Bragg Borealis s-1

When, Where, and Why!

This Friday night at The Ship is the big announcement: come and see who has survived all three rounds of really, really tough jurying. We will be crowning the winner of the 2014 Borealis Music Prize at The Ship at 11:15 pm sharp.

After the drumrolls, confetti bangs, and cheque presentation, the winner will play a quick set, and then Mark Bragg will perform for the rest of the night — a perfect party soundtrack, live in the flesh.  So come and dance your pants off to Mark, and see which album close to 40 jurors chose as the best of the year.

There’ll also be free copies of Big Townie Tunes Vol.1 on hand: a 20-track album featuring 1 song by each shortlisted band. There will even be a secret second trophy to present. Come see why.

Every day this week, we’ll say something on each of the 5 shortlisted bands, and, hear a random fact on a Mark Bragg song.

Why’d Steve Maloney Record His Shortlisted Album in an Abandoned Strip Joint?

“The Other Hand” off Self-titled

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If there was a hometown hero award: Steve has won it. The longlist jury gave him more points than any other shortlisted act. And the people polled for August’s “Best of St. John’s” issue gave him many accolades: Best Quiet Album of the Year, Best Quiet Song of the Year, Best Solo Male Artist, Best Folk Act, Best Male Singer, and Best Artist to Enjoy Quietly at Home. It’d be no surprise to see him win, and the boy deserves it. From foot-stompers to emotionally stirring ballads, this self-titled album is far too sophisticated and solid to be a debut, and yet it is. Clearly Steve Maloney’s music career has more promise than a wishing well,

But why’d he record the album in an abandoned strip joint? Pretty straightforward answer.

“Adam, Phil, and Romesh had all their stuff set up in there for Hey Rosetta rehearsals. They basically had everything we needed to make a record. We brought in some of our own stuff and hit record during their downtime. There was a little bleed from the street, but I enjoyed that uncontrollable element. It all sort of fell in place.”

Mark Bragg on His Song, “Murder in the Southlands”

Every day this week, leading up to the show, Mark Bragg will share a random fact on one of his songs. Today’s is “Murder in the Southlands.”

“Wrote this song in my head while walking through Southlands Mount Pearl when it was just being developed. I kind of pictured an artful vindicator wasting a pimply faced Wendy’s employee in front of his girlfriend. I’m not sure why.”