Let’s Talk about Alessia Cara: Coming to Edmonton in May
One day after “Let’s Talk Day” comes a concert announcement for an artist who’s done a lot more to benefit mental health than Bell – and that’s a lot. The company raised $7.2 million yesterday. Alessia Cara, meanwhile, has reached millions of people with her honest and heartfelt music. How many times have you heard […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Paul Brandt shares his Journey
When word came that Paul Brandt was going to play the local hockey arena as part of his “Journey” tour, we thought, man, these country guys will cover anybody! But no, the Calgary country star will not be doing Journey songs at Rogers Place on Saturday night – wouldn’t that have been something? The tour […]
Alice in Chains returns to Edmonton
One of the most respected and influential bands of the Seattle grunge era is returning to Edmonton this spring – the untimely death of one of their core members isn’t going to stop Alice in Chains. Jerry Cantrell – continuing on after the 2002 death of fellow founding member Layne Staley – found a new […]
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 […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Dierks works!
There is a lot of buzz and fervent anticipation for fans awaiting Dierks Bentley’s gig at Rogers Place on Thursday night. Since releasing his debut album back in 2003 Bentley has released eight additional albums, and has toured relentlessly. He toured his 2018 album The Mountain already last year, and is on the second tour […]
Vanilla Ice to headline ‘I Love the 90’s’ in Edmonton
Just when we’re rolling our eyes over the very idea of ‘90s nostalgia, muttering, “What’s next? A throwback to last week?” is the moment we realize, “whoa, the ‘90s was a long time ago.” Twenty years, at least – plenty of time for the generation to tick over and start throwing together nostalgia package tours […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Odds are pretty good
Here’s a blast from the fairly recent past: The XTC-like Vancouver quartet that called themselves Odds. Not THE Odds, just Odds, as in probability. Like what are the odds that Odds would rule the 1990s with such offbeat anthems as Heterosexual Man, Eat My Brain, and Someone Who’s Cool – and then disappear without a […]
Who? Yes! No, not Yes – The Who comes to Edmonton!
On the idea of The Who touring with just two original members, fans have generally shrugged their shoulders and responded, “Well, ‘alf a Who is better than no Who at all.” Now what about The Who with an orchestra? For that’s exactly what Pete Townshend and Roger Daltry have cooked up for their latest tour: […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Feel the Bern
Since his first release in 1997, Dan Bern has been working non-stop on his craft, putting out album after album (he’s got some two dozen now), doing work on film and television scores, and he’s even found time to be an influential painter, with works hanging in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. He also wrote […]
Def Leppard comes to Edmonton in July
Here’s one classic heavy metal band that isn’t going to be staging a farewell tour any time soon – Def Leppard. The great survivors from Sheffield are going on a Canadian tour again this summer, stopping in at Rogers Place on Monday, July 29. America’s roots-metal band Tesla (no relation to Elon Musk) will open […]
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, […]
NYE MUSIC PREVIEW: ‘Opening acts’ for 2019
Ask any musician and they’ll tell you that New Year’s Eve is the best-paying gig of the year – yet oddly it will not usually be ranked as “the most fun.” That’s because you’re effectively playing second fiddle to the New Year itself – along with the inevitable countdown to midnight and the performance of […]
