WHAT’S GOING ON: Touring Artists Have Lots of Post Pandemic Music!
The pandemic has afforded famous recording artists the opportunity to make music with a freedom they could only dream about before. Usually records were made – quickly – between tours, where the real money was supposed to be. Some acts would tour too much, wear out their welcome. But hey, no tours for two years, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Bedouin Soundclash reformed, renewed, returning to Edmonton
Next Tuesday the venerable Starlite Room hosts the almighty Bedouin Soundclash. This reggae-ska-pop band out of Kingston, Ontario, recently returned from a nine-year hiatus with a monstrous creation of an album, 2019’s Mass. It’s the fifth album in their catalog, and the return was anything but assured, with lead singer Jay Malinowski writing a novel […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Alexisonfire, not broken up after all, returns to Edmonton
There are few things that can boost a band’s popularity more than breaking up. You do the tearful farewell tour, a lot of your fans show up to see you off, you make some retirement money, and everyone’s happy. Yet still a bit sad – until of course said band gets back together again. Behold […]
REVIEW: Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
It was cool in New York on March 13th back in 1943. Over at the St. James Theater, a musical from the new writing team of Rogers and Hammerstein called Oklahoma! was opening. Right off the head, a laconic cowboy named Curly saunters to the front of the stage, plants his feet and sings, “There’s […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Endless Bummer Showcases Edmonton Talent
This weekend features the return of the Endless Bummer festival, a diverse collection of gigs, featuring the best of the best of local and regional bands, taking place at a variety of venues throughout the city. There are two kickoff shows on Thursday night. There’s an all-ages gig at The Aviary, featuring art rock quartet […]
LISTEN HERE: Clayton Congregation Comes Together
Clayton Bellamy has been several things to many people: A solo act, a member of the highly-decorated country-rock band The Road Hammers, a short-lived CISN Country radio announcer, and now the leader of “The Congregation” – new project he says “doesn’t have a sniff” of country. Take him at his word. It’s more like the […]
LISTEN HERE: The Royal Foundry wants to WAKEUP from bad dream
EXCLUSIVE! Hear Edmonton band’s new single several hours before release! The counterintuitive trick about empathy and validation is that you do NOT want to comfort someone with the old tropes: “Don’t worry about it! Everything’s going to be fine! You can do this! Believe in yourself!” – because then you’re dismissing the feeling. Sometimes everything […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Indie star Lissie stars at the Starlite Room
From her home base on her farm in Iowa, Lissie has become an indie sensation. The Indiana-born country-folk artist seen every one of her first four studio albums grab a spot in the top 15 of the US Folk chart, and the last two have accomplished the same feat on the US Indie chart. Many […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Sonic all over the sonic map at Field Day
It’s just a little wish: Sonic 102.9 FM could be, you know, a little “heavier” – ‘cuz we’re a HEAVY town, man – but you have to admit they consistently play the widest variety of the new music, the alternative, the so-called “modern rock,” which is all over the map, sonically. Hence the name. Some […]
Opera NUOVA’s Secret Garden blooms in dark musical at Festival Place
Many remember Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved 1911 novel The Secret Garden as a great read from their childhood. It’s about a hidden garden that flowers and brings new life to all who enter. A new production of the Lucy Simon (music) and Marsha Norman (book & lyrics) 1991 musical from Edmonton’s Opera NUOVA – in […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Cardinal rule
Celeigh Cardinal has been called (OK, by me) the “Metis Sheryl Crow.” She doesn’t mind the label. She gets Adele a lot, too, plus Bonnie Raitt because she plays guitar. It’s not so much a comparison to Cardinal’s original songs, which span blues, rock, soul and adult contemporary in a style all her own, as […]
LISTEN HERE: Former soldier ‘turns the page’
EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK Listen to Tim Isberg’s new Bob Seger cover one day early! As a high ranking officer in the Canadian Armed Forces for 30 years, Tim Isberg was deployed in Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and in the Middle East. He’s seen a lot. These days, from his home base in Sherwood Park (he […]
