There's something about the first warm weather long weekend in Canada. Don't get me wrong, us Ottawans won't let hail, sleet nor snow stop us from seeing a good show in winter. But when the fair weather comes around, it seems everyone wants to come visit. There are myriad great shows to check out this weekend in the nation's capital.  Here's a taste:

• Evening Hymns at General Assembly on May 24 (Thursday):  Jonas Bonnetta will be calling in the CHUO studio to chat with me about his latest album, Quiet Energies.  The last time he was in studio, well over a year ago, he co-hosted the whole hour with me and we had a blast. 

• BONJAY: One half of Bonjay, Alanna Stuart, wlll be phoning in tonight to tell us about their new album, Lush Life and upcoming show at 27 Club next Saturday (with special guest King Kimbit). Alanna is a CHUO Alumni where she co-hosted Hop The Fence with me for a short while many years ago.  It'll be great to reconnect.
• Moonfruits at the Blacksheep Inn Friday.  The band just released a new video for "Le Maire". It was filmed in Old Ottawa South with friends and fans standing in as characters from St-Somewhere aka Ste-Quequepart.
• Claude Munson at the NAC 4th Stage Saturday: He'll be presenting his brand new hot-off-the-press album, The Silence Came After (released on Record Centre Records).
• BlankScreen will be at Bar Robo on Friday along with Empty Nesters and Future News. Blankscreen have a new album, Century.
• Samantha Martin is in at the Blacksheep Inn Saturday for her CD Release, Run To Me featuring Ottawa's own Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk)
• Danielle Allard drops her new CD, Passing Notes, on Saturday at Collabspace
• Jamie Ferguson and the Hills Gang at the Blacksheep Inn on Sunday at 4 pm. With special guest Kelsey Hayes opening up, it promises to be a fun afternoon along the shores of the Gatineau River.

I'll attempt to spin something from each of these bands. Join us on CHUO 89.1 FM at 5 pm every Friday. 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

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A sure sign of springtime in the Nation's capital with myriad live music shows all over town this weekend.  We have three interviews lined-up for this week's Hop The Fence.

Delta Will: They have a beautiful new disc, Weathering to release here in Ottawa. The show is on Thursday, May 26 at Pressed (with Claude Munson).
Erin Saoirse Adair: She's dropping her brand new EP Gaslight at Pressed on May 21. But first she's dropping it off at CHUO studio for us to have a spin and a chat. 
Danielle Allard: Local singer-songwriter is gearing up for a tour of the Canadian East Coast. She's starting off with a tour fundraising event at Live on Elgin this Friday, May 20.

Also in town this weekend, Jen Lane at The Blacksheep Inn on Thursday, May 26.  We'll be spinning a tune from her new disc, This Life of Mine, her 5th studio album.

It’s all happening on your radio airwaves every Friday at 5 pm! 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

You will  hear some stories this evening on Hop The Fence.  New York Stories along with many others.  Micah Barnes cut his teeth in the cabarets and jazz clubs of Toronto while still a teenager and became a well-loved singer songwriter on the Queen Street scene. That was before joining legendary Canadian A Capella band, The Nylons and touring the world.

He is in Ottawa this weekend at Gigspace with a new solo album called New York Stories.  You'll be mesmerized by his stories and his deep and delicious voice as he pays homage to the rich musical history of the Big Apple with songs that describe a long distance romance using the rhythms of the Cotton Club, the Brill Building, The Apollo Theatre and classic Broadway.

We are also trying to coordinate a phoner with Montreal's SUUNS who will be in Ottawa on April 21 at St-Alban's as part of Arboretum festival (w/ special guests: Scattered Clouds + Pith & the Parenchymas). SUUNS will be showcasing their long-awaited third album, Hold/Still.

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

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

There are just some things that need to be seen as well as heard. Steve Hill's one-man-band act is one of these.  Hill performs standing up while singing and playing guitar, his feet playing bass drum, snare drum, hi-hats and with a drum stick fused to the head of his trusty guitar, any other percussion within reach!

His solo act may have started out for economical reasons with his Volume One album four years ago, but through time, he has developed an impressive expertise handling multiple instruments at once.  He is in Ottawa this weekend (at the Shenkman Center in Orleans) to perform songs from his latest, Solo Recordings Volume Three.  Expect guitar-based bluesy rock'n'roll.  I look forward to chatting with him on air at 5 pm today.

Also on tonight's program, Jenna Glatt. Raised in Ottawa, Jenna began singing when she was very young, winning her first competition at age 8 which was followed by her first professional gig a few months later on Parliament Hill as part of the Canada Day Celebrations. Jenna knew from that moment on that this is what she was born to do.  Since then, she has appeared at many international music festivals and venues and has been collaborating with top level producers and songwriters in New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, Toronto, and Copenhagen.

Jenna's third album (R&B/Pop) of all original music is currently getting world-wide airplay in Canada, the US, and across Europe. She will be at The Blacksheep Inn on Sunday at 4 pm.

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

JW-Jones, will be Ottawa's next "over night sensation".  I just love that expression! JW-Jones has released eight albums, toured extensively around the world over the past 15 years, has been nominated and won numerous awards and received kudos from the likes of Dan Akroyd. Yet, right now, it seems his career is about to explode!  If you don't know him, you will very soon and you'll wonder where he's been all your life.  JW-Jones's latest disc, Belmont Boulevard, has been picked up by legendary San Francisco-based blues label, Blind Pig Records. There's something new and exciting about this one. JW is in Ottawa this weekend to present it to his hometown at the Rainbow Bistro Saturday night. But first, tune in this Friday at 5 pm as he joins me in conversation on CHUO at 89.1 FM.

We'll also spin some brand new Rich Aucoin (coming to House of Targ next week) and we'll cover Ottawa's "longest-running and least shady" country music festival, the 8th annual O-Town Hoedown.

Don't miss it! Tune in at 89.1 fm in Ottawa, online at chuo.fm or on iTunes radio.

anne-marie
 

Stephen Fearing and Andy White have honed their long-distance relationship and brought the concept to a whole new level.  With Stephen based in Nova Scotia and Andy in Australia, they have somehow managed to collaborate on two full-length album in 3 years.  The bulk of their sophomore disc, Tea and Confidences, was written over four days between two Canadian music festivals!  Both Fearing and White are highly renown artists in their own right with over 20 albums between them.  So their collaboration is truly a labour of love, no strings attached, created purely for our listening pleasure.

They are in town tonight performing at the Blacksheep Inn.  It'll be a real treat chatting with them on Hop The Fence today. Don't miss it!  Tune in on 89.1 FM in Ottawa at 5 pm or listen online at CHUO.fm or on iTunes radio (filed under college stations).

TGIF dj, anne-marie

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

According to an entry on Wikipedia, a hydrothermal vent is a fissure in the planet's surface from which geothermally heated water emerges. That reminds me of my days in Banff and our late night off-road romps through random hot water springs. It was all fun and games until the RCMP found us.  But I digress..

All you need to know about Hydrothermal Vents is that they are a musical duo out of Montreal who are creating fun and very original, neo-new-wave dance rhythms. They are John Tielli (formerly of Clark the Band and Metal Kites) and Tessa Kautzman (a solo artist in her own right).  Together, they are destined for Canadian indie-pop stardom!  Well, suffice to say, they will seduce, entertain and charm the rings right off your ears and the shoes off your feet.

They are set to perform live in CHUO studio at 5 pm today. Later, catch them at Ottawa's newest hot spot, House of Targ.

Tune in at 89.1 FM in Ottawa or on-line at CHUO.FM.

xox