MUSIC PREVIEW: Rocketman’s farewell hottest ticket in Edmonton
Sir Elton John rolls into town this weekend in the midst of his three-year, 300-plus date Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. At Rogers Place for a two-nighter Friday and Saturday, the legendary Rocketman had a slew of successive hit singles in the 1970s and 1980s, including Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Pinball Wizard, Don’t Go Breaking My […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Ghost brings Swedish spookypop to Edmonton on Death tour
For a band few people have ever heard of to suddenly appear in Edmonton’s biggest indoor concert venue is worth noting. The band Ghost plays Monday, Sept. 23 at Rogers Place. It’s a smaller-sized concert bowl, but still. Several thousand fans who already know this theatrical Swedish hard rock band are expected to turn up […]
LISTEN HERE: The Royal Foundry wants to WAKEUP from bad dream
EXCLUSIVE! Hear Edmonton band’s new single several hours before release! The counterintuitive trick about empathy and validation is that you do NOT want to comfort someone with the old tropes: “Don’t worry about it! Everything’s going to be fine! You can do this! Believe in yourself!” – because then you’re dismissing the feeling. Sometimes everything […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Indie star Lissie stars at the Starlite Room
From her home base on her farm in Iowa, Lissie has become an indie sensation. The Indiana-born country-folk artist seen every one of her first four studio albums grab a spot in the top 15 of the US Folk chart, and the last two have accomplished the same feat on the US Indie chart. Many […]
LISTEN HERE: Juliet Ruin serves up a fresh bitter cup of Spite
Rock singer Jess Fleming would rather not hang out with narcissists. “They’re kind of like energy vampires,” she says. “They suck all the life out of the room. They make everything about themselves, they’re faultless, they don’t take ownership about anything, and when there’s a problem, it’s you, not them.” Jess is not alone in […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Sonic all over the sonic map at Field Day
It’s just a little wish: Sonic 102.9 FM could be, you know, a little “heavier” – ‘cuz we’re a HEAVY town, man – but you have to admit they consistently play the widest variety of the new music, the alternative, the so-called “modern rock,” which is all over the map, sonically. Hence the name. Some […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Iron Maiden Keeps Beast Alive in Edmonton
Iron Maiden proves that even if one doesn’t have a new album, a band can still go out on tour and everything will be just fine – as long as they have a solid collection of greatest hits, flashy stage effects, charisma, and an energetic performance. Bonus if they’re all over 60 years old. The […]
LISTEN HERE: Everybody wants to be wanted in The Wanting, by Hewson Grey
Joe Paonessa sometimes switches out the pronouns in that song he sings about wanting love and never being satisfied. “It could be a guy looking for a guy, a girl looking for a girl. It doesn’t matter. It’s about people looking for that connection. Everybody wants something and everyone wants to be wanted,” he says. […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Maiden tour named for video game
The legendary Iron Maiden are in town Friday as part of the North American portion of their “Legacy Of the Beast” Tour, which shares the name of a mobile game the group released in 2016. The turn-based RPG game features Iron Maiden’s infamous mascot Eddie; players collect combatants and fight infernal foes. The band’s last […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Edmonton Rocks
This weekend is punctuated by the 2019 edition of the Edmonton Rock Music Festival, which traditionally falls on the weekend after folk fest. The organizers are known for bringing in some of the best classic rock artists of all time, particularly in the Canadian vein, and often those who don’t tour regularly anymore but save […]
Edmonton Rock Fest Producer Values Odd Career Path, Held Hostage by Rock ‘n’ Roll
Before Todd Crawshaw became the producer of the Edmonton Rock Music Festival, he worked at the Edmonton Maximum Security Prison as a violence cessation counselor. “I’d work with guys doing time for abuse of spouses and children in their lives, in a bid to help them develop easier ways to deal with problems instead of […]
Can’t Stand the Rain – Folk Fest 40 a wrap!
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is one of those pivotal summer events that signal a forthcoming change in season. First comes the Folk Fest, shortly followed by the Fringe, and then the coming of First Winter. While the temperatures were definitely below average for August, the music in Gallagher Park certainly kept things hot. The […]
