This Friday on Hop The Fence, we'll be turning up the sod as one does in early spring (snow or no snow!)

Sultans of String:
Featuring Ottawa's own Chris McKhool, the band is serving up messages of hope and cultural harmony alongside a smorgasbord of ragas, reels ‘n’ rumbas. They have a new album, Subcontinental Drift, with special guest Anwar Khurshid (Oscar-winning Life of Pi, Love Guru-Mike Myers).  They will perform at the NAC-4th Stage on April 14th (7:30pm, $35).



Ottawa Grassroots Festival:
The Ottawa Grassroots Festival is a family-friendly gathering of folk music, dance and spoken word. The festival fosters inclusivity, encourages participation, respects volunteers, supports artists and develops community partnerships. It’s called Grassroots because it is! This not-for-profit organization is run entirely by volunteers.

Now in its 5th year, the Ottawa Grassroots Festival will take place from April 21-24 at The Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Avenue, Ottawa.  Bob Nesbitt, Producer of the Festival will join us in studio to tell us all about it!

Tune in at 5 pm today! Find us at 89.1 FM in Ottawa or online at CHUO.fm. You can also find us on iTunes radio under College stations and on #943 on Rogers HD.

anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

We are covering the Ottawa Folk Festival this week.  I expect many of you have already been out to the festival site since opening night last Wednesday.  The event continues full speed ahead through the weekend. Be sure to check the website for line-up, site map and how to get there.

On today's show, I will be chatting with Wooden Sky who have just released a terrific multi-layered indie rock-folk-Americana album called, Let's Be Ready. This one is going to be on my list of 2014 favorites!  The band will be on the Eh! Stage at the Folk Festival on Sunday at 5 pm.

I also had a chance to chat with Ottawa Folkfest and Bluesfest Director, Mark Monahan earlier this week.  Tune in to hear his thoughts on Canadian and local bands. It starts at 5 pm on 89.1 FM in Ottawa or on-line at CHUO.fm or on iTunes radio (filed under college stations).
xox anne-marie xox

If you live in the Ottawa area and perhaps don't often venture to the Gatineau side of the National Capital Region, now is the time to do so.  There's a festival going on there this weekend!  It is the Festival de l'Outaouais Emergent.  Don't let the French name scare you.  The line-up is awesome and includes amazing emerging and established artists such as Kandle, Half Moon Run, IllScarlett and We Are Wolves.  We will be chatting with We Are Wolves on this week's program ahead of their live show at Le Petit Chicago on Sunday.

Also highly anticipated is the upcoming Ottawa Folk Festival which begins next weekend on September 10 and runs to the 14th.  Check the website for the impressive line-up!  It includes Ottawa's own Jill Zmud hitting the Valley Stage on Thursday, September 11 at 8:15 pm. Jill has recently released a new baby (really!) and a new album called, Small Matters of Life and Death. Jill will join us live in studio this week.

Also this weekend starting today is the 11th House of Paint hip hop festival celebrating and elevating urban arts and culture.  Check the website for details. There's plenty of free programming.

So much fun. So little time!  Tune in this Friday from  5 to 6 pm at 89.1 on your FM dial in Ottawa or online at CHUO.fm

Never a dull moment! Upcoming Festivals in Ottawa:

• July 18-August 16 (Fridays & Saturdays): Centretown Movies
• July 19: Japanese Summer Festival
• July 24-August 7: Ottawa Chamberfest
• July 31-Aug 3: Cracking Up the Capital Summer Fest
• July 31-Aug 4: Busker Fest

August 2014

• July 24-August 7: Ottawa Chamberfest
• August 18-23: Arboretum Fest

September 2014

• September: Ottawa Folk Festival

Let us know if you have more to add to this list!

Festivals galore in Ottawa (and Toronto!)

Here we go again. Ottawa is becoming Canada's hotspot for open air music festivals! Take your pic and get on out there!
Glow Fair:  Inaugural year for Glow Fair taking place on Bank Street, June 20-21.
Fringe Festival: June 19-29 at various venues.
Dragon Boat Festival:  June 19-22 at Mooney's Bay. Free concerts featuring Sheepdogs, Hey Ocean, Arkells and many more!
Ottawa Jazz Festival: Tonight is opening night!  Lots of stellar performances are lined-up including a great segment of Canadian indie bands. It also features plenty of Ottawa talent. 

Live from Toronto, it's NXNE!!!
Our friend, James Meloche of CHUO's Mixtape Sessions is live on location enjoying the best of Canada's indie scene in Toronto this weekend.  He is going to fill us in on all the action at NXNE. Tune in to hear who's in, who's out, where to catch the best bands and tips on how to make the most of this great Canadian annual festival.

Tune in at 5 pm every Friday at 89.1 FM or online at CHUO.fm.
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anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

www.hopthefence.ca
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HopTheFenceCHUO
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hop-The-Fence/117638698322087

The Ottawa Folk Festival certainly got off with a spectacular start! Wednesday evening, the Godmother of punk, Patti Smith, took to the stage for what I thought was much too short a set. But every moment was golden. I was struck by how happy she was. Very unassuming despite the reverence she deserves, she genuinely loved performing for us. And we soaked in every note, every self-deprecating comment and every fist pump with awe.  Ms. Smith took a stroll through the crowd and I managed to capture this quick shot with my bb cam.

THIS FRIDAY ON HOP THE FENCE:
Another Friday. Another weekend. And plenty more great Canadian music!  Here's who's on the program tonight beginning at 5 pm on CHUO 89.1 FM in Ottawa. Or you can tune in on-line at CHUO.fm. We're also on iTunes under "College Radios".  Check us out!


TYMPANIC
A well-liked local band who know how to pop a catchy beat with horns and all. Always fun to see live, they've got a big show booked at Ritual on Saturday. Go show some support!

FOLLY AND THE HUNTER
Montreal-based band whose 2nd disc, Tragic Care shows how they translate tragedy into beautiful music. Catch them at the Ottawa Folk Festival on Sunday afternoon (2 pm)

Also queued up for your listening pleasure:
Vance Joy: OK he's not Canadian - but he's traveling all the way from Australia to perform at the Ottawa Folk Festival on Saturday (6:30 pm)
Phantom Shores: A little folk, a little rock and plenty in between. Ottawa band performing at Raw Sugar Cafe tonight.
 
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anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

Can it really be the end of August? AKA the end of summer?  No way!  Thankfully, it is also time for the Ottawa Folk Festival. With this year's stellar line-up, it'll be easy to take our minds off the ebbing of summer's long warm days.  Since 2011, the festival has been taking over the picturesque Hog's Back Park.  Get yourself ready to enjoy some "Adventures in Folkland" beginning Wednesday Sept 4 to Sunday Sept 8! 

Similarly to the Ottawa Bluesfest, there's an excellent contingency of local artists featured at the festival. Since Hop The Fence's mandate is to feature Canadian and local artists, I will be doing just that on today's program.  Little Stella, an Ottawa-based band will be performing at the festival on Thursday, Sept 5 at 6 pm. Today I'll be speaking with Zach, the latest member of what is now a four-piece band.  If you haven't heard them yet, you will not want to miss this.  Methinks they have a bright future ahead.

Let us help you kick off your long weekend with some great Canadian tunes!  Listen-up at 5 pm on 89.1 fm in Ottawa or online at www.CHUO.fm

.......
anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HopTheFenceCHUO
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hop-The-Fence/117638698322087

Canadian music lovers, unite!  We've got another great program prepared for you this evening.  Here's who I'll be chatting with:

FIVE ALARM FUNK
The band consists of 10 musicians including 4 percussionists who, as you might imagine, create a wild musical experience! Their fourth studio album, Rock the Sky, is almost as entertaining as their live show. Don't miss them at the Mercury Lounge this Sunday, July 14.

HALF MOON RUN
With an instantly recognizable hit (Full Circle) and critically acclaimed for their 3-part harmonies, this band with ties to Ottawa, has been gaining a lot of ground with their debut disc, Dark Eyes. They are appearing at the RBC Ottawa Bluesfest tomorrow at 3 pm.

Tune in at 5 pm on 89.1 FM in Ottawa or online at www.CHUO.fm.
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anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

Once again, Ottawa is resplendent with a plethora of summer outdoor music, theater and arts festivals.  It truly is the best time to visit our fair city. The RBC Ottawa Bluesfest opened its gates last night, July 4 and runs until July 14.  It is a very eclectic festival featuring everything from mainstream pop, classic rock to roots, world, punk, indie and of course, blues! 

One of the aspects I appreciate most about this increasingly popular festival is that they continue to support local talent.  Appearances on these stages in front of throngs of music fans who may be seeing them for the first time is a huge boon for up-and-coming talent. On today’s program, I will be spinning tunes from local bands and other great Canadian independants that will be performing at the festival over the next 9 days including Hearts and Mines, Suzi Vinnick, Tara Holloway, Cold Specks, Neko Case, Diamond Rings, A Tribe Called Red.  Don’t know if I’ll have time to fit them all in!

There are also plenty of other events and gigs going on in town (e.g. Shannon Rose and The Thorns at the Blacksheep Inn).

Tune in at 5 pm to see what I manage to squeeze into one hour of programming!
.......
anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

www.hopthefence.ca
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HopTheFenceCHUO
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hop-The-Fence/117638698322087

If you are not in the nation’s capital on July 1st, well then you’re missing the country’s biggest birthday bash!  There’ll be tons of live music permeating the Ottawa skies this weekend and beyond.  Tune in for all the details this Friday at 5 pm on 89.1 FM in Ottawa or on-line at CHUO.fm



Leeroy Stagger
Leeroy will bring us his personal brand of revolution roots-rock.  His 8th studio album, Truth Be Sold, was recorded during and inspired by the Occupy Movement events of this past winter.  What  better place for him to perform than at the Ottawa Jazz Festival on Canada Day – for FREE – at 5 pm on the OLG stage.

Many other bands are playing for free that day, including our friends, Erik Lind and the Orchard.  Catch them at 3 pm at the OLG stage.

Lynn Jackson
An authenticity runs through Canadian singer-songwriter Lynn Jackson’s music that reflects a deep commitment to telling stories that ring true with listeners.  Her 6th studio album, Down in the Dust, sees  Jackson using her ‘whiskey and honey’ voice to mix her timeless melodies.  Ms. Jackson is coming to the Rainbow with Jesse Parent on Sat. July 6 at 4pm as part of their ‘Have Plaid Will Travel’ Ontario tour.

Ticket Giveaway
Support our local bands!  20 bands will be featured in the Landmark showcase competition over 2 nights this weekend at Mavericks. Tickets are $13, but I will be giving away a pair for the Saturday show. Keep this number handy: 613-562-5967.

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anne-marie
Host/Producer, Hop The Fence
Fridays @ 5
CHUO 89.1 Ottawa

www.hopthefence.ca
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HopTheFenceCHUO
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hop-The-Fence/117638698322087