WHO NAMED THE BAND: The Dungarees fit perfectly
Naming a country band is just as difficult as naming a rock band. It’s like branding a cow – to use a simile country folk may be familiar with. The cow doesn’t want to be branded. It resists the branding iron, because it hurts. Yet once the scar has healed the cow barely notices the […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Edmonton honoured to host Edmonton Music Awards
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, […]
LISTEN HERE: Mexican metal band unleashes The Midnight Terrors
Are you afraid of the dark? You’re not alone … except when you’re alone in the dark, of course. But lots of people get the so-called “midnight terrors.” Singer Paolo Belmar cuts an imposing stance with his metal band Hellnite, but admits, “I used to be afraid of dead people.” It figures. He grew up […]
WATCH HERE: Disturbing experimental music video took two years to make
Edmonton musician Brian Raine spent two years making a stop-motion video for his song Hurting Other People – an astounding labour of love whose result begs comparisons to those famously creepy Tool videos that used to get banned all the time. In this black and white film for Raine’s experimental project Ways in Waves, we […]
WEEKEND MUSIC: Take these broken wings and learn to fly again
Any injured bird or small animal in Northern Alberta is fair game for the WILDNorth Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Society – which throws its annual “Wildlife Festival” this Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm in Queen Mary Park (10844 117 Street). Admission is free – do you hear me? FREE! The good cause is […]
ANNOUNCES: Walk Off The Earth, The Debaters
If video killed the radio star, then it follows that YouTube made the video star. The perfect case is Walk Off the Earth – the Burlington, Ontario band that parlayed their hobby of making videos of clever pop covers into fame and fortune and a No. 1 AAA hit (adult album alternative) with Red Hands. […]
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 […]
Green light for cannabis at the folk fest
Within today’s announcement for Hozier, Ani DiFranco, Brandi Carlile, Bruce Cockburn and other acts we already knew were coming to the 40th annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival was a big green light for marijuana. Oh, yeah, cannabis is legal now. Almost forgot. Producer Terry Wickham addressed the issue at the annual media launch, where there […]
Die-Nasty wraps Game of Thrones homage
One million idiots put their name on a petition demanding that Game of Thrones producers remake the last season – prompting an instant backlash: “Hey, if you’re so smart, then you do it!” The Die-Nasty live improvised soap opera is way ahead of the game: Since mid-October every Monday at the Varscona Theatre their theme […]
REVIEW: Alessia Cara inspires little girls in Edmonton
Security sure had their hands full at the Alessia Cara concert in Edmonton on Wednesday night. What a tough crowd. Once the 22-year-old star started high-fiving and clasping hands with all the girls in the front row of the Jubilee Auditorium, everyone wanted a piece of her. Moms carried up their little ones to get […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Cher and Cher alike
You can’t be too mad at Cher – who retired and then changed her mind, not once, not twice, but thrice! At least she has a healthy sense of humour about it. The show coming to Rogers Place on Saturday night is part of the “Here We Go Again” tour. (IMPORTANT NOTE: On Tuesday night […]
LISTEN HERE: Dancing to Joni Mitchell
Hear music from Alberta Ballet’s The Fiddle & The Drum Joni Mitchell was the first pop star that Canadian ballet-meister Jean Grand-Maitre pitched to do a ballet. Jean has since done so-called “portrait” ballets about Elton John, Sarah McLachlan, Gordon Lightfoot, k.d. lang, and The Tragically Hip – but Joni was the first. Ten […]
