MUSIC PREVIEW: Rural Alberta Advantage shows deep roots
The Rural Alberta Advantage is in town for a couple of sold out shows at Union Hall, including tonight. The band name was coined by frontman Nils Edenloff’s brother discussing heading back to the family farm in Donalda, where Nils also spent part of his childhood. A number of the band’s songs relate to Alberta […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Needle orphans find new gigs
Local music people are scrambling to reschedule shows cancelled after the recent indefinite closure of the Needle Vinyl Tavern, in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment against one of the club’s owners. This place ran live music seven nights a week, sometimes two shows a day – so there are a lot of orphans. […]
REVIEW: Barenaked Ladies have lost their direction
A band could never get away with calling itself Barenaked Ladies today. There can be only one! Even as the original’s former magic was sadly lacking during a maddening show at the Jubilee Auditorium Thursday night. It was maddening because the four remaining members – singer-guitarist Ed Robertson, keyboardist-guitarist Kevin Hearn, bassist Jim Creeggan, and […]
Soft March celebrates Farewell Party
It’s terribly ironic that a band would name its debut album Farewell Party – but the title of Soft March’s new record has special meaning for its chief songwriter Joel Kleine. He suffers from a progressive and incurable neuro-muscular disorder called Friedreich’s Ataxia, and is confined to a wheelchair. “A farewell party is a happy […]
The Needle and the Damage Done
“I want them to fail.” These were the bold words from Brittany Lyne Rudyck, who made a huge impact when she recently came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against one of her employers at the Needle Vinyl Tavern. She got her wish. The club is shut down as of Tuesday afternoon. There’s a sign […]
Mayfield’s ‘80s sequel a riot of gnarly fun
The 1980s decade was not the best of times. Following just after the cultural explosion of the ‘60s, it brought us bad hair, gay bashing, Margaret Thatcher and AIDS. But after the astonishing success of the musical revue Back to the ’80s in 2015, the Mayfield Dinner Theatre has deemed to go back to the […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Diggin’ Skydiggers
The acclaimed Skydiggers are in town on Saturday night, playing the featured weekend slot at the Needle Vinyl Tavern. The concert will showcase the band’s newest release, October’s Warmth Of the Sun, a 12-track romp basking in the band’s epitomal folk-rock sound. Of course, many fans will instead look to their classic tracks from the […]
Halsey cancels Edmonton, cut short Calgary
New Americana singer Halsey has canceled Wednesday night’s show in Edmonton at Rogers Place, following a performance that was cut short Tuesday in Calgary, citing a “personal emergency.” No other details were available Wednesday morning, and her social media accounts have been silent. Ticket refunds were offered in Calgary, as they will in Edmonton, at […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Dallas Smith not wasting time
Musicians who make the leap from mainstream rock to mainstream country have only served to illustrate how similar these two genres of music can be in the right (or wrong) hands. That “leap” feels more like a hop across a dried-up creek-bed these days. Dallas Smith has been a country guy since 2011, a steady […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: The Glorious Sons on upward path
Hailing from Kingston, Ontario – hometown of the late Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip – The Glorious Sons have had five singles hit the top 10 on the Canadian rock charts since they were founded in 2011, including Lightning, The Contender, and Kill the Lights. And three of those came off their glorious debut […]
Tegan and Sara share queer agenda in Edmonton
Tegan and Sara are Alberta-bred – twin sisters and openly queer. They used to play at the old Edmonton institution known as the Sidetrack Café. The connection to Edmonton is fitting because the crowd who filled the Jubilee Auditorium on Tuesday night looked like a throwback to the good ol’ days at The Roost with […]
Mollys Reach scratches Reunion Itch
The “20 Year Itch” phenomenon reveals that any rock band reaching its platinum milestone experiences an incontinent gush of nostalgia. It results in re-releases of 20-year-old albums followed by theme tours to play said albums in their entirety. Even if the band is broken up, the Itch (which no penicillin can cure) can be potent […]
