"Genre-bending" classic country, blues, bluegrass, folk & standards ...
Michael Caplan rocked his first house in 2004: the Val Marie Hotel on the border of Saskatchewan and Montana,
with a mixed audience of modern dancers and cowboy ranchers who wouldn't let him stop
until the bar closed and then the campfire finally went out ...
Along with his haunting, powerful and soulful voice and his driving rhythmic style,
that kind of diversity and genre-bending have marked Michael's whole musical history.
In 2006, he recorded a CD, Steelpan Country, featuring a virtuoso Aboriginal steeldrum player, with whom he also performed at Electric Eclectics, Gordon Monahan's festival of experimental music in Meaford, Ontario. He was special guest singer in 2009 at a performance art fashion show for New Dance Horizons in Regina, and he sang while choreographer Bill Coleman tap-danced at an event in Pittsburgh honouring psychologist James Hillman — a duet the two have repeated at Peterborough's Market Hall and at the Underdown Pub in Toronto . He drew audience raves for his a cappella version of the old union song "Which Side Are You On?" in a contemporary dance work by Pam Johnson. And in 2011, he performed as part of Toronto's LGBT Pride Day festivities for the third year in a row, celebrating this traditional sort of music in yet another "untraditional" context.
with a mixed audience of modern dancers and cowboy ranchers who wouldn't let him stop
until the bar closed and then the campfire finally went out ...
Along with his haunting, powerful and soulful voice and his driving rhythmic style,
that kind of diversity and genre-bending have marked Michael's whole musical history.
In 2006, he recorded a CD, Steelpan Country, featuring a virtuoso Aboriginal steeldrum player, with whom he also performed at Electric Eclectics, Gordon Monahan's festival of experimental music in Meaford, Ontario. He was special guest singer in 2009 at a performance art fashion show for New Dance Horizons in Regina, and he sang while choreographer Bill Coleman tap-danced at an event in Pittsburgh honouring psychologist James Hillman — a duet the two have repeated at Peterborough's Market Hall and at the Underdown Pub in Toronto . He drew audience raves for his a cappella version of the old union song "Which Side Are You On?" in a contemporary dance work by Pam Johnson. And in 2011, he performed as part of Toronto's LGBT Pride Day festivities for the third year in a row, celebrating this traditional sort of music in yet another "untraditional" context.
Upcoming shows:While searching for a band to record and gig with, Michael has been dropping by to sing a few songs around town: at the Underdown Pub in Cabbagetown — often on Thursdays with Jeff Barnes and Noah Zacharin, or at Porter's Sunday "Open Mic" night — as well as at the Cloak & Dagger, where he has been thrilled to join in with the Slocan Ramblers from time to time during their regular Tuesday night bluegrass show.