Love for the Grad Club - Fundraiser at Blu Martini - Sunday, June 9th + DRR Concert News

Attention music fans: the Grad Club needs you. Let's show the city of Kingston that we want live music to survive and thrive!

Come to Blu Martini on Sunday, June 9th from 3-8PM to support the Grad Club, and to take a stand for local culture and the small live music venue.

The story of the Grad Club's financial troubles are far from uncommon across the province, country, even across the world! Small music venues everywhere were forced to cease operations during COVID, burning through any reserves they had, and taking on support loans just to keep the lights on. Now loans are coming due and rents are being increased, the result being that the ecosystem of small venues in this country is under threat.

It's time to stand up for culture and recognize the importance of art and music as it relates to the collective well-being and mental health of our society.

Tickets are by donation($25 suggested) and are available on Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/896504116947 

This is going to be an incredible afternoon/evening of music!

Luther Wright will be hosting this concert event which will feature performances by:

Holy Wow
Jon McLurg Old Tyme Trio 
Piner
Hugh Christopher Brown & Stephen Stanley
Goldwing
The Mill-Rights
Tim Sheffield
Dead Root Revival

**plus surprise guests!!**

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DRR CONCERT NEWS

In addition to the Grad Club fundraiser on June 9th, DRR has some fun concerts coming up over the next month. First up is the Summer Kickoff Music Festival at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith this Saturday, May 25th. This is a free admission event, and features music from 4-10 PM (our set is at 7 PM). 

Ottawa fans be sure to catch our show at The Rainbow Bistro on Thursday, May 30th with well-known local singer-songwriter Graven opening the show in full band style! Tickets available here: https://therainbow.ca/event/5434804/670192413/dead-root-revival-kingston-wsg-graven

On Saturday, June 22nd, Dead Root Revival returns to Furnace Falls Farm in Lyndhurst, ON. We are really looking forward to this concert, as we had an amazing show there last year, and the setting is magical for live music: a big old barn with a 100-foot ceiling. An important note for DRR superfans: while we are playing some shorter sets in the Kingston region, June 22nd will be one of the only chances this summer to take in the full-on two hour concert experience that you have become accustomed to seeing from the band. Not to be missed!

Toronto: we are returning on Friday, June 28th! Hold off on your holiday weekend excursions out of the city and take in a good ol' fashioned (early) rock show! We're at The Painted Lady on Ossington, Lauren Carson opens the show with a solo acoustic set at 7 PM. Get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dead-root-revival-with-lauren-carson-tickets-850383037557

See you at the rock show!

Tom

One Night Only: Brock Zeman and Tom Savage in Concert

If you are in the Chelsea/Wakefield/Gatineau-area next Friday, November 24th, don't miss the rare opportunity to take in a concert by myself and Brock Zeman! We've made a few excursions around Ontario in 2023 performing in-the-round style, and it makes for an entertaining concert, showcasing our distinctive songwriting styles. Fans of Americana, Roots, Blues, don't want to miss this one.

Motel Chelsea is located at 1418 Route 105 Chelsea, QC J9B 1P4

Tickets are available on Eventbrite ( https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/motel-chelsea-presents-troubadours-tom-savage-brock-zeman-tickets-688497363147) or at the door(reservations are recommended).

Spread the word!

Cheers,
Tom

Motel Chelsea presents Troubadours : Tom Savage & Brock Zeman

Combined, this duo of grass roots Eastern Ontario musicians have released 25 albums over the past twenty years, performed thousands of concerts, and traversed the continent more times than one cares to remember. Now they are joining forces to take you on a journey through their collective songbook; retelling tales of the road, love and loss, and life lived on the wrong side of town.

About Brock Zeman

“With a voice that recalls early Tom Waits crossed with Johnny Dowd, a talking blues style, and backing instrumentation that lays down a slinky late night groove Zeman makes MUSIC THAT FILLS THE SOUL… Discovery of the year so far.” -Americana UK

“Jaw dropping songwriting genius.” - Fatea Records

“His songs have more depth than can be realized first time through, which only enhances with each listen.” -Penguin Eggs

About Tom Savage

"Coming on like a rocking, later day Townes Van Zandt, Savage colors outside the lines with tales of those living beyond the margins. Every generation needs one who holds up the fun house mirror to the absurdities and this is a cult hero for our times"- Midwest Record Review

"We are dealing with a brilliant poet and troubadour" - Country Jukebox

"Recommended to those who still believe in Roots Rock power and poetry" - Lonestar Time

 Super excited to share this news with you guys!

My new album, 21st Century Lo-Fi will be officially released on March 25th. Yay! This has been THE big pandemic project for me. You can preorder the album starting today at https://igg.me/at/tomsavagemusic Check out this site for discounts and other perks. 

I started working on this album in April of 2020, recording and mixing it myself ( Geoff Chown helping me out on the home stretch. Thanks Geoff!). That’s a first for me, since my days of recording on the 4-track cassette recorder in my Mom’s basement.

This is why I chose the title, 21st Century Lo-Fi. We have all of these technological tools at our disposal, but in the end, it comes down to creativity. This process really brought me back to the beginning of my creative journey( in the 1990’s!!!).

Many differences in modern times of course: The major one being remote collaborations due to lockdown,  with the rhythm section of Jason Mercer and Bonz Bowering . Some truly inspirational performances from these guys.

Also, my kids got involved: Benji plays bass on one track, and Zach provided the amazing artwork!

For me, this album project was a light in the COVID darkness, and holds a special place in my heart for that reason.

I really want you all to hear it, and to BUY it,  because I’ve basically been out of work for two years! It’s very weird and stressful when you’re used to playing 200+ shows per year, and it gets reduced to 20. Yikes!

Sign up for the preorder today. Formats include digital, CD and Vinyl. The vinyl won’t be in until June due to supply chain issues, but when it gets here we’re gonna have a big time party for sure!

I’ve also added a box set option (21st Century Lo-Fi on vinyl and CD, plus 5 previous releases in CD format), and a couple of other perks on the
indiegogo page you can sign up for, such as a private song commission ( I’ll write and record a song specifically for you!!) and private concerts ( either solo or with the full band).

Please share and spread the love around!

Yay! Music!!

Tom

P.S. Huge thanks to my Savage Song Supporters ( https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/song-supporter )for their support throughout this pandemic. This album would not have happened without you. Your continued support is the fuel for this artist’s creative engine!

Also, thanks to the Kingston Arts Council for awarding me their resiliency grant. This funding provided me the opportunity to buy new equipment and software to see this project through to completion.

Support Local this Christmas and Give the Gift of Music!

I hope everyone is doing okay, as we are headed into round five of this long bout with COVID. Today is the first day of a long winter ahead.

Musicians have barely had a chance to recover, and now it looks like we will be facing more restrictions that will prevent us from doing our jobs( restrictions are in place in Kingston, already, and in the province of Quebec).

I encourage music fans to think local this Christmas season, and purchase music or merchandise from artists working (or not able to work)and living in your community.

Bandcamp is a wonderful tool for this, as you are able to send music as a gift. Consider sending digital albums this year instead of Christmas cards!

Seeing as I live in Kingston, here are some artists from my community that you should check out:

Miss Emily - https://themissemily.com/order/

The Mill-Rights - https://themillrights.bandcamp.com

The Wilderness - https://www.patreon.com/thewilderness

Megan Hamilton - https://meganhamilton.bandcamp.com

Oakridge Ave - https://oakridgeave.bandcamp.com

Kasador - https://www.patreon.com/kasador

Clem Chesterfield - https://clemchesterfield.bandcamp.com

The Gertrudes - https://thegertrudes.bandcamp.com

The Ropes - https://hughchristopherbrown.bandcamp.com/album/the-ropes

Michael C. Duguay - https://michaelcduguay.bandcamp.com

…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this town!

Thanks to My Supporters!

I’ve been very fortunate over the course of this pandemic to have the support of many fans, who have either subscribed to my Bandcamp, or purchased merchandise, to help keep me going. Truly thankful for this! 😌🙏

For my Bandcamp subscribers ( Savage Song Supporters) I’ve done my best to provide interesting and entertaining content  in 2021, and now there are currently 19 titles available to subscribers on the site!

For $5/ month you can stream/download these albums and receive any new albums I post in the future…and there will be more, trust me. 😄

Here’s what has been added to my Bandcamp page in 2021:

Tom Savage Trio - The County Line -I just added this 2008 release. Dirt Road Rock N' Roll! Featuring familiar songs like "The County Line", "The One", and "No-Win Situation".

Dead Root Revival - Live Before Lockdown - Recorded live at The Mansion on March 13th, 2020. The last rock show in Kingston before COVID hit.(subscriber exclusive)

Dead root Revival - Live at the Toucan featuring Chris Rio - A fun night with Chris on vocals recorded at the Toucan in 2019. (subscriber exclusive).

Tom Savage Trio - Overdrive Express Deluxe - The 2012 TST album with 5 previously unreleased bonus tracks, including a barn burning rendition of Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around to Die". Also familiar numbers like "Train Keeps A Rollin", "Amarillo", and our famous slide blues version of Dylan's "Down in the Flood". 

Live From the Jam Zone - Session #4 - Savage Family Band - Me, Benji, and Bonz laying down some serious groove here. Live from the basement! (subscriber exclusive)

Live From the Jam Zone - Session #3 - Tom Savage and Mike Corrigan - Me on acoustic guitar and Mike on cajon. Acoustic Blues and Folk vibe. (subscriber exclusive)

Living Room Session - A reissue of my 2011 lo-fi acoustic folk EP. 

Live @ The Acoustic Grill - This 2009 release was on Bandcamp already, but I added it as part of the subscription package. Among the songs on this album are "Northern Ontario Highway" and "You'll Come Around To Me".

Lots of music out there to appreciate and support. Please spread the love around this Christmas season!

Stay Safe,

Tom

Live from the Jam Zone Session #3/ Living Room Session Re-issue/ Bandcamp Friday

 Hello Friends, 

Hope everyone is doing okay out there. Winter is chugging along for me (considering lockdown in Ontario and heading into the one year anniversary of COVID). It has been a long haul, not being able to work other than sporadic gigs here and there in the summer, and my patience has had its ebbs and flows for sure. But it has been far worse for so many others around the globe, and I hope as the months go by in 2021 we will see an end to the suffering that this disease continues to leave in its wake.

For those of us in the performing arts community, we are most likely looking at a longer recovery than most sectors of the economy, considering we depend on crowds gathering in order to do our jobs. Who would willingly file into a packed 1000-seat auditorium, or stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a 120 capacity pub right now? Not it!

Getting back to some sense of normalcy will take time. If I had to guess, I would say summer 2022...but I'd be foolish to guess where COVID is concerned.

Whenever normal gets here, I will welcome the opportunity to hit the road and hop on the stage to perform for all of you!

Until then, I'll continue to do my very best to bring you great music, and to entertain! This Friday, tune into the Facebook page for Live From The Jam Zone : Session #3 with guest Mike Corrigan joining me to provide percussion to the proceedings. We go live at 7 PM.

https://www.facebook.com/events/223016456218350

I have been recording these sessions and posting them on my bandcamp page for Song Supporters to download/stream at their leisure (Technology willing, this session will be posted as well). Become a Savage Song Supporter for $5/month (or more) and receive a whole bunch of music instantly, plus everything I release in the future. Since COVID, I've been using this subscription service as a way of offsetting my income losses due to lack of merchandise sales...rather, almost complete disappearance of merch sales! It's a significant amount of money for me ($15000 in 2019). 

I'm working hard to give subscribers top value, and the music is coming fast and furious. Thursday, I will be releasing a reissue of my 2011 EP, Living Room Session.

As the title suggests, this EP was recorded in my living room. A lo-fi, bare bones collection of folk songs. I've taken the opportunity to remix and remaster the songs, opting to give them an even more lo-fi sound than I had ten years ago, purposely using modern technology to mimic a cassette 4-track recorder as best as I can. Fans of Springsteen's "Nebraska" record should enjoy this collection of songs. You can pick up for $6 ( or become a song supporter for $5, and get EVERYTHING). 

Bandcamp Friday

Speaking of Bandcamp, this Friday is what's known as #bandcampfriday. Bandcamp sets aside one Friday a month in which they waive all of their fees, and give 100% of purchase money directly to the artists. It's the best day to discover the site and all they have to offer. I'll be laying down a few bucks to support my fellow artists. I'm looking to support local, so if you have links of Kingston-area artists on Bandcamp, send me a tweet or comment on my Facebook page @tomsavagemusic and I'll help get the word out.

Also, I want to give a shoutout to my friend Sean Burns, who released a great country album, We Gotta Lotta Truckin' To Do, in support of legendary Winnipeg venue, the Times Changed High and Lonesome Club.


https://seanburns.bandcamp.com/album/we-gotta-lotta-truckin-to-do

Touring musicians who are currently not touring: Don't forget about the venues that have helped you out along the way over the years. Throw some $$ their way!


Clem Chesterfield Kickstarter

Kingston country music crooner, Clem Chesterfield is getting his new record bullwhipped into shape, and you can help him out by funding his Kick starter campaign - 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/clemchesterfield/advance-sales-for-clem-chesterfields-of-lures-and-love?fbclid=IwAR2zTXmUODD8-1T85Iwi0dJRA5EvR7VMqTOJ3auBVlU6OyVTENH8sdhl4No 

Another way you can #supportlocal !

YEEHAW!!!

Tom

Music City Monday Concert Stream / Live from the Jam Zone - Session #1

 Music City Monday Series

Dead Root Revival had the incredible opportunity to take part in the Music City Monday Series at the Empire Theatre, in Belleville recently. Mark Rashotte and the crew started this series of live stream concerts as a way to support local musicians and venue staff during the pandemic.

Read more about it here : https://themusicexpress.ca/live-stream-events-plan-b.../...

The production quality of these live stream shows is stellar. I highly recommend you check them out. Shows air live at 7:30 PM every Monday evening.

Our recent concert, which aired Monday will be showing until December 20th. You can view it here: https://vimeo.com/489129839?ref=tw-share...

Become a Savage Song Supporter!

As many of you know, COVID has decimated the live music industry, and has forced musicians to think outside the box to come up with new ways of generating income, engaging and entertaining fans.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I started a subscription service on Bandcamp to help offset my lost touring income.

https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/song-supporter

Become a Savage Song Supporter for as little as $5/ month, and you will receive EVERY new piece of music I release. So far in 2020, I've released three singles and one full-length album:

Beyond the Great Beyond * Song Supporter Exclusive * (full-length album of bonus tracks from 2019's "Great Beyond" recording sessions)

Beach Blanket Bingo Bottle Toke * Song Supporter Exclusive * ( This single is from the "History of a Common Man" recording sessions, reinvented with new instrumentation and a space folk vibe.)

Something Real -https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/track/something-real ( This is truly my pandemic song, with the lyrics focusing on the inequalities in society that have been laid bare by COVID-19, and my personal belief that a universal basic income is needed to stem the tide of economic disparity, to address poverty, and mental health issues of all citizens. Musically, it's a bit of a departure for me. A slow groove vibe with important synth flourishes and bass guitar contributions from musician, Jason Mercer.)

In the Evening Glow - https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-evening-glow ( this is a moody, melancholic piece that will hit you in the feels. Solo and acoustic, with an overdubbed spicy guitar solo ).

PLUS you will receive these back-catalog releases:

Great Beyond (2019) - https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/album/great-beyond

Everything Intertwined (2017) - https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/album/everything-intertwined

History of a Common Man (2014) - https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/album/history-of-a-common-man

Never Shed No Tears (2006) - https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/album/never-shed-no-tears

Early next year, I will be adding re-mastered versions of Tom Savage Trio releases, The County Line (2008) and Overdrive Express(2012) to the list! Along with previously unreleased bonus tracks!!! Engineer Geoff Chown is in the lab working on it at this very moment. : )

What was that? That's not enough, you say? Well, there's more!

Live Streaming + Multitrack Recording = The "Live from the Jam Zone" Series

My initial plan to put on live streaming events exclusively to subscribers hit a bit of a road block recently when it became apparent that Facebook would have to handle the money...I wasn't down with that plan...not that there is anything wrong with giant evil corporations. Hahaha.

But when I stared at this brick wall, I realized another opportunity to give subscribers more value, and more music. I'll be multitrack recording my live stream shows and releasing them exclusively to Savage Song Supporter Subscribers (say that 5 times fast) in a series of "Live from the Jam Zone" sessions. Actually, this process has already begun. Song Supporters can stream/download Live from the Jam Zone: Session # 1 starting today! - https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/song-supporter

It's a live stream. It's a podcast of sorts. It's a series of albums. I'm excited to see where we can take this. Possibly special guest collaborations. Definitely a Savage Family Band concert coming soon.

Lots to look forward to. Join me on the ride!

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season. Let's hunker down for the winter and with the vaccine being distributed, Spring will hopefully offer up opportunities for us to gather for live in-person concerts again.

Best,

Tom