Flawed folk fest ticket system needs an overhaul
The “Weekend Pass” for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival may soon be on the endangered species list. One of the historic appeals of this festival is that it’s a place you can go every year to see an astonishing variety of music over four days for a reasonable amount of money in a fairly hassle-free […]
Captain Tractor singer scores top job at Alberta Music
We’re going to have to start calling them General Tractor now. Major Tractor, at least. Chris Wynters, co-founder of the venerable local Celtic rock band Captain Tractor, has been named the new executive director of the Alberta Music Industry Association (AMIA), it was announced Tuesday. He replaces outgoing director Kennedy Jenson. As a musician with […]
Royal Wood returns to folk fest with matured music, showmanship
John Royal Wood Nicholson – better known by his two middle names “Royal Wood” – gains more ground with every one of his releases. And “We Were Born To Glory” may be his best album to date. It’s no accident he was nominated for a Songwriter of the Year Juno in 2011, which opened up […]
REVIEW: Yanni’s unmemorable music comes alive on stage
Here’s a phrase you may never have seen before: Yanni rocks. Sure, it’s not like the traditional way you might say, “Nickelback rocks, man!” but the high priest of New Age music defied every expectation by putting on an upbeat, vibrant and – dare I say it – rockin’ show at the Jubilee Auditorium on […]
COUNTRY OR FOLK? Corb Lund comfortable in the middle
Corb Lund is writing a new paradigm for country music. Not to put too highfalutin a point on it, but it’s a direction that favours honesty and critical thinking to a level hitherto unseen in the redneck stereotype you hear in most popular country music on the radio today. In a world of polarized politics […]
Sinatra sings Sinatra at the River Cree Casino
Now here’s one guy who has carried the “Junior” label with style and dignity – Frank Sinatra Jr. The son of the Chairman, a chip off the old block, the apple that didn’t fall far from the tree, will be singing the songs his dad made famous in Sinatra Sings Sinatra, an old school Vegas […]
WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Country or city, take your pick
This might be a good weekend to rest up for an August onslaught of live music – unless you’re into country music, that is, because then your entire summer is made with the Big Valley Jamboree. It runs in Camrose through Sunday with headliners like Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Dwight Yoakam and Rascal Flatts. Three-day […]
BIG VALLEY JAMBOREE: Country will get to you, if you let it
They can’t all be rural right wing rednecks, can they? Someone’s got to be faking it. It’s probably not Toby Keith. Saturday’s closer at the Big Valley Jamboree seems clear where he stands, and so do his fans. His album titles alone speak volumes: White Trash With Money, That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy, […]
