INTERVIEW: My Name Is Kay is the chick, the song and the brand all in one

Once in a while the great wasteland that is top-40 radio grows something interesting. Case in point: My Name Is Kay. Nova Scotia’s Kay Boutilier and her collaborators have scored a pretty major hit here, launched with YouTube – and what a funky blast of self-contained musical marketing it is, too. My Name is Kay […]

Yanni returns to perform Aug. 7 at the Jubilee Auditorium

Yanni is no fool. He knows he’s considered the king of cheese among the “cool” crowd – “a guy who plays the piano and probably has some incense and a couple of crystals,” as he told a reporter recently –  just as much as he knows that the “cool” crowd has no business being at […]

WIN: Tickets to Plants and Animals March 27 at the Starlite Room

Oh, Montreal – always so cool, always on the cutting edge. If Quebec secedes, please stick with Canada, won’t you? Maybe we could build a wall in the middle of the city or something. Just trying to help here. Canada’s coolest city comes up again because one of Canada’s coolest new bands that happens to […]

FREE STUFF: Win Hedley tickets!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED By far the most interesting contestant to emerge from Canadian Idol was Jacob Hoggard. Playing the classic class clown, the B.C. singer had punk mojo, disco moves, rock showmanship, and while not the best voice of 2004’s sorry crop of wannabes, it didn’t seem to matter, plus he got better – […]

Big Wreck returns to rock Edmonton Event Centre with Albatross May 4

It’s about time Big Wreck came back. Everybody else has – plus we still hear a lot of Big Wreck music on the radio. They must’ve done something right. The melodic rock band whose distinctive riffs are powered by guitar whiz Ian Thornley is back after a 10 year “hiatus” with a bang – a […]

POP IMITATES ART: Big Time Rush to play Rexall Place Sept. 13

Anyone but Target Market and her parents will probably scratch their heads over news that something called “Big Time Rush” is coming to Edmonton in what is trumpeted as one of the big concert events of the summer. The Big Time Summer Tour hits Rexall Place Sept. 13, with Cody Simpson in support. Target Market […]

Alternative Grammy winner Bon Iver to play Jubilee Auditorium May 21

One of the most popular buzz bands in North America is coming to Edmonton for the first time. At the Jubilee Auditorium Monday, May 21, it was announced Monday, Bon Iver is an American folk band founded in 2007 by Wisconsin’s Justin Vernon. He has since seen the band’s self-titled album reach the top picks […]

Ronnie Dunn brings new solo music to Jubilee Auditorium June 25

Those who like their country music without too many revving Ford trucks or wild honky tonkin’ good ol’ boys, their yee without too much haw, should be delighted that Ronnie Dunn is coming to town this summer – minus his partner Kix Brooks. The half of the superstar country duo that can really sing, Dunn […]

DREAM GIG: Edmonton metal singer joins Into Eternity

Amanda Kiernan has landed her dream gig as the new lead singer of one of her favourite bands, Into Eternity, a globally renowned progressive metal act she’s looked up to since her teens. They’ll be on stage at the Pawn Shop Monday night. Into Eternity picked Kiernan as its new touring vocalist after watching an […]

AVANT-GARDE ALERT: Bob Wiseman walks line between art and entertainment

In world where artists and entertainers have been ordered to stay at least 50 metres from each other lest one corrupt the other in a co-dependent spiral of mutual destruction, Bob Wiseman has been happily breaking the restraining order for years. To say this former Blue Rodeo keyboardist’s solo career has been “out there” is […]

TALES FROM THE HEART: Simple Plan pleases girls completely

It’s just a coincidence that Simple Plan – the most romantic pop punk band on the planet – is playing the most romantic city in the world, Edmonton, on the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day. Every day is Valentine’s Day for these guys. Of the thousands of fans expected to turn up […]

Brian Setzer at EEC Dec. 27, Gigantour – with Motorhead! – returns Feb. 17

There is only one man who can rock this town, rock it inside out – and that man is Brian Setzer. The man with the Big Guitar and the Big Crunchy Chords will bring his Rockabilly Riot to the Edmonton Event Centre on Tuesday, Dec. 27. The show will include a special opening set by […]