#ygkPlaylist: March 2017

This month’s #ygkPlaylist features versatile Kingston musicians who can be found performing in an array of bands and styles. Ten years of experience with various ygk bands has lead young artist Arden Rogalsky to release his first full-lengh solo album. James Wannamaker and Julie Mylks have brought their diverse experiences together to create beautiful home recordings of cover tunes; and The Wilderness, who have played all over town in various iterations, are continuously putting out great new tunes. Hit play on the #ygkPlaylist for March and check it out for yourself.

Arden Rogalsky: 18-year-old Arden Rogalsky is a singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His life-long love of music lead Arden to join his first band at the age of 8 and since then he has been actively involved with numerous Kingston bands including The Rhythm Haints and Talk of the Street. On his 18th birthday, Arden released his first full-length album, Deep Sea Roller. Not only did he write and produce the album but he also plays multiple instruments on each track. Keep an eye out for this young ygk artist. We’re sure there is plenty more to come. Find Arden Rogalsky on Facebook and Bandcamp.

James Wannamaker: Multi-instrumentalist and composer James Wannamaker plays a wide variety of styles. When he’s not teaching flute, sax, piano or clarinet, James can be found soloing with local singer-songwriters, playing in a big band for Georgette Fry or leading his own jazz band, The Downtown Trio. Julie Mylks, James’ partner in music and in life, is a voice teacher, vocal coach and pianist who teaches voice at Leahurst College. The duo decided to play around and experiment with some home recordings and the results thus far have given us beautiful renditions of tunes by Leonard Cohen, The Sadies and today’s featured tune “Emmylou” by First Aid Kit. Be sure to check out the other tunes on their playlist and stay tuned for more! Find James Wannamaker on Facebook and YouTube.

The Wilderness: Since meeting at an open mic and deciding to form a band, Kingston’s The Wilderness released their first EP, Sunday Afternoon, in 2015. Since then they have released videos of recording sessions at North of Princess Studio (hinting at a new upcoming album?) and perform regularly in Kingston. They’ll also be hitting the road at the end of the month for a performance at The Opera House in Toronto. The Wilderness are playlist veteran Jonas Lewis-Anthony (Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals), Sacha Lansky (Lead Guitar, Vocals) Tõnu Karl Tombak (Bass, Organ, Vocals), and Henry Lawrence (Drums, Vocals). Find The Wilderness on Facebook, BandCamp and YouTube.

Every month, we comb Soundcloud looking for sounds that are unique to Kingston. We are constantly seeking out active musicians to show off to the local community and beyond. If you’re a musician who wants to be included in a future #ygkPlaylist, the first step is to get your original music up on Soundcloud and then follow us. We promise to follow you back, listen to your work and consider it for the monthly #ygkPlaylist.

Thanks to Yang Yu for the photo used in the background of of this month’s #ygkPlaylist.