Bruleigh |
| Website | www.slowcoaster.ca |
Slowcoaster is a Canadian indie rock band from Sydney, Nova Scotia. [1] The band's sound is rock-based, with strong influences of reggae, ska, folk and jazz. [2]
Slowcoaster was formed in November 1999 by guitarist Steven MacDougall, drummer Devon Strang, and bassist Mike LeLievre. [3] To promote themselves, they founded their own management company, House of Rock, which has since become influential in promoting a number of acts from Cape Breton Island. The band performed locally and toured the Maritimes, releasing two EPs, Jody's Garden and Volume II. [4] Slowcoaster added percussionist Darren Gallop to the lineup in 2002 and released Leaves, with Accidents & Excuses following in 2003.
The band began touring nationally and their debut album, Where Are They Going? was released in 2004. [5] Steven MacDougall's song "Spanish Bay" placed second in the 16th Annual National Songwriting Competition the same year. [6] A video for the single "Patio" was released and saw national play on MuchMusic. [5] Drummer Devon Strang left the band around this time, with longtime collaborator Brian Talbot replacing him. [7]
Slowcoaster came to the forefront of the Maritime live music scene in 2005 and 2006, touring frequently and headlining at Nova Scotia's Evolve Festival [8] and Stan Rogers Folk Festival, New Brunswick's Sunseekers ball music festival, the Canada Day Countdown and Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, and Prince Edward Island's Shoreline Festival. [9]
They won Music Nova Scotia's Alternative Group of the Year award in 2005, and an ECMA award for Alternative Recording of the Year in 2006. [10]
In 2007 the band released Future Radio. [11] A video for the single "Leave" was released in early 2008. They followed up in 2010 with the album The Darkest of Discos , again winning the ECMA for Alternative Recording of the Year in 2011. [12]
Their last full-length album, The Girls Downtown, was released in 2013. [13] They have since released a few further singles independently on their Bandcamp page, most recently "Haunt You" in 2020. [14]
Cape Breton Regional Municipality is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2021 the municipality has a population of 93,694. The municipality was created in 1995 through the amalgamation of eight municipalities located in Cape Breton County.
In the province of Nova Scotia in Canada, Celtic music has played a significant role, both in its traditional forms and fused with other musical styles. Nova Scotia's folk music features traditional tunes brought over from the Scottish Highlands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as localized forms such as Cape Breton fiddle music. In recent years, a wide variety of other musical genres have emerged in Nova Scotia, which has produced several country music stars such as Hank Snow, Wilf Carter, Anne Murray, and Rita MacNeil.
Mary Jane Lamond is a Canadian Celtic folk musician who performs traditional Canadian Gaelic folk songs from Cape Breton Island. Her music combines traditional and contemporary material. Lamond is the vocalist on Ashley MacIsaac's 1995 hit single "Sleepy Maggie", and had a solo Top 40 hit with "Horo Ghoid thu Nighean", the first single from her 1997 album Suas e!. Her 2012 collaboration with fiddler Wendy MacIsaac, Seinn, was named one of the top 10 folk and americana albums of 2012 by National Public Radio in the United States.
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.
Gordon Francis Sampson is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia.
Bruce Guthro was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Guthro recorded as a solo artist, and was lead vocalist for the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig from 1998, until the group retired in 2018. Guthro received several ECMAs, and hosted and conceptualized the Canadian TV show Songwriters Circle, on which guests included Jim Cuddy, Colin James, and Alan Doyle.
Donkin is a Canadian rural village with a population of 532 as of 2021. Located on the picturesque coastline of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island, it is a part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The smaller communities of Port Caledonia and Schooner Pond are directly adjacent to the village proper, connected by a single strip of road called the Donkin Highway.
The Tom Fun Orchestra is a Canadian indie rock ensemble from Cape Breton, Canada. The band features an unconventional mix of electric and acoustic instruments, including violin, banjo, accordion, trumpet, double bass, electric guitars and drums, and have elicited comparisons to acts ranging from The Clash, Tom Waits and The Pogues to The Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene.
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a non-profit association purposed towards supporting the music industry in the Canadian east coast, i.e., Atlantic Canada. The ECMA hosts the annual East Coast Music Awards festival.
Madison Violet is a Juno-nominated Canadian music duo composed of singer-songwriters Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac. The group has been notable for various folk and pop award nominations and wins.
David Myles is a Canadian songwriter and musician born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Myles lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, as of September 2020, moving from Halifax, Nova Scotia. His music has often been labeled folk jazz, although he prefers simply to call it "roots" music. An independent artist who self-releases his albums, Myles has been able to gain an increasingly large audience, in part because of his active touring schedule and in part because of his cross-genre musical collaborations, which include a single made with the rapper Classified that became the biggest-selling rap single in the history of Canadian music.
Alert The Medic is an independent Canadian rock band formed in 2006 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The group consists of vocalist and guitarist Ryan MacDonald, bassist Matt Campbell, guitarist Troy Arseneault and drummer Dale Wilson. Their fourth album Let Them Have Their Fun was released through Cadence Music Group and Fontana North on September 8, 2017.
You Will Land with a Thud is the debut album by Canadian indie rock band Tom Fun Orchestra, released on January 29, 2008, on Company House Records. The album was released to positive reviews amongst Internet reviewers but gained little mainstream attention outside of Nova Scotia.
The Darkest of Discos is the fifth studio album by Slowcoaster.
Mo Kenney is a Canadian singer/songwriter based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Catching the ear of noted Canadian rocker Joel Plaskett while still in school, Kenney released their first album in 2012, which Plaskett produced. Kenney is known for their lyrical prowess and engaging stage presence. Called "Nova Scotia's rising star" by The Scene magazine, they have toured with Plaskett as well as with Ron Sexsmith. In 2013, their song "Sucker" won the prestigious SOCAN Songwriting Prize.
Heather Elaine Rankin is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor. She is most well known as a member of the multi-platinum selling musical group The Rankin Family.
Dylan Guthro is a Canadian singer/songwriter based in Nashville. The son of musician Bruce Guthro, Dylan released his debut album, All That's True, in 2012. In 2015, Guthro teamed up with fellow Halifax singer-songwriters Carleton Stone and Breagh Mackinnon to form the band Port Cities.
Port Cities is a Canadian band based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Formed in 2015, Port Cities is composed of Dylan Guthro, Breagh MacKinnon, and Carleton Stone —each already a singer/songwriter with an established solo career. The band signed with turtlemusik/Warner Music in 2016 and released its debut album in 2017.
Còig is a Canadian folk music quartet from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group consists of Darren McMullen, Rachel Davis, Jason Roach and Chrissy Crowley.
Beòlach is a Canadian instrumental folk music group from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. They are most noted for their 2020 album All Hands, which was a Juno Award nominee for Traditional Folk Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021 and won two Canadian Folk Music Awards for Traditional Album of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year at the 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
