REVIEW: Killer Queen defies the cynics
When you get as big as Queen – all 250 million or so records sold – you can do whatever you want. And that includes hiring a new lead singer from one of the most popular television shows in the world – and then defying all cynical expectations that they’re just doing this for the […]
Melissa Etheridge to test ‘This Is Me’ in Edmonton
Just a little late for the folk fest, a Melissa Etheridge “solo” show would’ve been perfect – and it still is expected to be a breath of fresh air when the 53-year-old rock icon takes it intimate and unplugged for a tour she calls “This is ME Solo,” coming to Edmonton’s Jubilee Auditorium on Wednesday, […]
JAZZ REVIEW: MSMW titans of whatever we call it now
When it came time to pick a name for the new group Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood – combining the New York funk-jazz trio with a veteran guitar wizard – it didn’t seem there were any grand visions about chocolate watches or strawberry alarm clocks. Nope, just the names of four guys, about as exciting […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Most awesome bush party ever
It begins. Legions of undead shall rise and swarm across the land, feeding their insatiable craving for BRAINS … and summer festival fun! Most of the so-called “hippies,” not to mention a whole lot of local indie bands, will be out of town at the North Country Fair starting Friday on the shores of the […]
Scott Wicken sees the forest for the trees
It’s perfectly legal to make stuff up, but all the best songwriters seem to stick closely to the old saying “write what you know.” Who’s going to believe you otherwise? For more evidence, one can’t doubt that Scott Wicken is indeed an “Old Treeplanter,” which happens to be the title of his new record, hot […]
Bobby McFerrin more than a happy song he wrote
A remarkable thing happened when Bobby McFerrin did an audience participation bit at the Arden Theatre about 20 years ago – and it had nothing to do with “Don’t Worry, By Happy,” the smash hit song he released in 1988 that defined this unassuming jazz singer forever, for good or ill. Singalongs aren’t remarkable, of […]
Taylor Scott brings ‘soul jam’ to Blues on Whyte
For a jaded music fan who thinks most of what passes for artistic talent these days is pretty average, hearing Taylor Scott is like hitting the jackpot. This unassuming kid from Cheyenne, Wyoming is a monster. He’s phenomenal. He can do soul, funk, R&B and shred like a metalhead, and you’ll rarely hear a white […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: More new records than ever!
Do people even get excited about CD release events anymore? No, they do not. Seems like there’s at least two a week around these parts. Apparently now anyone can make a CD on those fancy home contraptions. What a world. You know, back in the day – said the old man yelling at the kids […]
Shut up and play your music
So apparently Jack White is now a jerk for calling the guys in the Black Keys jerks, among other jerky things said about other people, including his ex-wife, in the heat of the moment … to a Rolling Stone reporter. Then Jack said he was sorry. Don’t you wish these guys would just stop talking? […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Jonathan Richman new wave before new wave was cool
It’s not often we get a visit from one of the architects of rock ‘n’ roll – one of the builders of the mighty bridge between punk music and folk music that we all travel on so easily and take so much for granted today. Old-timers remember the gaping canyon that once yawned between the […]
Tim McGraw at K-Days, Golden West rides again
Klondike Days has finally got it together with Rexall Place to present a feature Klondike-themed concert in the hockey arena during Edmonton’s famous fun fair. Korn didn’t quite do it even if it begins with a K. But Tim McGraw? That’s more like it! The country superstar will be performing at Rexall on Tuesday, July […]
Cancer benefit planned for Kirby, Queen of the Edmonton Music Scene
You probably won’t find any Edmonton musician who hasn’t been touched in some way by Kathy Kirby – far better known as just “Kirby” – and in her fight against recently-diagnosed cancer, it’s also no surprise how quickly the music community has banded together to help. The “Be Here Now” benefit for the beloved local […]
