 Winnipeg. If you live here and travel a bit, you know that most Canadians think you have to be a bit nuts to live here to a) endure the winters and b) battle the mosquitoes. If pressed, they will concede that the ‘Peg is also a rich cultural place that produces great artists, musicians and bands. So, go forth into the world, brothers, give up your stories of survival and instead enlighten those you meet with the coolness that is Winnipeg’s next great band.
Keep the electronic beats happening with Solidaze’s Pleasure from Precision, Vav Jungle’s Pap Rock or the stunning Calligraffiti by Grand Analog. Go back a bit further and pick up I Do My Own Stunts from rappers Mood Ruff.
 This town was built on rock and the latest keepers of the flame include the punky ranting on Chicks, Dudes, Bad Attitudes from the Sons of York. The Nods released the garage band sounds on Static Pop in 2007. Obviously the biggest release was last fall’s Reunion Tour from The Weakerthans. With songs about bus drivers, curling and goalies, what’s not to like?
 The Details are on the move, having placed a song called A National Anthem in NBC’s new drama Lipstick Jungle, and have made showcase trips to the South by Southwest and North by Northeast Music festivals.
Ash Koley had the most infectious pop song last year with Mary the Inventor. This girl’s going to be huge. Check out
www.manitobamusic.com/artists/ashkoley for a couple of sample tracks. Paris Hilton’s newest flick may have been a disaster, but at least it has two of Ash Koley’s tunes.
You can’t swing a cat in this town without hitting a singer-songwriter, among them many women who deserve your attention. Lindsay Jane is knocking people out with her voice, while Alana Levandoski is currently recording in a church in Kelwood, Manitoba with Coldplay’s UK producer Ken Nelson. Ex-Wailin’ Jenny Cara Luft released The Light Fantastic with help from 54-40 frontman Neil Osborne late last year.
Roots act Twilight Hotel was nominated for a 2008 Folk Alliance Award as Best Emerging Artist, so here is another opportunity to jump on an early bandwagon. Their album is called Highway Prayer. The Duhks and Nathan are two pillars of the Winnipeg musical community, and any recording from this duo will quickly become a treasured possession.
 One of my favourite albums of 2007 was Tow Truck by The Perpetrators, a blues/rock outfit that has been tearing up stages around town for years.
If you like R&B or funk, you’ll want to check out the new self-titled release from Flo, a gifted singer backed by a crack group of studio musicians. Moses Mayes never disappoints and their new release Second Ring is a funk jazz mix that really satisfies.
 Winnipeg has a musical heritage stretching back to the ‘60s but it is today’s artists who keep reinventing themselves and broadening the sonic landscape that keep the city’s musical reputation so fresh and diverse. I have not even mentioned Inward Eye, The Waking Eyes, The Wailin’ Jennys, Eagle & Hawk, Mark Reeves, Paris to Kiev, Christine Fellows or Doc Walker. There’s lots to brag about, so get on a plane and go spread the word.
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