Wouldn’t it be great to catch some live music right now? The crew at Mix Tape Rodeo feels you and wants to entertain you…

Mix Tape Radio was officially launched in March, pre-COVID, by four music-loving folks – Yvonne Hachkowski, Amber Webber, Juliana Moore and Tyler (aka “Ty”) – as an intimate, accessible and spontaneous live recording concept showcasing Canada’s musical spectrum, one song at a time. In spite of the unforeseen logistical challenges presented by the pandemic, “Music is everything” remains their unwavering motto. The foursome have been using the past several months to marinate in their own creativity, and let the physical distancing restrictions inspire instead of deflate their mission.

So far, the MTR video archive features live musical performances by local musicians within their friend circle including Billy Bones, Himalayan Bear, Johnny Wakeham, Hello Blue Roses, Robert Connely Farr, Elastic Stars (who are releasing their new album on August 25th) and, most recently, Tariq Hussain. MTR is also seeking to (safely) expand their musical radius with new talent. Any local musicians interested in playing for future recordings are invited to get in touch with them via Instagram DM.

Although getting up-close with a computer screen will never replace the experience of physically attending a live show, the recordings by MTR come pretty darn close: a recent single-take video embraces the ambiance of its briefly borrowed community garden setting, for a transfixing and incredibly moving four-and-a-half minutes. You can appreciate it for yourself below and stream all of the videos so far here.

Why it matters: The magical, transportive and universal qualities of music are inarguable. Mix Tape Rodeo’s commitment to facilitating inter-continental/-galactical connections via the sound waves has never been more appreciated than now.