Then along comes another blogging platform…. like Posterous… and we think we will be a better blogger. Now we have TWO blogs we aren’t blogging on. The “web log” is sodden and weighed down, like a completely different kind of log.

I think bloggers like me should be called “sloggers” because we tend to drag our feet – we have great intentions but we aren’t consistently there. It’s like walking through deep snow. Hard to take every step.

Luckily, even though we aren’t blogging, we are still hosting concerts, listening to indie music and attending conferences… We are still maintaining a great website http://acousticroof.ca that was nominated by CBC Radio’s top music websites in Canada this winter. No, we didn’t win, but we have made a lot of new friends…

Here’s a photo from our Kim Wempe and Carmel Mikol show in our own living room. Both were nominated for East Coast Music Awards (ECMA). No hardware was brought home, but these talented women will continue to move their audiences with original words, sung from the heart.

Kim and Carmel

Martyn Joseph‘s show in Fall River is now sold out, which tells me what I already know – that this Welsh folk singer is everything you’ll read below – and reminds me how glad I am he’s coming to our living room in Boutiliers Point (as well as to The Carleton in Halifax) next week. I mention all shows, because Martyn should not be missed. Don Brownrigg‘s opening set (our place only) will be a treat as well.

If you’ve been here once, a dozen times or never before, this is a show you should take in. A show that you can bring a friend to. Even on a work night. At the very least, we’d be very grateful if you’d share this house concert news with a music-loving friend so we can fill the house for this internationally known entertainer. We welcome new faces, new names for the mailing list and new members of our facebook group http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=2346437435

Hope so much to see you on the 2nd!!!   a quick e-mail to me at    teamwork@hfx.eastlink.ca will get you on our guest list, at least until we sell out!!!

Paula

PS – We are now selling CDs for a number of our previous performers, so if you missed a chance to purchase a CD, check here http://acousticroof.ca/cdsales.asp

How would you like to see…“Britain`s best kept secret……a challenging songwriter and a compelling courageous live performer” MoJo 4* review “One of the most charismatic and electrifying performers in Britain today…tough and passionate” Tom Robinson BBC 6 music “One of acoustic music’s most original voices, and most forward looking of his generation of singer/songwriters”  Q Magazine “A profound experience” The Boston Globe.

This only begins to describe MARTYN JOSEPH   http://www.martynjoseph.com/index.php who visits our living room on February 2, 2010.  Yes, this is a Tuesday night – but we will start early – approximately 7 pm and you won’t be out past 10 or so…  an early start for an early finish – we know it is a work night/school night. $20.00/includes the usual punch, lots of munchies and the up close and personal experience that makes house concerts special.

and – an opening set…

We are lucky to have Don Brownrigg   http://www.myspace.com/donbrownrigg do a short opening set for Martyn. Please note that we will be passing a hat for Don and want to make his trip worthwhile…So please bring a little extra to put in the hat!!!  This is what people are saying about Don…Music with spirit. Music akin to roots, folk, blues, and country…Don Brownrigg is a musician’s musician and just a few short months after Brownrigg released his debut Wander Songs, he is surrounded by praise. “It takes the listener in instantly and, like a good novel, keeps you captivated from beginning to end. Acoustic based, the songs don’t try too hard and aren’t intimidating in any way – it’s just beautiful, truthfully written music.” (The Telegram) Wander Songs, a “prolific musical anthology” (The Coast) and “timeless anthology of thoughts” (ChartAttack)

See you on February 2nd!! E-mail us at teamwork@hfx.eastlink.ca to reserve your seat. Please feel free to share with friends!  If you can’t make it out on the 2nd, Martyn performs at The Carleton on February 1st, and at a Fall River show on the 3rd, so don’t miss a chance to see him!

Paula and Mike

http://acousticroof.ca

Kev Corbett's CD

Do you love singer/songwriters, folkies, blues and roots musicians, folk pop folks and other very listenable music? We’d like to announce a brand new venture… acousticroof.ca CD SALES just launched!

At this point, we are offering only a few artists – but in time we hope to grow the page to list all artists who have played here in our own living room concerts – Lift the Wind Concert Series.
We are starting with Dave Carroll, Thom Swift and Kev Corbett – welcome guys!

Shows in the living room – otherwise known as “house concerts” have attracted several dozen performers here, as well as several hundred audience members. Over time, we hope that selling CDs by mail, and to guests at our upcoming shows, will allow people to get their hands on music they might not otherwise easily procure.

Over the next week or so, we hope to add another half dozen artists to this page

http://acousticroof.ca/CDSales.asp

Global National News found us – acousticroof.ca on line and contacted us a while ago to discuss filming a house concert at our home, which we began to arrange right away. It all happened in October, with a smallish audience (lots of room for the camerman ) who had a ball listening to the great Hupman Brothers act right here in the living room!!! The Global guys interviewed me, the Hupmans, and some of our audience members.

They filmed the food, some music, audience and even the art on the walls got a great plug – especially the painting by Simone Labuschagne that graces the spot above the fireplace.

House concerts are becoming so popular, and a visit to our website right now will offer you many opportunities in January and February to see great music!!!

Book a house concert yourself with one of our wonderful profiled artists.

If you are a musician, place a free profile on our site!

Ask about other services we can offer to musicians – we would like to help!

Countin' Quarters is the Hupmans' new CD

The Hupmans…the “Hups” as their closer friends may call them… Scott and Ryan…could well be the next name to put Nova Scotia on the map as a hotbed of cool guitar picking, smooth songwriting, and all-round great fun-ness. Although youthful in appearance, these Annapolis Valley residing guys (hailing from Shelburne, originally) are steeped in dozens of pub gigs, five Deep Roots Festivals, years of co-writing and trading/blending tunes on guitar and a few road trips as well – one with Matt Anderson took them afar earlier this year.

Their live show, completely engaging from start to finish, is peppered with great stories, a sincere sense of camaraderie (between brothers – and with an attentive audience) and more insightful tunes than should be legal for guys of this vintage. Up-tempo and with infectious rhythms and choruses, their songs are deftly written – taking you to many a place and through many an experience without feeling too burdened with the personal side of things that some artists lay on their audiences. Maybe it’s just because the Hupmans are basically happy and well-adjusted, but they seem to inject lightness and humour into most of their songs and introduce them with just the right amount of information. Let’s not forget the guitar skills that they’ve obviously been honing for many years – each of them shines at least once in every song, and each is ready to stand back and let that happen for the other.

Of course the evening ended too soon – but it was an eventful night that saw the arrival of Global TV after the guys had soundchecked – ready to interview them about their careers and their house concert experiences….through my own interview, the feeling of panic when no one seemed to be showing up (the house filled all at once at 7:25) and then the two great sets of songs – many from their newer CD “Counting Quarters.” During the break we all engaged in some serious eating – there was more food than the audience could handle, and when some friends of the Hupmans arrived late after a long drive from the Valley, they helped make short work of some of the still generous plates of munchies. Global shot more footage than you can shake a stick at – I’m sure they have enough to do a half-hour special but we will see it edited down to a 2-minute news spot sometime this week, I hope! Not keen on seeing myself on TV but when you’ve been at this house concert network thing for three or four years and have hosted and/or attended 40 or more shows you have to step up sooner or later, I guess. I love what acousticroof.ca is doing and we just want to keep the house concerts going – here in our own home, and throughout our network.

If you would like to host a house concert, we can tell you how!

The Hupman Brothers

enjoy!

keep in touch!

There have been several concerts of note, with Little Miss Higgins rocking the living room a while back, with sweet country blues and classy electric guitar, she and Foy Taylor took us on a lovely little journey through the fields and foibles of life as seen with the eyes and hearts of true lovers of a rural life. Visions of tractors and clotheslines, interesting folks and road stories sifted into the evening air and Little Miss Higgins’ gentle drawl made you believe you were sitting on the front porch of a ’40′s prairie farmhouse. Read her bio here http://www.littlemisshiggins.com/bio.htm and you will see the roots of this popular performer. We look forward to a return visit from LMH and Foy Taylor

Then on July 26th Madison Violet brought their sweet sounds to commemorate the third birthday of acousticroof.ca! Their voices has grown even more lush over the past few years since they first graced the living room. Years of touring down under and in Europe – two new CDs (Caravan and now No Fool for Trying) – and the general maturing of their sound make these performers a must-see http://www.madisonviolet.com/

this is the news from their website… and be sure to read their press here http://www.madisonviolet.com/#

#1 on Ourstage and Eastcoast Countdown

“I’m Your Lady” made it to #1 on the Country Channel on Ourstage.com for July! Thanks for voting everyone. Now, let’s get you all back to the www.eastcoastcountdown.com to keep us at #1 there as well.

All 3 of our albums are on the top 100 on iTunes singer/songwriter genre

Thanks to all our fans who have helped to put ALL 3 of our albums in the top 100 on the iTunes (singer/songwriter) charts! We love you guys..

OK – I’ll post this and get on top of the other music stuff shortly!! please check out the concert listings on http://acousticroof.ca