Cmw Sxsw Showcase W/ The Sheepdogs, Rah Rah, Megan Lane, And More

Canadian Music Week presents: Official SXSW Showcase with the Sheepdogs, Rah Rah, Megan Lane, Reuben and the Dark, Mise en Scene and Grounders Join us alongside our Festival Programer John Kastner and International Consultant David Hazan for an evening of friendly drinks and great Canadian music featuring some of Canada’s hardest rocking and most creative acts. You’re in for a wild night. Want more CMW? Get a full festival wristband for 10 days of music in Toronto, May 1 - 10: http://ow.ly/ImH6c THE SHEEPDOGS The Sheepdogs built their name on hard work and determination. Having funded their first three albums and early years of touring on their own, this rock and roll band’s momentum began to build exponentially with the release of the 2010 album, Learn & Burn (which is now certified platinum in Canada). The band would go on to win three 2012 JUNO Awards (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy): New Group of the Year, Single of the Year and Rock Album of the Year. RAH RAH Rah Rah was crowned “Best New Canadian Band” and “Best New Alternative Band” by iTunes Canada in 2009. The band’s songs have also been featured as iTunes Single of the Week and Starbucks Pick of the Week in Canada. The band has toured incessantly behind their previous two albums, sharing tours with the likes of Minus The Bear in Canada and USA, Wintersleep in Europe and Canada, and label-mates Said The Whale. Their latest album, The Poet's Dead, won the WCMA for Independent Album of the Year (2013), made the Polaris Music Prize long-list (2013), and was nominated for a JUNO award for Alternative Album of the Year (2014). MEGAN LANE Megan Lane is a rock musician from Saskatoon, SK who earned her status as a prodigious guitarist with a commanding voice from her pre-teen years on. From her early days cutting her teeth at all-ages blues jams to a decade working as a full-time musician touring the country and honing her writing and performance skills, Lane emerges as one of Canada’s most surprising guitarists with her fourth release Sounding the Animal. REUBEN AND THE DARK Calgary's Reuben and the Dark is a collection of five multi-instrumentalists and vocalists led by Reuben Bullock. The group makes chilling, emotive folk and soul driven by dark, introspective lyrics that explore the duality of misery and joy. Boasting a rare chemistry between all members across western Canada, Reuben and the Dark has emerged organically from Canada's stellar independent scene on the strength of often anthemic compositions that translate the language of emotion into song with haunting clarity. MISE EN SCENE Though it comes only a couple of years after the EP, Desire’s Despair showcases an exponentially more defined and explosive band, earning them slots at international festivals like SXSW, Reeperbahn, and The Great Escape. The music is clamorous and captivating, with hints of everything from ‘60s pop and alt-country to early punk and garage rock – organic and unadulterated by studio trickery. From Stefanie Blondal Johnson’s powerful leads and subtle harmonies through to Jodi Dunlop’s manic vigor, Mise en Scene don’t pull any punches; in fact, they’re throwing haymakers. GROUNDERS “Where do you go? Waiting around, where do you go from here?” wonders the chorus of “Secret Friend,” the first single from GROUNDERS’ debut self-titled LP. With a dreamy, reverb-drenched intro, the song drifts alongside layers of wobbly arpeggiated synth lines and space-age guitar melodies. It’s the opening track, and it’s also a fitting intro to GROUNDERS . It shimmers and gleams, but there’s a scrappy, stripped-back undertone that chips away at any polish. For every catchy hook and lush arrangement throughout the album there’s a woozy counterpoint that keeps things slightly off-kilter. Follow #CMW2015! http://cmw.net/ http://facebook.com/canadianmusicweek http://twitter.com/cmw_week http://instagram.com/canadianmusicweek