MUSIC PREVIEW: Edmonton honoured to host Edmonton Music Awards

Posted on June 26, 2019 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music

It’s an honour just to be nominated – but it’s better to win.

That’s what most award nominees say (or at least think secretly) – and the musicians vying for trophies at the annual Edmonton Music Awards are surely no exception.

The gala taking place Thursday at the Winspear Centre features seven performances: Ben Sures, David Jay, Fire Next Time, iamhill (above), Jenesia, Post Script, and The Prairie States – each representing a different genre of music, more or less, and each nominated for at least one EMA. If you’ve been paying attention to all the music awards shows over the years, you can bet – if you were a betting man – that these performers won’t go home empty-handed. They’re already winners in our books.

Awards in 22 gender-less genre-specific categories will be handed out over the course of the evening. Tickets are still available for the event, only $15-20 at the Winspear box office.

Thursday 27

The Works Stage – Just North of the “Ledge” in Capital Plaza from noon to 11 pm daily until July 2 is an astounding variety of live entertainment in almost every genre you could name. Kudos again to Works Stage curator Ben Sures (see above) for such an eclectic line-up. Acts include Grindstone Comedy (Thursday at 5 pm), Mercy Funk (Friday at 8:45 pm), and The Dungarees (Canada Day Monday at 8 pm). Admission to all events is free. See the schedule for details.

Friday 28

Yes We Can-ada Cabaret – This Edmonton Food Bank benefit is led by one of our favourites, the mono-named Vissia, whose skill on mean guitar is matched only by her haunting voice. Also on the bill at the Aviary is The Hearts, and The Bitters. 8 pm, advance tickets $15 – $5 of which goes to the food bank.

Chilliwack – Gone, gone, gone, she been gone so long … is a line being heard with greater frequency on local airwaves lately, thanks mainly to the newly rebranded 96.3 “The Breeze” FM, which turns out to be the top-rated station in Edmonton. This is due to one maddeningly simple idea: Get a slogan that speaks to modern people: “Life is stressful, but your music doesn’t have to be,” and commence to play “relaxing” old hits that haven’t been heard for a long time. Sometimes that’s for good reason, but in the case of Canada’s own Chilliwack, the band (in different forms) has been on a roll since 1981 when they released My Girl (not to be confused with the Temptations song). It’s been in our head ever since. River Cree Casino, 9 pm, advance tickets from $30

READ: Chilliwack’s TRUE TALE OF THE ROAD

Bomfest – They should’ve called this OOnce-fest, as in OOnce-OOnce-OOnce-OOnce … and so on times one billion. That’s literally what it’s going to sound like outside the Expo Centre grounds (Northlands) for this three-day, three-stage electronic music extravaganza (two outdoor stages, one indoors) – featuring literally dozens of DJs from all over the world. Some of them are quite famous, like Tiesto or Adventure Club. Others, who the hell knows? They’re DJs, not rock stars. Or maybe they are rock stars. EDM fans would argue. The hard house opens Friday at 4 pm. Weekend passes start at $119.

Saturday 29

Edmonton Jazz Festival – OK, we have to call it by the full name: “The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival.” Those big finance sponsorship bucks are nothing to sneeze at. Remember when the cigarette company sponsored Canadian jazz festivals? Ah, good times (cough, cough). Anyway, we’re in the home stretch of the annual local jazzfest. Highlights for this day include the Melissa Aldana Quartet at the Varscona Theatre; Empirical at the Yardbird Suite; and the Nathan Samuelson Quartet at the Blue Chair Cafe. The festival ends Sunday with a matinee concert from the Edmonton Jazz Ensemble 30^th Anniversary Tour at the Yardbird Suite. See the website for a complete schedule.

Sunday 30

Pentatonix – Is it because of the Pitch Perfect movies that we now have a superstar a cappella cover band playing the local hockey arena? Or did the group Pentatonix, with sheer talent and determination, awaken a mass desire for amazing unaccompanied vocal calisthenics? Maybe it’s a chicken-and-egg thing. Judge for yourself when this TV-YouTube sensation performs live at Rogers Place. Rachel Platten and Citizen Queen open the show at 6:30 pm. Advance tickets from $34.