DEDfest Still Alive – With a Vengeance

DEDfest Still Alive – With a Vengeance

In a flurry of complaining, local film producer Derek Clayton told the CBC that last year’s DEDfest would be its last year ever. Yet here we are, again. The 10th annual genre film festival now called DEDfest With a Vengeance runs Oct 19-21 at the Metro Cinema in the Garneau. Selections include Climax (above), a […]

Paul McCartney rocks Edmonton with marathon concert

Paul McCartney rocks Edmonton with marathon concert

The trouble with setting the bar so high is that you might never get over yourself again. This is now known as the “Paul McCartney Rule.” The British Rock God’s epic and self-worshipping marathon of a rock concert at Rogers Place on Sunday night was Beatleseque nostalgia lovefest of the highest order – from one […]

Two Good Knights make one great night

Two Good Knights make one great night

The Mayfield Dinner Theatre opens its fall season with yet another of its popular chart-topping music celebrations. This time it’s a British bash called Two Good Knights, highlighting the careers of two of Old Blighty’s living legends: Tom Jones and Elton John. When the now Sir Thomas John Woodward (OBE) began to release records in […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Blues, brothers and sisters!

MUSIC PREVIEW: Blues, brothers and sisters!

Will it be possible to eat a green onion cake at the Edmonton Blues Festival while simultaneously listening to Green Onions performed by Booker T himself? Might we offer the visiting organsmith a sample of Edmonton’s favourite festival food? The answer is, sadly, no: No one’s selling green onion cakes down in Hawrelak Park this […]

Actor literally breaks leg, has to cancel Fringe show

Actor literally breaks leg, has to cancel Fringe show

It’s all fun and games to say “break a leg” to an actor – until he actually breaks his leg. It happened to Reed McColm, who was to star in the one-man Glen Berger play Underneath the Lintel at Stage 14 – but it has been cancelled in the wake of his injury. “Break a […]

I SURVIVED THE FOLK FEST (almost)

I SURVIVED THE FOLK FEST (almost)

Whoever came up with the saying “If you don’t like the weather in Alberta, just wait 10 minutes!” must have been at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Diehard festival fans all have stories about the erratic weather over the years, some which resemble battlefields. They make sure they have all the necessary gear and protective […]

REVIEW: Heat on the hill at folk fest

REVIEW: Heat on the hill at folk fest

Thursday evening at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was likely one of the hottest folk fests on record. There was a heat warning as temperatures hit 34 degrees, and an air quality advisory due to drifting smoke from B.C. wildfires. There may have been discussions about climate change among the sweaty (but happy) crowd – […]

Sheryl Crow is one hard-working single mother

Sheryl Crow is one hard-working single mother

When Sheryl Crow talked about being a mom at her show in Edmonton on Tuesday night, it struck a deep chord with her mainly middle class, mainly middle aged white audience. In short, soccer moms. Is the soccer over yet? Illustrating the virtues and challenges that modern motherhood entails, the 56-year-old singer showed a depth […]

REVIEW: Vance Joy to the World

REVIEW: Vance Joy to the World

If you would’ve told Vance Joy 10 years ago that he’d be playing Canadian hockey arenas one day, he would’ve said you were crackers. Because he’s Australian. “Crackers” is exactly the word he would use. It means crazy. But there he was at Rogers Place on Wednesday night – another worthy folk singer-turned-pop star playing […]

REVIEW: Comedy of Errors a masterclass of mayhem

REVIEW: Comedy of Errors a masterclass of mayhem

The Freewill Players launch their 35th outdoor season in Hawrelak Park this year with one of Shakespeare’s earliest and funniest plays, Comedy of Errors. It’s hard to imagine a better show for a spring evening than this venerable confection – an entertaining show as light as a breeze across Hawrelak Lake. It is, by the […]

Finest of Strangers the finest of Lemoines

Finest of Strangers the finest of Lemoines

A new play by Stewart Lemoine is something to celebrate. For some 36 years – since his debut at the first Fringe – he has prolifically turned out play after play, over 70 of them now. The amazing thing about all this is that the playwright has managed to maintain an innate curiosity in a […]

Eagles put a spell on Edmonton

Eagles put a spell on Edmonton

What a minute! How did Vince Gill wind up doing so much heavy lifting as the newest member of the Eagles in Edmonton on Tuesday night? No offense to Vince Gill. He’s a great guitarist and songwriter. One of country music’s finest. Helluva singer, too. Got that high, lonesome voice. But is he worthy to […]