2019 MUSIC PREVIEW: Ozzy! Priest! Skynyrd! Ariana!
The Big Three – can we call them the Big Three? Yes! – THE BIG THREE shall rock Edmonton this summer. Name other metal legends so widely known by only one name: Ozzy, Priest, Maiden – this trifecta alone will make 2019 a huge year for classic heavy metal in Edmonton. Ozzy Osbourne, age 70, […]
REVIEW: Heavenly Blue Rodeo
Having Blue Rodeo in Edmonton for a pair of January shows is a tradition. After playing a two-nighter at the Jubilee Auditorium in January 2016, the six-piece country rock band is back for another two nighter at the Jubilee Auditorium in January 2017 – and Thursday was another packed house. This is unsurprising in a […]
CONCERT: Looking forward to The Weeknd
Grammy nominated alt-R&B hero The Weeknd is coming to Edmonton on Monday, Nov. 30 as a part of The Madness Fall Tour. The Scarborough native’s latest album, Behind The Madness, is currently rising through the charts and has music reviewers foaming at the mouth trying to define its sound, specifically the album’s second single The Hills. Using […]
Lip syncing thrives in concert karaoke
The Quixotic quest to get warning labels on concert tickets appears to be a non-starter. Imagine: “PARENTAL ADVISORY: Portions of tonight’s ‘live’ concert will contain pre-recorded backing tracks” … only in your dreams. “There are no plans to require concert promoters to print warnings on tickets regarding pre-recorded material,” says the Alberta government. “I’ve never […]
Your favourite band sucks: The secret shame of the ‘buy-on’
There are shady schemes going on behind the scenes of the concert industry that music lovers might be better off not knowing about. For instance, people are unpleasantly shocked to discover most major bands use pre-recorded backing tracks during live performances. It’s become noteworthy when they don’t. Have you wondered why concert tickets are getting […]
PREVIEW: Just don’t expect an abominable show, man
In a city that is positively overrun with festivals and things that call themselves festivals, the Sasquatch Gathering probably leaves, ironically, the smallest footprint. That’s OK with festival organizer John Armstrong. It is now the 17th year of the music festival you’ve never heard of — an event that is, pardon the cliché, a labour […]
PREVIEW: Hot Panda bamboozled by wonky wheels
If you’re a band from Vancouver, but spent considerable time plying your trade in Edmonton as well, the question beckons: who gets the release party? Well…. why can’t you have a release party in both? A shaker on the west coast and another in the festival city as well? So says Hot Panda, performing Friday […]
100 Years of Calgary Cowboys almost worth making the drive
While Edmonton feels much more like an authentic wild frontier town than Calgary at this point in our shared history, Calgary will always be the cowboy capital of Canada. So we’re OK with the announcement of a cool cowboy gig happening only in Cowtown, featuring the legendary Ian Tyson paired with area Canadiana country star […]
Big Wreck returns to rock Edmonton Event Centre with Albatross May 4
It’s about time Big Wreck came back. Everybody else has – plus we still hear a lot of Big Wreck music on the radio. They must’ve done something right. The melodic rock band whose distinctive riffs are powered by guitar whiz Ian Thornley is back after a 10 year “hiatus” with a bang – a […]
Henry Rollins to speak his mind at the Myer Horowitz Theatre June 6
“Don’t do anything by half. If you love someone, love them with all your soul. When you go to work, work your ass off. When you hate someone, hate them until it hurts.” “Hope is the last thing a person does before they are defeated.” “I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. To not […]
