Jazz marries classical in Obsessions
So a string quartet and a jazz combo walk into a bar, hit it off, fall in love, and spend the rest of their lives making beautiful music together. It happened almost exactly like that for the Obsessions Octet, a uniquely original Edmonton group playing the release for its third CD, Steppin’ Up, Thursday at […]
PLAYBILL: Let’s talk about love
There have been more love songs on the subject of love than any other self-referencing genre, such as rock ‘n’ roll songs about rock ‘n’ roll, or dance songs about dancing – although “love” is technically not a musical genre, so never mind. OK: There are more love songs than any other kind of song. […]
Detective farce a riot at Mayfield
We’re going to get quite a bit of Ken Ludwig in Edmonton in the next while. On March 4, the Citadel opens his Gershwin musical, Crazy For You – and in the meantime, until April 2, fans can see his comic take on the sleuth of 221B Baker Street at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre: Baskerville, […]
Bust hits close to home for Theatre Network
For a company dedicated to presenting local productions, it’s hard to imagine a more Albertan show than Theatre Network’s current offering, Bust. At the Roxy on Gateway until Feb. 26, Matthew MacKenzie’s play takes place in Fort McMurray just after the great fire in May of 2016. It features two couples trying to cope with […]
Everybody Footloose in marvelous MacEwan musical
Sorry, all of you who fondly remember the 1984 film Footloose as a quintessential part of your teen years – it really wasn’t much of a movie. No one expected much from it. And who was this kid, Kevin Bacon, anyway? Anyone who knew about those things was surprised when a whole generation of restless […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Hoyer homecoming
Unless you’re Blue Rodeo, big acts seem reluctant to schedule tours at this time of year, especially through our part of the country in what is supposed to be the depths of winter. So while it’s a pretty light weekend star-wise, there’s a little bit of everything going on somewhere: Reggae, some metal, some hip […]
Edmonton folk singer on a roll
Maria Dunn will use some of the $8,000 she won for the Edmonton Music Prize to travel to Ottawa in April for the Juno Awards – where her album Gathering is nominated for Traditional Roots Album of the Year. “It warms my heart,” Dunn says of the recent double honour, and this is no faint […]
PLAYBILL: Bust goes boom
The good people of Fort McMurray have been an inspiration for strength and resilience in the face of the fire that devastated their town in May of 2016, and – with a few exceptions – remarkably patient with the parade of celebrities trying to make them an example for the perils of global climate change. […]
USS makes Edmonton happiest city on Earth
If you didn’t know any better, you might think USS was from Edmonton. The mutual love affair between this city and the Toronto duo officially named “Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker” has existed since at least 2008 when they first started playing here. USS got huge airplay on Sonic radio, which also launched the radio career of […]
AGLC lifts ban on underage musicians
Coming soon to a bar near you – younger bands. The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission announced on Friday that the regulation prohibiting minors from performing in licensed taverns has been removed, effective immediately – and after only 10 years of being the biggest pain-in-the ass rule for musicians not old enough to drink but […]
