In the rather unique microcosm of the Atlantic Canadian Bubble, artists and performers are returning to work. Rather than the season-long tours they’d usually be performing, they’ve made the best of these uncertain times by finding new audiences and new successes through the medium of podcasting.
Four such podcasts out of Atlantic Canada have very quickly found their stride: James Mullinger’s Mullinger Meets Canadians, the East Coast Music Association’s Radio ECMA hosted by Chris Batstone, critically acclaimed PEI songwriter Dylan Menzie’s Lost in Dreams, and Indie NL – The Podcast for the Unsigned Artist from Fairgale’s Stephen Green and Justin Fancy of Canadian Idol fame. Continue reading Easty Listening: Four New Podcasts From the Atlantic Bubble→
Thanks to the Atlantic Canadian Bubble, August was the month we returned to socially-distanced theatre productions and the briefest of encounters with open-air live music. We might not be ready to dive back in with both feet, but it was nice to have just a taste. The new normal is still a long way off but in the meantime, we sure have a lot of new albums to review.
This month we saw life return ever so slightly back towards some semblance of normal. Whether through a genuine plan to move forward with safety measures properly in place, or a damn-the-torpedos approach, live music is finding a way to happen. Also, Trump is pushing to end democracy in America. Life is about balance though, right?
Despite most of the world coming to a halt in 2020, the music industry hasn’t exactly shut down. It has simply, as the kids say, pivoted. Rather than touring, musicians have used their time release an abundance on new material and left it in our inbox.
Through thorough research and the often uncomfortable use of democracy, The East’s staff have meticulously sorted through each song sent our way until we arrived at our list of The Best Music of 2020 (So Far). Please enjoy responsibly.
For every moment we spend pondering the greater workings and overarching themes of Atlantic Canada’s arts and culture industry, we increasingly find ourselves seeking out a balance as we contemplate some very germane, real-world issues. Things like, if the murder hornets don’t return in July, what will take their place? And if that’s the case, will we have to come who entirely new finishing moves?
