Victoria singer-songwriter Steph Macpherson hopes that, by the end of the month, she will have realized her dream of working with Grammy-nominated performer Colin Linden.
To get there, she’s looking for some help from her supporters.
Macpherson, who moved from to Terrace to Victoria when she was an infant, is past the halfway mark of her crowdfunding campaign to raise $5,000.
The money will get her to Tennessee so that she can record with Nashville-based Linden, who extended an offer to Macpherson after hearing her song Bells & Whistles on the radio. Through her Victoria-based record label, Cordova Bay Records, Linden offered to produce her next record, should she be able to make her way to Nashville for the sessions.
It’s a big opportunity for Macpherson. Linden, who is a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, is one of Canada’s best-loved roots performers, with a resumé that includes work on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and a brief tenure in Bob Dylan’s band.
Could his magic touch be the key in breaking Macpherson, a longtime local favourite, to a wider audience?
She has raised $3,000 so far through her crowdfunding campaign, which wraps on Nov. 28. Learn more about the incentives being offered by visiting her Indiegogo page at igg.me/at/stephmacpherson.
The video for Bells & Whistles is available at timescolonist.com/entertainment.
Hamilton rockers the Arkells have one of the best Can-rock records of the year out in stores, so fans can expect news of their upcoming Canadian tour to be met with a mad rush at the box office.
The Juno-winning band, which released High Noon in August, sets out on its winter tour in February. The run of dates includes a Feb. 21 date at Sugar nightclub in Victoria, tickets for which went on sale Friday.
Tickets are $22.50 and are available at Lyle’s Place, Ditch Records and ticketweb.ca.
To watch the video for the band’s single, Come to Light, visit timescolonist.com/entertainment.
Nearly three decades after British pop act Johnny Hates Jazz scored a hit with Shattered Dreams, local group LABS has taken their cover of the 1987 chestnut to the bank.
The electro-pop duo, which features Victoria performers Adam Sutherland and Lindsay Bryan, earned second place in LG 104.3’s vanCOVER contest, the likes of which earned the new act $1,000 in prize winnings.
The Vancouver radio station’s vanCOVER Program salutes the greatest hits of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Each month, the station awards up to $5,000 in prizes to B.C. artists.
For more information on the contest, visit lg1043.com.
Hear the second-place song from LABS, at timescolonist.com/entertainment.
Due to audience demand, the Kim Churchill concert scheduled for Rifflandia HQ on Nov. 19 has been moved to Distrikt nightclub.
All original tickets will be honoured, according to organizers. Opening guest Mo Kenney is still on the bill and the starting time (7:30 p.m.) will remain the same.
Tickets are available for $20 at Lyle's Place, Ditch Records, the Strathcona Hotel and ticketweb.ca.
Country music continues to surge in popularity on Vancouver Island, which led to more country-related concert announcements this week.
Aaron Pritchett is headlining a concert at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall on Jan. 15, while fellow B.C.-based star Chad Brownlee will appear at Market Square on April 3.
Pritchett will appear with Cory Marquardt and King & Cash. Tickets are $30 at Lyle’s Place, The Duke Saloon and ticketzone.com.
Brownlee will be joined by Jess Moskaluke and Bobby Wills.
Tickets are $40 at sunfestconcerts.com.
Those of you not already on the Neon Steve train now have a good reason to follow the Soundcloud page of one of Victoria’s fastest-rising acts.
The popular DJ and producer, who can be found most weeks on one of the many stages inside the Strathcona Hotel complex, joined forces last month with a Calgary duo Smalltown DJs and Vancouver rapper Shad for Bad, a banging party jam.
The track and other speaking-crunching goodies are available as a free download through soundcloud.com/neonsteve.
To hear Bad, visit timescolonist.com/entertainment.
The Victoria B.C. Ska Society is branching out with a Remembrance Day gig that will bring one of the U.K.’s most acclaimed electronic acts to Victoria for only the second time.
The Bug, the nom de plume of producer Kevin Martin, will play Distrikt nightclub on Tuesday with MC Manga, Dia-Nos and Kirtay. Martin’s previous Victoria appearance was a harrowing Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre set on the Nine Inch Nails bill in 2008.
The Bug is touring Angels & Devils, which has received unanimous critical acclaim since it was released in August on the Ninja Tune label.
Tickets are $14.50 at Lyle’s Place, Ditch Records, The Reef and ticketweb.ca. Doors at 9 p.m.
Victoria can add “No. 1 coolest barber on Instagram” to its list of widely-applauded attributes.
The current issue of Details magazine features a mini profile on Matty Conrad, the hairstylist, photographer, and master barber behind Victory Barber and Brand on Blanshard Street and Lab Salons on Johnson Street.
He bested stylists and barbers from Los Angeles, London and New York for the honour of No. 1 coolest barber on Instagram.
His work can be seen at instagram.com/mattyconrad.