LISTEN HERE: No one expects The Spanish Flies!
EXCLUSIVE! Listen to local rock quartet’s newest single Mr. Evil one day before its release! Feliam (Fel) Gamarra moved with his family from Peru in 2010 and wound up in Edmonton four years ago. The musician wasted no time ensconcing himself in the local music scene – forming a “psychedelic power pop” band called […]
A vegan in beef country: Morrissey comes to Edmonton in April
Wait, isn’t Morrissey that famously ornery deep-thinking British vegan singer-songwriter who’s gotten into such hot water for his outspoken views – and now he’s coming to Edmonton for the first time in more than 20 years? Yes, the same. How can we resist? Morrissey has announced a Canadian tour – his first since 2000 – […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Mother Mother thrills, challenges Edmonton in sold out show
There’s no logical reason why Mother Mother should prosper in a cookie-cutter music industry bent on presenting the Next Best Thing, only to dupe listeners with yet another derivative result of generic engineering. But then, this Vancouver quintet has been clogging the cogs of the starmaker machinery for the last 15 years with an eclectic […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Good times at the Arden
Matthew Good has been a fixture of Canadian alternative rock radio since there was such a thing. He’s the go-to handy modern rock Can-Con for a rainy day – and it was a rare day his music wasn’t heard several times on Edmonton’s own Sonic 102.9 radio. He was their poster boy. Not so much […]
Pentatonix, a pitch perfect success story, coming to Edmonton
We can thank the Pitch Perfect movies for renewing interest in a capella singing – but there are a few real-life vocal groups hitting the big-time in their wake. Pentatonix is one of them. The Texas quintet has only been around eight years, mainly famous for their lovely renditions of Christmas songs, and they’re already […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Magnetic Mangan
The audiophiles’ favorite venue, the Winspear Centre, hosts an act who can definitely use all of its offerings – as alt-folk artist extraordinaire Dan Mangan performs there Friday night. His precision guitar work and crooning voice and poignant lyrics should use the space to its utmost. Mangan is touring to support his newest album from […]
Trombonist wins $10,000 Edmonton Music Prize
There shall be no further disparagement of humble slide trombone – for one of its top local players has just won the Edmonton Music Prize. Audrey Ochoa takes the grand prize of $10,000, chosen from a short list of 10. “This sort of encouragement – award winning – is some nice feedback,” she says, “as […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: King of Foxes fierce and fragile
Olivia Street decided to come up with a band name rather than use her own as a way to “protect the art” – and also to avoid the stigma of the singer-songwriter. It’s there. Sorry about that. King of Foxes is a good band name. It works on many levels. “Fox” is slang for a […]
Guitar loving Slash returns to Edmonton
For his reputation as the mad hatter of rock ‘n’ roll, the one thing that Slash loves to do best is obvious – he loves to play guitar. He played with Guns N’ Roses, and on his own, and with practically anybody and everybody you can name. He’s one of these guys you’d meet at […]
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 […]
REVIEW: Arkells open Rally Cry tour with a bang in Edmonton, at home in Oil Country
It was hard not to feel empathy for Arkells – who chose frigid Edmonton as the launching point of their current 11-city Canadian tour. But it made sense, given that the Steeltown stereotype of the band’s Hamilton origins is a match for the blue-collar reputation that’s worn on the sleeves of hardy Edmontonians. More significantly, […]
LISTEN HERE: MarketForces tackle Fake News!
EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK New video by Edmonton rock quartet All Made Up will be released worldwide on Friday, Feb. 1 John Tidswell, whose 1980s band NeoA4 earned Canada-wide radio airplay, recently popped up in a band called MarketForces, along with another ‘80s alum Jeff Schmidt (Darkroom, Famous Blue Raincoat). They’ve released three albums, and […]
