HEY, OCEAN!

I've been planning a summer trip to BC for a while now, but I haven't actually made it out there yet. It will eventually happen. Until it does, Vancouver based Hey Ocean's show at The Horseshoe this Saturday (June 25) will have to tide me over. If you like laid back West Cost acoustic instrumentals and upbeat (often sultry) female vocals, then you'll love this band. Below is a sample of what you'll hear at their show this weekend.



Be there.

RAVE ON BUDDY HOLLY

If you're into Buddy Holly (which you should be), you're going to love this new cover album. "Rave On Buddy Holly" features The Black Keys, The Strokes, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and others performing 19 of his best songs. Below is a free stream of the entire album, for your listening pleasure:

Rave On Buddy Holly by concordmusicgroup

Dollar store in, record shop out. Doesn't sounds sensible, but according to Annex institution Sonic Boom Records, this is exactly what's about to happen. As of late August, the shop will be relocating (due to a forced vacancy by the landlords) to across the street, in a vacated part of Honest Ed's. They will have all the same memorable features as its original location (in-store performances, vinyl, CDs, etc). Being an integral part of not just Toronto's music scene, but The Annex's general social and visual infrastructure, Sonic Boom needed to stay in the area. But with change comes opportunity. The owners have taken this lemon-of-a-situation and turned it into an chance for expansion. In July, they'll also be opening another smaller, quirkier Kensington Market location - a hopefully welcome addition to an area sparse in music retail.