Upcoming Sonic Concert Announcements // Feat. Arkells, Big Wreck, USS, Jenn Grant…..

SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS 
USS‘ NEW WORLD ALPHABET TOUR IN HALIFAX, JAN.21

with special guest REPARTEE  //  #USSNWA

(Halifax, NS) – Following their sold-out #Sixinthe6ix concert series later this fall, Toronto’s most unpredictable duo USS has announced that they will be sliding into 19 cities in 2017 during their New World Alphabet Tour (#USSNWA). Supported by Newfoundland’s Repartee, the tour stops at the Marquee Ballroom  in Halifax on Saturday, Jan. 21.

At the backbone of this upcoming tour is the band’s new album, New World Alphabet. Produced by award-winning Tawgs Salter, the collection’s first single – “Work Shoes” – has earned boisterous praise from radio stations across the country, earning the #3 spot in Canada and making it the band’s third Top 5 single. As “Work Shoes” continues to be the most added, greatest gainer and most increased during its first two weeks at radio, it is anticipated that the remainder of the record, whose track listing will be released later this year, will deliver an even stronger USS.

VIP Packages (including band meet & greet, limited edition USS logo drawstring backpack, exclusive pin pack, collectible hockey card packs, limited edition lithograph and one tour laminate) are available at ussmusic.com.

TICKETS  ON SALE NOW!

Tickets are $33.99 in advance and $38.99 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the etixnow kiosks at the Halifax Forum (2901 Windsor St) and Music Nova Scotia (2169 Gottingen St) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. This show is restricted to ages 19+ with valid ID. Doors open at 7 p.m.
www.ussmusic.com / www.reparteemusic.ca


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS ARKELLS 
IN MONCTON AND HALIFAX, FEB. 14 AND 15
with very special guest Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls

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(Halifax, NS) – Four-time JUNO Award winners Arkells return to the Maritimes, in support of their latest release Morning Report, for performances at the Molson Canadian Centre at Casino New Brunswick in Moncton on Tuesday, Feb. 14 and at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Wednesday, Feb. 15. English folk troubadour Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls is the very special guest for both shows.

“I don’t think we’ve ever toured with such kindred spirits,” says Arkells front man Max Kerman with regards to the pairing. “They embody everything I love about rock’n’roll, and they make us bring our A-game every night. Our biggest shows yet deserve the best lineup, and that’s what we’ve got here.”

Arkells will kick off their 2017 tour dates with Turner on Jan 19 in Silver Spring, MD at The Fillmore. The band will hit several major markets, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City for a special appearance at the Beacon Theatre.

The tour is in support of Arkells’ acclaimed fourth studio album, Morning Report, out now via Last Gang Records, and includes the lead single “Private School”. Produced by Joe Chiccarelli (The Strokes, My Morning Jacket), Tony Hoffer (Beck, M83), Brian West (Sia, AWOLNATION), and Gus van Go (The Stills, Wintersleep). The record showcases the intuitive interaction between frontman Max Kerman and Mike DeAngelis’ intertwining guitars, Nick Dika’s urgent basslines, Anthony Carone’s dulcet keys, and Tim Oxford’s lockstep drumming.

Earlier this month, Arkells released the video for their new single “My Heart’s Always Yours.” The video features the band being observed in a collection of unique art installations. When coming up with a video concept the band decided to turn to Alyssa Pankiw of the interactive media production company, The Young Astronauts.

Watch the video for “My Heart’s Always Yours”

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Moncton tickets are $42.90 and $62.90 (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the Casino Gift Shop, by phone at 1-866-943-8849 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Halifax tickets are $44.25, $54.25 and $64.25 (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the Ticket Atlantic box office, participating Atlantic Superstores, by phone at (902) 451-1221 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Arkells have partnered with Plus 1 so that $1 from each ticket will go to saving lives, revitalizing communities, and transforming global health through Partners in Health Canada. www.pihcanada.org

www.arkellsmusic.com / www.frank-turner.com


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
MOTHER MOTHER
IN MONCTON AND HALIFAX, FEB. 23 – 25

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(Halifax, NS) – Vancouver-based alt-rockers, Mother Mother, are embarking on a Canadian headlining tour in 2017 and will perform at the Tide and Boar Ballroom in Moncton on Thursday, Feb. 23, as well as, two shows at the Marquee Ballroom in Halifax on Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25. Special guest is We Are The City.

VIP packages are available Nov. 25 at 12 p.m. AST and include a meet and greet and acoustic performance by the band, as well as an exclusive T-shirt design by Molly Guldemond. Visit www.mothermothervip.com for details.

Mother Mother will release their sixth studio album NO CULTURE on Feb. 10 via Universal Music Canada. Co-produced by Brian Howes, Ryan Guldemond and Jason “JVP” Van Poederooyen, the new album delivers a timely statement underpinned by the belief that love wins in a society continuously nurturing a fear-based culture.

The pre-order is available now for NO CULTURE and features two instant grat tracks – one is their current single “The Drugs” and the other “Love Stuck” which, until today, has not been available for public consumption. There will also be a special pre-order package that comes with a limited edition clear vinyl copy of the record, four lithograph prints as well as a limited edition poster. Tickets, VIP packages and pre-orders can be purchased via Mother Mother’s website mothermothersite.com.

Watch “The Drugs”: http://bit.ly/2gC8U7K

The JUNO Award and MMVA nominated Vancouver-based band, comprised of Ryan Guldemond, Molly Guldemond, Jasmin Parkin, Mike Young and Ali Siadat, earned critical acclaim with their first two outings Touch Up (2007) and O My Heart (2008). Their next two releases Eureka (2011) and The Sticks (2012) delivered the top 5 radio hits “The Stand”, “Bit By Bit” and “Let’s Fall In Love”, making the band the second most aired alternative act in Canada in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 they racked up more hits with “Get Out The Way”, “Monkey Tree” and “Modern Love” from their much-lauded record Very Good Bad Thing. Since then, they’ve garnered over five top 10 singles on the alt rock charts, over 1.5 million streams on Spotify and over 1.3 million views on Youtube.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Moncton tickets are $35 in advance and $40 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the Tide and Boar and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. This show is restricted to ages 19+ with valid ID. Doors open at 7 p.m. Show starts at 8 p.m.

Halifax tickets are $34.99 in advance and $39.99 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the etixnow kiosks in the Halifax Forum (2901 Windsor St) and Music Nova Scotia (2169 Gottingen St) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. This show is restricted to ages 19+ with valid ID. Doors open at 8 p.m. Show starts at 9 p.m.

mothermothersite.com / twitter.com/mothermother / facebook.com/mothermotherbook / instagram.com/mothermothermusic
wearethecity.ca


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
BILLY TALENT‘S AFRAID OF HEIGHTS TOUR
IN MONCTON AND HALIFAX, MARCH 5 AND 6

With special guests Monster Truck and The Dirty Nil

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(Halifax, NS) – Warner Music Canada recording artists Billy Talent will begin 2017 on a high note, heading out on a coast-to-coast Canadian tour, including performances at Casino New Brunswick in Moncton on Sunday, March 5 and Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Monday, March 6. Joining the band on tour are fellow Canadian rockers Monster Truck and The Dirty Nil.

Billy Talent are touring in support of Afraid of Heights, their new studio album.  The album, their first in five years, topped the Canadian Neilsen Soundscan Top Albums chart upon its release in late July, marking the fourth consecutive #1 album for the group. In addition to the domestic success, Afraid of Heights also debuted in the top spot in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. What’s more, the lead single “Afraid of Heights” also reached #1 on Canadian Rock Radio, joining “Rusted from the Rain,” Stand up and Run,” and “Surprise Surprise” as chart topping hits for the band.  To continue their radio domination, Billy Talent are also releasing their new single “Louder than the DJ” today in conjunction with the tour announcement.

Watch Louder Than the DJ:  https://youtu.be/9jwfOcWsv-E

In the 13 years since their inception, Billy Talent sold nearly one million albums in Canada alone and nearly 3 million albums internationally. Their albums Billy Talent I and II and III have all received multi-platinum certifications, with platinum status for the last studio album Dead Silence. The band has enjoyed tremendous success at Canadian rock radio where they have had three #1 hits that combined for 20 weeks at the top spot, six Top 5 hits, and six Top 10 hits.

TICKETS  ON SALE NOW!

Moncton tickets are $57.90 in advance and $62.90 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at 10 a.m. at the Casino Gift Shop, by phone at 1-866-943-8849 and online at sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Halifax tickets are $49.25, $59.25 and $69.25 (including tax and service fee) and will be available at 12 noon at the Ticket Atlantic box office in Scotiabank Centre, participating Atlantic Superstores, by phone at (902) 451-1221 and online at sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Billy Talent has partnered with Plus 1 on this tour to support two Canadian charities. $1 from every ticket sold goes to support MusiCounts, a Canadian non-profit organization that provides schools with musical instruments  (www.musicounts.ca) and F.U.MS, a foundation that creates a series of events to support Canadian youth affected by Multiple Sclerosis (http://turningangerintohope.com/).


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS 
BIG WRECK in MONCTON and HALIFAX  MAR. 10 AND 11

BRAND NEW ALBUM GRACE STREET SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 3rd RELEASE
Lead Single “One Good Piece Of Me” Is #1 Most Added Track At Rock Radio & Top Downloaded Song For The Week Ending 11/11

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(Halifax, NS) – Platinum-selling rock giants Big Wreck return to the east coast with special guest Ascot Royals for performances at the Molson Canadian Centre at Casino New Brunswick in Moncton on Friday, March 10 and the Marquee Ballroom in Halifax on Saturday, March 11.

To coincide with the tour announcement, Big Wreck are also pleased to announce the release of Grace Street – their fifth full length studio album available everywhere Feb. 3 via ole/Warner Music Canada/Rounder Records. Grace Street is available for pre-order today and features “Skybunk Marché” and the #1 added single at Rock Radio this week, “One Good Piece of Me”.

Their first collaboration with co-producer Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Grace Street is the epitome of sonic diversity, from the heavy grooving “One Good Piece of Me” to the epic seven minute instrumental “Skybunk Marché”, resulting in a trip that lead singer Ian Thornley feels no previous Big Wreck album has taken a listener on before. “Musically, I’m still searching for the stuff that turns me on and takes me somewhere,” says Thornley. “You want to be brought to tears or have the hair on your neck stand up, and if the search for that takes you to new territory then so be it. You have to follow. It’s like chasing a high, and Garth feels that just as much as we do.”

Formed in the early 90s while all members were attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Big Wreck saw early success when their debut album, 1997’s In Loving Memory Of…, garnered the band three Top 10 singles (“The Oaf,” “That Song,” and “Blown Wide Open”), and a double Platinum certification. Disbanding shortly after the release of their sophomore record The Pleasure and the Greed, Big Wreck reunited in 2012 after a decade long hiatus with the release of “Albatross”, which debuted at #5 on the Top 200 SoundScan chart in Canada (their highest debut to date) and hit #25 on the US Billboard Heatseekers chart.

The title-track from Albatross earned Big Wreck the status of being the first Canadian band to hit #1 on the Canadian Rock Radio chart in over a year, a position they went on to maintain for six weeks. Albatross received a 2013 JUNO Award nomination for Rock Album of the Year and earned the band another three Top 10 Canadian Rock Radio singles. Their 2014 follow-up Ghost debuted at #5 on the Canadian Albums Chart and #4 on the US Billboard Heatseekers chart and was Big Wreck’s second JUNO nominated album for Rock Album of the Year in 2015.

Big Wreck is Ian Thornley (Vocals, Guitar), Chuck Keeping (Drums), Dave McMillan (Bass), Paulo Neta (Guitar), and Brian Doherty (Guitar).

Pre-order bundles that include physical CD’s and vinyl are available to purchase from the Big Wreck webstore here.

GRACE STREET Track Listing:

1. It Comes As No Surprise
2. One Good Piece Of Me
3. Tomorrow Down
4. You Don’t Even Know
5. Useless
6. A Speedy Recovery
7. Motionless
8. Digging In
9. The Receiving End
10. Floodgates
11. The Arborist
12. Skybunk Marché
13. All My Fears On You

A limited number of VIP ticket packages are available now for Canadian dates at www.bigwreckmusic.com/vip and include exclusive merchandise and a meet and greet with the band.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Moncton tickets are $39.90 for floor tickets and $49.90 for bleacher seats (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the Casino Gift Shop, by phone 1-866-943-8849 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7 p.m..

Halifax tickets are $39.99 in advance and $44.99 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the etixnow kiosks at the Halifax Forum (2901 Windsor St) and Music Nova Scotia (2169 Gottingen St) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 8 p.m.

www.bigwreckmusic.com / www.ascotroyals.com


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS 
HALF MOON RUN in HALIFAX  MAR.11

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(Halifax, NS) – Canadian indie-rock band Half Moon Run returns to the east coast to perform in support of their latest release, Sun Leads Me On, at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton on Friday, March 10 and the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax on Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m.

Released late last year, Sun Leads Me On is the much anticipated follow up to Half Moon Run’s 2012 critically acclaimed debut, Dark Eyes. The album eschews the alt-folk melancholia of its predecessor in favour of a collective voyage of personal self-discovery.

“Dynamically, this album is pretty great, managing to manipulate the flow not just moment-to-moment during the songs, but track-to-track, trading huge, anthemic rock tunes for quiet introspective folk-tinged ballads.” – Exclaim

Half Moon Run formed in Montreal in 2009 and is comprised of multi-instrumentalists Devon Portielje, Conner Molander, Dylan Phillips and Isaac Symonds. Known for their three-part harmonies and dynamic live performances, the band have performed around the world and opened for Of Monsters and Men, City and Colour and Mumford & Sons.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Moncton tickets are $40.50 in advance and $45.50 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the Capitol Theatre box office, by phone at 1-800-567-1922 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Halifax tickets are $40.50 in advance and $45.50 day of show (including tax and CIF) and will be available at the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office, by phone at (902) 494-3820 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

halfmoonrun.com

Half Moon Run has partnered with Plus 1. $1 from every ticket sold goes to the Native Youth Sexual Health Network. Visit http://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/ for more information.


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
 MATTHEW GOOD IN HALIFAX, MARCH 25
** SOLD OUT **

Performing Beautiful Midnight in its entirety

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(Halifax, NS) – Warner Music recording artist Matthew Good has gone into the famous Bathouse Recording Studio to record new versions of select songs from his most iconic album, Beautiful Midnight.  Good will celebrate the release of this EP, titled I Miss New Wave: Beautiful Midnight Revisited with a 28 date Canadian tour, in which he will perform Beautiful Midnight in its entirety. Good will perform at the Marquee Ballroom in Halifax on Saturday, March 25 at 9 p.m. Special guest is Craig Stickland.   Of the new EP, Good says “I’ve waited almost 20 years to reimagine these songs in the studio; I think I may have actually bettered what some consider my best work.” Produced by longtime Good collaborator Warne Livesey, the new EP features brand new renditions of 5 classic songs from the triple platinum certified album, including “Surburbia,” “I Miss New Wave” and “Load Me Up,” which is still one of Good’s most played songs on Canadian radio.  See below for the full track listing.  Fans can get their first taste of the tracks by clicking here to listen to a clip of the reimagined version of “I Miss New Wave,” with a clip of “Suburbia” coming Wednesday, Nov. 23. Beautiful Midnight was Good’s most commercially successful album, going on to sell over 300,000 units in Canada alone.  In addition, the album was won the JUNO Award for Rock Album of the Year, and the Matthew Good Band received the JUNO Award for Group of the Year.  What’s more, “Load Me Up” was recently selected by VICE as the #1 song on their “Completely Biased Ranking of the 60 Best CanRock Songs Ever” list.

Tracklist

  1. Suburbia
  2. I Miss New Wave
  3. Load Me Up
  4. Let’s Get It On
  5. Born To Kill

TICKETS NOW SOLD OUT Tickets are $38.25 in advance and $43.25 day of show (including tax and service fee) and will be available at the etixnow kiosks at the Halifax Forum (2901 Windsor St) and Music Nova Scotia (2169 Gottingen St) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. This show is restricted to ages 19+ with valid ID. Doors open at 8 p.m. Fans who purchase tickets to this tour will also receive a digital copy of the new EP, which will be released on Dec. 2. VIP packages will also be available in select markets that will give fans the opportunity to attend a sound check performance, have front of the line entry to the venue, a photo with Matthew and more.

MatthewGood.org / @mattgood / facebook.com/matthewgoodmusic / matthewgoodgram


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
BILL AND JOEL PLASKETT
IN HALIFAX, APRIL 20

New album SOLIDARITY out Feb. 17 on Pheromone Recordings

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(Halifax, NS) – Bill Plaskett and Joel Plaskett will perform in support of their upcoming release, Solidarity, due out Feb. 17 (Pheromone Recordings), at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax on Thursday, April 20 at 8 p.m. Special guest is Mayhemingways.

When Bill Plaskett and his son Joel Plaskett get together to write songs the result, as Bill describes it, is “a touch of the traditional mixed in with the new, and a lot of the unexpected, arrived at through experimentation.” The result is Solidarity, an album that welds Bill’s traditional folk leanings with Joel’s long and acclaimed history in the Canadian rock landscape.

While Joel is a nationally adored, JUNO Award winning songwriter, the foundations of his talent began at home with his father Bill, who is an accomplished musician himself and co-founder of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival. “My father has certainly been one of my biggest musical influences,” says Joel. “I grew up around him playing guitars and his love of folk music, particularly music from the British Isles and Ireland is something I’ve inherited from him – artists like Bert Jansch, Richard Thompson, and Paul Brady. Conversely, I have introduced him to some of my favourite records by artists like Those Bastard Souls, Led Zeppelin, and Gillian Welch.”

Bill and Joel’s converging approaches to songwriting left lots of room for both to help shape each other’s songs. Bill says the pair spent a lot of time “figuring out what to play, and what not to play, listening critically to each other, and talking about the results. And then figuring out themes, motifs, and connections.” The result of which is “a complementary but different melodic sense that creates a guitar weave that is unique to us,” says Joel. “Between the 6 string, tenor and tiple guitars, the bouzoukis and mandolas, there are a lot of ringing strings on this album. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The title track, “Solidarity, is a great summation of their collaboration, both lyrically and sonically. “I wanted a song Dad and I could sing together that connected our individual journeys and our personal politics,” says Joel. “The word ‘solidarity’ came to mind and didn’t leave.”

LISTEN TO “SOLIDARITY”: http://bit.ly/2fII1d6

Peterborough fuzz-folk duo Mayhemingways is also along for the ride as opening support and performing with Bill and Joel.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW. Tickets are $39.50 in advance and $44.50 day of show (including tax and CIF) and will be available at the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office, by phone at (902) 494-3820 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

www.joelplaskett.com / www.mayhemingways.wordpress.com


SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
JENN GRANT IN HALIFAX, MAY 13

New album, Paradise, available everywhere March 3

00_DSC_3183 Photo Credit Daniel Ledwell

(Halifax, NS) – JUNO Award nominated singer-songwriter Jenn Grant will perform in support of her much anticipated album, Paradise, due out March 3 (Outside Music), at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax on Saturday, May 13 at 8 p.m.

While Grant’s 2014 JUNO nominated album (Songwriter of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year), Compostela, focused on her own personal experience of loss, this time Grant points the compass towards the epic and intimate and explores a new depth of sound.
“I wanted to explore new soundscapes,” Grant explains when describing how piano came to be the primary song-writing instrument. Grant created new shapes and colours with an array of new instrumentation and song collaboration with producer Daniel Ledwell. “I thought about my singing much more. I feel like I am a completely different artist from when I began performing. I don’t feel like I really heard my own voice until recently.”
With the International success of Compostela, Grant spent three years touring the world and playing to over 300 audiences, both festivals and in concert settings with sold out shows from London to Vancouver. Finally coming off the road, Grant retreated to the secluded studio by her home in Lake Echo, Nova Scotia. What emerged was Paradise- an album that sees a new dimension in Grant’s songwriting with new depths of sonic beauty and melodic landscapes, touching upon balladry, R&B and electronic music along the way.
LISTEN TO THE FIRST SINGLE, “GALAXIES,” HERE

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Tickets are $26.50 in advance and $31.50 day of show (including tax and CIF) and are available now at the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office, by phone at (902) 494-3820 and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

www.jenngrant.com

About the author

Trev

A proud and over-caffeinated husband, father, runner and writer. I've written for the local weekly The Coast for over a decade and have since taken to creating and writing for HAFILAX for even longer. I hope you enjoy the musings of a guy who has loved music for the better part of 4 decades, and has an album of concert tickets to show for it.

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