Maroon 5 to hit Edmonton with Funky Soul Goodness in Summer 2020
You can’t go five minutes without hearing a Maroon 5 song on the radio. They’re what you call a “hit machine.” Frontman Adam Levine is at least a triple threat. Behind yet another No. 1 single, the funky soul ballad Memories, Maroon 5 has launched a massive North American tour that will come to Edmonton’s […]
James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt come together in Edmonton in April
Here’s a show where you’ll want to come early to catch the opening act. The legendary James Taylor is bringing Bonnie Raitt with him on a cross-Canada tour in spring 2020. They come to Edmonton at Rogers Place on Friday, April 17. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 6. Will they perform on stage together, […]
LISTEN HERE: Tales of the Tomb keeps it real
“David Koresh, the master, the one who would save them all, destined to be a disaster, for he watched the buildings fall. The compound burned down. No one alive was found.” It’s weird to hear a death metal band be so literal. Then again, there’s plenty enough real horror in the world – why in […]
INTERVIEW: Fun Facts About Steve Patterson, Master Debaters Moderator
Be it resolved! (Whatever that’s supposed to mean.) Steve Patterson is a gifted comedian who brings the perfect Canadian affable sensibility to CBC’s long-running radio show The Debaters. It’s their best comedy show. He is the best man for the job. (At least as good as the original host Shaun Majumder.) Arguing for this case […]
LISTEN HERE: The Steadies live up to their name after tragic loss
Earl Pereira – the former Wide Mouth Mason bassist who set out on his own with the reggae-rock band The Steadies in 2010 – came close to quitting after the sudden death of his guitarist Justin Lee in 2017. “I’d been working my ass off so hard, and things were just starting to go, me […]
STARLITE, STAR BRIGHT: 94-Year-Old Building the Place to Be for Underground Music in Edmonton – 30 years later
In my first year as the woefully unqualified music critic for The Edmonton Sun, circa 1992, I visited the Starlite Room for the first time. It was called “The Bronx” in those days. It had a scary reputation, one of these dark dingy downtown “underground” bars we’d heard rumours about. Nirvana played there. There were […]
INTERVIEW: Checking in with Sum 41 and their depressing new album
There are two schools of thought about rock artists who express negative feelings in their songs. On one hand, maybe it’s healthy to get that stuff out there. “Name it to tame it,” the therapists say. But then it all might get to you. The lyrics of Chris Cornell, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, and Kurt […]
INTERVIEW: Wide Mouth Mason slides home
Fans of Wide Mouth Mason may be in for a big surprise when the band plays Friday night at Blues on Whyte. It’s not going to be a classic rock nostalgia concert, though it’s been nearly 25 years since they started. This is an entirely new direction: Shaun Verreault – the prairie wunderkind who wowed […]
LISTEN HERE: Black Mastiff goes to space
Coincidentally, the subject of Black Mastiff’s new video for the song Star Base 77 is a French Mastiff named Babette – who is not black. She’s yellow. Via “Rotoscope” animation (the technique of tracing over real footage, made famous by Ralph Bakshi in his 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings), the rescue dog […]
6 Things You Need to Know about the Edmonton Comedy Festival
1. Festival producer Andrew Grose is the only festival producer in town who performs at his own festival. Could you imagine Terry Wickham playing fiddle at the folk fest? Cam Hayden singing the blues at the blues fest? Todd Crawshaw rockin’ out at the rockfest? Well, maybe – but they probably wouldn’t. Andrew Grose will […]
IN IT FOR LOVE: Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Perform in Edmonton next Spring
Trumpeting legend Herb Alpert was the “A” in A&M Records, and when he and his partner Jerry Moss sold their company to PolyGram in 1992, they each wound up with several hundred million dollars. Then there’s the royalty and licensing fees for all that music by the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s, including that one […]
Scary Good Alice Cooper Returns to Edmonton in Spring 2020
Like all of us, the older Alice Cooper gets, the scarier he looks – which works out well for the original King of Shock Rock. Even if it’s more burlesque these days, as much laugh as scream, the 71-year-old rocker is still going strong – thanks to clean living in his senior years (a contrast […]
