Music enthusiasts in Winnipeg were especially excited during the weeks leading to the actual 2014 Juno Music Awards because of many musical events that were connected to Juno. I had the chance to participate and attend to some of these Juno-related events, aside of course from having watched the actual awards night.
Play Your Part
This project was spearheaded by visual artist mentors and executed by Graffiti Gallery’s Youth Leaders and funded by the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. It showcased seven colorfully designed pianos set up at selected spots in Downtown, with the invitation to local artists and even ordinary people to play with the pianos and post photos of themselves with the piano on social media. My band haLf man haLf eLf took the opportunity to play some songs busking-style at three of those pianos—MTS Centre (Take Care), Portage Place (SuperFun), and Manitoba Hydro Gallery (Happiano).
Check out haLf man haLf eLf on April 19, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., performing two sets at Sam’s Place Bookshop & Coffeehouse (159 Henderson Highway).
Juno Fan Fare
Held in St. Vital Shopping Centre, the event was a real treat to many music fans in Winnipeg. It featured several artists and bands that included The Trews, Walk Off the Earth, Tegan and Sara, Three Days Grace, Kardinal Offishall, Rich Kidd, D-sisive, SonReal, Jacynthe, JRDN, Trevor Guthrie, Tyler Shaw, Autumn Hill, Dean Brody, Small Town Pistols, Brett Kissel, Gord Bamford, and Tim Hicks. Fans were allowed to fall in line to be able to have autographs from the artists. We were able to have my CDs autographed and pictures taken with Tegan and Sara and Walk Off the Earth. The Trews performed an acoustic rendition of their new single “What’s Fair Is Fair.” Opening the second part of the fanfare was a performance by the Canadian rapper D-sisive. The mall was indeed milling with fans who didn’t mind falling in line just to have autographs of their favorite artists or bands and maybe have the chance to capture a few selfies with them.
Take Me to Park Theatre
We were supposed to watch the first leg of Manitoba Rocks!, which featured WSO-backed-up performances by four local bands Imaginary Cities, Royal Canoe, Nathan Music Co., and The Lytics. However, by the time we got to Centennial Concert Hall, the line was already too long; so we decided instead to check out other Juno-related shows for the evening. We ended up at Junofest at Park Theatre, which featured the Punk bands Pigeon Park, Teenage Kicks, The Flatliners, and Take Me to the Pilot. We got to watch only the opener, Take Me to the Pilot, which delivered a powerful set of catchy, sing-along, melodic Pop Punk reminiscent of the likes of blink-182 and Me First & the Gimme Gimmes. We were hoping to check out a few more venues. We proceeded to Shannon Irish Pub to catch the eclectic Mexican-Spanish-traditional-folk-flamenco-flavored band The Mariachi Ghost. Unfortunately, when we got there, they were already walking off the stage. We missed their set! We went to Times Change(d) to check out the female Folk trio Sweet Alibi. “Sorry, we’re full already,” said the doorkeeper. Exhausted already for having a really long day, we decided to call it bedtime. After all, there’s still the actual Juno awards night to look forward to the following day.
