Festival 506: Highlights From Fredericton

As New Brunswick's capital city, it's no surprise that Fredericton is well represented from a provincial standpoint artistically. As an artistic hub of sorts, there's no shortage of inspiration to be drawn from the central New Brunswick city.

I've been privy to many shows in the area (admittedly not so many in recent years, though); I used to travel there quite often with one of my hometown bands and, on one fateful night at the Chestnut, the band in question let me handle vocals on their version of Pantera's Walk. So, naturally, I forgot the words. They let me redeem myself at a later date, but butchering that song is my clearest, most dubious musical memory of Fredericton.

Thankfully, there's nothing dubious about the following four artists from Fredericton, who will be appearing this weekend as part of Festival 506 in Miramichi:

JACLYN REINHART
Pop N' Country Stage
Mill Cove Coffee, Friday @ 8pm

Five years removed from her debut EP, Jaclyn Reinhart's new album Adventures (released in May) is bombastic and electric, conjuring memories of strong female artists of the '90s like Liz Phair and Veruca Salt, with some modern sheen added for good measure.

THE OLYMPIC SYMPHONIUM
Pop N' Rock Stage
Kin Centre, Friday @ 9:30pm

Celebrating a decade as a group, The Olympic Symphonium are presumably working on the follow-up to 2014's Chance to Fate, a record which won the award for Anglophone Recording of the Year at the Music NB Awards two years ago. If the clip below is any indication, the new songs are everything we've come to expect; lush, majestic, borderline hypnotic.

DAVID IN THE DARK
Snap, Crackle & Rock Stage
The Goodie Shop, Friday @ 11:30pm

David in the Dark's debut LP Fire came out in May, a thick and layered indie rock record that bursts from the speakers. The level of quality on the songs and their performances sound like a band on their fourth or fifth album, not their debut. Suffice to say, David in the Dark are setting themselves up for some pretty great things, and not just in New Brunswick.

MOTHERHOOD
Snap, Crackle & Rock Stage
The Goodie Shop, Friday @ 1am

When I picked up my weekend pass for Festival 506, longtime friend and big-time local music supporter Paddy Quinn glanced over the list of acts to fill me in on the one he thought I'd most like to check out. He named Motherhood, and so in doing these posts I set out to try some of their stuff. Twenty seconds into Greed, from their latest release Baby Teeth (available on cassette!), I was reminded that Paddy Quinn knows me really, really well.

Come back tomorrow, when we take a look at some of the artists making their way to Festival 506 from Moncton.

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2016: Solo Artist Nominees

Artists who stand alone, who put their name on their album jackets and assume full responsibility for the art they give to the world, exhibit a kind of bravery that I've always admired. It takes courage to stand on that proverbial stage in solitude; this year's nominees faced varying degrees of challenges, but they all shared the desire to stare down the criticisms and expectations of every other individual they shared the air with and exclaim, "Don't worry. I've got this." Your Year in Rock 2016 nominees for Solo Artist Recording of the Year are:

Year in Rock 2024

So, how weird is it to post a Year in Rock 2024 write-up a year late? Honestly, this is just for posterity; with a post to wrap up 2025 possibly posted by the time you see this, I couldn't stand the gap that would otherwise be present. I'll have more to say, but will wait until the Year in Rock 2025 post to say it. Instead, I'll just dive right in with the list. This will be the least exciting Year in Rock post you've ever seen. 25. The Smashing Pumpkins - "Aghori Mhori Mei" 24. Japandroids - "Fate & Alcohol" 23. Pearl Jam - "Dark Matter" 22. Cheekface - "It's Sorted" 21. Kim Gordon - "The Collective" 20. High Vis - "Guided Tour" 19. Acid Mammoth - "Supersonic Megafauna Collision" 18. Microwave - "Let's Start Degeneracy" 17. IDLES - "TANGK" 16. Jerry Cantrell - "I Want Blood" 15. Chat Pile - "Cool World" 14. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard ...

SOUND BITES

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