China Cat Riders / The Mill Rights
Bring your dancing shoes, this is going to be fun!
CHINA CAT RIDERS
The China Cat Riders offer an authentic dose of The Grateful Dead — they’re not shy of the long and deep cuts, and they don’t do it note for note, for they know the music plays the band.
The band formed out of a reunion of Hurricane Bob, who played around the city in the early nineties. Band members—Adam Hodge, Kevin Bowers, Dan Curtis, Wes Garland and Pete Bowers—are all veterans of the Kingston music scene, and have a common love of The Dead.
THE MILL RIGHTS
Reassembled from parts of Kingston Ontario’s finest blues & outlaw country bands, The Mill•Rights are a group of hard-workin’ full-time friends on a mission to forge their own timeless body of music. Building on the foundations laid by some of Canada’s most beloved artists, The Mill•Rights began working in the winter of 2021 with Jason Mercer at Neptune’s Machine on Wolfe Island. Their self-titled debut album, includes 13 original songs. Much like their live performances, they move fluidly through elements of roots, rock, reggae, country, folk, and blues among other genres.
With a reputation for supporting and collaborating with a variety of artists, it’s no surprise that their debut recording features a small lineup of incredible guest musicians including multi-instrumentalist Teilhard Frost (Sheesham & Lotus), guitar phenom Dan Chisholm (Lotus Shaker), the multifaceted singer/songwriter Michael Duguay, Albertan revivalist/visionary Skinny Dyck, Canada’s legendary Hugh Christopher Brown (Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Big Sugar, The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies) and of course, the multi-talented producer/engineer/guru/musician Jason Mercer (Ani Difranco, Ron Sexsmith, The Gertrudes).
While given the opportunity to refine their sound through a series of unique performances at The Kingston Brewing Company, The Mill•Rights received an invitation to perform at the 2019 Wolfe Island Music Festival. It was there, while performing alongside The Sadies, Jim Bryson, Emilie Steele, Born Ruffians, Joe McLeod, and others, that The Mill•Rights resolved to step back from redistributing refurbished b-sides and focus on refining their songwriting skills instead.
After the pandemic-induced global hiatus on operations, The Mill•Rights are back to work performing, and are currently promoting their debut self-titled album.
The Mill•Rights are:
Patrick Aaron (Bass/Vocals)
Joey Lee (Drums/Vocals)
Damien Van Johnson (Guitar/Vocals)
