Audra Santa caused something of a sensation on the internet recently. The video for her latest single “Afterglow” was censored by Facebook for ‘failing to uphold advertising standards’. Of course, you can watch the video and decide for yourself. 

Audra is a fantastic conversationalist with a strong female voice, and our chat continued long after the episode wrapped. What was captured on the actual show, you ask? The brilliance of Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”, sexual empowerment, Portishead’s “Dummy”, Thunder Bay, Audra’s work in the Indigenous community, whether skipping the first two songs on Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” is necessary, and the importance of reconciling spirituality and sexuality. And if that’s not enough, the lady plays a song for you too. You’re welcome. 

Santa’s playlist:

David Bowie – Lazarus

Johnny Cash – Hurt

Madonna – Human Nature

The Boudoir Project – Naked

Portishead – Glory Box

Foals – Late Night

Daniel Johns – Preach

Florence & The Machine – Big God

Radiohead – Reckoner

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Here’s something different for you this week. Something I’ve thought about doing for a while now. It’s a privilege for me to have guests of No Sleep ’til Sudbury play their music on the show, and there have been some really special musical performances across the 90+ episodes we’ve done so far. So I figured, why not assemble a few of them and make a unique live music playlist of my own? 

And so I have. Join me as I look back on some of my favourite NSTS performances, stripped-down versions of great songs from incredibly talented musicians, played with an intimacy and a purity that made my skin vibrate as they unfolded in front of me. Maybe yours did too.                  

The NSTS live performance playlist:

The Stephen Stanley Band – Melinda

Kelsi Mayne – Woman Waiting

Carl Dixon (with Ron MacLean) – Won’t Back Down

Rob Preuss – Romantic Traffic 

Christina Martin – Impossible To Hold

Barney Bentall – Something To Live For

Rik Emmett – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 

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Barney Bentall is an incredible songwriter and a terrific man. It was a real pleasure hanging out with him, capped with an unplugged performance of a song of his I’ve loved since my teens, “Something To Live For”. Talk about skin vibration.       

Barney and I cover a lot of stuff – his four-night stand at Hugh’s Room in Toronto as part of a Gordon Lightfoot tribute, the sabbatical he took from music to chase cows in minus 20 weather, Springsteen’s Nebraska, the very first record he ever owned, Ron MacLean’s Juno Cup mixtape, and the story behind his cover of the Hip’s “Bobcaygeon” as a tribute to Gord. Don’t miss this.     

Bentall’s playlist:

Bob Dylan – Tangled Up In Blue

Gordon Lightfoot – Shadows

Bruce Springsteen – The Rising

Tom Petty – Free Falling

The Band – King Harvest Has Surely Come

KD Lang – Love Is Everything

The Tragically Hip – Bobcaygeon

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Happy New Year, NSTS is back! 

We kick off the year by hosting former Sting guitarist Jeffrey Lee Campbell. Jeff toured the world with Sting in 1987 on his Nothing Like The Sun tour, and he details that whirlwind period of his life in his new book, Do Stand So Close: My Improbable Adventure as Sting’s Guitarist.     

Jeff obviously has some incredible stories, and he shares some of them on the show – headlining Madison Square Garden with Sting, his years with the Broadway smash Mamma Mia!, and what it was like to give Jon Bon Jovi guitar lessons. Jeff imparts all kinds of musical wisdom during our conversation, and if you’re a music fan in any capacity you’re gonna love this chat.            

Campbell’s playlist:

Prince – Do It All Night

Dyke & The Blazers – Let A Woman Be A Woman (And A Man Be A Man)     

Jimi Hendrix – Wait Until Tomorrow    

Humble Pie – Hot N’ Nasty    

Sly & The Family Stone – Family Affair   

Gregory Porter – Take Me To The Alley  

Frank Sinatra – Silent Night

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