Ahead of the NAC’s Ontario Scene extravaganza, we tap into hometown homie Kalle Mattson’s Instagram account to get a snapshot of the province through a musician’s eye. Mattson will play with The Sadies and The Wooden Sky on May 8 at the Bronson Centre, just one of many concerts and events taking over the city in the coming weeks. Find full details online.
Photo 1: Holding Guitars
“When talking about touring, you inevitably have to talk about touring outside of Ontario. One thing I never thought I’d be doing is so much touring, which involves flying and spending copious amounts of time waiting in airports. Let’s just say I know Terminal 1 at Pearson all too well.”
Photo 2: Niagara Falls
“Over the past couple of years, I’ve been touring almost non-stop and have visited so many amazing cities and countries that I would not have had the opportunity to see, if I wasn’t playing music. It’s really been a conscious decision to sort of be a tourist during the day and be a musician at night. And it doesn’t get any more touristy than Niagara Falls folks.”
Photo 3: Exclaim Picture
“I put out a record last year called Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold, which was a super personal record (read SOUND SEEKERS: This Time With Feeling!) and still really means a lot to me. My band and I were driving from Ottawa to Toronto last June for NXNE and somewhere along the 401, we found out that the record had been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize. It was a validating and sort of surreal moment, which I’m happy I got to share with the guys who played on that record. After we found out, we pulled into an On Route and got some gas.”
Photo 4: Vinyl Café Live Shot
“Last fall, I did a tour on CBC’s The Vinyl Café throughout Ontario, which was really incredible. I’ve been a big fan since I was little, so it was a dream come true to be asked to tour. Just being part of such a storied Canadian institution and playing all these incredible theatres across the province was great.”
Photo 5: Studio Shot
“I just finished up recording a brand new EP in Toronto last month and had one of my musical role models — Jim Bryson — play on it, which was amazing. I’ve been recording demos up in Stittsville at Jim’s studio for the past year or so, and it was a natural thing for Jim to be a part of the actual recordings. It comes out at the end of May and I couldn’t be more excited!”