WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Feral Children at large

With all due respect to every musician in the city who’s playing a gig this weekend, you probably should’ve re-thought the date. The vast majority of the city’s music fans, industry, and new and old media will be swarming Gallagher Hill for the 2012 version of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. For more on the […]

Alexisonfire farewell tour to hit Edmonton in December

It just wouldn’t be a proper break-up without a farewell tour. The principal members of Alexisonfire – singers Dallas Green and George Pettit – have obviously buried the hatchet long enough to get together and just come back to say goodbye. The briefly reunited Canadian punk rock band will include Edmonton on its farewell tour, […]

ART: New Latitude 53 Writer-in-Residence aims to incite

Blair Brennan’s first official act as the new Writer-in-Residence at Latitude 53 was to post a quote from well-known GQ Style Guy Glen O’Brien (which first appeared in Artforum magazine): “Art writing should be art or shut the fuck up, you’re bringing me down.” You might guess that it won’t all be sweetness and light. […]

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 […]

Five acts you must see at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival

If you’re heading to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival this weekend, you may find yourself becoming far too comfortable – in the beer gardens. It happens to the best of us. After all, you might have to line up to get back in. And you can hear the music, after all – sort of, at […]

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 […]

PREVIEW REVIEW: Fringe plays get one minute of fame

Imagine you’re a big time movie director alone on an elevator with a mime for one minute. Better yet, imagine you’re a big time movie director stuck in an elevator with a horde of actors, comics, dancers, singers, musicians and don’t forget mimes, each of whom have an amazing story pitch. You will be rescued […]

ANNOUNCING: Jeff Dunham, Wintersleep, The Wiggles

One of the biggest stand-up comics who gets away with murder because he can blame it all on his racist puppets is returning to Edmonton. You guessed it: Jeff Dunham – along with Walter, Peanut, Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, Melvin the Superhero Guy and the ever-loving Achmed the Dead Terrorist, and many more! – […]

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 […]