JOYCE SMITH: No leavin’ on her mind
If the life of Joyce Smith is a country song, it’s a happy one. No heartbreak. No cheatin’. No hurtin’. She’s still married to the same rodeo cowboy who stole her heart more than 52 years ago. Her one small regret is not fulfilling a childhood dream to be a country superstar in Nashville. “I […]
Tom Petty returns for summer show, free album
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers promise that every fan who buys a ticket to their concert in Edmonton at Rexall Place on Sunday, Aug. 17 will get a free copy of their new album, Hypnotic Eye – because you’d be stealing it on the Internet anyway, right?! Quid pro quo, Clarice, quid pro quo … […]
John Fogerty to play CCR classics in Edmonton
When John Fogerty returns to Edmonton to play Rexall Place this fall, he will be playing the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival, circa 1969. Of course he will. The show happens Sunday, Nov. 23. Tickets – from $20 for a nosebleed! – go on sale Saturday May 24 at Ticketmaster. He wouldn’t be doing the […]
Your favourite band sucks: The secret shame of the ‘buy-on’
There are shady schemes going on behind the scenes of the concert industry that music lovers might be better off not knowing about. For instance, people are unpleasantly shocked to discover most major bands use pre-recorded backing tracks during live performances. It’s become noteworthy when they don’t. Have you wondered why concert tickets are getting […]
The Local Good wins top award at Yeggies
One does not associate social media with actual sociability, much less the concepts of health and fitness, but judging from the winners named at the Yeggies awards Friday night, stereotypes are meant to be broken. The Local Good – a local website and social media network devoted to green, local and sustainable living – won […]
End of an era: Goodbye, Avenue Theatre
Edmonton music people are deeply bummed over news that the city is about to lose yet another live music venue. The Avenue Theatre will be closing its doors in the middle of June. The word came Thursday from general manager and talent buyer Steve Derpack, who explained on Facebook that it’s “primarily a decision to […]
Black Keys return to Edmonton in October
If you were to play only the Black Keys on a piano, it would sound like the blues – which says a lot for the thus-named band that cut such a wide swath through the modern rock landscape. In short, the Black Keys brought sexy back to rock ‘n’ roll just as Justin Timberlake did […]
Sarah McLachlan to play Edmonton on fall tour
To say Sarah McLachlan is coming back “with a vengeance” isn’t entirely accurate given the somewhat downbeat cast of her music, but excitement over the news has given this veteran singer-songwriter a whole new “buzz.” McLachlan performs on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at the Winspear Centre, and we think they’re going to need a bigger building. […]
Pixies to bring new music to Edmonton
The question of when you would’ve had to go to art college in order to make the Pixies relevant is growing blurrier. Like Woodstock, a lot of people were there who weren’t actually there, dig? How else to explain the excitement over news that the seminal post-punk Gods are coming back to rock Edmonton, Monday, […]
Horns for Hope offers addicts musical salvation
It started as a joke about music education, whose context has since been forgotten: “Why don’t we just give musical instruments to homeless people and see what they can do?” Don Berner thought that was actually a pretty good idea, so the community-minded Edmonton saxophonist created Horns for Hope, a program where men in drug […]
Local rock band Rend to blow 50 grand wisely
Giving a bunch of musicians 50 grand in cash might sound like a lot, but by the time you’ve rented the tour bus equipped with satellite TV and hired the guy to pick out the brown M&Ms from your catering, there’s barely enough money left for drugs and hookers. It adds up. Seriously, Edmonton rock […]
Jann Arden brings Everything Almost to Edmonton
Now here’s someone we haven’t seen for a while: Jann Arden! The Calgary pop chanteuse who artfully combines humour and sadness returns to play the Jubilee Auditorium on Monday, September 8. Tickets are $49.50, $69.50, $99.50 and go on sale Friday, May 2 at TICKETMASTER. She’s on the road again with new material from a […]
