Four very talented indie music acts performed at RAC Montreal’s 7th Concert Series. Recording Arts Canada would like to congratulate Erik Lind & The Orchard, Clay and Friends, Backyard Dreaming and By The Glory for solid performances, and is pleased to announce that Clay and Friends took home the top prize for the best performance of the night, as deemed by a panel of industry professionals in attendance.
The panel of label reps, award winning engineers, and studio owners evaluated each band’s performance. Clay and Friends look forward to recording new material that it plans to release shortly. They join The Vare, FM HI LOW, Foreign Diplomats, Tofu Stravinsky and James Taylor as bands that have recorded material at RAC’s Montreal studios for up-coming album releases.
First up was Erik Lind & The Orchard. A genre-blending collection of sing-along melodies, rich vocal harmonies, and memorable hooks was on display during their 6 song set. Bittersweet lyrics penned by Lind were enveloped with a musical warmth and richness that make Great White North a soothing piece of Canadiana folk rock. Songs performed last night by Lind and the Orchard were: No Manual, War Outside, Neighbourhood Revival, Arms Length, Bricks and The Kick. Band members are Erik Lind – Guitar, Lead Vocals; Mikael Tobias – Guitar, Vocals; Lisa Perusse – Bass, Vocals; Michael Aubinais – Drums; Francis Lehoux – Keys.
The second set featured Clay And Friends. This bilingual collective put on a torqued, high energy set from start to finish. The room was buzzing while Clay and Friends laid down hip -hop, funk, jazz , soul and reggae grooves. The human beatbox Aydell raged on stage, and everyone in the band was dialed in to each other. This spontaneous and infectious group nailed it. Period. Group 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.
Backyard Dreaming’s three members (two brothers and their sister) played an impressive set that was appreciated by the full house at Sala Rossa. With a progressive indie rock sound, laced with interesting melodies and harmonies, BD is finding a sound they can call their own. Look for their first EP, which will be released in the near future. BD performed Emotional Connection, Settle Down, You’re Right, Stuck in the Attic, and finished up with Welcome to the Rain. The band members are Mitch: guitar, vocals; Mat: drums, vocals; Melissa: keys, vocals.
The final act, By The Glory, performed a heavier set than the other acts. BTG is a tight, high energy unit that clearly enjoys performing together. The song performed last night included: Who’s Gonna Believe, Say Anything, Tell The World, Lifeline and This Is Chemistry. Band members are: Zack: Rythm Guitar – Lead Vocals; Matt ”Baker”: Lead Guitar; Thierry: Bass; and Andrea Silver- Drums who was filling in for the night.
Other performers last night included John John, who put on an eclectic, interesting, confusing, and ultimately highly entertaining mini-set in between headliners. This dude is creative, amongst other things. Soul Exception, consisting of the sweet and soulful voice of Lea Keeley and her bassist / brother Aidan, put on a solid 3 song mini set as well. DJ Bishop, as always, laid down some great tracks to fill in spots between performances. The talented singer/songwriter Joey Langlois was charming as usual as MC.
RAC’s 7th Concert Showcase is evidence that Montreal is one of the world’s hottest music talent hubs. This 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]
Artists interested in applying for the upcoming RAC Concert Showcases on December 19th in Montreal can Apply here. The Recording Arts Canada Student Tech Team included:
Technical Director: Christian Reeves Riopel
Ass. Technical Director: Alexandre Guay-Payette
FOH Mixing: Valérie Campeau
FOH Mixing: Kalyca Ross
FOH Mixing: Cameron Dunsmore
Stage Crew: Taylor Wright
Stage Crew:Melany Yelle-Nikischer
Stage Crew: Shaun Pellerin
Recording Team: Jorge Jimenez
Recording Team: Theresa Alexander
Production Assistant: Kasra Ghaffari
Roadie: Koorosh Goodarzi
Roadie: Erik Fernet-Evans
Lighting; Diego Molero
Stage B Crew: Martin Audet
Stage B Crew: Jérémie Leclerc
Video: Joseph Keca and Maxime Tottino
The RAC staff on hand to assist the student crew included:
Nicolas Kébreau
Yan Lavoie
Gen Cyr
Guy Dubuisson- Mix Supervisor
Justin Wiley – event organizer
