Edmonton Rock Fest Producer Values Odd Career Path, Held Hostage by Rock ‘n’ Roll
Posted on August 14, 2019 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, life, Music
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 […]
Rockfest, Sonic Field Day reveal line-ups at Edmonton’s best outdoor venue
Posted on April 22, 2019 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
It looks like Hawrelak Park’s Heritage Amphitheatre is going to be Music Festival Central in Edmonton this summer. Two local music festivals revealed their line-ups on Monday – including Sonic Field Day, a newcomer to what many fans consider the city’s best outdoor venue. It’s not too big, not too small, great sightlines all around, […]
Interstellar Rodeo 2019 announces star-studded line-up
Posted on March 27, 2019 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music, news
Son of a bitch, give me a drink! Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats are returning to Edmonton. The folk hero who fortunately revealed a lot more depth than his 2015 hit Son of a Bitch is one of the headliners for the eighth annual Interstellar Rodeo, happening July 26-28 in Hawrelak Park. These guys […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Blues, brothers and sisters!
Posted on August 22, 2018 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music, news
Will it be possible to eat a green onion cake at the Edmonton Blues Festival while simultaneously listening to Green Onions performed by Booker T himself? Might we offer the visiting organsmith a sample of Edmonton’s favourite festival food? The answer is, sadly, no: No one’s selling green onion cakes down in Hawrelak Park this […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Rockfest scores SAGA
Posted on August 15, 2018 By Michael Senchuk Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
For music fans still in the outdoor festival spirit – and really, who isn’t – the action this weekend shifts upriver to Hawrelak Park for the annual Edmonton Rock Music Festival. This is classic rock at its biggest and brightest, and the organizers have done a commendable job putting together some impressive names throughout the […]
First Nations acts big at stormy Interstellar Rodeo
Posted on July 21, 2018 By Paula E. Kirman Archive, Entertainment, Front Slider, Music, music
Most of the people who attend Interstellar Rodeo are not fair-weather fans. They know that Mother Nature may not be on their side. Indeed, this year the festival almost lived up to the dreaded “Friday night curse” – as some call it – hearkening back to an earlier year when the Friday night had to […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Interstellar life discovered!
Posted on July 18, 2018 By Michael Senchuk Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park will once again host the Interstellar Rodeo this weekend. It’s a beautiful, open air venue, but still roofed so one need not concern themselves with the crazy whims of our prairie weather. This festival has become known for their eclectic yet buzzworthy headliners and supporting acts. This year is no […]
REVIEW: Comedy of Errors a masterclass of mayhem
Posted on June 20, 2018 By Colin MacLean Entertainment, Front Slider, news, Theatre
The Freewill Players launch their 35th outdoor season in Hawrelak Park this year with one of Shakespeare’s earliest and funniest plays, Comedy of Errors. It’s hard to imagine a better show for a spring evening than this venerable confection – an entertaining show as light as a breeze across Hawrelak Lake. It is, by the […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Die Antwoord heel vreemd!
Posted on August 24, 2017 By Michael Senchuk Entertainment, Front Slider, Music, news
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 […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Forever Rock
Posted on August 17, 2017 By Mike Ross Archive, Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Classic rock is on its way to becoming the new classical music. Think about it: Life is a Highway will be remembered long after it’s been forgotten as “that cool Rascal Flatts song.” Melodies will become more famous than their composers. Quick: Who wrote Raise a Little Hell? Took you a second, didn’t it? In […]
Interstellar Rodeo a civilized festival
Posted on July 22, 2017 By Mike Ross culture, Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
There were no complaints overheard at Interstellar Rodeo. That’s because I was too busy not complaining myself, sitting there in the front row (the “obstructed view” seats were usually open) with a bowl of delicious coconut curry chicken with sesame cranberry cabbage salad from Filistix, and a (plastic) glass of the finest Medici Ermete Concerto […]
Shakespeare’s ‘problem’ play gets powerful reading
Posted on June 26, 2017 By Colin MacLean Entertainment, Front Slider, Theatre
When Shakespeare penned The Merchant of Venice somewhere during the 1590s, there were few Jews in England – they had been thrown out by the King in the late 13th century. But the hatreds and prejudices that these unfortunate people faced were still fresh enough for the Bard to write what has been termed his […]