Blog / News:

11/23: This Friday (Nov 10) I'll be playing the United Center Concert Club room before the Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan shows. I go on at 5:30pm. You can buy tickets at ticketmaster.

6/23: Friday June 23 I'll be playing the Stevie Nicks VIP pre-show at the United Center. Tickets to the pre-show include parking, apps, and drinks. Tickets at Ticketmaster, select the option for VIP Pre-show at checkout. I play from 5-7pm.

1/23: Here is a cover of Eminem's "Lose Yourself". I got a chance to record this at a very cool little studio called Oak Street Studios.

1/23: Here is a cover of Michael Jacksons "Billie Jean". I got a new toy... a RD8 drum machine that syncs via midi up to my Boss Loop Station RC-300. Now I can make and change beats on the spot. Everything is played live.. no pre-recorded tracks.

1/23: Here is a cover of The Bands "Atlantic City". I love this song. Hopefully I did it justice. I played my Godin electric acoustic mandolin here (looped) and then my Martin DCME guitar, along with a POG bass emulator to get that low end.

 


12/22: I had about 30 plays on the Nickelodeon channel this week. They are using my song "Oh Christmas Ukulele" as a lead in for Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer. I'm sure they will continue to use it thru the holidays. I also had plays on Property Brothers and I'm willing to bet I'll have a few plays on the Great Christmas Light Fight (last year I had 7).

 


3/22: I played a gig at Lagunitas Chicago today… a very cool spot. It was for a product launch party, “disorderly teahouse”, a delicious hard tea that I got to sample. The party was for online influncers... which, as I'm learning is an interesting world/ profession.

 


10/21: A newspaper story was published today in the Daily Northwestern about me and my musical endeavors. Thanks to the author, Pavan, and my old bandmates Andres Roldan and Rusty BassEhler for throwing in some quotes. Link to the article

 


9/21: Cary played a great event for the ALS association.

8/21: Cary rockin' a set at the SJC Fest in Westmont

5/21: A solo acoustic for 5000 somewhat socially distanced people. Great event. The Lights Fest Twin Lakes WI.

1/21: A cover of Ice Cubes "It Was a Good Day" that has generated 6k views in a few months. Live looping.

12/20: December has been a good month for Cary's TV placements. He has had over 30 plays! Mostly from his Christmas album. Here are a few of the shows:
- Sponge Bob Square Pants (Nickelodeon)
- Property Brothers (HGTV)
- Dashing in December (promo segment on Paramount Network and Spike TV)
- Moonshiners (Discovery Network)
- Beach Hunters

12/20: Here is a Cary Kanno cover of Midnight city by M83. With a Taylor 314CE and Godin a8 Mandolin. Live looping. With vocal vocoder (around the 3:20 mark).
Order of looping: Scratching, Beat, Guitar, Bass, Lead guitar line, Mandolin, Vocoder. I also have a vocal harmonizer going on some of the verses.

10/20: Here is a music video for Cary's song "Six Strings"

3/20: Here is a music video for Cary's song "Freeze". New album due out in 2020

10/20: Check out and hit "follow" on the Spotify playlist for Cary's Greatest Hits: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Zo4LxJ7GO8O6XKbaRq0Fx?si=R5iGaixbQHegi4R2EuxjoQ

8/19: It's been a busy summer. Here are a few shots from a recent gig on a boat in Chicago.

10/18: Here is a music video for Cary's song "Running Away" from the album The Light Fantastic

10/18: Cary's song "Running Away" was featured on a youtube blog called Mr Foxx Freguency. The blog features some really great music and is very popular. Some of their videos have over 1 million plays.

10/18: Cary had a great show at the United Center Concert Club. He played to a capacity crowd. Phil Collins was amazing. He and his band put on a great show.

10/18: Once again Cary will be playing a show at the United Center Concert Club. This time playing before the one and only Phil Collins.

8/18: Cary had two great shows at the United Center Concert Club. The Smashing Pumpkins put on a rockin show.

8/18: Thanks to On Art for the rad photo!

8/18: Cary is making a return to the United Center this time for a two night stand, Aug 13 and Aug 14. He'll be playing at the Concert Club before both of the Smashing Pumpkins shows. Aug 13 is sold out, but there is still tickets for Aug 14.

8/18: According to an in-store radio report for the 1st half of 2018. Cary had over 10 million plays in countries from Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Fiji, Israel, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.

6/18: Cary had a great show at the United Center. The crowd was very responsive. Paul Simon was awesome and inspiring. What a great night!

6/18: Cary will be playing a series of 13 shows all summer long for B96 (Chicago radio station) and Miller/ Coors. Check his schedule to find out where.

5/18: Cary's song "Keep Driving" was featured on History Channels "Pawn Stars" as well as 2 of his other songs. He also had 2 plays on a show called "Rattled" on TLC.

2/18: Cary's song "Home is Where the Heart is" was played on Paw Patrol on Nickelodeon last week.

1/18: According to an in-store radio report for the 2nd half of 2017. Cary had over 1.5 million plays in countries from Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Fiji, Israel, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.

1/18: Cary had some more TV placements come thru in the last few weeks... Food Network "Baked in Vermont", Discovery Channel "Moonshiners", History Channel "Pawn Stars", and his commercial for Panama City Beach.

11/17: One of Cary's songs was played for a segment on Goran Dragic on "NBA Inside Stuff". Listen around the 1:25 min mark.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2016/05/07/20160507-inside-goran-dragic.nba/#/

NBA InsideStuff

8/17: Cary will be playing a Lollapalooza event at Macys on State St (by Lolla) on Fri and Sat at 11:30am

7/17: Cary had the opportunity to play for a Major League Soccer All-Star event in Chicago. He played the welcome reception for the All-Stars and Real Madrid, as well as the mayor of Chicago and other distinguished guests.

6/17: "I play alot of gigs, but tonight's was one of the most meaningful and rewarding.... I played at Camp I Am Me, a camp for kids who are burn survivors. The room was rockin... kids singing along, playing percussion, dancing. My beat boxing/ looping tutorial even went over well. Great kids, great staff, great camp!"

*thanks for Phil Zaleski for the photos

5/17: This national commercial, has been getting alot of play recently on NBC. It's for Panama City Beach Tourism featuring "Fun Under the Sun" by Cary Kanno

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

3/17: Cary's song "Everybody Has It" was featured in an episode of the tv show "Nashville". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io6ve5pcUeo). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io6ve5pcUeo

3/17: Cary's in-store radio report for the 2nd half of 2016: 1.19 million plays for his original music from Croatia to Italy to Sweden (mostly Italy and Spain).

3/17: Here is a music video for Cary's song "A Little More Love " from the album of the same name.

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

3/17: Here is a music video for Cary's song "This is a Wonderland" from the album Wonderland

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

2/17: Cary had the opportunity to make this song, "Smile With Simon" with a talented writer and friend Patricia Simon. She wrote 2 children's books (due out soon) about a bird who looks a little different due to a cleft palate. It's a great story about tolerance, understanding, and awareness. https://vimeo.com/206003080

2/17: A new live show date has been added to the calendar... April 10th at Mona Records Cafe in Tokyo, Japan!

2/17: Cary's song "Sunshine Love" is being used for a Krispy Kreme commercial...

1/17: Cary's song "Impossible" is featured on a National Geographic Channel show called "Dirty Rotten Survival". It's around the 1:45min mark here http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/…/vi…/the-hog-catcher/.

10/16: Cary's song, "Inspiration" (off the album Impossible), has been featured in a new book called “Diary of a Teenage Empath” by Jeannette Folan. How can a song be "in" a book? It's called BookTrack, and readers can listen to a soundtrack playing in synch with the text.
https://www.booktrack.com/…/95ae8c3258a14d5792295153feba6e3f
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJeannetteFolan/
http://empathdiary.com/music

9/16: Cary's new album and song "This is a Wonderland" got a nice blog writeup by Yab Yum Music.

Chicago-based Cary Kanno has quite the lighthearted, summertime feel for someone out of the Windy City. “This is Wonderland” combines ukes, banjos, tambourines, shakers and more without over-saturating the sound. Instead, you find a harmonious merging and the effect is effervescent. If you enjoy “This is Wonderful”, I recommend checking out Kanno’s new album, Wonderland, available here.

https://www.yabyumwest.com/tag/cary-kanno

8/16: Here are a number of new placements for Cary Kanno songs:

7/16: A blog called Middle Tennessee Music posted one of Cary's songs, "This is a Wonderland" off his new album. They have about 6000 followers. These blogs are overwhelmed by music, especially because major labels are going after blog placements. It's very hard to get a placement, so this is pretty cool!
soundcloud.com/bunks/sets/indie-music-spotlight-part-vii 
twitter.com/midtnmusic/status/753626581608779776

6/16: Cary's new CD "Wonderland"has officially been released!
Cary: "I've always found it easy to write slow, melancholic songs, or funky songs in a minor key, so I wanted to challenge myself to write songs that were happy, bouncy, major key, musically interesting, had exciting moments, and still sounded good. In the end I wanted an album that I would enjoy listening to. There's alot of ukulele, banjo, piano, and acoustic guitars."
You can get the album here (digital or CD), or at itunes.
https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/carykanno10

6/16: Cary Kanno hashad some good plays on TV shows: 2 on "Pawn Stars" (History Channel), 2 on "American Restoration" (History Channel), "Food Porn" (FYI Network), "Golf, Farmers Insurance Open" (CBS), 2 on "The Ride" (MTV UK), 2 on "Tiny House Nation" (FYI Network), and 8 on "Watch What Happens Live" (Bravo network) .

5/16: Cary Kanno had another play on his cousins show on TLC (The Willis Family). Season 2 episode 5 at the salon. It happened by sheer coincidence. He also had 5 more plays on "The Voice" (NBC), which brings the total up to 14 plays on that show.

5/16: The new album "Wonderland" is very close to being done. It features 17 songs of ukulele, banjo, guitar based music.

4/16: The Pandora stats came in today and "Daddy's Song" has had over 75,000 spins on Pandora in the past year.... 149,000 total spins.

1/16: Here are some great photos from a very talented photographer/ musician Adam Dausch. They were taken at a recent gig...

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

5/15: The Light Fantastic received a nice review/ preview from berkeleyplaceblog.com.

5/15: The Light Fantastic... hot off the press:

 

 

 

4/15: The new album is now out on iTunes and CD Baby. It's called "The Light Fantastic".

 

 

4/15: Cary's song, "Fun Under the Sun" off the Under the Sun album has been used for a Mazda Japan for a short infomercial/ commercial. It's the 2nd song on the video.

 

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

 

4/15: Cary's song, "Inspiration and Passion" will be used in a national TV commercial for Goldman Sachs

 

2/15: Cary's music has been receiving heavy in-store radio play in Europe (mostly Italy). Thousand's of plays in big chain retail stores such as Gallerie Commerciali Bennet, Toys Center, Leroy Merlin, Bricocenter, Upper Crust (UK), Scarpe&Scarpe, and many more. These stores are playing Cary's music everyday in hundreds of locations.

 

1/15: "Daddy's Song" (off the Under the Sun album) is gaining momentum on Pandora. Over 1,200 plays in the past 7 days with 35% of the listeners opting to "like" it.

 

 

1/15: 4 more placements on "The Voice" on NBC. All were plays of "Acoustic DItty". Other Placements:
- Here Comes Honey Boo Boo on TLC played "Home is Where the Heart Is" (don't judge!).
- America's Pregame... a NFL pregame show on FOX played a Cary Kanno instrumental song.

 

1/15: Impossible was released to Pandora today. Look it up... make a station!

 

11/14: Impossible was released to Itunes today! You can purchase it here (on Itunes). Here is a sample track: Everybody Has It

"This is the album I've always wanted to make. As far as the songwriting, instrumentation, sonic quality, creativity, and lyric writing it's some of my best work to date. It was challenging at times, but to create it and have it exist has been vastly rewarding to me."

 

11/14: "Daddy's Song" off the "Under the Sun" album has had over 42,000 spins on Pandora in less than 1 year. That's over 850 spins per week. You can buy the album here on iTunes! A few Cary Kanno songs have made it into regular rotation on Pandora. Total spins count for Cary Kanno is over 350,000!

 

10/14: Yes it's true, a new release is on it's way. It's called "Impossible" and it's a 13 song full album. They style can be described as Indie rock. Here are two tracks:

1. Impossible
2. Keep Driving

 

10/14: A very talented artist (Claire Fuller) has created a music video of the song "Fergie the Frog" (off the Under the Sun album). It was all hand drawn with pencils and watercolors:

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

 

10/14: A new song placement, "Return to Amish" on TLC. The song is "Sunny Days" (off the Under the Sun album)"

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

 

6/14: Here are a few of the TV placements for Cary Kanno:

Show: "Breaking the Faith" (TLC) Song: Shine from "Changes" by Cary Kanno.

Show: "Breaking the Faith" (TLC) Song: Keep the Faith from "Changes" by Cary Kanno.

Show: "The Voice" (NBC) Song: Acoustic Ditty by Cary Kanno

Show: "Miss Universe" (NBC) Song: Baaby by Cary Kanno (off Bum 1)

Show: "Moonshiners" (Discovery Channel) Song: We Wish You a Merry Banjo by Cary Kanno (off Uke & Banjo Christmas) *to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

 

5/14: More recent song placements: The Voice (NBC), UFC Ultimate Insider (Fuel TV, FSN), Moonshiners (Discovery Channel), Breaking the Faith (TLC, 3 songs), and Miss Universe Pageant (NBC).

 

 

5/14: Yes the rumors are true, Cary has a new album out... or almost out. It's called "A Little More Love" and is a very happy, uptempo ukulele/ banjo/ acoustic guitar album. Check out 2 streaming tracks here:
Boy Meets Girl
A Little More Love
Now available on Itunes

 

5/14: Show Announcement! 7/10/14 Cary Kanno & the Giants will play Lincoln Square Summer Concert Series. It's a great event in the heart of Lincoln Square (Giddings Plaza).

 

3/14: Cary's song "Jingle Banjo Bells" (off Uke & Banjo Christmas) has been picked up by a major world label (Putumayo)for inclusion on a holiday music compilation. It will be in over 3000 retail locations around the world including Whole Foods. Look for it starting October 2014.

 

1/14: Volkswagen bought "Fun Under the Sun" off the "Under the Sun" album. For some kind of commercial... I don't think it's out yet.

 

10/13: a new video. "Fun Under the Sun" off the album "Under the Sun"

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

10/13: Cary's song "Her Impudence Can't be Known" was used by the Bravo network for their show "Newlyweds". Episode 8, a scene where a girl meets her mother-in-law for the first time.

 

6/13: Great show in Lincoln Square. Here are a few images:

 

 

6/13: Thurs June 20th.Cary Kanno and the Giants play Lincoln Square Summer Concert Series.  Free show!  Bring a lawn chair, grab a beer, bring the kids (in that order).  This show will feature Joey Bohlmann, Holly Senchak, Adam Dausch, Andy Lempera, Matt Sherrell, Matt Conway, Emma Noel

 

 

6/13: Live from Ribfest- Chicago. "And He Tried".

6/13: Live from Ribfest- Chicago. "I Tried to Tell You".

 

 

*photos courtesy of Mark Mathis

*photos courtesy of Mark Mathis

 

5/13: Another song placement. This time for "Back On the Roof" off the album "Changes".

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

 

5/13: 2 new shows anounced!
Sunday June 9th
Ribfest - Chicago
4130 N. Lincoln Ave
1:30-2:30pm. FULL BAND show!

 

 

Thursday June 20
Lincoln Square Summer Concert Series
4130 N. Lincoln Ave
6:30-9pm. FULL BAND show!

 

4/13: Cary recorded a song for the Murder Studios David Bowie tribute album.

Free Download : David Bowie's Fame ala Cary Kanno

You can check out the whole album here: http://murderincpresents.bandcamp.com/album/vol-2-the-bowie-compilation
The album features some amazing songs!

 

1/13: "Her Impudence Can't Be Known" was used by an Italian Jean company to promote one of their new lines. Check it out...

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

1/13: Radio station stats: "Changes" is doing quite well on the radio.
It has made the CMJ charts at 5 stations:
HCC Radio, The Dragon Columbia MD #26
KUMD Duluth MN #27
KVNF Paonia CO #8
WCNI New London CT #25
WEFT Champaign IL #23

It is currently in rotation on over 100 stations in US and Canada.
It was also the #15 add on the CMJ top 200 charts

1/13: The music video for "We Don't Have to Change" got a great review from Ampedsounds.com. Click on the link and give a 100% rating to the video!


http://ampedsounds.com/video/cary-kanno-we-dont-have-to-change/

"Cary Kanno is a very talented musician that plays a multitude of musical instruments, and sings and writes his songs too. In this video, he has three images of himself playing three different instruments, which is a clever way to show off his talents. The Country/Pop song is pleasant enough to listen to, and the mellow vibe of the video complements this. It’s not a very exciting video, but it keeps your attention and does not get too boring.
The visuals are nice, with scenes of Kanno walking through a field with his guitar strapped to his back, and a scene with three of himself sitting in a barn and jamming. It’s cool the way he does this, and is different from a lot of other videos I have seen. His voice is in an upper range and is very rich, and the song has an Uncle Kracker vibe to it. The harmonizing in the sing is great also, with Kanno recording his voice singing in different keys and then mixing them back together in the studio. It’s an enjoyable song with pleasant visuals in the vid. The song ends with great piano playing, with the camera on Kanno’s hands playing the notes on the piano keys. It’s a fitting end to the video– just emphasizing the unique talent of this up and coming musician."

12/12: "Changes" just received a great review from Patrick Conlan and the Illinois Entertainer!

11/12: Here is a music video for "We Don't Have to Change" off the album "Changes":

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

11/12: KUMD in MN recently charted "Changes" at #27 on their CMJ charts. Glad to see my former bandmate and friends Solid Gold at #2.

11/12:"Changes" was the #15 add on the CMJ top 200 charts this week!
CMJ is like the Billboard of college radio. "Adding" is when a radio station adds the album to their play lists. So out of the hundreds of albums released to radio this week, "Changes" was the 15the highest add in the whole country! Feedback from the stations has been "very positive".

10/12: A music video for the song "We Don't have to Change" is in the works! Stay tuned!

7/12: Checkout Cary's interview at FearlessRadio.com (click here for the fearless site, or here for an MP3).

7/12: A kiteboarding video featuring Cary Kanno's "Zone of Al Capone" featuring Mark Mathis:

7/12: Some photos and A live video from the CD release show at Martyrs (7/20/12). Cary's backing band, "The Giants" features some of Chicagos top musicians (Matt Conway on keys, Andy Lempera on drums, Joey Bohlmann on guitar/ banjo, Holly Senchak vocals, Emma Noel vocals, Adam Dausch percussion, Jake Samson on bass, and Andres Roldan vocals)

*to view videos full screen, click on youtube logo

"And He Tried" featuring Andres "RonP" Roldan

 

5/12: Cary's new album "Changes" received a great review from obscuresound.com (a popular music blog that receives over 20,000 visitors per week).

7/12: FREE DOWNLOAD! A Nirvana cover song by Cary Kanno..... Something In the Way. Written for the Murder Studios Nirvana compilation.

 

5/12: The new album "Changes" is now available in CD format, 2GB flash drive, or MP3 download (click here)

3/12: Promo video for the new album "Changes

"Shine" featuring Holly Sencheck

6/11: Songs from "One" and "Two" are now being played on over 150 college radio stations as well as Pandora and Spotify. Click here download some free tracks

"one"

"two"

 

6/11: Cary had the privilege to sing the National Anthem at Wrigley Field before the Cubs/ Brewers Game:

4/08: Cary wrote and recorded a song for the Showtime Network for the TV show "Weeds"