John Allaire gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa.

Latest News...

Apr 23/08 - John and the Campistas playing 2008 Ottawa Bluesfest - As part of John's 2008 "Ghosts" tour, the Campistas will be joining John on stage at this year's Ottawa Bluesfest. Last year, John and the band opened for Todd Snider and Alejandro Escovedo. John also played a duet show with Anders Drerup. This year, John will be on the new "Roots" stage and will be playing before Harry Manx and Calexico. The show is Wednesday, July 9th at 6:30 p.m. Visit the Bluesfest site for ticket information.

Also on the same day, John has been asked to play the NCC's "Music Under the Bridge" series down on the Rideau Canal in downtown Ottawa (right by the NAC). It will be a noon-hour show. More details coming soon.

Mar. 26/08 - The ol' tour shuffle, dates added, moved, changed, etc - Heads up! some of the dates for John's Spring 2008 Tour have been changed, so please head to the "shows" page and make sure you have the correct dates for your region!

Mar. 14/08 - "Bourbon" video release - You can see John's new video "Bourbon" here. And you can buy the DVD here with almost an hour of extras.

Mar. 13/08 - More "Bourbon" press - Rogers TV had John on for an 8-minute segment, including a live version of "Avenue D". The Ottawa Citizen (Fateema Sayani) also wrote a nice article on the video and CBC Radio 1 talked to John about the release.
[see the Rogers TV clip] [see the Citizen article] [hear the CBC Radio 1 interview]

Mar. 7/08 - "Bourbon" promo segment on CTV news - Eric Longley intervews John Allaire on March 6, 2008 about the making of "Bourbon", Allaire's new video single from the album "Ghosts of the Royal Motel". [see the video clip]

Mar. 7/08 - "Bourbon" DVD now on sale - Head to the store and pick up your copy of the Bourbon DVD, featuring the video, the making of, and a production stills slideshow. Run time is approx 53 minutes.

Feb 16/08 - "Penguin Eggs" review John the next Canadian music legend... - Penguin Eggs is "Canada's Folk, Roots and World Music Magazine" (out of Edmonton). Writer Barry Hammond says: "He can write terrific songs, play guitar and harmonica like a new Neil Young, and sing with soulfulness and authority and even humour... If he goes on like this for a few more years, no shit, he's on his way to being the next Canadian music legend". See the whole article.

Feb 5/08 - "Bourbon" video complete. Video release party set for March 13th - The editing is complete and the DVD is in production. After three on-location shoots at the local tavern in St. Eugene, Ontario and Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario, and many hours in the editing room, the final product is set to be released at the Rainbow Bistro in Ottawa on March 13th. The DVD will feature the video, of course, along with some outtakes and extras along with some production stills taken by Sean Sisk and Glan Scammell. The evening will feature a viewing of the video along with live performances by John and his band as well as very special guest Kaya Fraser from London, ON. C'mon down and pick up a copy!

Jan. 1/08 - Kickin' off the year, jammin' with Tony D - John was in his best bib and tucker and ended up playing a little blues harp with legendary bluesman Tony D. The New Years Eve party also featured Steve Lund on percussion.

Dec. 18/07 - The 2008 Calendars are shipping! - They're here and they're selling like Christmas cakes! All photos have been taken over the last 12 months and are by the amazing Sean Sisk of Sean Sisk Photography. Go to the "store" and order your copy today.

Nov. 24/07 - Video shoot complete - regional press catches on - The shooting for the music video for "Bourbon" is now complete. Many thanks to all who participated! We are in a world of debt and gratitude! See the various press pieces from Vankleek Hill and Hawkesbury in the press section.

The Review - Vankleek Hill, Ontario

Nov. 17/07 - John on the CBC talking about independent CD production - John did two segments with the CBC this past summer, one about making independent CDs, the other about open mics around town. Here is the segment about independent CDs.

Nov. 15/07 - Video shoot for "Bourbon" two-thirds done. John and a cast and crew of about 25 took off to St. Eugene, Ontario and then Upper Canada Village this week to shoot a video for John's song "Bourbon", off Ghosts of the Royal Motel. The shoots have caused quite a stir in the small towns. See below the feature in the on-line version of the Vankleek Hill Review. The video takes place both in the late 1800s and present day. The final shoot (live scenes) will be at the St. Eugene Tavern on Friday, November 23rd at 8 pm. All are welcome to come out and participate! Come as you are!

Nov. 6/07 - Canadian Musician magazine showcase feature on the shelves this week. See the feature on John here in the "press" section.

Sep. 18/07 - Video from the CD Release Party - Thanks to everyone who helped John Allaire and the Campistas officially release the new CD, Ghosts of the Royal Motel. It was a great night at Zaphod Beeblebrox and we've got a couple of videos to help you re-live the moments! Go to the "visuals" page to check them out!

Sep. 13/07 - All systems go, media picks up on tonight's CD release. - Tonight's the night and John and the Campistas are revved up and ready to go for the official club release of Ghosts of the Royal Motel. Get there early (8 p.m.) to catch Steve Canadian and the Psoriatics, then North Easton.This was in the Ottawa Citizen today (by Fateema Sayani). Go to the press section to see all the coverage.

Sep. 3/07 - Europe picks up on "Ghosts" in a big way. - Once again, Europe is leading the pack when it comes to sales and reviews/chart placings. We reported how John knocked Bob Dylan off the top of a chart in Brussels a few weeks back. Since then, playlists have been circulating with songs from "Ghosts" in heavy rotation, and reviews have been surfacing from over the pond. And FINALLY, "Ghosts" broke into the college charts here in Canada, placing 9th last week on the CHRY-FM folk and roots chart in Toronto.

Aug. 31/07 - CBC-TV shoot special featuring John TODAY! Public welcome. - The CBC in Ottawa is doing a two part shoot on John and the Ottawa music scene/business etc. for their "Living in Ottawa" show. The first segment will be shot in the CBC studio and will be about making a CD independently.

The second segment is where we need a few good peeps! At approx 2:30 today, we'll be staging a mock "open mic", hosted by the amazing Amanda Rheaume, at Quinn's Ale House on Bank St. near Sunnyside (nestled right between the Mayfair Theatre and the Barley Mow). We need some "audience" members for an hour or two. Thanks in advance!

Aug. 13/07 - Tickets for Ottawa CD Release Party on sale here. - Ticket for John Allaire and the Campistas' CD Releases Party are on sale at the e-store right here. They are also available through TicketWeb (a Ticketmaster company). Tickets are $8 in advance, and will be $10 at the door, if available. So pick 'em up early!

Also, while you're here, check out the latest live video from some of the summer '07 concerts on the visuals page.

Aug. 1/07 - DYLAN-SLAYER! "Ghosts" bumps Bob Dylan off the top of the charts in Belgium. Like the album before it (Thank You Waitress!- 2005) John's latest, Ghosts of the Royal Motel, continues to be very popular in Europe. In fact, just this week, Ghosts bumped Bob Dylan's Modern Times off the top slot at Radio ZRB in Brussels, Belgium. The chart activity sparked a flurry of sales in Europe, to the point that sales overseas are once again outstripping Canadian sales. The chart is below.

Radio ZRB - Brussels, Belgium, July 23rd, 2007

Jul. 27/07 - Ottawa CD RELEASE PARTY announced. John Allaire and the Campistas will play their official CD Release party for Ghosts of the Royal Motel at Zaphod Beeblebrox, 27 York St., on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2007. There will be plenty of special guests and the doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now here for $8.00 advance (the door price will be $10.00).

July 14/07 - Today's Ottawa Citizen (Patrick Langston):

Jul. 11/07 - Ottawa Sun (Denis Armstrong) Ottawa Bluesfest Review - Earlier in the night, Ottawa's John Allaire played host to a bunch of guest vocalists with a set of laid-back rock and blues on the Black Sheep stage.

Accompanied by his band The Campistas with Jeff Tanguay, the former Town Cryer proved to be a workhorse, cranking out a highly entertaining and personal hour of music with a little help from his friends, including a duet of "Angels" with Amanda Rheaume, another with his 13-year-old daughter Hilary on "Blue Skies " and a rocking encore cover of Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?"

If you missed John Allaire last night, he's doing a set at the Rainbow Bistro tonight. Link.

John Allaire and Amanda Rheaume sing on the Blacksheep Stage during the 2007 Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 10. (Ottawa Sun Photo By Sean Kilpatrick)

July 7/07 - 48 hours of CD launching REMINDER! The new CD, "Ghosts of the Royal Motel" has arrived and we're shipping! Go to the e-store to pick up your copy. And not a moment too soon either, because John and the Campistas are playing this Tuesday, July 10th at the Ottawa Bluesfest on the Blacksheep stage. We're on at 6:15 sharp, so get down there early and set up camp there for the night, because the incredible Todd Snider, and the unbelievable Alejandro Escovedo are playing right after us, as well as other amazing acts at the festival that night, suceh as George Clinton, Los Lobos and Randy Newman. Wow, what a night!

And we're going to keep things going the next night (July 11th) at the Rainbow Bistro, opening up for Elmer Ferrer (Cuba) and Chris Duarte (Atlanta) and the "guitar hero jam". Another, not-to-be-missed event!

July 5/07 - Ghosts of the Royal Motel now shipping! Shhhh... don't tell a soul (actually, tell everyone!), but an advance shipment of "Ghosts" has been received and made available to those who faithfully visit the website. Go to the e-store now and pick up a copy before the price jumps by a couple of bucks next week. And get a free T-shirt too!

June 23/07 - Tickets are now on sale for the blow out club event of Bluesfest! The Elmer Ferrer Band and his "Guitar Hero Friends" from all around the world will be playing a mega-bash at the Rainbow in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 11th. John was fortunate enough to have been chosen to open up the evening, along with his backing band, the Campistas. So get your tickets early, because the feeling is this small club date will be packed! Go here for online purchasing or buy them at the Rainbow Bistro while quantities last! Buy your tickets online here and receive a free 4-song EP (also while quantities last).

June 16/07 - Ghosts of the Royal Hotel Advance Promo EP available for FREE TODAY (while supplies last)! - Do you want a free copy of the 4-song EP, featuring two new songs from "Ghosts" and 2 live songs from John's Canada-US solo tour? Click here to find out how to get your FREE COPY, with a minimal $3.83 S&H charge (plus GST for CDN residents), anywhere in the world! Or better yet, Click here to Pre-order your copy of the full 12-song album, due out July 17th - Insiders are already touting "Ghosts" as John's best work to date. Get it before anyone else has it!

June 12/07 - Pre-order Ghosts of the Royal Hotel TODAY! - Click here to Pre-order - Insiders are already touting "Ghosts" as John's best work to date. It has 12 new songs and features world-renoun special guests such as awesome rock 'n roller Amanda Rheaume, Cuban guitar sniper Elmer Ferrer (Elmer Ferrer Band), roots rockin' podegy Anders Drerup (Quarter Life, Elmer Ferrer Band), as well as regular Campistas Tony Dunn (The Dunn Project), Jeff Tanguay (The Town Cryers), and Breeze Smith (The BushPilots). Filling in some strings here and there is Justin Mellor, and a beautiful duet featuring Hilary Allaire.

June 6/07 - CBC continues to have John appear on "Expert Panel" for hockey games - CBC Radio One and CBC TV have called upon John numerous times over the past couple of weeks to give his two cents worh on the plight of the hometown Ottawa Senators and their bid for the Stanley Cup. Citing John's background in hockey, and his "never shy away from an opinion... or a microphone" attitude, the CBC has been calling on John regularly for his hockey insights. Go to the Podcast page to hear John on the radio. or, click here to see John on TV!

May 28/07 - Plan B for "Ghosts" release will swing into effect - OK. Who knew that mixing was going to take so long. In fact, the new CD "Ghosts of the Royal Motel" is only maybe half done. The process is taking much longer as every detail is being fine tuned. Thus, the projected June 23rd release date has been chucked for a more realistic August release. BUT, there will be a free promo E.P. available online and at live shows, particularly Ottawa Bluesfest . Info on obtaining copies will be available here soon. The E.P. will contain studio versions of John's new songs "Angels" (featuring Amanda Rheaume on vocals!) and "Bourbon" as well as two live songs recorded during John's 2006 North American solo tour.

May 22/07 - Forum down for security reasons - Well, the forum finally got hacked for the last time. Until we either figure out a more secure method of posting the forum, or until we decide on something better, the forum will be out of commish. Soryy folks. I guess it's much more important that people try and sell pills and porn, etc. Maybe a guestbook or a blog of some kind would suit the site better. If you have any ideas, send 'em along here. Thanks to all who have contributed in the past.

Apr. 18/07 - John to play Ottawa Bluesfest 2007 - John will be playing the Cisco Bluesfest on Tuesday, July 10th at 6:15 pm on the Blacksheep Stage. John and his band will be opening for Todd Snider and the legendary singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas, Alejandro Escovedo. Tickets are available at the Ottawa Bluesfest site.

Apr. 13/07 - All Green Room shows cancelled - John's Roundhouse Songwriter Series shows scheduled for April 27th and May 25, as well as the show with Bill Toms on August 4th are cancelled at that venue and will be rescheduled for another venue very soon. The Green Room is apparently not hosting live bands and such events any longer. Please stay tuned for the re-location of these shows.