Shakey Graves returns to headline Winspear Centre
With a name like Shakey Graves, it’s no wonder he went into show business. OK, so it’s not his real name, but the story of one Alejandro Rose-Garcia is still remarkable: Just another dude from Austin, Texas with a guitar and some cool country-like songs becomes the darling of the folk fest circuit, and a […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Stars to shine on Edmonton
Stars is just one of the bands associated with Broken Social Scene – but it’s one of the biggest. Playing the Myer Horowitz Theatre Monday night, Stars will be featuring music from their 2017 album, There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light. The group is led by Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, both of whom […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: USS growing on us
From humble origins as a two clever dudes from Toronto who were hated for daring to mix alternative rock with electronic dance music, USS is starting to grow on us. The signs are all there: Cool hits in high rotation on the radio, on Sonic 102.9 at any rate, and a show at the Ranch […]
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 […]
Fleetwood Mac cancels Edmonton concert due to illness
There are a lot of concerned and disappointed Baby Boomers in Edmonton tonight: With just hours to go before they were to hit the stage at Rogers Place, Fleetwood Mac has canceled both of its Alberta shows, including Monday, Nov. 12 in Calgary. “Due to a band member illness,” the press release reads. No word […]
Take off, eh – to the Mayfield’s best, most Canadian jukebox musical!
Be prepared for a warm bath in nostalgia – and Canadian nostalgia at that. The Mayfield Dinner Theatre has achieved notable success with its jukebox musicals – at least judging from its unending Niagara of tribute shows. Over the years they have mounted British Invasions, various appreciations of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, pop […]
Backstreet Boys back in Edmonton, never really went away
If music trends move in generational cycles, we’re back to the era of boy bands and girl groups again. In the wake of the Spice Girls reformation, the Backstreet Boys are back, though they never really went away long enough for us to miss them during the entirety of their remarkable 26 year career – […]
Why is Iron Maiden such a guy thing? Find out in Edmonton next year
There is no band with a bigger testosterone cult following than Iron Maiden. Seriously, it’s almost all guys in black shirts at their concerts – the same expected when the legendary British metal band returns to Edmonton next summer. Tickets to their Rogers Place show on Friday, Aug, 30, 2019, are $45-$125 and go on […]
Michael Buble, not retiring, brings Love to Edmonton
All this business about Michael Buble quitting music turned out to be FAKE NEWS. He says he was misquoted in The Daily Mail – kind of the Fox News of the UK. He recently quashed the rumour with a statement: “I’ll keep going until the news of my death comes out, which will probably be […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: 4/5 of Fleetwood Mac better than no Fleetwood Mac at all
Fleetwood Mac rolls into Rogers Place on Saturday night – on the band’s first tour without Lindsey Buckingham since 1995. He allegedly wanted to delay the tour, while the others wanted to go ahead – well into next year. We can be thankful the latter crew won, because even though Buckingham won’t be on stage, […]
Carole King musical a thrilling spectacle of sheer talent
Beautiful is a jukebox musical unlike any you have ever seen – and from Buddy to Mamma Mia you’ve probably seen a lot of them. The show opened in San Francisco in 2013 and proved to be such an immediate success that it was transferred, almost whole, to Broadway a year later. The much-praised Carole […]
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 […]
