Esthero will be appearing in Toronto this Friday at the Harbourfront Centre WestJet Stage to celebrate Canada Day! This is a free event, starting at 9:30 pm.

Look out for the upcoming EP from Spree Wilson, “The Never Ending Now” featuring the beautiful “Don’t Pass Me By” featuring Esthero. [Listen to the new track]

Esthero (and friends Res and Graph Nobel) will be providing background vocals on the new album from Ringside, ‘Lost Days,’ slated to drop January 25, 2011. The album is also scheduled to include guest appearances from Ben Harper and Ozomatli. [Buy it now]

‎”Page One,” the new album from former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, is now available for pre-order. The lead single, “Indecision,” features Esthero on backup vocals. [Buy it now]

Esthero will be appearing at the Shops at Don Mills, Friday, July 9, 2010. This is a free concert. [Let your friends know you're attending via Facebook]

The new album by hihgly-touted Atlanta-based rapped Stat Quo hits stores July 13, 2010. Providing vocals on “Space Ship” is the incomparable Esthero. Additional guests include Talib Kweli and Devin the Dude. [Buy it now]

The drought is almost over. Esthero admirers who have been jonesing for some new music ever since 2005’s Wikked Lil Grrrls will finally get some relief in 2010: first with Sunday’s Lee’s Palace gig featuring the dazzling hometown girl and her 10-piece band, and then a new album called Everything is … [read the article at The Star]

By the sounds of things, do we have another mystery feud along the lines of “O.G. Bitch”?

From the upcoming album ‘Everything is Expensive’ (no release date as of yet), listen to “You Don’t Get A Song” here.

Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber and Esthero are among the artists that appear in a re-recording of K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” to benefit Free the Children, War Child Canada and World Vision Canada in support of their relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Other artists to appear include Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne and Sam Roberts.

Download the digital single and find out more at the Young Artists for Haiti website.

Chart reports that Esthero is slated to appear on the debut solo album of former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, set for release in 2010.

This won’t be the first time that Esthero and Page find themselves on the same track, as both had previously appeared on “The Streets Where We Live” as part of the Buried Heart Project.

“Shock Value 2” drops November 23, 2009 through Blackground Records.

Esthero guests.

via SOEVault:
State Of Emergency vs. Esthero “Love For Just One Night” single w/remixes coming soon.

Update: Esthero adds, “i hope ‘love for just one’ night will be the first in a series of many s.o.e vs esthero releases.” I think that definitely allows for some excitement.

Blessed with an incredible voice?

Esthero will be serving as a judge at this year’s Honey Jam auditions, taking place June 14 at the Mod Club (2 p.m.) in Toronto.

“Do you have what it takes? We’re searching the country for female artists, representing hip hop, jazz, soca, r&b, gospel, rock, dancehall, blues, alternative, opera, country – all styles of music.”

Full details available from Honey Jam.

Looking to hearing some new Esthero tunes? Live in Calgary?

Esthero will be performing at the Calgary Folk Music Festival, July 24th at Prince’s Island Park. Other artists appearing include Arrested Development, Gomez and the Decemberists.

More details as they become available.

Is that Miss Esthero making a guest appearance on Fonzworth Bentley’s MTV reality show “From G’s to Gents“? Why yes, it is.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for Mr. Bentley’s debut album, featuring Esthero on “Laid Back” to drop. The song was recorded back in 2006.

“Pride Toronto today announced the names of many of the talented performers and musical acts that will take to Pride’s stages over Pride Weekend. Returning to Toronto in 2009 is Canada’s own Esthero to thrill Pride party and music lovers.”

Esthero will be appearing June 27th. More details as they come.

“In December I started waking up from not being able to sleep at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. in the morning. And I’d lay my head on the pillow and hear the symphony of a couple of songs and suddenly hear how the production was supposed to be and it wouldn’t leave me alone.”

That fantastic quote is from The Deadbolt’s interview with Esthero in which she opens up about the new album.

And if you’re a fan of Twilight, you should know that she’d “love to be considered by Robert Pattinson for a make out session.”

“Well, it wasn’t really my intent to make an album, but that’s what seems to be happening.”

Music to our ears. Put your headphones on and head over to the MySpace page to hear a sample of songs she’s working on. Read Esthero’s full post here.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics are over a year away, but there’s already something to look forward to. Esthero will be performing with K’NAAN at the Commodore Ballroom, March 11th, as part of the 2009 Cultural Olympiad. The show starts at 8pm.

03/11 Vancouver @ Commodore Ballroom

Tickets are available via the Vancouver 2010 website.

Are traditional holiday songs getting you down because they remind you of loved ones you can’t afford to visit? In that case, you might want to try an upbeat contemporary tune like “Everyday Is A Holiday (With You).” That’s what the Associated Press recommends, and I can’t really disagree.

Of course, an old standby like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” still might do the trick.

In other news, if you’re looking for a stocking stuffer, Brandy’s new album is finally out, and if you haven’t gotten around to picking up Kanye’s latest we highly recommend it.

It’s one of the biggest releases of the year, and Esthero’s fingerprints are all over it. To be released Monday, Kanye West’s “808s & Heartbreak” features three tracks co-written by Esthero, including the single “Love Lockdown.” She also provides backing vocals on “Street Lights.”

Get it from Amazon.

YouTube is a treasure trove of interesting Esthero videos – from stripteases to her songs, anime music videos, to covers (two of which are below).

“Everyday Is A Holiday (With You)” performed by Divine.

“Gone” performed by Zandi and the Mercenaries of Funk.

Found any others? Share them with us. Post a link in the comments.

November 11th will see the release of a new album from Brandy, entitled “Human” – her first new studio album in four years.

As you’ll recall, Esthero and Brandy teamed up on “Believer,” (the demo of which was released through the Esthero MySpace page in December). The two have also teamed up on Brandy’s new album, with Esthero taking a writing credit for the title track.

The album’s first single “Right Here (Departed)” was recently released to radio.

Update: The album has been pushed back to December 9th. Pre-order from Amazon.

The Hastings Set presents Esthero with special guest Nina Mendoza, Friday, October 17th at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver, BC.

10/17 Vancouver @ Biltmore Cabaret

Tickets are $23 in advance (available at Red Cat, Scratch and Zulu Records), $25 at the door. Doors are at 8pm.

Update: Pre-sale tickets are sold out. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Update 2: Photos courtesy of The Hastings Set.

(So, how’s this for a segue from news about the Toronto International Film Festival?)

Esthero has contributed music to “Hush,” a short film by Director Eva Minemar. To catch a preview, head on over to Angry Bubbles Productions.

The film is currently making the rounds on the film festival circuit and is playing tonight at the Anthology Film Archives.

Torontonians, and those in town for the film fest, are in for a treat. Esthero headlines the festival wrap party at Yonge-Dundas Square, September 13th. The Midway State and Cadence Weapon are also slated to appear.

09/13 Toronto @ Yonge-Dundas Square

There’s no need for tickets, as this one’s free to the public (so get there early – the show starts at 8 pm) …not to mention outdoors (so maybe bring an umbrella too, just in case).

[Hat tip to Jerry on the Swallow Me list for pointing this out.]

Great moments from Saturday’s show at The Loft:

1. In the middle of We R In Need of A Musical Revolution (after the “Ashanti in the video” lyric): “Fuck, I’m so dated. I so fucking dated myself… and now I just sound bitter. Fuck it, I am bitter!”

2. Responding to a request from a fan: “We played Heaven Sent already! Where the fuck were you? You’re drunk! [laughs] You should totally hang out with me after…”

3. Breaking out into a rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” despite forgetting the words.

Videos from the show are on YouTube; Photos are up on Flickr.

08/09 Atlanta @ The Loft 18+

Tickets are $19 advance, $22 the day of the show. Get them online via Ticket Alternative. Doors are at 8 pm.

Esthero will be performing alongside Black Cowboy and Yirayah as part of Musical Mutiny 2008, “an Atlanta festival aimed at allying fans and musicians under a single, unified ideology; namely the belief that there exist talented artists who care more about the integrity of their music than about adhering to the outdated policies and procedures of large record labels.”

This might be an excellent chance to see Esthero perform new material – she’s recently been recording in Vancouver with producer Chin Injeti (Canadians might remember him best as part of Bass is Base, the band responsible for “Funkmobile”).

Congratulations are due to Will.I.Am, Jesse Dylan, Mike Jurkovac and the rest of the crew involved with the Obama-inspired “Yes, We Can,” featuring Esthero, as the video picked up an Emmy® Award for “New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment.”

See the video at www.yeswecansong.com (or on YouTube).

Esthero taking to the streets, interviewing strangers with… a hairbrush? This forms the basis of an alternate video for “Revolution” filmed in 2006. See it at Director Danny Roew’s website.

As far as we know, it was unreleased. Are we wrong? Have you seen it before? Let us know in the comments.

[Thanks to Rob for the heads-up.]

Kanye West recently wrapped up his “Glow in the Dark” Tour, which featured Esthero as the spaceship J.A.N.E. How did it all come about?

“He said he wasn’t really going to directly speak to the audience, so much as he was going to speak to this spaceship, and that it would be his only companion on this planet that he had landed on. When I asked him, ‘Who’s the voice of this spaceship?’ he sort of went blank. He was like, ‘I don’t know.’ It was one detail he’d forgotten.” [laughs]”

Read the full article at Spinner.