Head over to our Online News section to read about the Ontario Rocks Charity Concert (www.ontariorocks.org), an upcoming two-day concert in Burlington, ON, benefitting 12 local and national charities. Some great bands are playing, including Toronto punk stalwarts The 3tards.
http://canadianmusician.com/news.php?news_id=208&start=0&category_id=&parent_id=&arcyear=&arcmonnth= 

In other news...

The shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize has been revealed, with the winner set to be announced at the end of September. The Polaris is "a $20,000 prize for a full-length Canadian album, judged solely on artistic merit without regard to genre or record sales," which is why it's credibility is so extremely high, and also why I pay attention to who's been nominated.

While the long list included some favourites like Protest The Hero and Attack in Black (both of whom were widdled away), I really can't compain with the short list, which looks something like this...

Congratulations to Ridley Bent, who won the Galaxie Rising Stars award at this year's Edmonton Folk Festival.  My parents just got back from Edmonton, and said the festival was phenominal. The spent four days there, bouncing between stages, and had glowing things to say about the performers.

Also (who called it?), Lights recently signed a deal with Warner Bros. records after a "huge bidding war between the majors." Congrats to WB - they're onto something big.  Very big.

Finally - Rock Camp For Girls in Peterborough, ON - www.rc4gpeterborough.com.  Always good getting kids into music.

I've got to commend 102.1 The Edge (and likeminded FM stations) out of Toronto for constantly supporting up-and-coming Canadian talent, despite the risk associated with the obscurity and not-so "mainstream" sound of many of these acts.  I've heard the station play "Hail Destroyer" by the Cancer Bats on my drive home (5-6 p.m.; prime airtime), and couldn't help but be impressed.

Anyway, I just heard them blasting the single from U.S.S. on my way back from lunch, which brought this rant to mind. I caught U.S.S. in Grand Bend last weekend and was very, very impressed. Between them, Alexisonfire, Hostage Life, and a slew of others, it was one hell of a weeked of Canadian talent. Oddly enough, the festival was hosted by Barry and Josie from The Edge. Hmm...

I can credit most of my up-to-date knowledge and continually new musical discoveries to the inter-web, and its many music-based websites.  For those of you looking for some new music, or perhaps wanting to share your opinions on music in general, seek out a webzine that covers your genre of choice.

Some of my faves:
www.decoymusic.com
www.punknews.org (crusty old Hot Water Music fans)
www.puregrainaudio.com (Canadian content with a brilliant reviewer...)

Wanted to throw a quick congratulations and thank you to everyone at Universal Music Canada and Underground Operations for the Chad Michael Stewart showcase at the Rivoli last night. The performance was terrific, albeit a bit too short, and hopefully others get the chance to experience this live show in the near future. Plug? www.myspace.com/chadmichaelstewart.

I'll be at the Cutting Edge Music Festival this weekend in Grand Bend, ON, which features quite the list of Canadian performers (including the above-mentioned CMS, Alexisonfire, Lights, and CM coverboys illScarlett), so I'll report back just following the long weekend.

Finally, a sincere congratulations to those involved with the fundraiser for Andrew Middleton. Always nice to be reminded of the power of music.

Mike is currently on his way to Las Vegas for an Event Loudspeakers launch party. Turns out Coheed & Cambria is playing.

I was a big fan of their first two records, but haven't paid much attention lately. They are NOT Canadian; however, if you're a Rush fan (they ARE Canadian) and  starting to feel old in your tour shirt from '79, you might want to give Coheed and try.  I mean, they're not for everyone, and certainly don't match the majesty of Geddy Lee & Co., but they write some interesteing prog rock with big riffs and a high-pitched frontman. I mean hey - my dad likes em'.

I'm sure he'll post in length later on. For now, I'll listen to "Devil In Jersey City" in my office while I update our websites. Have a good weekend.

The next issue of CM has some really great content in the works that covers quite the spread of musical topics. As Mike alluded to earlier, the Home Recording feature looks great, and will hopefully offer some pointers for people looking to make good recordings for less coin.

I'll be hitting the Toronto Independent Music Awards next week, as well as a showcase with Chad Michael Stewart (and Scotty Parker - formerly called Machete Avenue; don't ask me what happened there). I'll post in length after that and before heading to Grand Bend for the Cutting Edge festival (hello, Fear Before the March of Flames). Listen to Standfast.