Drake rises to arena level, plays Edmonton in September
Another award for “good timing” goes to Toronto rapper Drake, who, on the heels of winning a pair of Much Music Video Awards Sunday night has announced his first North American arena tour. He plays Rexall Place on Monday, Sept. 30. With Miguel and Future in support, tickets are $50-$100 and go on sale Friday. […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Sled Island Spillover Effect
NextFest continues through the weekend with a deluge of intriguing and diverse gigs, and we bow to their offerings for much of the weekend as summer festival season starts to kick into full gear. The big upcoming date in the music calendar is next Wednesday, June 19th, as the “Sled Island Spillover Effect” takes hold […]
Mark Meer tops list of Canadian Comedy Awards nominations
With so many Canadians being funny in America, that must make Canada the funniest country in the world, and with so many Edmontonians being funny across Canada, that must make Edmonton the funniest city in the world. Ha-ha funny, not “funny” funny. Proof is in the pudding, whatever that means, as the nominations for the […]
Too young for the blues, Doug Hoyer goes worldbeat on new CD
You hear this sort of thing all the time – “I am where I am today because of the CKUA Radio Network” – but it’s different to see it in action. Doug Hoyer is where his is today because of the CKUA Radio Network. His parents forced him to listen to it – when what […]
INTERVIEW: Jerry Jerry so punk he rejected punk
“I’m against it – whatever it is.” Young musicians interested in pursuing the art of punk rock would be wise to heed the words of Jerry Woods – better known as the Jerry Jerry in the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra. At the age of 52, the non-smoking, social drinking father of five is more politically […]
EDMONTON RADIO: Hot 107 factors in local talent
Six local recording artists are getting a boost from Hot 107 FM radio – to the tune of $10,000 cash each on top of recording time and on-air promotion. It of course falls under the “Canadian Content Development” that all Canadian commercial radio stations are required to do by law, but the HOTfactor contest has […]
Nine Inch Nails returns to Edmonton in November
The mysterious Trent Reznor comes as goes as he pleases. First his band Nine Inch Nails has a fight with a record label, “goes indie” and then “disappears for a while,” before coming back with a vengeance – no explanation needed. A hiatus is healthy once in a while. Edmonton fans are gladdened with news […]
PRIDE: The Picture of Happiness more than just a gay story
“The Picture of Happiness” wasn’t initially meant to be part of the Edmonton Pride Festival. The play is “much bigger than gay story,” says its piano player and collaborator Patti Loach, who will accompany Toronto actor Brad Hampton in his personal one-man musical. “It’s a story about a grandson’s intention to honour his grandfather, to […]
REVIEW: Marathon reunion show proves Jr. Gone Wild must go on
It’s as if Jr. Gone Wild stepped out of a time capsule – its honky-tonky, punky good-time Alberta country music perfectly preserved all this time to be revived with a vengeance by four rock ‘n’ roll Rip Van Winkles. Rock ‘n’ roll seems to be hard-wired to celebrate the past in 20 year cycles, and […]
Colleen Brown to reveal alter ego at Rip Roarin’ Refinery
Singer-songwriter Colleen Brown has long relished the idea of creating an alter-ego – and now, as the creative director of the Art Gallery of Alberta’s “Rip Roarin’ Refinery” party happening Saturday, June 1, she gets her chance. “Gilda Brass” will be making her stage debut at the arty party celebrating AGA’s new exhibit The Piano. […]
FOLK FEST: Free passes for seniors are history
No more free folk fest tickets for senior citizens, consarnit! Apparently there are more old timers than ever, so now to avoid overcrowding, they’ll have to pay like everybody else. At least the blow is being softened. When tickets for the 34th annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival go on sale June 1, senior day passes […]
Jerry Seinfeld returns to Edmonton in August
What’s the deal with Jerry Seinfeld? The guy was a huge TV star. He’s multimillionaire. He doesn’t need to work. And now he’s back humping his jokes around on the road like some Yuk Yuk’s comic, playing places like Edmonton. Must be something about stand-up comedy that keeps people coming back. Seinfeld performs at the […]
