NEWS RELEASE
KALEIDOSCOPE MUSIC GUELPH
***************************
A fixture on the Toronto music scene since the early 1980s, John Borra has played everything from punk to rock to roots music. He was a member of the legendary post-punk band A Neon Rome, Groovy Religion and The Viletones, played with Change of Heart, Handsome Ned and many others and has been a part of nearly every significant musical movement in the city.
It's fair to say that John Borra has seen and done it all within the Toronto alternative music scene, from witnessing the first stirrings of punk as a kid in the late 1970s to joining his first bands at the dawn of the alt-rock movement in the late 1980s, and forging a solo career during the roots music renaissance that followed.
His new album, Cassettes In Common, plays tribute to virtually all of these eras by presenting Borra's new interpretations of 10 songs by fellow singer/songwriters who helped build the scene, such as Ron Sexsmith, Kyp Harness, Bob Snyder, Sam Larkin and Frank Nevada. Assisting Borra in the studio was another group of Toronto underground legends, including Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies, Blue Rodeo keyboardist Mike Boguski, original Blue Rodeo drummer Cleave Anderson, Doughboys/Rusty guitarist Scott McCullough, fiddler extraordinaire Miranda Mulholland, Handsome Ned guitarist Steve Koch, and Borra's longtime friends and collaborators Sam Ferrara and Johnny MacLeod."
Cassettes In Common follow John's 2020 critically acclaimed Blue Wine release. John Borra Band includes Cleave Anderson on drums and Derrick Brady (Skydiggers, Hawksley Workman) on bass.
Ian Reid is a singer/songwriter based in Rockwood and will open the show. "He is so completely, unapologetically himself on stage. On top of that, he writes good tunes!" musician and host of CBC Canada Live.
When: Saturday, Feb, 25, 2023, at 2 p.m.
Where: Red Papaya Thai & Grill, 55 Wyndham St. N., Guelph (inside Old Quebec Street Mall)
Admission: PWY - Pay What You Can, with proceeds going to the performers
***************************
