MUSIC PREVIEW: Peak Coldplay
This weekend features a lot of awesome talent playing our local music venues, but let’s face it, most music fans are holding their breath and waiting in anticipation for the arrival of Coldplay next week for a pair of shows – Tuesday and Wednesday at Rogers Place. Ever since their start in the mid-1990s, the […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Kaleido scope astounding
What the Fringe is for theatre, the Kaleido Family Arts Festival is for the Edmonton music scene. For there’s a blithering bonanza of live music descending on the Alberta Avenue community this weekend. A not-so-quick count reveals more than 180 different gigs in almost every genre in 14 different venues, indoors and out, alleyways, patios, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Lionel Richie king of soft soul
If you think it should be Lionel Richie opening for Mariah Carey at Rogers Place on Friday night instead the other way around, all you have to do is go to the scoreboard. Before Mariah was ever born, Richie had paid his dues as a member of the 1960s soul band The Commodores, known for […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Die Antwoord heel vreemd!
Now that the showman of showmen Beck has departed the city, there’s a bit of a let-up in the gig schedule for the weekend as the city steels itself for its next big show, next Wednesday’s Guns N’ Roses gig at Commonwealth Stadium. Tickets still available. There are a handful of interesting gigs around our […]
The Royal Foundry melts down genre
Edmonton’s next big thing is getting a little tired of being pigeon-holed. If you want to call The Royal Foundry anything, call them a pop band – and if you’ve been paying attention to pop radio you’ll know it encompasses all genres of music: Rock, folk, punk, electronic dance, jazz, Latin, Caribbean, hip hop, classical, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Hit the road, Jack
Congratulations, you have survived the summer up to now – to reach “peak festival” in Alberta. On this weekend it is impossible to go to any public park, farmer’s field or even your own backyard without there being some kind of festival happening. Getting out of Edmonton will only bring you to more festivals – […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Mission to Mars
The incredible Bruno Mars is in town this weekend for a pair of shows, Sunday and Monday nights at Rogers Place. With a wide range of musical talents, from writing to singing to playing guitars and the keyboards, he is currently touring to support his 2016 album 24K Magic, although it’s his debut from 2010, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: A different kind of ’90s love
Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows were at the very pinnacle of the music scene in the 1990s, and the latter were particularly popular in Canada, with three songs reaching the top 3 during that time – Mr. Jones, A Long December, and Hanginaround. Round Here was another popular anthem that received significant airplay during that […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Canada Day with Sarah
As far back as high school, Sarah McLachlan’s yearbook predicted she was destined to become a rock star – and that’s exactly how her life played out. Her pair of albums from the 1990’s, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Surfacing, remain as powerful as ever, spawning such Canrock hits as Good Enough, Building A Mystery, Sweet […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Chilis for the books
Books could be written about the adventures of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And they have. The band has published at least three themselves. Adding to their legacy of 11 studio albums, 13 No. 1 hits, six Grammy awards and 80 million records sold back when people still bought lots of records. Fans still buy […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Shredmonton attacks a second time
There are many mysteries, enigmas and riddles inside the fascinating world of heavy metal. So having an annual metal “conference” is a swell idea – and having it in Edmonton is perfect. While we are a hockey town for only a few precious weeks a year, we’re a metal town all the time. Just ask […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Rock (and rap) Against Racism
“I love and treasure individuals as I meet them; I loath or despise the groups they identify or belong to,” said the late George Carlin – and he may have been onto something there. In other, gentler words (Carlin was a bit of a grump), if you judge people one by one, and truly don’t […]
