One year ago today, my phone rang, I looked at the screen, and knew immediately what the call was about.  I knew it was coming but I still couldn't believe that my best friend and musical collaborator, Bob McNiven, had died from the ravages of ALS. 

You've probably noticed that Bob hasn't gone away.  Neither has his band Whiskey Jack.   Bob may not be on stage with us (when those days return) but his music has filled the airwaves. 

The night he died, I got to work and assembled some photos and announced…

My friends Murray and Dale, both now late, were great joke tellers.  Occasionally, every once in awhile, the joke was funny.  Sometimes that didn't matter.  They put so much drama into their presentation, that was funny enough.

On our 1993 Kic It Tour with Stompin' Tom and Graham Townsend, we were on stage for all of their shenanigans, including the jokes....all the jokes. 

This is Graham sharing a love story with the fans at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island. 

Yes, it's true.  We have shows (even a tour) booked for 2022. 

The Ontario Arts Council have released the results of a study they sponsored.  They were seeking information on what audiences are thinking as we enter our second year of COVID.  In short, here are the results: 

"WolfBrown & OAC Survey - Update 

WolfBrown has been working in partnership with the Ontario Arts Council to launch a tracking study of audiences/visitors for Ontario-based arts organizations. The COVID-19 Audience Outlook Monitor is a…

Whiskey Jack released a fantastic CD in 2019 and we want you to hear it. It's called "Rhymes & Good Times".

Our Youtube channel will be presenting all of the cuts from this CD in video form over the next few weeks. We begin the second show of all of our theatre concerts with this song, played brilliantly by Canada's National Fiddle Champion, Randy Morrison.

Marg Osborne and Charlie Chamberlain sang a short version of "Goin' To The Barn Dance" on every Don Messer Show (CBC).

Duncan Fremlin on banjo, Douglas…

Good day and good health to everyone. Here at Whiskey Jack headquarters, we continue to “keep the faith” and are planning live music events this spring/summer/fall. However, there’s one little glitch. The business of live music as we knew it is over.

There is no one, neither fans or industry people, who knows what live music will look like in the years to come. So, we ask for your help in shaping this future by offering suggestions on where we can play and how we can do this safely. We invite everyone, fans…

Our annual Stompin' Tom Birthday Celebrations have offered a lot of highlights since we began in 2014 but the one that stands out in my mind was the second in 2015.  After our chaotic but highly successful first concert in February 2014, we didn't know what the next one would look like.  I knew it had to be big!

I called the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson and asked if she'd be our guest.  She immediately said "yes, I loved Tom".

I called Sam Grosso at the Cadillac Lounge and asked if we could host it there…

When I published my book, My Good Times With Stompin' Tom in late 2018, I didn't have lofty expectations.   I had been selling albums, songs, CD's and merchandise for 40 years so this would simply be another item in my catalogue.  I'd make sure the music world, and maybe the literary community knew about it and hopefully I'd sell enough to make it worth the effort. 

I've accomplished that.  Two editions and 1000 sales later,  the results have been very satisfactory. 

Musicians release new music all the…

We did it! We now have over 1000 (and counting) subscribers to this channel. Thank you all.  

YouTube notified me directly with the news. So many to thank...and it's all in this short video. @Stompin' Tom Connors @adrenneclarkson @Gordon Lightfoot @j.p.cormier

You are?  Let's talk!

Good day from Whiskey Jack headquarters.

A good percentage of our fans are north of 50, perhaps even 60. They tell us they will not be buying a ticket to a live indoor show until this pandemic is behind us. They don't think this will happen until late 2021 at the earliest.

However, they very much look forward to supporting our show when presented outdoors, this coming summer, in a safe environment. They haven't dipped into their entertainment budget for a long time so financially,…

Friends, family and fans of the late Bob McNiven have come together to sing and have fun with Bob's most popular Christmas song, "Underneath The Christmas Tree".

Stay for the out-takes.

Featured in this video, in no particular order, are:

Howard Willett - Bob's right arm, best buddy and musical partner as singer and harmonica player, one half of that great duo, Roots and Branches!

Wayne Derby and Chris Saunders - members of one of Bob's earliest bands, Derby, Saunders and McNiven;

John Hoffman - Bob's…