MUSIC PREVIEW: Women have the power

MUSIC PREVIEW: Women have the power

We definitely need more than one day to celebrate International Women’s Day – seeing as it’s surrounded by the 364 Days of Men. How about a week, better yet, a month? Make it six months, or hell, the whole damned year. Women deserve no less for what they’ve done. Meanwhile, the unofficial spillover from the […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Incomparable Sam Roberts

MUSIC PREVIEW: Incomparable Sam Roberts

Is the Sam Roberts Band a soul band with a rock groove, or a rock band with soul drive? Maybe they’re a soulful groove band that rocks, or a driving rock band that grooves. So confusing when you’re in the labeling business. It’s always been hard to rack these guys, returning to Edmonton for a […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Waxing Half Moon Run

MUSIC PREVIEW: Waxing Half Moon Run

One of the finest bands from the so-called “Montreal scene” is returning to Edmonton. Half Moon Run is the perfect group to take advantage of the subtle acoustics of the Winspear Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 14, being unconventional multi-instrumentalists with a special fondness for percussion. The “everybody gets a drum” rule is one of the […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: A MIXED BAG

MUSIC PREVIEW: A MIXED BAG

The weekend is a bit on the slow side in terms of big shows, but early next week, two critically acclaimed acts with extremely passionate followings land in Edmonton for a gig at the Winspear Centre, which is likely the best-sounding venue in the city and perfect for these two indie-folk acts. First up, on […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Stumbellas sellout

MUSIC PREVIEW: Stumbellas sellout

It’s no surprise that one of Ontario’s hottest folk-rock bands is playing a sold out show at Winspear Centre this Thursday night – when just four years ago they were playing Wunderbar. The Strumbellas’ 2012 album titled My Father and the Hunter was one of the year’s very best, featuring their epic song The Sheriff, […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Top 7 UP+DT acts

MUSIC PREVIEW: Top 7 UP+DT acts

This weekend’s primary offering is a bevy of insanely good gigs courtesy of the fourth annual offering of the Up + Downtown Music Festival. With acts ranging from folk to punk to garage to psychedelic, there’s a little something for almost everyone. But little something is probably not giving the festival programmers enough credit, because […]

David Crosby passes Canada test

David Crosby passes Canada test

A lot of American celebrities joke about moving to Canada if Donald Trump gets elected – but David Crosby sounds serious. The ‘60s survivor with the trademark silver skirted eggshell mentioned it a whole bunch of times during his beautiful but talky show at the Winspear Centre Monday night. He said he was checking out […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: David Crosby lights up Winspear

MUSIC PREVIEW: David Crosby lights up Winspear

It’s one of those weekends on the live music scene that features a wide range of sounds, from folk to Americana, from hip hop to a lot of punk. The biggest name is definitely David Crosby, who plays the Winspear Centre on Monday night. Yes, that David Crosby. Well, really, there’s only one. Only ever […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: M83 blows up real good

MUSIC PREVIEW: M83 blows up real good

The French electronic music quintet known as M83, now based out of Los Angeles, is enjoying huge success thanks to their unique electro-pop sound and one insanely popular track, Midnight City, off their 2011 album Hurry Up We’re Dreaming. The band has been touring hard ever since, and plays a sold-out show at the Winspear […]

Fractured fairy tale comes to life in concert

Fractured fairy tale comes to life in concert

Into The Woods opened Thursday night at the Winspear Centre – and it’s much more than just a concert based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 musical of cracked fairy tales. The production comes from Edmonton’s enterprising Two ONE-WAY Tickets To Broadway company, a semi-professional troupe (which allows them to mix paid with the unpaid) with a […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Taking it to The Royal Streets

MUSIC PREVIEW: Taking it to The Royal Streets

Sprung from the ashes of the Full Moon Folk Club, the New Moon Folk Club is well in gear for its first season – and they were lucky enough to score The Royal Streets as this weekend’s headliner. This Waterloo, Ontario group’s sound is hitting all the right chords with the nation’s music crowd, with […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Decemberists get hot in July

MUSIC PREVIEW: Decemberists get hot in July

Local music fans have to wait until Monday for one of the most anticipated gigs of the month, as The Decemberists perform at Winspear Centre. Perhaps the best known indie-folk band currently in existence, the act’s instrumentation includes not only your typical guitar, bass, and drums, but also the bouzouki, harmonica, mandolin, pedal steel, accordion, […]