This month’s playlist is all about celebrating the final days of summertime! Although we still have almost two months till fall, it feels like it’s coming so quickly. Enjoy the rest of the summer, and hopefully this music will set the right mood for you to do so!
California has Coachella, we have Osheaga! My adventures this year at Osheaga were certainly very fun, despite the extremely crowded festival site! Filled with a carefully crafted selection of some of the best bands, booths and food trucks, this festival certainly did not disappoint it’s festival-goers! Some of the headliners this year at the weekend-long festival were Outkast, Jack White, Lorde, Arctic Monkeys, Foster the People, HAIM, Band of Horses, Sam Roberts Band, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Chvrches. All the performers that I saw were amazing, but I did have my favourites of the day! Here’s a recap of my top moments on August 3rd, 2014 at Osheaga.
Matt Mays was the first to perform on sunday, and he was great! The crowd hadn’t all arrived yet, and so it was intimate for a big stage performance, and the Canadian singer/songwriter was fantastic!
Foxtrott, an up-and-coming techno-fusion project from right here in Montreal. Very interesting, and definitely captured the audience and took you into a fantastical, dreamy zone. 
Vance Joy, a recent favourite of mine, performed all of his best songs, including Emmylou and Riptide. Love, love, loved him!
Kodaline performed a small, acoustic set a few hours before their actual performance. It was intimate, with a crowd of no more than 60 people, and their no-mics, no speakers rendition of All I Want had the entire crowd singing along.
The Kooks, one of my favourite bands, didn’t fail to disappoint! They played their hits, and their energy was perfect for the hot, summer day! They had us all dancing to naive, Junk of The Heart and She Moves In Her Own Way.
Kodaline’s actual performance was also amazing. They had a fantastic set and their love for music made us love their fantastic music.
Ah, my loves, Half Moon Run. They were the main reason as to why I chose sunday as the day to go to Osheaga. They are hands down one of my favourite bands and I was so happy to see them live for the first time. I swooned over their performances of Call me In The Afternoon and Need It, among others from the set.
Showing my support!
The H&M Loves Music Booth at Osheaga, equipped with purple umbrellas and pretty lights! 
See you all next year!
Last night, The Fray took the stage at Metropolis, following opening bands Oh Honey and Barcelona. All three bands wowed the crowd and left us wanting more! Starting with Oh Honey, an indie-folk rock five piece band, who had the crowd dancing with their sweet male-female harmonies and uplifting melodies. Next was Barcelona, an electronic pop band who’s smooth, mellow tunes set a very relaxed vibe that I very much enjoyed. And then of course, The Fray came on, playing all the crowd favourites, as well as a selection of new, and very different (in a good way!) songs!
Oh Honey.
Barcelona.
The Fray.
The Fray brought out both opening bands on stage with them for their final song of the night!
Meeting Barcelona!
Meeting Oh Honey!
Eclectic, folk-country sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg have set the bar very high as First Aid Kit. Their latest album, Stay Gold, is the perfect mix of magic and harmony. Each track is embellished with mesmerizing harmonies and hypnotic sounds that make you feel as though you’re lying in a field of daisies. It’s liberating, enchanting and spellbound. The duo feature a variety of different instrumentals, from violin to flute, incorporating orchestral sounds to the album. The lyrics are powerful, symbolizing love, hope and freedom. They pull you in, and leave you wanting more by the end. Top 3: Stay Gold, Cedar Lane, Shattered & Hollow.
Synths, keys and dance-like beats are omnipresent in this electro-pop album by Foster The People. From fast to slow and everything in between, Mark Foster and his band capture this eccentric genre in all their own ways. After their out-of-this-world, debut album Torches, somehow Foster The People surpassed all expectations with the complexities of this new album. Supermodel is the rebirth of self-doubt and struggle wrapped up into eleven amazing songs. Not to mention each track fits into the ultimate party mix perfectly, with catchy lyrics and awesome grooves. Top 3: Ask Yourself, Best Friend, The Truth.
The debut, self-titled album of Jungle is a remastered throwback of the 1970’s. Combining funk, soul, disco and, somehow, dubstep-like electro, this London-based band plays with your mind by mixing in various psychedelic sounds. Leading with a prominent and pulsating bass, each track is hip, groovy, and makes you wanna dance to the beat. Jungle arose from out of nowhere and hit us all with a fantastic array of beats, crazy-cool effects and fantastic melodies. Power and passion make this album a strong success in the music business. A modern rendition of hardy, old soul music. Top 3: Platoon, Drops, Time.
This past week, I spent travelling back and forth from Montreal to Ottawa and back again. It was so worth it. My friends and I went to the RBC Bluesfest, a week long outdoor festival in Ottawa, Canada. What an amazing experience! We came across the festival because a few of our favourite bands were performing. It’s not the most popular festival out there, with only around 27 000 people, but this was the perfect number. Each show felt intimate, and with the three main stages, there was plenty of space to roam around. We managed to get front row for almost every show we wanted to see (that’s the only way to capture great photos!). Plus, the bands could see, and often remember, us girls in the front row because we were so close!
My favourite thing about festivals is being able to see so many different bands in the span of one (or three) days! I love it even more when I can discover some new bands! These are all some of the highlights from the festival, whether they’re bands I’d known for a long time or some I’d just discovered at Bluesfest. Most of our time was spent at The River Stage, the smallest stage of the festival (and the best!). However we did roam to the other two, larger, stages and caught some great acts.
Kale Mattson performing with his band. The first act we saw at Bluesfest!
A lot of the bands roam around throughout the festival and catch other performances, so it’s pretty normal to spot them in the field and strike up a conversation. We ended up spending quite a bit of time with Kale on the first day.Ever seen pink port-a-potties? Thought it was cute!Langhorne Slim & The Law.
Deer Tick.One of the food booths was of smoothies, and this Strawberry Banana smoothie was to die for. I think I had one every day!Waiting in line for the big day. We were going to see Jake Bugg again, and made sure to get front row!Jenny Lewis.Don Felders, guitarist for the Eagles, and his band.
Jake Bugg!One of my friends is in love with Jake, and so naturally, we waited after the show to meet him.Holy Ghost.Trombone Shorty.
Summertime is, in my opinion, the best time of year. Maybe I’m a little biased, seeing as how my birthday is in July, but it just seems as though everything good happens to me in the summer. Plus, it helps that I don’t have school, and my days (and nights) are much more open. Summer represents freedom; the days are so much longer, there are so many more possibilities to keep you entertained.
It just so happens that this summer is working out perfectly for me so far. I’ve been so busy with friends, family, at concerts, performing, etc that I don’t even realize how fast the summer is going by! My band The DayDreamers won a competition that’s putting us on the radio soon, and we just played another show that was a huge success. I know there will be so many more opportunities and I’m looking forward to coming events throughout the rest of Summer 2014.
P.s. I didn’t want to be redundant on the playlist, but I strongly recommend Foster The People’s new album Supermodel. It’s amazing!
Last night, I had the privilege of seeing both Albert Hammond Jr. and Phoenix live at Metropolis in Montreal. What an amazing concert! Both bands wowed the crowd and had my friends and I dancing like crazy in front row!
The opening act was Albert hammond Jr., whom we saw at Jake Bugg. I had gotten these tickets for my friend Tiana as a birthday present, and we both knew it was because of Albert. He’s such a talented musician, and it’s all the better that he’s a Strokes member (one of our favourite bands)! This time, we were prepared for the band. We arrived with signs, and he noticed us immediately. We basically had conversations with Albert and the lead guitarist Mikey. We became known as the front row girls, and Albert even shouted out a song for us, saying ‘this one’s for the girls in dresses’ (We were all three wearing dresses).
We didn’t think the night could get any better, and then Phoenix came on. WHOA. I saw them perform last year at Osheaga, but it must’ve been the front row vibes we were getting, because this was a performance. They tore up the stage. Thomas, the lead singer, almost crowd surfed three times and actually crowd surfed once, he grabbed my hand twice, and he sat down on the ledge right in from of the stage (and us) and sang to us. Not even a foot away. It was amazing.
After the concert, we (obviously) went to the back and met the members of the bands! Unfortunately, Albert had left, but we still met Mikey and Jeremy, his drummer, as well as three of the members of Phoenix.
Jeremy, drummer for Albert Hammond Jr.
Mikey, lead guitarist of Albert Hammond Jr.
Christian Mazzalai, guitarist/bassist for Phoenix
Deck d’Arcy, guitarist/keyboards for Phoenix
Thomas Mars, lead singer of Phoenix
This saturday my band The DayDreamers, performed at the Pointe-Claire village street festival, Spring Fest. It was a wonderful experience and we were extremely well received! To all you Montrealers out there, my band will be playing at the Duck Race in Valois Park on saturday June 14th around 2pm! Hope to see you all there!
For more of our information, you can check out our website: http://thedaydreamers.ca
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well!
Happy friday everyone! I hope everyone had a great week! I’m finally on time for a playlist!!
This one is themed Covers, because it is all covers from mostly famous artists and a few of my favorite Youtubers. I’ve been listening to a lot of covers lately, and it seems they’re becoming more and more of a new trend. I don’t know if any of you arch Grey’s Anatomy, but this season has been filled with covers of popular songs from the 1980’s primarily covered by artists such Sleeping At Last, Aron Wright and The Wind & The Wave. They’re all absolutely amazing!! Another one of my favorite sources for youtube covers is on Youtube, specifically BBC Radio 1. They host a variety of different, well-established artists and record them performing live covers in the lounge. One of my favorites was Ben Howard’s cover of Call Me Maybe. I definitely recommend watching it. Not only is it musically perfect to my ears, but his personality shines when he’s performing this song, which is on a completely different ball park as his own works. I also adore Ed Sheeran and Passenger’s mashup-cover of No Diggity and Thrift Shop. It’s so different from either originals, and it’s a complete breath of fresh air. Oh and… You know what, I really love them all! I totally recommend taking a listen to these on youtube, you’ll be impressed!
Last night was the night. The Daughter concert had officially arrived, and it was amazing. One of my good friends, Tiana, and I spent the day downtown, but headed to the venue at around 3:30 to wait in line to get front row. It was so much fun, and thank god it was a warm day because we waited outside for a good three and a half hours.
The concert started at 8pm, and we were front row, right in the centre! The opening band was a local find, Pang Attack. They were excellent! Reminded me a bit of The National, another great band. They played all the best songs from their newest EP, Dreamer’s Drug.
Daughter came on at around 9pm. Words can’t even describe how amazing they were. The time flew by, it felt as though they only played for five minutes! They performed with such passion and intense emotion, it was so beautiful. I was blessed to be in their presence.
Once the concert had ended, we stepped outside and ended up meeting the opening band. The best part, after the concert that is, was actually being able to meet Daughter. First, we met the bassist/keyboardist, Luke Saunders, and he was so sweet and polite. He singed my concert ticket, and we got to snap a pic together.
It really became the perfect night after I met lead singer Elena Tonra. She, playing a huge role in my life and being one of my greatest inspirations of all time, was such a beautiful person. Kind, sweet and extremely humble. I was so happy to have been able to meet her, speak to her, and even take a photo together. She too signed my ticket stub, and after I got the opportunity to hug her and tell her how much she meant to me, my life was complete.
It was truly one of the best nights of my life, and I am so grateful to have such an amazing friend who came along with me on my wonderful adventure. Special thanks to my dad as well, who waited around until I met Elena, and filmed the entire meet!
The opening band, Pang Attack.
Elena Tonra of Daughter
Igor Haefeli, guitarist/bassist of Daughter, You can also see Luke in the background as well.
Meeting the lead singer of Pang Attack.
We met, and spent time chatting with Luke Saunders of Daughter.
Meeting Elena Tonra of Daughter!
What an amazing memory! I will never forget these moments…
Paper Heart Chronicles 