REVIEWS FOR MORNINGSTAR
ROCK AND BLUES MUSE
https://www.rockandbluesmuse.com/2022/08/03/review-chris-antonik-morningstar/
“Antonik is clearly focused on making music that advances the state of blues/rock and guitar music in general. He’s not putting out musical history lessons in hopes of building credibility but is following his own desires and influences into new territory, as great musicians have always done.”
“Antonik is most assuredly not your normal, everyday blues/rock guitar slinger, although his chops are beyond question. He’s got bigger game on his mind and is creating music that will stretch your soul when you hear it. He’s a fully-developed artist working on something big. We should all be listening.”
“Ferociously modern with deep-blues roots and massive crossover potential.”
BLUES ROCK REVIEW
https://bluesrockreview.com/2022/08/chris-antonik-morningstar-review.html
“The strength and potency ofMorningstarlies within the palpable atmospheres generated by Chris and eminent co-producer, Derek Downham. This can be felt through the rich instrumentation, which enhances every ounce of emotion.
“Brilliance.......9/10.....countless exceptional guitar solos……..boundary-pushing blues.”
ALL MUSIC MAGAZINE
https://allmusicmagazine.com/album-review-chris-antonik-morningstar-release-date-8-5-22/?fbclid=IwAR1_FpQSvUoHPwhBVg0qyK23qqf4Vr0pmorcUpOrAvdY0jqzd7Tc5gDd2Iw
“10/10”
"This album reaches outside the box of your typical blues-rock album. Chris has presented this album as a beacon; a lighthouse in the darkness. We can make our own way through the murkiness and create our own outcome instead of allowing the darkness to drown us."
LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE
http://digital.livingblues.com/publication/?i=766410
"Antonik proves his mettle not only as a frenetic axe slinger, but also as an emotive vocalist and, most importantly, as a novel and nuanced songwriter as well. ... He integrated express emotion into the proceedings, creating an urgency and intensity that's both affecting and intriguing."
"... Morningstar stacks up as a formidable effort, one that stands out by virtue of its compelling content and its able execution. ... As a guitarist Antonik excels[;] ... as an overall artist, the investment in both the effort and its embellishment is consistently impressive."
CONCERT MONKEY
http://www.concertmonkey.be/albumreviews/chris-antonik-–-morningstar
“A more than brilliant successor to his excellent last album. Fourteen strong songs, in which there is not a single weak link.”
“Antonik’sexcellent guitar work is a feast for the ears.”
GONZO OKANGAN
https://gonzookanagan.com/hot-wax-album-reviews-by-the-rock-doctor-aug-10-2022-2/
“Five stars………Antonik has succeeded admirably. Great songs, great musicianship and great production make Morningstar unforgettable.
“While I revel in the blues horsepower on display, I’m even more delighted by not being able to anticipate what’s around the next corner.”
GLIDE MAGAZINE
https://glidemagazine.com/277841/song-premiere-chris-antonik-soars-with-big-blues-rock-anthem-back-to-the-good/
“Antonik balances his commanding vocals with scorching licks and the kind of big blues band leadership that would make Clapton smile, with plenty of solos for the blues nuts to soak up.”
MID WEST RECORD
http://midwestrecord.com/MWR1921.html
“Morningstar is a vision for tomorrow in that you know where it's been but where it's going is anybody's guess. Hot, hard, and heavy, it's successfully exploring galaxies of its own making.
FABRICATIONS HQ (UK)
"Antonik’s broadest and best work to date.
That the fourteen songs and 70 minutes seem to be over in a much shorter time-frame, such is the immersion, also speaks volumes – as does Chris Antonik on Morningstar."
"[The song Waves of Stone] is one of the most ear-catching rock-blues numbers of the year"
Blues Bytes.net
http://www.bluenight.com/BluesBytes/wn0822.html
“Powerful listening……Antonik’s best work to date”
BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE
https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/issue-16-31-august-4-2022/?fbclid=IwAR1MdqwHeO3kQIUHuA-Zv0gE4xQYczZXiZG0JGsktNLLOdqgS9C4HWiY4X0
“A big and powerful album”
Larry Kurtz, Founder/Artistic Director, Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival
“Mind-blowing! A masterpiece. Great songs, great playing, and amazing production. The best new sounds I have heard in a long time.”
Keys and Chords
https://www.keysandchords.com/album-review-blog/chris-antonik-morningstar
“Epic……incendiary blues rock songs, poignant song writing and lush sonic landscapes.”
JAZZ WEEKLY
https://www.jazzweekly.com/2022/08/chris-antonik-morningstar-koz/
“The jams are kicked outta here!”
OTHER PRESS FOR MORNINGSTAR
August 26, 2022 - Chris a guest on the "Music on the Couch" show - listen here
August 22, 2022 - Chris the featured guest and focus of “The Blues Rock Show” hosted by Blues Rock Review
In August 2022, Joe Bonamassa added “Back to the Good” to his “Ultimate Blues Rock” Spotify playlist.
August 5, 2022 – Top-story / feature in Blues Rock Review’s “Blues Rock Weekly” Show
Third single from album “Back to the Good” added to Spotify’s official editorial playlist “Modern Blues Rock” (131K likes)
June/July 2022 – the album’s first single,“Waves of Stone”and the album’s sophomore single, “Pilgrim,” found support fromJoe Bonamassaby being added to the acclaimed guitarist’s Spotify playlist, “Cutting Edge Blues.”
In June 2022, Joe Bonamassa also added “Waves of Stone” to two of his other official Spotify playlists – “Epic Guitar Solos” and “Ultimate Blues Rock.”
REVIEWS FOR 2017 ALBUM ‘MONARCH’
“One of the best artists we’ve heard from the Great White North.” (American Blues Scene)
"The Canadian Gary Clark Jr.....this is how modern blues should sound." (Concert Monkey)
"Monarch is a classic modern blues album made with wisdom and style. Antonik has a transcendent understanding of modern electric blues.” (Indie Folk Americana)
"Definitely Chris Antonik’s best release to date and is proof positive that he is one of the fast-rising stars in the blues world." (Blues Bytes)
"Antonik's guitar playing is masterful." (Toronto Blues Society)
"With consistent rhythms that demand that you clap along, an awe-inspiring mastery of the guitar, and a vocal range that will make your jaw drop to your toes, Monarch is certainly not an album to skip out on." (Canadian Beats)
"Guitar somewhere between B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore and Mike Bloomfield.....Antonik delivers a musical firework of the finest sort." (Wasser Prawda)
"Antonik has poured his heart and soul into this work and his fine vocals, masterful guitar playing and superb band have produced an excellent album." (Blues Matters UK)
PRESS
Chris chats with Mako Funasaka on the Talkin' Blues Podcast, July 2017
Chris speaks with the Waterloo Record, June 2017
"Monarch" the #1 record in Canada for radio play (Roots Music Report, May 13 and 20, 2017)
Interview with American Blues Scene, April 2017
Interview with Great Dark Wonder, April 2017
Interview with Blues in Greece, April 2017
Concert Review - London, UK, July 19, 2016
Feature in Blues in Britain Magazine, July 2016
South Bend Tribune Article, June 2015
Edmonton Journal Article, April 2014
Article in Germany's Blues News Magazine, April 2013
Chris an in-studio guest on CBC's Fresh Air Radio Program, March 30, 2013
Interview with Blues in Greece, March 2013
Chris featured on the cover of Toronto's Maple Blues Magazine, April 2013
Ten Questions with Chris Antonik by Graham Clarke, March 2013
REVIEWS FOR 2013 ALBUM ‘BETTER FOR YOU’
"An unrelentingly excellent sophomore album.....when he coaxes his axe he can make it sting like a bumblebee, sing like a lark, or weep like a motherless child." (New Canadian Music)
“A superb album....[the song] Turn To Shine features a superb guitar solo that could easily have been Derek Trucks.” (Blues in Britain)
"A masterpiece...truly extraordinary....essential...timeless.....a multi-faceted jewel of an album that shows you many different things, sparkling in countless colours and perpetually new. Talent like his is extremely rare." (Rustzine.com)
“One of the finest releases from the Great White North in many a year.......a living and breathing masterpiece....Antonik is a blues star rising.” (Cascade Blues Association, Oregon)
"One of the first real highlights of 2013." (Blues News Germany)
"Better For You is the sound of someone taking the blues to a new place......[Nothing I Can Do features]...a truly spectacular guitar solo that has shades of Buddy Guy and Hendrix" (American Blues Scene)
"An absolutely remarkable album and discovery of a truly great songwriter and guitarist." (Wasser-Prawda, Germany)
“A salient reference point is Eric Clapton, especially in Antonik’s warm, thick guitar sound, which often sounds in both tone and note selection like mid-to-late 1980s Clapton, around the time of Journeyman." (The Blues Blast)
"Five Stars...the Best Canadian Blues Rock Album of 2013 - outstandingly good." (Blues Underground Network)
“The best Sophomore release I have listened to in recent memory...an album which excelled in every way it could, something we hope for from so many artists, after releasing a great debut, but so few achieve.” (Blues Underground Network)
"Five Stars....Antonik is a cross between BB King and Eric Clapton." (Gonzo Online.ca)
“Sweet and riveting…..some of the best blues guitar you will ever hear.” (The HAWK 101.5FM, Hamilton)
"The energy on Antonik’s sophomore release is...purely joyful...Antonik wields his guitar as someone with the authority to do so." (Blues Rock Review)
"An early contender for recording of the year...an absolutely top-notch effort in every way.” (Blinded by Sound)
"This second album is so good, so rich, so complex, and so... amazing, it sounds more like an album representing decades of experience......just as Eric Clapton earned the nickname slowhand, Chris Antonik has defined himself as the gentle giant of modern blues rock." (Rustzine.com)
"Those waiting to see what Chris would do next are going to be impressed." (Toronto Blues Society)
“Nothing short of an amazing artistic leap.” (Blinded by Sound)
"Santanaish guitar......many beautiful guitar solos...[the solo on the title track] sounds like a long-lost Pink Floyd solo." (LA Beat)
"Antonik not only equals his dynamite debut release, but improves upon it in many ways." (Bluesbytes.net)
“An excellent second album....superb guitar tone....excellent songwriting.” (The Blues Forum - Netherlands)
REVIEWS FOR 2010 ALBUM ‘CHRIS ANTONIK’
"Antonik is one to watch in the blues. He writes well and plays wonderfully." (Vintage Guitar Magazine)
"Antonik's guitar cranks energy in a conscientious, unrushed and emotionally convincing manner that contributes volumes to the immediacy of his tunes." (DOWNBEAT Magazine)
"Following Canadian acts I enjoy such as Colin James, David Gogo, JW Jones and Downchild, here comes a new name to add to the list - Chris Antonik." (Thebluesblast.com)
"The instrumental Dhyana is Bonomassaesque in terms of style and quality and in The King Of Infidelity it can boast one of the single track highlights of the listening year to date......Antonik needs to be watched - something may be starting here."
(Blues Matters Magazine UK)
""Chris Antonik" is a surprising debut recording with one highlight after another .......outstanding fretwork and imaginative songwriting." (BluesBytes.net)
"The song The King of Infidelity is a major effort, a song that Mr. Clapton would welcome on one of his albums......a most welcome debut CD." (Toronto Blues Society)
"An impressive debut from a promising talent......his guitar work is concise and focused, more concerned with tone and taste than displays of virtuosity. His songs, too, are mature and intelligently crafted." (blogcritic.org)
OTHER
* "Better For You" named Blues-Rock Album of the Year by Canada's Blues Underground Network.
* US music magazine RUST names "Better For You" ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2013
* Nominated for a 2010 Maple Blues Award - Best New Artist of the Year (Canada's national awards for excellence and achievement in blues)
* June 5, 2013 - "Better For You" nominated for the German Record Critics' Award for Best Blues Album, the Quarterly Critics' Choice or ("Bestenliste").
* Named the "The Future of the Blues" in a 2010 year-end review by Canada’s Blues Underground Network website
* Debut solo album Chris Antonik voted the 10th best Canadian blues album released in 2010 on the Annual CHMR Top 20 Canadian Blues Chart
* Debut solo album named one of the best blues albums of 2010 by US music critic Graham Clarke, as well as by CKLR Radio in Quebec
* In the 2010 International Songwriting Competition, Chris’ song "Roll with It" received an honourable mention in the blues category. The song was selected from a pool of over 15,000 entrants by a jury that included Jeff Beck, Jerry Lee Lewis, Peter Gabriel and more.