Eric Church, a fresh voice of country music, comes to Rexall in February

Here’s another allegedly redneck country singer who’s recently spilled over to the mainstream – Eric Church, who’s making his Edmonton debut not in some bar, but in the “big room,” the hockey arena, the one and only Rexall Place. The North Carolina singer performs Tuesday, Feb. 5 (2013), part of his “Blood, Sweat and Beers” […]

Cuba’s only hardcore band to make North American debut in Edmonton

The Cuban music scene is rich enough beyond the Buena Vista Social Club that there’s room for at least one hardcore band – but Arrabio may be the only one in Cuba, at least according to the band members. “Talking about Hardcore in Cuba there is no other band, it is only Arrabio playing Hardcore […]

Cinematic mash-up brings fresh slice of real Klondike to fake Klondike

To have someone from the Yukon come all the way to Edmonton to present a “reconstituted” 1923 silent movie about the REAL Klondike is real treat for locals who are sick of the FAKE Klondike. On the recent moronic rebranding of our formerly bogus festival Klondike Days as K-Days, Whitehorse filmmaker and musician Daniel Janke […]

EDMONTON RADIO: Marriage on the air

EDMONTON RADIO: Marriage on the air

There is no longer any such thing as “too much information.” Just listen to the radio for proof. Most of the popular announcers are expected to share EVERY LITTLE DETAIL of their fabulous lives, because making human, personal connections is so important these days. For marketing. So in Edmonton, we learn about Terry Evans’ luxurious […]

Soul sisters, rock legends, Heart returns to Edmonton in March

Hot on the heels of the glorious “Rush” of Canadian nostalgia comes news of another legend of Rock ‘n’ Canadiana: Heart – whose unforgettable songs were the soundtrack to many a gladly wasted youth around these parts. The band plays Monday, March 11 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets go on sale Oct. 12. The soul […]

Diana Krall brings Glad Rag Doll to the Jube in February

Diana Krall, it has been imagined, is both the piano player and the sultry chanteuse who lies atop the piano while she sings. You don’t get a rare double threat like this every day. It’s only once in a while – in this case Tuesday, Feb. 12, when the star of Canadian jazz performs at […]

EIFF REVIEW: Montage makes all the difference in gringo-out-of-water films

What we have in “A Band of Rogues” and “Mariachi Gringo” may be a recurrent theme at the 2012 Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) – gringos messing around where they don’t belong. These two films are similar on the surface. A Band of Rogues deals with a young American musician with prescription drug issues, who […]

EIFF INTERVIEW: Trevor Anderson, the Filmmaker That Got Away

We have waited a long time – maybe too long – for the Edmonton premiere of The Man That Got Away, the latest film by Trevor Anderson. And now that it’s finally making its public debut at the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) this weekend, the local filmmaker isn’t even going to be here. At […]

EIFF REVIEW: Golf meets orphan movie genre in Becoming Redwood

For instant drama, you can hardly do better than an orphaned child-cruel stepparent scenario. Ask Disney. Becoming Redwood – the gala opening film at the Edmonton International Film Festival – offers more insight than the usual stories of this sort, into parenthood, into how kids cope with parents who split up, and into the nature […]

For lack of celebrities, films are the real stars of EIFF

At the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) we can focus on the films instead of being distracted by all the Hollywood celebrities who aren’t coming. Neither Johnny Depp nor Wynona Rider will be here. Gwyneth Paltrow won’t be making it. TMZ crews will not be stalking the lobby of the Empire City Centre 9 Cinemas, […]

THEATRE: Actors dedicated to cause in play about human trafficking

A compassionate person would worry about the state of mind of the actors in She Has a Name, a dramatization of the life of a sex slave. The play runs Sept. 25-30 at the Catalyst Theatre as part of a Canadian tour to raise awareness on the issue of human trafficking. Calgary’s Burnt Thicket Theatre […]

WHO NAMED THE BAND: Living with Anthrax

The metal band Anthrax only had one problem with its name – in the tense few weeks following Sept. 11, 2001, when packets of deadly bacillus anthracis spores were mailed to several media outlets and politicians around North America. Seventeen people were infected, five died. The Edmonton Sun newsroom even got a delivery of suspicious […]