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Author: Keith Sharp

Former Calgary Herald sportswriter, Editor in Chief of the original Music Express Magazine and follow-up ACCESS magazine. Published author of a book about the Music Express years - "Music Express Rise And Fall Of A Canadian Music Icon"

The Kings Are Out To Prove There Is More To Their Legacy Than Just One Monster Hit

Keith Sharp
The Kings Are Out To Prove There Is More To Their Legacy Than Just One Monster Hit
Classic rock music fans will wonder out loud if they have blundered into some kind of `Back To The Future’ time warp when they notice a double bill of The Kings co-featured in a series of Ontario-based concerts in late September alongside stalwarts Honeymoon Suite. The Kings have just released their first new studio album, `The Longest Story Ever Told’... Read More

Music’s Irresistible Odd Couple

Keith Sharp
Music’s Irresistible Odd Couple
(Box photos by Ted Van Boort) Your average concert goer would initially be confused by how you can successfully twin a classic rock band like Montreal’s The Box with a Country Rock group like ONE UGLY COWBOY. But as attendees at Hamilton Ontario’s “It’s Your Festival” discovered, their collective ability to entertain a family audience makes such a blend of... Read More

Cathedral Performances A New Acoustic Twist For Billy Raffoul

Keith Sharp
Cathedral Performances A New Acoustic Twist For Billy Raffoul
When Leamington Ontario native Billy Raffoul toured Europe two years ago, he found himself booked to play in Hamburg Germany’s St Michael’s Cathedral as part of that city’s Reeperbahn Festival, the only time that venue is allowed to be used as a concert venue. That date was so successful and the acoustics in the venue so spectacular that Raffoul’s European... Read More

Tina Turner, The Queen Of Rock Dies at age of 83

Keith Sharp
Tina Turner, The Queen Of Rock Dies at age of 83
By Mike Davidson with files from Keith Sharp (Reuters) - Tina Turner, the American-born singer who left a hardscrabble farming community and abusive relationship to become one of the top recording artists of all time, died on Wednesday at the age of 83. She died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, her representative... Read More

Injustice Corrected – Trooper is Inducted into Canada’s Music Hall of Fame

Keith Sharp
Injustice Corrected – Trooper is Inducted into Canada’s Music Hall of Fame
By Keith Sharp Outrageous negligence will finally be corrected Thursday, May 18th, when Vancouver’s Trooper is inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Calgary’s Studio Bell Centre. They, along with Country Artist Terri Clark, Francophone star Diane Dufresne and noted jazz pianist Oliver Jones will join Nickelback, who have already been inducted into the hall during this year’s... Read More

Gordon Lightfoot’s Legacy Will Be Remembered

Keith Sharp
Gordon Lightfoot’s Legacy Will Be Remembered
By Keith Sharp Much has been written, televised, and praised online to eulogize the passing of Gordon Lightfoot, who died on Monday, May 2nd, at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital at the age of 84. But it should be pointed out that this Canadian music icon, along with Ian and Sylvia, helped create Canada’s first established music scene when the Orillia Ontario... Read More

The Big Top returns to the banks of Quidi Vidi from June 14th-24th! St John’s NL and the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent – Music Festival 2023

Keith Sharp
The Big Top returns to the banks of Quidi Vidi from June 14th-24th! St John’s NL and the Iceberg Alley Performance Tent – Music Festival 2023
By Keith Sharp The region of Newfoundland/Labrador is known for its scenic beauty and its friendly people (see Come From Away)…but music events are not so much. But then Steeles Hotel chain President John Steele had this revelation when seeing a huge entertainment tent resurrected in London, England and felt the same concept would work back in his native St... Read More

Amanda Marshall Survives Prolonged Legal Battle, Releases New Single, and a New Tour.

Keith Sharp
Amanda Marshall Survives Prolonged Legal Battle, Releases New Single, and a New Tour.
By Keith Sharp For those music fans who wondered whatever happened to Amanda Marshall, do not worry; Amanda is back with a bang, and a national tour Amanda Marshall – 25 & Counting: The Heavy Lifting Tour and presented by Live Nation. With a début single, “I Hope She Cheats,” already hitting the social media airwaves, Marshall is obviously thrilled... Read More

Triple Concert Chaos Under Control For 2023

Keith Sharp
Triple Concert Chaos Under Control For 2023
By Keith Sharp Understanding the chaos caused by the cancellation of one festival concert caused by the pandemic, you can imagine the effect of planning three festivals and having all three put on hold for the past two years. But that’s exactly what happened to the organizers of Dauphin’s Countryfest, Rockin The Fields Of Minnedosa and Thunder Bay’s Country In... Read More

Bluewater Bridge No Barrier to The Bluewater BorderFest

Keith Sharp
Bluewater Bridge No Barrier to The Bluewater BorderFest
By Keith Sharp The Bluewater Bridge spanning between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan, as well as the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor with Detroit, represents the lifeblood of commerce to this South Western Ontario outpost. So when the COVID pandemic practically closed off access between the two cities, any major social events planned for Sarnia in 2020 and 2021... Read More

Lunchbox Promotion Draws Attention To Rare Americans launch.

Keith Sharp
Lunchbox Promotion Draws Attention To Rare Americans launch.
By Keith Sharp Launching yourself as a new band in the current social media environment is always a tricky business but Vancouver’s Rare Americans came up with a novel approach to debuting the self-titled album debut in August 2018. Original members James Priestner and guitarist Lubo Ivan designed about 300 lunch boxes emblazoned with their distinctive artwork style with contents... Read More

Colourful Junos Had Everything, Including Hockey Superstars And Topless Protesters

Keith Sharp
Colourful Junos Had Everything, Including Hockey Superstars And Topless Protesters
By Keith Sharp It’s virtually a standard practice for live broadcasts to feature the disclaimer, ”this show may contain scenes of nudity and coarse language.” But I am certain organizers of the 52nd Juno Awards staged at Edmonton’s Rogers Centre could not have possibly predicted such a warning would have come into play so early in Monday’s telecast. Yet as... Read More

The Many Faces Of Michelle Truman

Keith Sharp
The Many Faces Of Michelle Truman
By Keith Sharp Michelle Truman is a musical schizophrenic. Some nights she exhibits an aura of Stevie Nicks, other nights, she stars as one-quarter of her own ABBA tribute team or captures the spirit of Shania Twain, Joan Jett or Lita Ford. And more recently, she has assumed lead vocal in the band Toronto as a replacement for Holly (Annie) Woods,... Read More

McBowl Concert Series Has North American Appeal

Keith Sharp
McBowl Concert Series Has North American Appeal
Photo by Andrew Clowater By Keith Sharp The 6th Annual McBowl Concert, in support of Ronald McDonald House promoter Ed Sousa can usually tell how well his annual concert festival is doing by how many tickets are sold nationally and throughout the United States. “Last year, we sold tickets to 20 U.S. states and every province in Canada. So far... Read More

Big Sugar Revisits Classic Release With New Tour And Band Lineup

Keith Sharp
Big Sugar Revisits Classic Release With New Tour And Band Lineup
By Keith Sharp Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson isn’t prepared to idly sit back and play out a pandemic. Even during an enforced two-year layoff, he was releasing his GJ SoundShack video series and was even able to execute a One Man Big Sugar Show. So as soon as he was able to get back on the road, Johnson jumped at... Read More