LISTEN HERE: Ben Sures at the Yardbird
EXCLUSIVE Hear Edmonton folk hero’s new live album 2 days before official release! Ben Sures keeps it old-school! He sells CDs. He eschews drums from time to time. He is unconcerned with “singles.” Yet he has carved himself a unique place in the Canadian folk canon with his evocative and honest songs, some of […]
LISTEN HERE: Stony Plain cowboy tryin’ something different
EXCLUSIVE: Hear Steve Newsome’s new single one day before it goes to radio! Yes, he’s an actual Alberta cowboy, living the life of Red Dead Redemption, minus the killing – but Stony Plain’s Steve Newsome has lately been busier with country music than wrangling cattle. The 44-year-old singer’s latest song is a slick country […]
Dierks Bentley thrills beer-drinking, party-going, country-lovers in Edmonton
Edmonton threw a party at Rogers Place on Thursday night to welcome Dierks Bentley back to town for his “Burning Man” Tour – named for the song that’s been such a big hit on country radio for the past year. The arena was already buzzing with the opening lines of his tour- titled track even […]
2019 MUSIC PREVIEW: Ozzy! Priest! Skynyrd! Ariana!
The Big Three – can we call them the Big Three? Yes! – THE BIG THREE shall rock Edmonton this summer. Name other metal legends so widely known by only one name: Ozzy, Priest, Maiden – this trifecta alone will make 2019 a huge year for classic heavy metal in Edmonton. Ozzy Osbourne, age 70, […]
YEAR END REVIEW: 6 great Edmonton Bands
Edmonton’s music scene continues its journey towards becoming ever more diverse, and more noteworthy. Some of the world’s biggest music blogs and podcasts continue to reference some of our bands. This year Major Love was perhaps the most noteworthy of those, getting some serious love from the UK’s The Line Of Best Fit. The latter […]
Captain Tractor sails into classic rock waters
The lingering question of why on Earth an Edmonton band would channel sea-faring hootenannies 700 miles from the nearest ocean has a simple answer. “I’m probably mostly to blame for a lot of it,” admits Scott Peters, a charter member of Captain Tractor who was “born and raised” in Nova Scotia. He came to Edmonton […]
REVIEW: Drake shares his feelings in Edmonton
There were certain moments during Drake’s concert in Edmonton where there were literally no live performers at all. Old person complaint: What is the world coming to?! All the music was tracked. No band. Ha! Live musicians are so quaint. The backing vocals were tracked. Even the lead rap was tracked during one of the […]
Paul McCartney rocks Edmonton with marathon concert
The trouble with setting the bar so high is that you might never get over yourself again. This is now known as the “Paul McCartney Rule.” The British Rock God’s epic and self-worshipping marathon of a rock concert at Rogers Place on Sunday night was Beatleseque nostalgia lovefest of the highest order – from one […]
INTERVIEW: Grandson plays the rage card
The artist who calls himself Grandson is only 24 years old – and he’s already talking about the legacy he’s going to leave behind. As if it weren’t depressing enough to hear such fatalist talk from a millennial, listen to his music. Jordan Benjamin has already made a huge impact with his hit song Blood//Water. […]
Saga dominates Edmonton Rock Music Festival
Edmonton might have been covered in a thick blanket of asthma-inducing white acrid smoke, but none of that stuff was being blown during Saga’s performance down at Hawrelak Park as part of Friday night festivities at the Edmonton Rock Festival. Most Canadians are clueless how big this band was and still is internationally. Last time […]
First Nations acts big at stormy Interstellar Rodeo
Most of the people who attend Interstellar Rodeo are not fair-weather fans. They know that Mother Nature may not be on their side. Indeed, this year the festival almost lived up to the dreaded “Friday night curse” – as some call it – hearkening back to an earlier year when the Friday night had to […]
Raygun Cowboys ride the lightning
Going to a Raygun Cowboys concert is like being transported to the world of The Outsiders, in between the Greasers and the Socs – except no one gets hurt in the mosh pit. There are other guarantees from this colourful local psychobilly band – fun, laughter, dancing until your feet hurt, and a strong sense […]
