Andrew Baulcomb's musical tribute to Hamilton, Ontario

In a segment we call the q Block Party, we invite guests to pay musical tribute to the neighbourhoods they hold dear to their hearts. 

Today, author Andrew Baulcomb takes listeners on a guided musical tour through Hamilton, a city southwest of Toronto known for its past as a steel manufacturing hub and now for its flourishing arts community.

Below are Baulcomb's song picks and his reasons behind them.

Wilson Pickett, "Land of 1000 Dances"

"There used to be a club on the east side of downtown called Club Absinthe and during the mid 2000s they launched an event called Motown Wednesdays, which took place in the club's dank, sweaty, grimy basement level and Motown Wednesdays helped bring a lot of young people back into the struggling downtown core."

Young Rival, "Your Island"

"This song reminds me of starting to take a lot of pride in music that was coming out of Hamilton and starting to recognize Hamilton as a musical hub that could stand on its own and stand among the most popular music cities in the country."

Arkells, "Book Club"

"Arkells are a band that I think took a lot of people by surprise. I went to McMaster University in the early and mid 2000s with a bunch of the guys who were in the band and at the time they were in a group called Charlemagne. And they were just one of your typical ar bands in the west end of the city. They were playing places like The Pheonix and all these little sports around town. And then over the years they have become one of the most popular bands not only from Hamilton but from Canada."

Canadian Winter, "Get The Show On The Road"

"A lot of people I think associate Hamilton with rock and roll or certainly with punk rock or blues or RnB. But the Hamilton I grew up in was very diverse both stylistically and in terms of the people making the music."

Jessy Lanza, "Oh No"

"Electronic music has always been central to the Hamilton music scene because we are a city full of abandoned spaces, whether it's a warehouse or an empty bar or some cool spot in the downtown core, all of these spaces have always lent themselves to throwing parties and raves and having deejays come in and promote electronic music."