Music Buddy

Damhnait Doyle has been a bright light on the Canadian music landscape since being discovered for her remarkable musical gift at the age of 17. Since then, she has gone on to write, perform, tour, advocate, collaborate, host, and stir up good trouble wherever she lands. 

Damhnait has released (at least) nine full length recordings as both a solo artist and a member of the groups Shaye and The Heartbroken, and has a new EP on the way...

Over 3,000 gigs, countless miles travelled, hit songs a-plenty, and friends and fans in every corner of the continent - singer-songwriters Mike Plume and Jenny Orenstein have embraced the often-challenging musician's path with passion, verve, humour, humility and—when necessary—the ability to adapt. 

Their songwriting and performing careers have taken them all over the world, and they have made homes in Nashville, Edmonton, and...

Miranda Mulholland is a JUNO-nominated singer, songwriter, and fiddler. She's released 3 albums, one EP, and several singles in her own name, in addition to launching music with her bands Harrow Fair and Belle Starr.   

As a touring and studio musician, Miranda’s credits include: Great Lake Swimmers, The Jim Cuddy Band, The Paperboys, Donovan Woods, Calexico, Joel Plaskett, Rose Cousins, Alan Doyle, Justin Rutledge, Sarah Slean...

Welcome to the 4th Annual Solstimas episode! 

In this episode, we toast the season with a festive gathering at The Woodshed Studio, aka "the office". Joining host Jane Gowan and co-host Tim Vesely, are their good pals Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers), plus co-host, co-conspirator, and bandmate Joel Stewart (Joel Stewart and the Future Hall of Famers). Plus, you'll hear special greetings from our call-in gues...

Myra Melford is an American avant-garde pianist, composer, educator, and improvisor. Her music is unique, exciting, and brave, evolving from an approach to the piano that is percussive, athletic, and uber-dynamic, and compositions that are exploratory, poetic, visual, and thought-provoking. 

Melford is an interdisciplinary artist of the highest order. Awarded the Alpert Award in the Arts for Music in 2012, plus the Guggenheim Fellow...

Wyatt C. Louis is a Plains Cree singer-songwriter from Montana First Nation on Treaty 6 Territory, Alberta. Their songs are deeply rooted in story and place, and speak to universal themes of home, family, and love. Their much-celebrated debut album Chandler (2024) draws from multiple musical influences, but sits comfortably in the folk/roots genre. The album was long-listed for the 2025 Polaris Music Prize, and was a 2025 Juno Awar...

Since the early 2000s, Festival Director and musical curator Cem Zafir has been presenting diverse, exploratory, and engaging concerts via his non-profit organization, Zula Presents. After moving to Hamilton, Ontario in 2012, Cem seized on the opportunity to create an early summer music festival. Something Else! Festival began in 2014. Now in its 12th year, it brings to Hamilton some of the finest talents in creative, global, and i...

What, exactly, is mastering? Is it a potion? A spell? A hoax? The truth is, it's a subtle and precise art, and a key element of quality music production. It is music's "x-factor", its "special sauce". 

Despite often being perceived as some kind of magic, mastering is, in fact, very real, as are the people who do it for a living. Case in point, Grammy-nominated and Juno Award-winning mastering engineer J...

Multi-award-winning instrumentalist, singer, recording artist and composer, Anne Lindsay is celebrating many things this year: 60 years as a violinist, 50 years as a professional musician, and the launch of her brand new album, Soloworks 2. 

Described as "chamber folk music for solo violin and nyckelharpa", Soloworks 2 is dedicated to St Anne’s Anglican Church in Toronto where it was recorded in November 2021, during the g...

"Whatever I'm painting, I feel like there's music that finds its way in". — Stewart Jones

For artist, musician, and educator Stewart Jones, music is an integral part of his visual art practice. He's a self-proclaimed "uber fan" of the bands he loves. Not only are many of his works inspired by songs, but his drawings and paintings have also graced album covers and enhanced videos by some of Canada&a...

Musician/composer/improvisors Ronley Teper and Tim Posgate have been making wildly creative music together for 15 years or more. Their partnership is based on trust, understanding, and the endless desire to push the boundaries of song and creativity. This is a colourful conversation with two extremely hard-working, enthusiastic, and unique musical talents. 

More about Ronley Teper:
ronleyteper.com
Ronley's Yo...

A very special literary romp to round off the year! This "bookish" episode features the well-read, candid, and occasionally irreverent members of "Buckner's Bookies", a ladies-only book club that meets every few weeks around a dinner table, to talk books, culture, food, politics, and—of course—trashy TV.

Sex, drugs, rock n' roll, hostages, immigration, crime, New York in the 70s, Saga Boys, o...

After spending over 20 years writing, recording and performing his unique, lush and literate style of alt country Canadiana, Juno award-winning singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge is shifting his focus, every-so-slightly. He’s not moving away from music per se, but rather, walking peacefully alongside, with his young family in tow, and a home in the country to inspire and calm his poetic spirit.

Please enjoy this conversati...

Guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Tim Bovaconti knew he wanted to be a musician from a very young age. When he was just a mere lad, a fateful meeting with family friend Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo) lit a spark that fuelled his musical passion. The flame continues to burn brightly today. 

Bovaconti has travelled the world as a working musician. He’s performed and recorded with artists such as Burton Cummings, Ron Sexsmith, Kim S...

"...love well, live long, run with it before it's gone..." That line is from the song "Baby's on a Bike", by today's guests, Ontarians. As Craig Smith (the band's co-founder) says, "that kind of sums it up". 

Ontarians is roots rock from the heart of the Canadian Shield. Their attitude towards making music is joyful, collaborative, and organic. Hailing from Collingwood, ON...

No Dress Rehearsal is a 4-part documentary about one of Canada's most-loved rock bands - The Tragically Hip. The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept 5, and has been screening at Film Festivals around the country. It is now available to stream on Amazon Prime. 

The Tragically Hip rose to rock stardom in the late 80s and early 90s. They toured and recorded relentlessly, and by t...

A continuation of Episode 49 with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, this is a special live-off-the-floor recording session of Jim's song "Anywhere Else But Home" from his new solo album All The World Fades Away.

Recorded by Tim Vesely at Blue Rodeo's Woodshed Studio.

The band:
Jim Cuddy: acoustic guitar, vocals
Andy Maize: vocals
Anne Lindsay: fiddle
Jane Gowan: accordion
Tim Vesely:...

This episode is a special co-production between Music Buddy and the Skydiggers' podcast, Employee of the Myth

"Blue Rodeo were at the vanguard of creating a national movement of roots music...that really captured peoples' imaginations in the late 80s early 90s, and continues to this day" — Andy Maize

"The thing about community is that there are a lot of opportunities to give...[The] Christ...

One city, two Cellars, seven decades, and thirty vibrant jazz personalities. Journeys to the Bandstand: Thirty Jazz Lives in Vancouver is the debut book by author and veteran music journalist Chris Wong (Vancouver Sun, Georgia Straight, Vancouver Courier). It is an in-depth and rich account of the remarkable life stories of several key protagonists in Vancouver’s jazz and improv scene.

From lesser-known icons such as trum...