Category Archive

“It started with some quiet toe-tapping, but as the sounds of bass, drums and guitar swelled over the course of an hour, the audience reaction rose with it, until the music was met with whoops and a standing ovation. Compared to the typical response from a jazz concert crowd, the applause might have been a bit unrestrained — and the … Read More

“American jazz guitarist Bill Frisell is one of the gentlest, most soft-spoken musicians you’re likely to ever meet, with the demeanour of a Boy Scout. He’s never been convicted of a crime. But two years ago, I found myself accompanying him to prison — where he performed for inmates at Collins Bay Institution in Kingston. Frisell, 74, is an internationally … Read More

“Lost” from the album “Undisclosed Location” was recorded inside Grand Valley Institution for Women and performed and written by the inmates. This music video was shot on location inside the prison. We also present to you “Delicate Love,” a lead track from the collection about to be released from Joyceville Institution.   Download MP3 The Pros and Cons prison music … Read More

It looks like a community centre or a campus – inmates live in shared housing, wear their own clothes, order groceries once a week – but Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution for Women is a prison. “We can walk around [between buildings],” an inmate tells me, “but we can’t leave.” We’re sitting in a gymnasium set up for a special International … Read More

Talk about dropping bars behind bars. Inmates at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener have released a 10-song music album, called “Undisclosed Location.” It’s the first album written and recorded at a federal women’s prison in Canada and part of the Pros and Cons Program. Founder of the program Hugh Christopher Brown tells 570 NEWS it all started … Read More

When she first walked through the doors of the music room at Grand Valley Institution for Women, Bayley didn’t know what to expect. “I never knew I was musically inclined,” she told CBC News. “I never played an instrument before in my life.” But when another inmate put a bass guitar in her hands and a microphone in front of … Read More

Listen to “Lost”, as shared by CBC Kitchener Waterloo’s The Morning Edition.

KITCHENER — The voices of inmates at Grand Valley Institution for Women will be heard around the world through a groundbreaking new album released online. It’s the first album written and recorded at a federal women’s prison in Canada, and available for anyone to listen for free. “I hope that the music first of all moves them on its own … Read More