The song is everything. The attitude is not.

S.G. Sinnicks

Steve (S.G.) Sinnicks began playing drums at 11 and, at 15 began to play the pubs with everyone, from local artists to Canadian legend Stompin’ Tom Connors. Since transitioning to original songwriting in the late 90’s, he is now known across Canada and the US as a singer/songwriter in the vein of Nick Lowe or Billy Bragg, with a history of dissent and telling the story with words, music and solidarity.

DISCOGRAPHY

Unless otherwise noted, all releases listed are Albums, released independently on CD and/or Digital (streaming and download).

  • 2024 – Miss America 2.0 single/video, Just For One Day (Christmas Wipes It All Away) single/video
  • 2023 – Fridge Magnet
  • 2017 – T.I.H. (This Is Home)
  • 2012 – The Last Irishman In Corktown (WINNER 2012 Hamilton Music Awards – Folk/Traditional Recording of the Year)
  • 2008 – Red Meat and Blue 88s (2009 Hamilton Music Awards, Winner – Folk/Roots Record of the Year)
  • 2007 – Tartan Terrors Christmas
  • 2008 – A Farmer’s Hope
  • 2006 – Who’s Your Paddy (with the Tartan Terrors)
  • 2005 -The Quest, with Tartan Terrors (DVD)
  • 2005 – Unpubbed (with the Tartan Terrors)
  • 2004 – Dressed to Kilt (with the Tartan Terrors)
  • 2003 – Songs Under 60 Seconds (D.R.O.G. Records)
  • 2003 – If You Don’t Want The Genie, Don’t Rub The Lamp
  • 2002 – 5 Songs 5 Bucks
  • 2001 – Work Songs Compilation (D.R.O.G. Records)
  • 2000 – Slow Learner
  • 1999 – September 8 1977 with Big Eddy And The Trailer Park 5
  • 1998 – Truck Songs Compilation (D.R.O.G. Records)

BACKING MUSICIAN OR SOLO PERFORMER

Performances: NXNE, CMW, Edmonton Songwriters Festival, COCA Conference, Hamilton Days of Protest, Festival of Friends, Red Skies, Hamilton Place, Oakville Place, Sanderson Centre, Convocation Hall, Western University, McMaster University, Freshwater Folk Concerts, It’s Your Festival, Lindsay Academy Theatre, Capital Centre, The West End Cultural Centre, Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Irish Cultural Centre Milwaukee, University of Memphis, University of South Carolina, and too many clubs to mention.

Live Credits: Stompin’ Tom Connors, Tom Wilson, Stephen Fearing, Burnin’ Ethyl, Elizabeth Hill, Kim Deschamps, Big Smoke, Tartan Terrors, Scottish Dance Company of Canada, The Killjoys, Big Eddy And The Trailer Park 5.Recording Credits:Shawn Brush, Ray Materick, Coyote Shivers, Harrison Kennedy, Jacob Moon, Rob Lamothe, Big Eddy And The Trailer Park 5, Tartan Terrors.

Opening Act For: The Rheostatics, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Spirit of the West, Junkhouse, Fred Eaglesmith, Garnet Rogers, Ron Hawkins, Teenage Head.

Television: Much Music, Open Mic with Mike Bullard, Breakfast Television, (City) Lunch T.V., News at Noon (OnTV), CFTO, The Big Breakfast (Winnipeg).Radio:CKCO, Y95, CFMU, CIUT, CJRT, CFRU, CHML, C101, CJAM, CKCU, CKDU, CBC Sunday Edition, Richard’s Roundup, NPR Philadelphia, CBC Fresh Air.

TESTIMONIALS

Steve is a legend in the Hamilton music scene. One of my favourite local artists.
Geoff Kulawick – Linus Entertainment/True North Records
…in the tradition of Guthrie and Seeger…Hamilton’s Steve Sinnicks is also one of the best “labour-singers” in Canada… if Woody were alive today he would want to hear Steve Sinnicks live!
Jim Marino – Freewheeling Folk Show / Smokin’ Bluegrass Show
Thank God Steve Sinnicks is an undiscovered talent. It gives the world something to look forward to hearing!
Tom Wilson – Juno Award winning singer-songwriter (Junkhouse, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Lee Harvey Osmond)
Fans of Sinnicks will warm to the tracks on “Fridge Magnet,” including “White Charlie” — a cautionary tale about the addictive qualities of smartphone apps — and “Landlady of Boxhill” — a traditional folkie about what happens when a Canadian backpacker finds his way to an English pub south of London.
It’s a collection worthy of anyone’s fridge door.
Graham Rockingham – The Hamilton Spectator
Steve “Solidarity” Sinnicks is the quintessential ubiquitous singer/ songwriter of Southern Ontario, and perhaps the country overall. On any given night, the drummer and guitarist is playing somewhere, at a grounded level, singing true songs about people, for the people. This latest release shows a developed Sinnicks, touching upon politics, heartbreak and a light but hard-hitting look at real hardcore middle-of-the-road living with the odd clever, cynical existential lyric that hits home. The recording and performance stays true as well, which makes this disc an honest representation of what it is like to be entertained by him. Some numbers receive additional touches of musicianship from the outside, best exemplified by Les Cooper and the Killjoys’ Shelley Woods’ bass bends. So next time, if you are in a hankering for something non-indie rock, it is suggested that Sinnicks’ music be given a spin, because listening to his compositions is like having a great conversation with him – he entertains, teaches and challenges.
Roman Sokal – exclaim! magazine
Whether this Canadian Irishman plays solo guitar or sings in front of a sharp folk-rock band, his songs shine brightly. The key is that his clean, crisp vocals bring out the emotion and meaning of each line of his lyrics. The lyrics are filled with classic folk topics of politics, religion, and simple human emotion. Yet, I will put Sinnicks above much of the pack in terms of balancing direct dialect with poetic flourish. Again, the delivery sends it all forward with music that will stick to you, deeper with every listen. It is no surprise he has won awards with his song writing in the past.
David Hintz – Folkworld Magazine, EU
Sinnicks’ wit is sharp and there is no rosy tint on his view of things. It’s rootsy people music you don’t hear on the radio anymore.
Hamilton Spectator