Hello, friends. As we approach the latter part of 2021, Eric and I have some changes to relay to the supporters of Ottawa Showbox.  Obviously, these past 19 months have been filled with upheaval and adaptation to the way we do things. The changing landscape has forced us all to re-evaluate our commitments and priorities, particularly in the realm of live music. After a summer hiatus, Eric and I have decided to shut down the music journalism side of Ottawa Showbox permanently. This is a difficult reality to come to terms with, as the music coverage we have provided has not only been the ba ..read more

The Capital Music Awards celebrate a small but important 2nd birthday this year. The 2021 award finalists were announced this week and winners will be named in a special broadcast on May 7. Finalists in the eight award categories include Asuquomo, Night Lovell, Harea Band, The PepTides, Marie-Clo, Moonfruits, DRAE, Jessica Pearson & The East Wind, Paragon Cause, TwoTiime, Tiagz, Céleste Lévis, and Andrew Cassara. Several artists are nominated for multiple awards, but none more than Céleste Lévis who is nominated for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Production, and Virtual Perfor ..read more

A classical tune runs through April Rick’s mind as she completes another 12-hour shift in the emergency room at The Ottawa Hospital. The stress of being a full-time registered nurse during a pandemic has not held Rick back from pursuing her dreams as a part-time singer-songwriter. She released her first pop single “Our Island” on Jan. 22. CREDIT: Tony Dib “Music is a passion,” says Rick. “And when I find that there isn’t a lot of music in my life, I feel very unbalanced. It gives me a lot of energy, and it helps me feel like I’m living life to the fullest.” From the age of four, Rick bega ..read more

Ottawa’s own alternative electro-pop pair, Paragon Cause, kicked off the new year with their latest video release, “Making Up For Lost Time”, which comes off of their upcoming album Autopilot! set to be released in early 2022. The band has once again joined forces with Danish songwriter and producer, Sune Rose Wagner. Wagner is best known for being half of the rock duo—The Raveonettes. CREDIT: Paragon Cause “Most of the songs we’ve done with [Wagner] follow a similar process, it’s very natural,” singer Michelle Opthof says. “This song was recorded last January, so this is the third t ..read more

While the weather outside is warming up, Ottawa’s Stoby are bringing us all back to cooler times with a snowball fight-themed video for their new song called “The Weather is Unfounded.” The local four-piece has developed quite the reputation for making creative and fun videos to accompany their catchy songs. “The Weather is Unfounded” is no exception, and just may be their most epic video yet. The video focuses on a snowball fight showdown over a parking space that has been sold after being occupied by the same family for four generations. I’m not totally clear on the reason for the feud or ho ..read more

For some of us, quarantining has been one of the most unproductive times. Being away from human connection, lacking concentration, and participating in hours of virtual meetings have drained the motivation out of us. But for musician Christina Bell (a.k.a Chrissy), quarantine has been a game-changer. After weeks of being isolated at home and disheartened by cancelled concerts, Bell decided to take the matter into her hands. Utilizing every second of her spare time, Bell created a home-grown, eight-part video series called Chrissy – Live from Home 2020 that had its first release in Ma ..read more

Can you imagine writing your first EP during a pandemic? Well, meet local Ottawa musician Riley Burns. He did just that. Burns began crafting his EP, Stirling Ave, in December 2019 before it hit streaming platforms on Nov. 25, 2020. The project consists of five folk and country tracks—”Gone”, “Drinkin”, “I Knew”, “Getaway Truck”, and “Dark Places”. His EP was his second ever professionally recorded soundtrack. Burns’ first single was “Gone,” featured on his EP, which he released on Spotify a little over a month prior to the album’s release. CREDIT: Riley Burns “Mu ..read more

Ottawa based alt-pop artist maxime. released his latest LP, cerulean, early December, 2020, which is the follow-up to his 2019 debut, whatevernowiscalled. CREDIT: maxime. The themes between the two albums have some parallels but the latest is more of a progression from the first. He originally made EDM music under the name maxd, but he eventually realized it was no longer the same outlet it once was. Picking up a guitar and singing became a new outlet for maxime. and he started writing lyrics to fit the new genre. “I’ve had more experience,” maxime. says. “I didn’t think I could sing before wr ..read more

Ottawa Showbox is very excited to premiere the first song, “Incantation,” by new local doom band Grand Malheur. Grand Malheur, which translates as “misfortune” in French, is the instrumental doom metal project of local musician Cory Levesque who is best know for playing guitar in punk bands (Fresh Hell and Jon Creeden and the Flying Hellfish) and country/folk groups (Jon Becker and the North Fields and his solo acoustic music). Self-described as “Blasphème Instrumental” (instrumental blasphemy), Grand Malheur is heavy, dark, gloomy and the perfect soundtrack to spring showers or late night sum ..read more

When the number one goal is to have a good time, Ottawa indie rock band Class of 91 has sought out unique ways to showcase their band and new album Eyes on Fire during the pandemic. What if you were presented with the opportunity to play music in a cave? “Why would you not record something in a cave?” says Ian Ferguson, the lead singer and guitarist of Class of 91. Through a family connection of guitarist Brock Sarault, the band made a YouTube video of their song “This is Magic” in the Bonnechere Caves in Eganville, Ont.  While they were there, they also filmed ..read more