Bywater Call: Funk, Rock, and Blues for the Soul

Bywater Call is a powerhouse seven-piece Southern soul, roots rock band from Toronto, Canada, featuring Meghan Parnell (vocals), Dave Barnes (guitar), Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), John Kervin (keys), Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax).

Bywater Call has received many blues music award nominations, including most recently, Best International Artist for the 2024 UK Blues Awards. They have toured extensively in Europe where shows have been praised by Dutch, German and UK media, with references to Meghan as one of the best female voices in blues and roots today.

In August 2023, the band participated in Joe Bonamassa’s third Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean Cruise alongside headliners Blackberry Smoke and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and were invited to perform at the All-Star Jam on the mainstage with Bonamassa himself. Guitarist Dave Barnes was also asked to join legendary blues artist Jimmy Vivino (Conan O’Brien’s Basic Cable Band) on stage.

Bywater Call have commanded festival stages in Canada and around the world, often referred to as the “find of the fest”. In May of 2023, they opened for Canadian Award-winning band White Horse at the inaugural Smokestack Music Festival in Hamilton, Ontario. In July, Meghan joined renowned pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph on stage at his request, at the Briggs Farm Festival in Nescopeck, PA.

On October 24, 2023, Bywater performed a live stream performance for the famed German TV show and festival Rockpalast.

In 2023 alone, the band played a total of 96 shows in 10 countries, 89 Cities, 19 US States and 3 Canadian Provinces.

The band’s music is an exploration of life’s highs and lows. From intimate ballads that lay bare the complexities of human emotion to electrifying anthems that demand to be played at full volume, their catalogue is a journey through the human experience, incorporating influences from the likes of The Band, The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Otis Redding, Little Feat, Sly and the Family Stone, among others.

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