As we count down the last two remaining days of 2024, there was never a plan to fill some editorial space today – instead holding off until New Year’s Eve to share my final four favorite albums and declare my personal GDW Album of the Year. But skimming the GDW archives over the last few months, I was very quickly reminded of some of the wonderful comments directed back at us from gracious artists and readers. So, rather than resorting to a quick social media post, we’re taking time to ‘acknowledge the acknowledgements’ with a ‘back at ya’ end of the year tip o’ the hat of our own here today.
Joel Plaskett: we sure appreciated seeing you offer a shout-out in your “The Window Inn” newsletter to GDW’s Ollie LeBlanc for his review of your fabulous “One Real Reveal” album. For anybody who missed Ollie’s review, here’s a link: https://greatdarkwonder.com/review-joel-plaskett-one-real-reveal/
Zachary Lucky: we’re sending you our gratitude too for sharing a passage on your social media pages quoting GDW’s Douglas McLean, from his review of your latest “The Wind” album. Refamiliarize yourself with Douglas’s review here: https://greatdarkwonder.com/review-zachary-lucky-the-wind/
Dillon Ryan & the Dream Romantic: it was so lovely to discover that our pal Dillon Ryan had dug deep into our 2020 archives to share some words of wisdom from GDW’s Steve Murphy about one of Dillon’s earlier singles. Reminisce here: https://greatdarkwonder.com/single-release-dillon-ryan-the-dream-romantic-so-lovely/
Kerry Doole (journalist): this past spring, we collectively enjoyed a magical afternoon of music at The Casbah in Hamilton, ON, courtesy of The Stephen Stanley Band, and really appreciate you selecting one of our images for your Hamilton City Magazine editorial about the closing of this iconic venue. Check out Kerry’s article here: https://hamiltoncitymagazine.ca/exclusive-beloved-casbah-will-soon-stop-rockin/
Ian North: another nod offered to GDW’s Douglas McLean, from an appreciative Orillia, ON folk-roots musician whose latest album was introduced to the GDW family this past summer. Revisit Douglas’s in-depth album review here: https://greatdarkwonder.com/review-ian-north-everything-is-incomplete/
Amy Jo Clough: we love featuring artists from all over the musical spectrum with our recurring Wednesday video features over on our Facebook page – which did not go unnoticed by this talented emerging singer-songwriter from across the pond. Thanks, Amy Jo for your kind words – we look forward to discovering more of your music in 2025. Check out Amy Jo’s Facebook page to learn more about the artist.
GDW YouTube Channel: did you know that many of our own live concert captures that we post on Facebook can also be found on our sister-site over on YouTube? With almost 1300 videos available from the GDW archives, it is so much easier to navigate and search for specific artists or clips over there (which tend to get lost easily in the social media void – unless you are a very patient scroller). Here’s the link to our music library: https://www.youtube.com/@greatdarkwonder/videos
Martin’s Honorable Mentions:
British Single of the Year: Rachel Croft, “Pacify Me”
British Album of the Year: Katherine Priddy, “The Pendulum Swing”
British Video of the Year: The Heavy Heavy, “Happiness”
Canadian Single of the Year: Sadie Campbell, “Second Chance”
Canadian Album of the Year: nice try – come back tomorrow for that one…
Canadian Video of the Year: Dizzy And Fay, “I’m Alright”
US Single of the Year: Willi Carlisle, “Critterland”
US Album of the Year: Gold Star, “How To Shoot The Moon”
US Video of the Year: Hurray For The Riff Raff, “Hawkmoon”
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
