Harvest Announces 2010 Galaxie Rising Star Finalists
August 27, 2010
The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival has announced the five finalists who will compete to be Harvest’s 2010 Galaxie Rising Star. Presented by the Festival and Galaxie, the continuous music network, the Rising Star Showcase is one of the region’s most important and highly competitive musical competitions and a potentially career-launching opportunity for developing New Brunswick performers, offering regional and national exposure for the top five finalists.
This year’s finalists are Fredericton’s Andy Brown, and Oh No Theodore!, Saint John’s Clinton Charton, Sackville’s Corey Isenor and the Terry Whalen Band from Miramichi.
These five talented finalists will perform on Friday, September 17th at 3pm in the Galaxie Barracks Tent in downtown Fredericton, where they will be judged on talent, originality and stage presence by a panel of music industry experts. Votes are also taken from members of the audience that afternoon, so participants are encouraged to bring out family and friends for support. The five industry judges will comprise 50% of the final vote tally and the audience will represent the remaining 50%. In the event of a tie, the choice of the industry judges will prevail.
“The Galaxie Rising Star Program helps in the promotion and discovery of emerging Canadian talent and allows for fantastic showcase opportunities”, says Louis Bellavance, Director of the Galaxie Rising Stars Program. “The valuable partnerships between the Galaxie Rising Stars Program and The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival has allowed us to highlight and reward the talents of gifted artists year after year.”
“The Harvest commitment to developing local talent is strong, with around 35% of our programming being local each September. We’ve seen some of our Galaxie Rising Stars go on to do some amazing things over the years, and that is a testament to the musical talent that exists in New Brunswick,” says Brent Staeben, Music Director for the Festival. “This year, we’ve expanded our partnership with Galaxie as they take over presenting partnership of the Galaxie Barracks Tent. They’re investing more in Harvest this year because they understand the kind of exposure and support our Festival offers to New Brunswick artists. We couldn’t be happier with Galaxie’s vote of confidence in Harvest and with our five 2010 finalists”.
The showcase is sure to be a tight competition, as all five finalists are known for their high-quality musicianship. The winner—which will be announced right after the competition of September 17th—will receive $2,000 donated by Galaxie and the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, and will have the opportunity to have their music played on one of the Galaxie TV channels and be featured on galaxie.ca.
The winning band or artist will also kick off the Galaxie Barracks festivities on Saturday, September 18th, opening for former Galaxie Rising Star winner Ross Neilsen with his band The Sufferin’ Bastards, and Mississippi’s Hill Country Revue.
More about each finalist:
Andy Brown
After a few years of working the circuit as a solo acoustic act, Andy Brown has emerged a must-see (and hear) performer on the East coast scene. With emotionally raw vocals, stellar guitar skills, and electrifying performances, Brown has been touted as a performer that ‘gets into your head and heart’, as he serves up a contemporary folk rock style all his own, taking you on a lyrical journey that transcends a realm torn between love, happiness, and sorrow. Now the once-solo star has a solid backing band, including Chris Craig on bass, Jason Berube on drums, and Ed Cullinan on keys and backing guitar. The band recently released their sophomore album, False Alarm, with a wonderful blend of belt-out ballads, folk-rock, and pop-infused hits, including fan favourite ‘Crazy,’ which made its way onto 90+ radio stations across the country, and landed at #1 on the nationally syndicated East Coast Countdown.
Clinton Charton
Hailing from New Brunswick’s Port City, multi-instrumentalist Clinton Charton is an energetic front man known for his hard driving guitars and raspy vocals. His band of seasoned Saint John musicians includes Adam Kierstead, mixing electric guitars and organ, Chris Braydon on slide guitar, Chris Fudge and Chuck Teed alternating on bass duties, Jason Ogden on electric and acoustic guitars and Sean Boyer on drums. Charton has been honing his folk sensibilities and songwriting while performing with such notables as Josh Ritter, folk-icon James Keelaghan, Jessica Rhaye and countless contemporaries across the country. In May of 2009 he released his first proper full length album, Parade, to raving reviews, the first single of which, ‘A Bee In October’ reached #2 on The East Coast Countdown. A constant local favourite, Charlton was nominated in a staggering 7 categories at the 2009 Saint John Music Awards, taking home five trophies including Album of the Year and Best Male Artist. Charton was also recently commissioned by the City Of Saint John to write the theme song for the city’s 225th birthday celebrations, which will be featured in a tourism commercial for the city airing throughout the year on CTV.
Corey Isenor
Originally from Enfield, Nova Scotia, folk-popper Corey Isenor now lives in Sackville, New Brunswick. He recorded a full length album in the summer of 2008 entitled ‘Young Squire,’ which was released in mid-November. In the summer of 2009, he recorded a second full-length entitled ‘Frost’ with Sackville’s own Shotgun Jimmie out at Marshwinds Farm. It was released in early January of this year. He’s been fortunate enough to play shows with the likes of Luke Doucet, Said the Whale, Two Hours Traffic, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Rich Aucoin, Al Tuck, and The Tom Fun Orchestra, and also has performed at Sackville’s independent music Festival, SappyFest.
Oh No, Theodore!
Oh No Theodore! formed in March of 2010 when singer/songwriter Jeremy McLaughlin took his folkie, toned-down solo performance to the next level by inviting musician friends to join him on stage and in the studio. The move transformed Oh, No Theodore! from a single entity into a miniature orchestra full of passion and intensity. In addition to McLaughlin’s acoustic guitar and lead vocals, the band also reverberates with the talents of cellist Lukas Bailey, lead guitarist Kyle Albright, keyboard and vocalist Gemma Marr, drummer Aaron Bravener, and violinist Alethea Dinkins. Though still in its infancy, the band has already secured spots opening for the likes of ECMA award nominated artists The Sleepless Nights, Alert The Medic, and Andy Brown. Meanwhile, the band has also found time to record and release a full-length, self-titled album.
Terry Whalen Band
The Terry Whalen Band delivers a tasty stew of rock and blues highlighted by gritty and passionate vocals reminiscent of the great Muddy Waters. With a music career that spans over 25 years, singer/guitarist Terry Whalen formed his band five years ago with lyricist and bassist, Stephen MacKnight, along with Colby Jardine on drums, Johnny Newman pulling double duties on organ and harmonica and Abby Kierstead and Schacel Despres on background vocals. Often described as the “hardest working band going,” they have been nominated for two ECMAs for Blues Recording of the Year, delivering an abundance of catchy originals and a collection of timeless covers, forming a sound that is one part tribute, with a bigger part that takes blues in a whole new direction. They have had the honour of sharing the stage with Jonny Lang, Robert Cray, James Cotton, Zac Harmon, Garrett Mason, Charlie A’Court, Morgan Davis, Blue Rodeo, Matt Minglewood, and David Myles to name a few.
