Directions to folk fest: Turn left, head West

With the magic of the Google Maps, it is now possible to navigate a day of sessions at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival without a hitch. Friday evening’s folk route worked out just swell. Sessions continue all day Saturday and Sunday. (These directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that encounters with ex-girlfriends, […]

DAY ONE: No folk at the folk fest!

Thursday, Aug. 4 at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival: Read about Friday, Aug. 5 here. There was no actual “folk music” at the folk fest on opening night You say: What?! You read right. No. Folk. Now, don’t come back with the obvious “folk can be many things” argument to rationalize that any old sort […]

Rusty Reed’s House of Blues to get facelift, new name

Area blues fans may have noticed that Rusty Reed’s House of Blues is GONE – the namesake of the local harmonica master stricken from the marquee as his beloved blooze can revamps itself as NOLA (as in New Orleans, Louisiana) Creole Kitchen and House of Music. The grand re-opening will be Aug. 25. New owner […]

Delhi2Dublin brings global energy to Folk Fest

Vancouver quintet Delhi 2 Dublin is a favourite at electronic music festivals, especially along North America’s west coast. Lately, though, the group has been winning over crowds on the folk fest circuit. Delhi 2 Dublin will make its first appearance at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival this weekend. The band plays Stage 6 at 3 […]

New album, tour bring Feist to Edmonton this fall

Big news for Feist fans this morning, with the announcement of a new album, and a new fall tour. The Indie darling behind “1,2,3,4” will be in Edmonton Nov. 20 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets will go on sale Friday, at a cost of $39.50 and $55 plus service charges. “Metals” will be released on […]

Gene Simmons shoots his mouth off at the River Cree

As a member of Generation Nothing – that awkward demographic group who came of age between Generation X and Baby Boomers and had naught but KISS and Peter Frampton to soothe them through the horrors of disco – I can keep silent no longer. Gene Simmons: Please shut the f*** up. You used to be […]

PREVIEW: A jaunt out with the little people at Folk Fest

Thank goodness Edmonton’s lowbrow summer festivals are out of the way. It’s such dreadful bore watching the rabble wallow in their corndogs and country western music. Ah, but with both the Big Valley Jamboree and Capital Ex behind us, the workers will be too tuckered out to taunt the polite, well-bred citizens attending the Edmonton […]

PREVIEW: Rob Zombie and Slayer breathe a little life into Edmonton

Here’s a working theory on Rob Zombie: he’s about as far from the walking dead as you could get, frenetically jamming something new (and creative) into just about every minute of his day, as if he was trying to avoid losing a spare second of his life. “You can be in a rock band until […]

PREVIEW: Blue Oyster Cult bring the classics to Capital Ex

It has to be noted that, in a number of respects, BLue Oyster Cult are a band that succeeded in spite of themselves. The band’s very name was contentious from the start, with founding manager Sandy Pearlman naming them after a line in a poem he’d written — very hippy stuff, and not exactly a […]

Pressure-wash graffiti gets a free pass

Fans of street art in Edmonton are accusing the city of hypocrisy over a decision to allow Octane Motorsports to promote the Indy with graffiti-style stencils on city sidewalks. The stencils aren’t made with paint. Rather, they were done with a pressure washer which blasts hot water over the stencils, effectively cleaning the message into […]

Ace of Base looks for new signs at Capital Ex

Ace of Base suffered the ignoble fate of many a short-lived pop wonder — except that the band sold more than 31 million albums doing it, and got rich and famous….and eventually got back together. Some fate. They’re best remembered for “The Sign” and the anthemic “It’s A Beautiful Life,” from back in the era […]

PREVIEW: Finger Eleven headlines night of BVJ alternatives

At this time of year, whole heaps of local folk are thinking Big Valley. This year’s likely no different, thanks a lineup that is just stellar, by country pop standards. Stellar, we tells ya. The opening night is always a chance for local and regional acts to be seen in the saloon kickoff party, which […]