James Clayton (aka Clay Pigeon) is a terrific songwriter, living in Montreal these days. He’s originally from Peterborough, Ontario, he went to a jazz school out in Nelson BC, and he cut his teeth at open mic nights in Berlin.

Early in the Pandemic, he and his now wife Tosca, decided they wanted to come back to Canada. James had seen a documentary on the Montreal music scene and thought, uh, yeah, that seems like the place to be, let’s go to Montreal.

So they did.

It didn’t take long for James to fall in with the right crowd. He was approached by legendary Montreal engineer and record producer Howard Billerman of the renowned Hotel 2 Tango studio - previous recording home to the likes of Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Sam Roberts Band and, oh, so many more - with an offer to collaborate. James wasn't ready. He said not now, Howard, but hopefully soon. Man, not an easy thing to say.

Thankfully, the two did up working together at Hotel and the results are splendid. This past July, James released his debut album as Clay Pigeon, the achingly beautiful, The Aching Taste of Blue.

I'd say the wait was worth it.

Clay Pigeon

@james_clayton

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Gatineau, Quebec's Mia Kelly is an exciting recent addition to the Folk and Americana scene in Canada.

Two albums in, she’s shared the stage with the likes of Jeremie Albino, Julian Taylor, The Franklin Electric, and, previous When We Wake guest, Aysanabee.

She’s also taken home two pieces of hardware at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and, between you and me, I suspect there’s a few more coming.

Her latest release, her second full length album, is entitled To Be Clear. And to be clear, it’s a beautiful collection of songs wise beyond their years.

Mia writes with a striking vulnerability and clear perspective, whether she’s telling her own story or those of people she’s encountered along the way.

Produced by one of my favourite Canadian songwriters, Jim Bryson, the album’s arrangement is simple and at times sparse, allowing the songwriting and Mia’s powerful voice to shine.

And, fair warning, there's some talk in this chat about Mia's smoke detector sitting there without a battery. If you'd like to encourage her to get a nine volt, you can reach out using the links below. I'd encourage you to.

xA

miakellymusic.com

@miakkelly

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On today's episode, I chat with the Big Turnip himself, Dylan Jewers.

Born and raised in Dartmouth Nova Scotia, young Dylan was sure of two things: his love of Micheal Jordan, and the fact that, under no circumstances, would adult Dylan have a job working for anyone else.

To his credit, and the edification of other likeminded youngens, with the exception of the odd job slinging beers at music venues, Dylan has made good on his young self's promise, and worked for (and in a lot of ways by) himself. Which is in no way meant to suggest he isn't intimately involved in his community, hell no, not at all. If you’ve seen a live music show in Dartmouth in the past few years, chances are Dylan’s had his hand in it.

In 2017, he founded the Folk and Country music focussed label and production company Big Turnip, which houses artists such as Benji Rowland, The McMillan Camp Boys, and Art Bouman, among others.

And, in 2023, he co-founded the Nowadays Festival in Dartmouth. Its 2nd annual edition runs Oct 10-12, 2024, and features an incredible slate including the likes of Jennifer Castle, P’tit Belliveau, Wolf Castle, Alexander Gallant, Dog Day and U.S Girls.

Big Turnip Records

@bigturnips

@nowadays_fest

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Lisa Haller enjoyed a homecoming in 2022 when she took over as Director of Programming at the Atlantic International Film Festival, in Halifax. She had spent the previous 15 years honing her game at film festivals across North America, including; the Whistler Film Festival, Aspen Film, and TIFF in Toronto.

In our chat, we discuss the festival's opening night film, Jason Buxton's hotly anticipated Sharp Corner (which...I juuuust so happen to be in), Mike Downie's 4 part deep dive documentary about his late brother's band The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, the exciting return of Festival Music House in association with Music Nova Scotia with a show featuring aRENYE, Loviet, and Rich Aucoin, how Lisa got her start in the film world, and much more.

This year's edition of the AIFF runs Sept 11-18, 2024.

More info at www.atlanticfilmfestival.ca

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@whenwewakeradio

@theandrewshaver

Trombonist, radio show host, and Artistic Director of the TD Halifax Jazz Festival, Andrew Jackson, is coming off a monster year at the Music Nova Scotia Awards. They saw him taking home the honours in 3 categories: Jazz Album of the Year for New Doors, his collaboration with guitarist Sam Wilson; the Media Arts Award for his work on his long running radio program The Outer Edge on Dalhousie University's CKDU; and perhaps the biggest of them all, Musician of the Year.

I chatted with him as he rounded the corner into the home stretch of the preparations for this year's edition of the Halifax Jazz Fest, running July 9-14th.

In our chat, we touch on his hopes for the future of the festival, his musical beginnings, his love of the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira, what music he's listening to these days, how he finds it, and much more.

For tickets and information on the TD Halifax Jazz Festival visit halifaxjazzfestival.ca

When We Wake is written, produced, edited, and hosted by Andrew Shaver, originally for broadcast on CKVE-FM on the glorious South Shore of Nova Scotia.

When We Wake theme song Got You by Noah Reid.

Andrew Jackson photo by Meghan Tansey Whitton.

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Joel Gregorio lives in Toronto.

He is an incredible designer and graphic artist. He's the founder of State Goods, which, as he puts it, is an evolving art study in nostalgia, memories, and connection.

I have had the terrifically good fortune of working with Joel on both of the Clever Hopes albums. If you have a look, on whatever your streamer of choice is, under Clever Hopes, what you'll see is Joel's work. He designed all the singles art, the thumbnails, the album covers. He also Art Directed the layout for my vinyl on both Artefact and New Kind of Familiar.

Bringing all those pieces to life alongside my songs has been one the greatest thrills of my artistic career.

I'll be forever grateful for having had the opportunity to collaborate with Joel, not just once, but now twice.

Here's to album number 3.

State Goods

@joel_c_gregorio

@stategoods

@sovereign_state

whenwewakeradio@gmail.com

@whenwewakeradio

@theandrewshaver

Listen live to the broadcast every Saturday, 9:30-11 AM Atlantic (GM-3) on CoveFM.com.

Eva Foote was born in Louisiana, but she moved away with her family as a kid and grew up in Edmonton. She still thinks a lot about Louisiana and what it means to her - what home means to her.

Is Edmonton home? Is Louisiana home? Is Toronto home? Vancouver? Is it Berlin? Or, is it, maybe all of them?

We talk about the life of an artist on the road, and that feeling of never really landing anywhere to stay, because by the time you arrive, you’re already getting ready to leave for the next place.

She and I met in Montreal after she had graduated from the National Theatre School. I directed her in a production of the musical Once and Eva picked the whole show up, put it on her shoulders, and carried it across the finish line.

So, when it came time to record some albums as Clever Hopes, I made one of the smarter decisions in my life and asked her to do it with me. Eva has hands down one of my favourite voices in the whole wide world.

I’ve said it before, and, I’ll said it again, without her Clever Hopes would be nothing more than me croaking away in a lonely baritone waiting for someone to come along and bring my song to life.

@evateresefoote

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