Peaks, Colleen Brown perform this weekend
From modular synth to bluesy guitar, there's somebody for everybody on Ottawa-Gatineau stages
Peaks @ Live on Elgin on Friday, 7 p.m., $12
Sometimes good things start in the classifieds. That was the case for local band Peaks, anyway.
The trio got its start just shy of a year ago, after a Kijiji ad for bandmates led to a night of music talk over beers. Within five months, Peaks had written nine original songs and released an EP. The band's self-described "dance punk" offers nods to Brit-rockers Muse; it's heavy on the guitar rock, but with radio-friendly choruses delivered in a powerful vibrato.
For Friday's show at Live on Elgin, Peaks will try out some new songs destined for an upcoming LP. If you want to help fund the album, you'll have the option of pitching in some extra cash at the door.
Switched on Synths: Bleeps and Bloops edition @ House of TARG on Saturday, 9 p.m., $8 ($10 after 10 p.m.)
"Switched on Synths" is a regular blessing for local lovers of electronic music. Since launching in September 2015, the series has showcased synth experimenters from our region and as far away as Norway and Iceland.
This weekend marks the ninth installment of the series at House of Targ — the "bleeps and bloops" edition — with modular synth performances by Boston acts Squelcher and Prone.
Show up early to catch the first musician on the bill — Nuthre is the instrumental project of Ottawa composer and media artist Jeff Morton. It's captivating space age noise.
Jack de Keyzer @ The Rainbow Bistro on Saturday, 9 p.m., $15
There's a lot on the go for Saturday: Half Moon Run headlines a sold-out show at The Bronson Centre alongside Plants and Animals, Craig Cardiff returns to the Black Sheep Inn for a weekend of back-to-back concerts, and local cello-laden weirdos Shoe Blog play a CHUO fundraiser at Pressed.
Meanwhile, one of Canada's blues greats is set to perform in the Byward Market. Jack de Keyzer is a two-time Juno winner and a seven-time Maple Blues Award winner, who's collaborated with the likes of Etta James and Bo Diddley. He'll make a tour stop at The Rainbow on Saturday to share his smouldering licks with Ottawa's blues lovers.
Colleen Brown @ Pressed on Sunday, 8 p.m., $10
Over the past decade, Edmonton's Colleen Brown has built a solid reputation as one of the country's folk-pop songwriters to watch — but don't assume her musical style ends there. In recent years, she's opened for an eclectic list of musicians, from Rufus Wainwright to Buck 65 to Frank Black.
Brown's latest EP is more evidence of her musical versatility. Seasons are Circling is made up of collaborations recorded over the span of a few years in the basements, living rooms and attics of Brown's music-making friends. It finds Brown seamlessly shifting from rootsy pop, to swirling synth ballads, to horn-rich, snappy soul.
When she lands at Pressed on Sunday, she'll be joined by Toronto's Skye Wallace and Ottawa's own Jonathan Becker.
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