Visit: eastsideconfectioneryrecords.com/author/ericthesoo

I guess if this was an interview, maybe somewhere along the way I would be asked “why Algoma Street? What is the meaning behind the title of this EP?”. Well, I’m glad you asked! It is inspired by a happy coincidence that we stumbled upon back in 2017. Some of you may already be aware that I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie (aka ‘The Soo’) which is where the band name comes from. Sault Ste. Marie happens to located within the District of Algoma (for my American friends, ‘district’ is akin to ‘county’). Back in 2017, I traveled home to Sault Ste. Marie to perform my first ever hometown gig at LopLops on Queen Street East. There was a short write-up in the paper, and the event was published in the “Algoma Entertainment Listings” section of the newspaper, which I photographed and posted on social media. Upon seeing this our lead guitarist, Ken Yoshioka, commented “hey! I live on Algoma Street in Toronto!” … what a beautiful coincidence! What are the chances? I knew right then, that I would one day release a record under the moniker “Algoma Street”. And here we are, 7 years later: Algoma Street is indeed named after the beautiful northern region of Ontario that I grew up in and treasure so dearly.

TICKETS: algomaconservatory.com/the-store/p/ray-bonneville

RAY BONNEVILLE – Annual Sault Concert Celebration – Sunday September 15, 2024 – 7:00 pm – THE LOFT

Ray Bonneville has taken a long and imaginative path in a remarkable music career that has taken him all over North America and Europe. Playing in his signature style and voice, Ray’s impressive catalogue reflects a keen eye for interesting characters and the common struggles we all face in everyday life.

Ray was born in Hull, Quebec (now Gatineau, Quebec), in a family that spoke solely French. His father found work in Boston, Massachusetts, and the family relocated to the USA where Bonneville, about to become a teenager, was placed into public school without knowing a bit of English. There, Bonneville fell behind in school, but took to music in a big way after a friend showed him how to play guitar. In his late teens Bonneville signed up for the United States Marine Corps, serving 13 months in the Vietnam War.

Later in the 1970s Bonneville began traveling the country exploring and absorbing musical styles, playing at festivals and small clubs across the United States, and opening for the likes of B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Dr. John. He also learned how to fly a plane and through much of the 1980s supplemented his income by working as a flight instructor in New Orleans and Boston and then as a bush pilot in Quebec.

It was only in 1993, in his mid 40s, that Ray finally recorded his first album, On The Main. He has since released nine albums in total and has gained critical and popular acclaim everywhere. Ray’s single, On The Blind Side, was released in the summer of 2022 with an album soon to follow.

Visit: raybonneville.com

On The Blind Side songs range from the hopeful Lucky Moon to the sinister Night Cab, a song born of Ray’s experience as a cab driver in Boston, and a fitting story-line for a classic film-noir. Woven throughout the record are simple and sometimes painful life lessons: the title track, On the Blind Side, looks back over a lifetime of unknowing missteps, and Even With Time disputes the familiar adage ‘time heals all things.

Visit: raybonneville.com

RAY BONNEVILLE – Annual Sault Concert Celebration – Sunday September 15, 2024 – 7:00 pm – THE LOFT TICKETS: algomaconservatory.com/the-store/p/ray-bonneville

while the old man who would need forgiving trampled what love there might’ve been
was telling myself I would come away clean
what was it I just couldn’t see

on the blind side

on the blind side

what couldn’t I see on the blind side

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