Fredericton-based songwriter Jason Anderson has a lot on the go these days. A few award nominations, a massive, career-spanning online database, a forthcoming album, and a local show in a few weeks.
Matt Carter
You have to create your own buzz. That is the first lesson of indie artist music promotion. Because if you aren’t talking about yourself, there is a good chance no one is talking about you either. The trick is to do it in an honest and meaningful way.
From what I can tell, honest and meaningful are the only ways Jason Anderson knows how to communicate with his audience. There aren’t enough musicians who get as geeked up about performing as Anderson does. Once a week, every week, he goes live on Instagram to share an online house concert with his friends and audience. He talks between songs, tells stories, and posts the set lists for prosperity. No two shows are the same and nothing feels contrived. Honest and meaningful. All the way.
“I’m feeling a lot of really exciting momentum right now,” said Anderson. “My end of summer shows at The Tannery and Harvest were fantastic and I have one on the books for October 15 at The Muse. My last one there sold out so naturally I’m stoked to return to that magical room.
“I have been working really hard on an online tour and setlist archive and just announced a new full-length album coming later this fall,” he said. “On top of all that, I was totally blown away to receive two MNB nominations. Lots going on for sure and I’m just grateful to be rolling with it. I love this time of year and am definitely feeling super inspired.”
Anderson’s online performances became routine during the darkest days of Covid. In pre-pandemic times, Anderson was a touring musician and had been for years. One of his recent projects involved compiling a database of his live shows. Jasonandersonlive.com is an archive of shows, setlists, venues, songs, releases and then some. Want to know what songs he played that time you saw him play at The Oak Tree in Perth Andover back in March of last year? You can look it up. How about that time your cousin in Iceland messaged to say they just caught a house show performance by some guy named Jason Anderson. You can find details about that show too. For this project, Anderson has amassed a staggering amount of details on more than 200 shows. You can even see how many times each song has been played live. And where. And when. It’s nuts.
He’s also got a new album on the way. The latest single, Still Life, can be found on all streaming platforms now. The album, First Light, will arrive through Salanis Records (Detroit) in October and will be treated to a limited vinyl run. Pre-orders are open. Get one while you can.
Anderson is also up for a pair of Music-Musique NB Awards for Recording of the Year (Canyonlands) and Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
Never a dull moment with this guy. If you are not yet familiar with Anderson’s music, make that a priority for the fall season.
Upcoming Performances:
October 15 | Tipsy Muse Café | 7-9 p.m. | View Event
Jason Anderson | WEB | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | BANDCAMP | SPOTIFY | APPLE
