Music

6 bands to catch at the Canadian Blast BBQ at SXSW 2015

by AUX staff

Heading to SXSW this year? If so, consider yourself lucky. Austin, after all, is where the tech, film, and music worlds congregate for two weeks every spring. Still, while there’s no shortage of things to do—and certainly no shortage of things to listen to—a strange thing happens every time we head to Texas: Despite the endless amounts of bands playing, we end up seeking out Canadian bands. Weird, right?

But that’s because Canada’s in full force in the Lone Star State. There, you’ll find showcases curated by NXNE, Pop Montreal, M For Montreal, Canadian Music Week, and countless others. One place we always end up is the Canadian Blast BBQ.

By now, it’s become a tradition: Each year, we gather with the Canadians at SXSW to down red plastic cups of beer, nosh down on some delicious BBQ, and talk shit about our hometowns. Oh, and one other thing: We also check out some of the best Canadian acts at SXSW. So, who’s playing the Canadian Blast  BBQ this year? We’re glad you asked.

Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers

The Canadian Blast BBQ draws Canadian acts from across the country, and their maritime rep is hard-travelling folk troubadour Ben Caplan, who’ll be joined by the Casual Smokers. Hailing from Halifax, NS, Caplan’s recognizable for two things: His giant, bushy beard and his distinctive baritone growl. (Please, save the “Tom Waits of Nova Scotia” comparisons, though.) Like the damp cold coming off a North Atlantic winter, Caplan’s ragged tracks have a way of seeping into your bones—sometimes they’re bluesy acoustic tunes, other times, they’re banjo-driven ramblers, but whatever he tries, Caplan’s songs manage to stick around your head for days. Start with his 2013 LP, In the Time of Great Remembering.

The Bros. Landreth

The cover of the Bros Landreth’s 2013 LP, Let it Lie, features a farmhouse on the edge of pristine, flat field—surely a nod to their Manitoba roots. Indeed, you get these sense that these Winnipeggers are proud of their prairie roots, and their songs—complete with a bluesy punch, country harmonies and an ever-present slide guitar—feel perfectly midwestern. Indeed, it’s easy to hear Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty equally in their music—it’s smoked-out barroom music, modernized for an era where smoking is illegal in barrooms.

The Franklin Electric

If it’s soulful indie-folk you seek, then we’d like to direct your attention to the Franklin Electric. Like fellow Montreal folkster JF Robitaille, this troupe’s all about seamless songwriting: This is How I Let You Down surrounds songwriter Jon Matte’s vocals with trumpets, piano and electric guitar, resulting in songs that are equal parts heartfelt and thoughtful. The band’s instrumentation might lead you to believe that the band’s orchestral, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite—the Frankin Electric instead trade in intimacy and warmth. Think of them as the aural equivalent of a Hudson’s Bay blanket.

July Talk

If you’re a Torontonian—and we are—then there’s no escaping July Talk, who, for the last several years, have been intent on Cancon domination. Their singles, like “Summer Dress,” seem to pipe out of every open doorway and passing car in Hogtown, and for good reason: Their self-titled debut, released by Sleepless Records, became an unlikely alt-rock radio hit, built off the band’s plus-sized hooks, their rootsy charm, and their ability to craft an unforgettable melody. (No surprise: Local gems like Eamon McGrath helped write some of their songs.) Their debut got scooped by Island for a U.S. release, meaning that the band has their sights set on conquering the U.S. next—and their journey begins at SXSW.

The Wet Secrets

For a few years, Edmonton-bred garage band / marching troupe the Wet Secrets felt like Alberta’s best-kept secret. But in 2014, things blew up for the band, literally and figuratively: On the bad side, they rolled their van on a snowy Alberta highway. On the plus side, they cut their Free Candy LP and won the prize at the Peak Performance Project, which awarded the band $100,000. Not bad for a band that, only two years ago, was placed on hiatus by leader (and Shout Out Out Out member) Lyle Bell. Their live show’s legendary—and we expect to hear a lot of racket from them at SXSW.

Yukon Blonde

Yukon Blonde don’t actually hail from the territory their moniker references—it’s actually, oddly, a hat-tip to the potato of the same name. Instead, they hail from Kelowna, B.C., and with their 2012 LP, Tiger Talk, the band expanded beyond their folk roots, creeping into A.M. gold territories. The band sounded bigger than ever, and their aspirations felt bigger still, and if we’re lucky, at SXSW, we’ll hear the band unveil some new material—they’re promising a new album by the summer of this year.