Music Mondays

Every Monday TCE Blog highlights a Canadian band or musician – dead or alive, well-known or niche – for your listening pleasure. To suggest an artist, contact us here.

Taiko: Indigenous Asian-Canadian Music

taiko

May is Asian Heritage Month! Music historian Gary Cristall explores taiko drumming, a musical form that he asserts has transcended its origins to become distinctly Canadian!

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Celebrating Police Week

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Gary Cristall celebrates Police Week with a critical look at police brutality throughout history and an exploration of the songs inspired by it.

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Music Mondays: May Day

Vancouver Public Library photos #8796 & 8788, via Lorne Brown, When Freedom was Lost (Black Rose Books, 1987)

Music historian Gary Cristall explores the roots of May Day and the music of the labour movement that fought hard and strong for the eight-hour work day.

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Classic Shipwreck Songs

Titanic-header

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, music historian Gary Cristall expores the history of shipwreck songs, from a legend about boxer Jack Johnson to a heroic toast!

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St. Patrick’s Day: Irish Music in Canada

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Irish-Canadians have shaped a large part of Canadian culture. This St. Patrick’s Day, discover their unique history and music, including the Irish Rovers and Ryan’s Fancy. Sláinte! To your health!

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International Women’s Day

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International Women’s Day is March 8! Gary Cristall explores its history and musical anthem, “Bread and Roses,” which is still sung at rallies today.

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Music Mondays: Nathaniel Dett Chorale

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale

For Black History Month, we’re highlighting the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, the first choir in Canada to actively promote Afrocentric music. Discover its history and music after the jump!

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Follow The Drinking Gourd: Songs and Legacies of the Underground Railroad

underground railroad

Music historian Gary Cristall explores the music history of emancipation songs, from “Follow the Drinking Gourd” to “Let My People Go.”

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Black History Month: Sonic Memories of Africville

africville-library-and-archives-canada

Music historian Gary Cristall explores the history and music of a segregated, ignored, and later, demolished, community in Nova Scotia.

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Music for the Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year

Happy Lunar New Year! Music historian Gary Cristall explores the wonderful world of Asian-Canadian music, from the lightning fast erhu showpiece, “Galloping Horses” to music inspired by the Silk Road.

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