After an astute performance at last week’s annual Nova Scotia Music Week in Yarmouth, NS, and a wildly successful European tour, Halifax’s Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers launch a Canadian tour this week. To support the release of their stunning new release In The Time of the Great Remembering, the band is temporarily bidding the Maritimes adieu to play a number of dates throughout November with Montreal’s Charlotte Cornfield.
“In the Time of the Great Remembering is easy to like. It doesn’t take many listens to get to know it and have bits and pieces of Caplan’s gruffly romantic songs stuck in your head,” reviewed the Dalhousie Gazette.
“Halifax is my home but there’s something really special about taking In The Time of the Great Remembering on the road again, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to play these songs to audiences I don’t see quite as often,” says Caplan. “I’ve spent the last three months on the road promoting this record and it’s been a really wonderful experience, touring is one of the greatest parts about being a musician.”
This fall has already seen Ben Caplan gracing stages at Reeperbahn Festival in Germany and sweeping through the United Kingdom converting boat loads of new fans along the way. Caplan always makes it of importance to play on home soil. He managed to make appearances at both Pop Montreal festival and Halifax Pop Explosion as well.
Paying homage to classic blues with tones faintly lit by folk, this release demonstrates Caplan’s uncanny response to songwriting. It takes a listener through a soulful, rousing adventure with arrangements of musical prowess molded by the likes of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. Tour dates and download links below!
WATCH Ben Caplan performance of “Stranger” and interview for Balcony TV:
DOWNLOAD hi-res artwork and media materials here:
http://www.audiobloodmedia.com/EPK/materials/bencapalbum.jpg
DOWNLOAD In the Time of the Great Remembering in full here:
http://tickettoride.ca/audioblood/BenCaplan_Remembering.zip
TOUR DATES
Nov. 9 @ Strut Gallery, SACKVILLE (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 10 @ Plan B, MONCTON (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 11 @ The Capitol, FREDERICTON (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 12 @ Pepper’s Pub, ST. JOHN, NB (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 13 @ The Fusion Cafe, WOODSTOCK, NB (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 14 @ L’Agitee, QUEBEC CITY (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 16 @ The Supermarket, TORONTO (w/ Gabrielle Papillon, Revelstoke)
Nov. 19 @ Pearl Company, HAMILTON (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 20 @ Van Gogh’s Ear, GUELPH (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 21 @ Cafe Pyrus, KITCHENER (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 23 @ The APK, LONDON (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 24 @ The Phog Lounge, WINDSOR (w/ Charlotte Cornfield)
Nov. 30 @ Le Divan Orange, MONTREAL
Dec. 3 @ Viewpoints Gallery, HALIFAX (*Exhibit About Evolve Festival)
BIO
Rugged, raspy, and roaring with charisma, Halifax’s Ben Caplan is to folklore what smoke is to bourbon. Perfectly coupled. Ben’s songwriting is as bold in range as it is in ferocity. Fueled by a quality of melodrama and powerful lyricism, it’s the romance and the manhood crashing with his voice that gives Caplan a truly innovative and experimental artistry. A sound that bridges the gap between controlled composition and unruly passion.
Striding in pace with gypsy-inspired strings amid the sultry tones of clarinet and saxophone, Caplan has marked his place in the Canadian music landscape with a growling spirit similar to that of Tom Waits. Caplan’s tours have extended throughout the Commonwealth, the rhapsodic energy in his live show an elegant cacophony gaining attention around the world .
Breaking between guitar, banjo, piano, and melodica, Caplan’s stage show is almost reminiscent of a burly and bearded Freddy Mercury; a raging, strong, and exploratory songwriter, it’s the blues in his soul, and the heart in your chest pounding as one that makes Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers an act not to be missed.
Ben Caplan has been a touring musician since 2006. Seasoned in coast-to-coast travel, Caplan his seen stages in the UK and has performed a rolodex of festivals.
LINKS
The Rock Tribune 