Bounty hunter turned opera singer Carl Tanner to sing Aida in Edmonton

How opera singer Carl Tanner didn’t wind up as a country star is anyone’s guess. He’s from Virginia. He grew up with country music. His dad worked as the custodian at the church his family went to every Sunday, and where young Carl sang church music with a big, booming voice more mature than his […]

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 […]

REVIEW: Jersey Boys a gem – superb songs with a story to match

Jersey Boys sounded like a pretty lame premise for a hit Broadway musical. I mean, c’mon, the Four Seasons? Can you base an entire show on “Walk Like a Man”? As it turns out, you can. The story of four Guidos whose rose from the streets (literally — they started singing on street corners) to […]

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 […]

REVIEW: Steve Martin bluegrass hits the right tone

Too much stage banter can ruin a perfectly good concert. That is, of course, unless it’s Steve Martin doing the bantering: then, corny jokes become the star attraction, and Martin doled out plenty at the Jubilee Auditorium Sunday night. For example, “I’m the one in the white pants, and I will be all night – […]

Dog Whisperer to share canine secrets at the Jube in November

Come on, Lassie, come on girl, time for walkies! Time for your bath! Ow, stop it, Lassie. No, Lassie, no! Put Timmy down! Oh, God … If this harrowing scene sounds familiar, then your beloved hound may need a session with …. the Dog Whisperer. Yes, the dog people of Edmonton will be out in […]

Right? Left? Bill Maher bound to make someone mad

When people hate you as much as some people hate Bill Maher, but you still make enough money to give a political cause a million dollars, you know you’re doing something right. At the Jubilee Auditorium on Friday night, Maher is an unapologetic agnostic. His latter-career political genesis started as a centrist libertarian on Politically […]

WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Shorter and bigger

From an apparent black gig hole last weekend comes a supernova of musical activity. Both the Edmonton International Jazz Festival and the Works Art and Design Festival, with its free live stage in Churchill Square, start Friday. Also playing on this night is the monster blues project the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Jube and […]

TEDESCHI TRUCKS: Marriage like a band, band like a marriage

We’ve beaten to death this idea that being in a band is like a marriage – but what about a band that literally is a marriage? The Tedeschi Trucks Band – at the Jubilee Auditorium Friday night – is centred around Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, a power blues couple if there ever was one. […]

Colin James to play the Jubilee Auditorium Nov. 15

He just came back to say … I’m back! Man, that Colin James joke never gets old, and yes, the multi-stylistic Vancouver veteran will return to perform at the Jubilee Auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 15. Tickets go on sale Friday. A man who never wears out his welcome in this town, James is touring with […]

CONCERT REVIEW: Bon Iver lets amazing music speak for itself

Bon Iver’s first time in Edmonton was as close to perfection as any fan could have asked. The reasons were simple. Like the Black Keys – another Grammy-winning band that played Edmonton recently – the members of Bon Iver are musicians first, showmen second, letting the music speak for itself much more than being concerned […]