Five extremely talented acts performed on December 19th at Sala Rossa for RAC’s Concert Special, our 8th event and a special Holiday Edition celebrating some of the finest indie artists in Montreal. Soul Street, Clay and Friends, Ben Cardilli, Stefanie Parnell and Frasee all delivered highly entertaining sets. It was another great evening in one of the world’s top music cities.
Clay and Friends kicked off the night in great fashion. This bilingual collective is a crafty blend of various styles of music, with hip -hop and funk being the dominant genes, and a nice dash of soul, reggae and jazz for flavour. The core sound of this group comes from Clay’s Mc’ing and soulfully musical voice, and Aydell’s beatbox. Great chemistry between these two, and jumping down on the floor for the entire set was a crowd pleaser. In November 2013, the group released its first EP: A Quest Called Jam III . This is a great band, you should look up their work online you will be in for a real treat. Band members are Clay: Vocal; Aydell , The juxebox: Beatbox; Samish, The Old King: Rythm guitar and Harmonica; Clem, The orchestratos: Lead Guitar; Pascal, Killah B: Bass
SoulStreet is a very band with a sultry Memphis soul and R&B feel. Hailing from Montreal, SoulStreet lead singer and principal writer Ryan Setton is a very talented young man. The entire band is made up of excellent musicians who groove like they were doing a session at Stax records back in the day . They also pay homage to their influences by covering a range of big tunes from artists such as Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. SoulStreet had everyone in the audience dancing the entire set. SoulStreet have been working on their first studio album out of the beautiful “MixArt Studios” in Montreal, which is slated for release in early 2015. The band members are Ryan Setton- Vocals/ Guitar; Justin Wiley- Drums; Eric Hein- Lead Guitar; André Galamba- Bass
Ben Cardilli is one very talented singer-songwriter. The humble and humourous Ben C delivered a solo set which the audience listened to so attentively you could hear a pin drop during “Sitting With The Blind”. The song is a powerful piece he wrote in 2013, one of four well crafted originals Ben performed. The members of Clay and Friends were totally tripping on Ben’s set, and for one tune Aydell the human beatbox jumped on stage and laid down some beats. It was a wonderful moment during an evening filled with great moments. If you have a chance you need to catch this talented songwriter live, you will be impressed.
Stefanie Parnell: The talented singer/songwriter from Montreal took the stage with her band and delivered a very entertaining set. The roots / indie sound is carried by Parnell’s angelic voice. Stefanie recently released her second EP Mountains Beyond Mountains in May 2014. The project consists of 6 songs about overcoming obstacles. Her sophomore EP has a more mature sound than her first release, Road To You. This is another act you should catch live if you get the chance. Band members are:Lead vocals/acoustic guitar: Stefanie Parnell; Lead guitar/backup vocals: Chris See Hoye; Violin: Marine ButonBass: Nick Gervasi; Drums: Mike Carlucci
FRASE wrapped up the evening with his usual blend of high energy, infectious groove, and wonderful voice. This extremely talented artis had the crowd up and dancing for the entire set. Frase’s music combines EDM with his melodic and soulful melodies. This one man show featured an amazing voice, great guitar riffs and VERY BIG beats. If you like very musical Hip-Hop, Future Soul & Electro dub you need to check out Frase, you will be thoroughly entertained.
We’d like to thank all five great acts for making this show our best show ever. We can’t wait for the next one!
Artists interested in applying for upcoming RAC Concert Showcases in Montreal can Apply here.
Once again, the staging of the Concert was handled by Recording Arts Canada students, under the supervision of Guy Dubuisson. The event was co-ordinated by Justin Wiley. The lighting and sound was excellent, and the RAC student crew did a fantastic job.
RAC’s Concert Showcase Series is just one of many exciting events hosted by RAC, all with the aim of helping build bridges to the industry and successful careers for both emerging recording artists and Recording Arts Canada students. For more information on this or other RAC events, please call us at 514-286-4336, or send us an email at [email protected]
