The Roots Rock Sound of Queen West

7:30 p.m. Doors open

8:00 p.m. Johnny and the G-Rays

9:00 p.m. Lori Yates with David Baxter, Bazil Donovan & Michele Josef

10:00 p.m. Whitney Rose & band

Program Curator & Host: Nicholas Jennings

Advance tickets available online through NOW Tickets. Limited tickets available at the door.

Toronto in the late 1970s and early 80s was a hotbed of musical talent. In clubs all along Queen West, some refreshingly feisty sounds sprang up, ranging from punk and new wave to rockabilly and alt-country. It was a scene that carried artists like Blue Rodeo and Cowboy Junkies all the way to the national stage. Johnny & the G-Rays were right in the thick of it. The four-piece band, led by Johnny MacLeod, released a 1980 album that drew from all the Queen West sounds and what one critic called a little bit of Iggy and the Stray Cats. Lori Yates started out in a punk/new wave band before embracing cow-punk with her popular group Rang Tango. A solo career, a stint in Nashville and recording deals with Sony and Virgin Music followed before the alt-country heroine formed Hey Stella! with ace musicians from Blue Rodeo, Prairie Oyster and the Sharks. Now the roots torch has been passed to younger artists like Whitney Rose, who cut her musical teeth at the Cameron House. With two acclaimed albums, including this falls Rule 62, Whitney is a sultry country classicist, according to The New York Times, blessed with what Rolling Stone calls a devilish twang".