Support Local LIVE Music: The February Backyard Jam Music Showcase

The Newsy Neighbour Magazine

www.thenewsyneighbour.com

April Issue 114

Article Provided By:Kyle W. Penn for The Newsy Neighbour Magazine

A Staggering Display of Local Talent

One of the things I love most about live, local music is the potential for incredibly talented artists to pop up when you’re least expecting it. You might be out for a drink one night, maybe celebrating a friend-of-a-friend’s birthday, in a bar or pub you’ve never really visited before, and suddenly, it hits you. You put down your beer and peer over a sea of heads at the band performing onstage. You’ve never seen them before – never even heard of them, if we’re being honest – but there’s something about those guitar licks, that drum fill, the bark of the singer’s vocals that has you hooked.

It’s this feeling of excitement and discovery that we were hoping to capture during the first Backyard Jam Local Music Showcase, and I’d like to think that we succeeded! The evening was jam-packed with incredible homegrown talent of all different styles and stripes: from the energetic rock n’ roll of Marwood Way, to the country twang of Miles Tornberg and Sarah Beth Keeley, to the bluesy rasp of Hurricane Lisa, there was definitely something for everyone to enjoy. From the beginning of the evening to the end of it, Legends Kitchen + Bar was alive with all the local musical ability that Strathmore could muster – and that turns out to be no small amount.

Marwood Way led off the evening, bringing their trademark energy and youthful dynamism to the stage to start things off in the right direction. “We’ve only been together since last August, but we’ve already got 16, 17 original songs,” lead guitarist Brian Guizzo told me. “That’s a full album’s-worth of music. My group is really dedicated, and I owe them plenty for it.” Listening to Guizzo talk about his band is an experience all on its own – there’s a sense of pride in his voice as he discusses all they’ve accomplished in such a short time, and his clear enthusiasm for playing music is electric. “We made it a point to jam regularly, and then we started writing music, and the songs just sort of wrote themselves. Now, we’ve started playing gigs…it’s something to really get excited about.” We couldn’t agree more with you, Brian – live music is always something worth getting excited about!

Miles Tornberg was next up onstage, and he brought with him that signature rootsy style that should be familiar to anybody who frequents the open jam nights he hosts out at the Strathmore Green Bar under the moniker of Rodeo Miles. The polar opposite of Marwood Way on the experience spectrum, Tornberg has been playing music for decades. “It’s been awhile since I’ve played regularly,” he let me know, although you wouldn’t know it if you were judging by his skill with a six-string. “I did a little bit of playing back in the late 70’s, early 80’s, and then rodeo kind of took over my life. So, I put the guitar away for a few years, and started picking it up again about five years ago, got playing with some people here, and we’re just having fun, trying to make music.” It really was quite a singular experience, seeing the excited, unbridled energy of a group like Marwood Way juxtaposed against the sagacious experience and technique of Miles Tornberg – neither is better or preferential to the other, but there was something special about seeing such distinct, disparate genres of music being played on the same stage, one after the other.

While there was plenty of other excitement that took place throughout the evening, the night was closed out by a fantastically energetic performance from Hurricane Lisa who was accompanied onstage at various points by Sarah Beth Keeley (featured in this issue’s Monthly Music Column!) and Pam Donovan. These veterans of the local music scene really brought the evening home, and capped off a phenomenal night of local talent and musical expertise.

This Backyard Jam was the first concert of its kind that Legends and The Newsy Neighbour have organized and presented, but it certainly won’t be the last. Join us for the second Backyard Jam Local Music Showcase coming up on April 14 at Legends, which will be headlined by Sarah Beth Keeley just weeks before she makes her way across the Atlantic this spring for her UK tour. Come out, have a drink or three, and discover the very best in musical talent, right in your own backyard!