Manitoba Music on the Silver Screen

Your TV is becoming a great source for local music. Tune into hit shows like Grey's Anatomy, Degrassi, and One Tree Hill lately and you can hear tracks by a number of Manitoba artists and bands.

Singer/songwriter Sierra Noble is the latest in a growing list of acts with songs placed in TV and movies. Her song, "Possibility," off her 2008 EP Possibilities, is featured in the October 19 episode of CW drama, One Tree Hill. Noble was also seen by millions across the globe in the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Country rock trio Doc Walker premiered its CMT music special, Doc Walker's Dock Party: Live in Kelowna, on October 16. Recorded at a free outdoor concert in Kelowna last summer, encore airings of the special are scheduled for November 2 and December 27. The four-time CCMA Group of the Year will also release the show to DVD this November 2.

Ash Koley's song, "Sheep In Wolves Clothing,"  was featured in its entirety in the October 7 episode of top-rated medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy. The track is off the quirky pop duo's debut album, Inventions, released earlier this month on Sony Music Canada and Nettwerk. Since its release, Inventions has already hit the Top 10 Pop Albums Chart on iTunes Canada. The album's first single, "Don't Let Your Feet Touch Ground," was in the top 5 on the Canadian BDS AC radio chart and its video, directed by Juno Award winner Anthony Seck (Feist's “Honey Honey”), premiered on MuchMusic on August 31. It was also the music behind an Olympic flash mob in Vancouver, which aired on CTV, and can be heard in commercials for Lotto 6/47 and BlackBerry.

Jaylene Johnson's music could be heard on two television shows over the summer. "Happiness," the title track off the singer/songwriter's latest album, was featured in an episode of hit show, Degrassi, while her songs "Closer" and "No Matter How Hard We Try" could be heard on Pretty Little Liars. Other songs from Happiness are also finding their way out, including “Grow,” which was highlighted earlier this year on the CBC show, Being Erica. 

Juno-winning roots trio The Wailin' Jennys also landed a song on Being Erica this year. Their cover of Bruce Cockburn's "Going Down the Road," which was recorded live at Massey Hall during the Luminato Festival last summer, was featured in the September 21 episode. The band also had their song "Begin" featured in Lifetime show, Army Wives, last June.

Other Manitoba acts landing on the silver screen recently include singer/songwriter JP Hoe and hip hop outfit Grand Analog. One of Hoe's songs popped up in an episode of MTV's The Real World: New Orleans last month while Grand Analog's music could be heard in the first scene of the September 15 episode of TNT original series, Dark Blue.

Viewers can also tune into HBO Canada to catch popular locally-filmed comedy Less Than Kind, which features The Weakerthans' Winnipeg anthem, "One Great City," as its theme song. The show has also used music by The Wailin' Jennys and Christine Fellows in the past.

Stay tuned for more news on song placements, and keep your ears open for Manitoba music when you're watching your favourite shows...