BYWATER CALL (CAN)
European Tour 2024

Meghan Parnell and Dave Barnes are the driving force behind Bywater Call, a powerhouse 7-piece Southern Soul, Roots Rock band out of Toronto, Canada

Formed in 2017, the band has received an Independent Blues and multiple Maple Blues Award nominations including Entertainer of the Year and Best Female Vocalist for the 2023 Awards Season. They have toured extensively in Europe over the last few years, including in May and June of 2022, featuring a mainstage appearance at the Netherlands’ premiere blues festival MOULIN BLUES. Performances there have been praised in Dutch and German media, with references to Meghan as one of the best singers in blues and roots today.

In August 2023, the band will participate in Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean Cruise alongside headliners Blackberry Smoke, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Bonamassa himself.

They have headlined festival stages from Belgium to Ontario, Canada, and in 2023 will be gracing festival mainstages from Germany to Florida, Colorado to Quebec City, Fredericton to Kentucky, among many other American and Canadian cities, including opening for White Horse at the inaugural edition of the Smoke Stack Music Festival in Hamilton Ontario.

Bywater won the opportunity to compete in the 2023 edition of famed International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, but instead Meghan and Dave found themselves in the UK opening for the Joe Bonamassa supported band Robert Jon and the Wreck out of the US. Bywater will return in full format to the UK and Europe in late 2023 to embark on their own tour.

Bywater’s much anticipated sophomore album was released September 2, 2022 to rave reviews.

Born out of a love for southern soul, blues and roots music and a passion to create a powerful and moving experience for listeners, Bywater Call is completed by Bruce McCarthy on drums, Mike Meusel on Bass, newest member, John Kervin on Keys, Stephen Dyte on Trumpet and Julian Nalli on Tenor Sax.

“Remain is sophisticated blues/rock with seriously high production values, high musicianship, and compellingly emotional vocal breaks. Meghan Parnell’s voice might be what happens if Susan Tedeschi and Bonny Raitt had a secret Canadian love child and that child grew up to have a ferocious independence and style all her own. While Dave Barnes has certainly learned from the greats of blues/rock and we can hear that influence, he also occupies a space all his own. His slide guitar playing is vibrant and tasteful; it’s never too much, always in the pocket, supporting and at exactly the right moments soaring” Rock and Blues Muse, 2022

“This album never lets up…. Soaring, swaying, funky, and contemporary in just the right way, this is rhythm and blues music born in the American south and played with Northern boom. Parnell’s massive range contains Memphis butter cut with Chicago grit, her power like a train banging into a subway station delivering hordes of heated resolve… this lady stands firmly and confidently in her own place.” Making a Scene/ Blues Magazine

“We recently discovered the Toronto-based 7-piece soul-roots band Bywater Call at the Home County Music & Art Festival, and – if we are to be brutally honest here – were not only in complete awe of their music and energy, but were totally blown away by their unrelenting, unabashed live performance on Victoria Park’s main stage. Firmly rooted in the soul and blues genres, and with plenty of slide guitar, vintage organ, and horns, Bywater Call create music designed to stir emotions, to soak you with raw energy, and to connect through more than just audio channels.” Great Dark Wonder

“ While the blues and roots scene is full of excellent musicians, good songwriters are a bit harder to come by. However, when both disciplines come together, the results can be spectacular. Such is the case for Bywater Call’s incredible sophomore album ‘Remain’. The Canadian septet combines elements of blues, soul and subtle hints of southern rock into irresistible songs with excellent vocals. ‘Remain’ sounds lively, the interaction between the musicians is fantastic, but most importantly, the songs are written and arranged really well. There is a timeless quality to ‘Remain’, which makes it the most pleasantly surprising music release of the year for me.” KevyMetal Blog/ Gitarist

“Canadian band Bywater Call are armed and dangerous… The whole band lock in tight, but with the sparkling gems of Meghan’s vocals and Dave’s guitar contributions on show, this album is so damned self assured and pretty special.” – Simon Redley, Music Republic Magazine UK

“‘Bywater Call’ is an exuberant musical hybrid of rock, blues, New Orleans funk, r&b and southern soul. And while the focus is inevitably on the arresting vocals of Meghan Parnell, she is part of a road tested band with a vibrant horn section that is sparked by the significant dynamic guitar parts of Dave Barnes… ‘Bywater Call’ revitalises the soul genre with a spirited performance on innovative material, all framed by a coherent production that finds the perfect balance between passion, spark and musical excellence.” – Pete Fenestra, Get Ready to Rock, UK

“Canadian Bywater Call are a solid, top down, cruising towards a distant horizon Blues Soul Band. Meghan Parnell’s voice is infused with the velvet growl of Joan Osborne, Janis Joplin and Joe Cocker. Behind her Bywater Call the band are a tight funky monster locked to the beat … the music is muscular and full with a smile on its face and a spring in its step.” – Marc Higgins, FATEA, UK

“Authentic, earthy, gritty, punchy, soulful, rough ’n’ ready, raspy, powerful, confident, stylish.” – Tinnitist

“Guitarist Dave Barnes .. really put himself in the spotlight here on slide. Many made the comparison with Derek Trucks. Coincidence or not, Meghan’s voice is somewhat in the same register as Susan Tedeschi’s, although Meghan has even more subtlety and voice control. In our humble opinion, she is the best contemporary female singer in the blues and roots scene.” – Back to the Roots

“The powerhouse voice of Meghan Parnell and the slide guitar master guitarist Dave Barnes form the basis of Bywater Call. Where things are still somewhat civilized on the record, Meghan goes completely wild live vocally. What a set of lungs and concrete vocal cords this woman must have.” – Blues Magazine

“The Canadian Bywater Call is hot, so hot that after their debut in 2017 they are already on the big stage of Moulin Blues… Little Meghan Parnell is already dubbed by a few colleagues as the best singer in the blues… Bywater Call mix funk with soul, southern rock with blues and have a lot of fun doing it too.” – The Blues Alone, NL

“Soulful and raw powerful vocals here are supported by top musicians, and what about those guitar riffs from Dave Barnes that immediately grab every blues aficionado here by the scruff of the neck.” – Rootsville