Ice Queen Still Thriving As A Blues Guitar Icon

September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 Keith Sharp

Scroll down any online list of the world’s greatest rock guitar players and you’ll find the usual suspects; Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Eddie Van Halen et al, but you won’t find any prominent female players. Sue Foley just shrugs when this information is brought to her attention. A nominee for this year’s Guitar Magazine’s... Read More

Don’t Mess With Meghan Patrick

September 6, 2019September 5, 2019 Roman Mitz

Alongside Kasey Musgraves and Ashley McBride, Meghan Patrick is among a handful of fiercely independent women that are blazing new trails in country music. Born and raised in Bowmanville Ontario and now residing in Nashville, Meghan has honed her singing and songwriting skills to a tee and the results are proudly on display on her latest recording, the six-song EP... Read More

De Keyzer Defies Shrinking Toronto Club Scene

September 5, 2019September 8, 2019 Keith Sharp

Toronto used to be the centre of a vibrant blues community with the likes of the Brunswick House, Silver Dollar, Jeff Healey’s and the Cadillac Lounge all playing host to major blues artists like Downchild Blues Band, Jeff Healey, King Biscuit Boy, Jack de Keyzer, Colin James, Sue Foley, Matt Minglewood, Dutch Mason et al performing regularly at these downtown... Read More

London’s Block Party Is Now A Park Jam

August 24, 2019August 24, 2019 Keith Sharp

London’s Park Jam Festival By Keith Sharp The city of London Ontario is currently enjoying a boom as a hotspot for Canadian music with the recent staging of The Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Awards and entertainment promoter Demetri Manuel is helping to stimulate this growth by expanding his annual two-day Block Party to a seven-day Park Jam Festival... Read More

Hall Of Fame Honours Give Gilder Fresh Motivation

August 7, 2019August 13, 2019 Keith Sharp

On Tuesday, June 18th of this year, Nick Gilder was inducted into the Canadian Song Writer’s Hall Of Fame in recognition of his song “Hot Child In The City” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1979. With his current wife, his mother and both his son and daughter present during the ceremony, staged by SOCAN at the BMO... Read More

Iron Maiden Brings Video Game To Life With Legacy Tour

August 3, 2019August 14, 2019 Keith Sharp

To paraphrase a certain saying, “there are only three certainties in life; death, taxes and Iron Maiden playing Toronto.” Friday, August 9th and 10th, Iron Maiden hits the Budweiser Amphitheatre stage as part of their 44-date North American leg of their current Legacy Of The Beast Tour (which also features dates in Montreal, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver).... Read More

Maritime Music Festivals Cater To All Tastes

July 30, 2019August 20, 2019 Keith Sharp

Maritime music festivals may be defined by the crowd-pulling Cavendish Beach Music Festival staged every July at this scenic Prince Edward Island venue (this year July 5-7 featuring the likes of Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Russell Dickenson and Co) but even as Cavendish takes aim at 2020, there’s still a number of key festivals to be staged in the coming... Read More

Double-Platinum Canadian Band Streetheart Announce, Live After Dark, To Be Released August 23

July 29, 2019July 31, 2019 Music Express

Newly Mastered Reissue Of Their Classic Album Recorded Live In Winnipeg, Edmonton And Regina In July 1983 Includes Previously Unreleased Live Track, “Highway Isolation” Available For Pre-Order Now In Digital And Physical 1Cd/2Lp Formats JUNO Award-winning band Streetheart announce the special reissue of their 1983 live album, Live After Dark, on August 23 via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. A... Read More

Former Sheepdog Lends Credibility To League Of Wolves

July 29, 2019August 12, 2019 Keith Sharp

During his many sorties into Saskatoon, Dillon Currie and his musical pals often bumped into former Sheepdogs’ guitarist Leot Hanson. Whether it was hanging around Lydia’s Pub or later The Capitol Music Club (which Hanson co-owned), Currie’s band, soon to be known as League Of Wolves, made a connection with Hanson. Initially, it was just informal jam sessions where they’d... Read More

Robbie Robertson Taps Into Decades Of Film Work And A Fascination With Human Nature’s Darker Corridors For Evocative New Solo Album, Sinematic, Coming September 20

July 25, 2019July 25, 2019 Music Express

Inspired by his decades of creating and composing music for film and filled with an enthralling set of songs exploring the darker corridors of human nature, Robbie Robertson’s aptly titled, evocative new solo album Sinematic is set for release on September 20 via UMe/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. The album is available now for preorder on CD, digital and 180-gram... Read More

Mother Mother Gains A New Fan!

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019 Music Express

Mother Mother Coca-Cola Stage Calgary Alberta July 11 My wife played me a video of this Vancouver based group a couple of years ago, and while I recall being impressed, it wasn’t necessarily love at first sight. Fast forward to Mother Mother’s performance at the Calgary Stampede’s Coca Cola stage last week and I am transmogrified into a huge fan.... Read More

Deppe Enjoying Best Of Both Worlds Playing For Two Iconic Bands

July 15, 2019July 22, 2019 Keith Sharp

By his own admission, The Spoons’ Gord Deppe is not a prolific songwriter. He is not one to churn out a stack of new material for pure vanity sake, preferring to re-release anniversary editions of previous records like the band’s debut `Stick Figure Neighbourhood’ (1981) and their break-through `Arias & Symphonies (1982). The band’s previous studio album, `Static In Transmission’... Read More

Exhibition Lineups Strong On Domestic Talent

July 5, 2019July 13, 2019 Keith Sharp

Danielle Bourre can remember when headline talent at Toronto’s Annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) or (The EX) meant the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Elton John, Van Halen, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen all sharing the spotlight at the main CNE Stadium. Yet those halcyon dates of Michael Cohl’s Concert Productions International attractions changed when the Molson Amphitheatre, later changed... Read More

The Strumbellas: Pop Music Done Wrong!

July 4, 2019July 5, 2019 Keith Sharp

According to the band’s biography, The Strumbellas’ vocalist/guitarist and chief songwriter, Simon Ward was motivated by the juxtaposition of balancing global touring activities with commitments to his wife and three children in small-town Lindsay Ontario when he penned the lyrics to the band’s fourth recording effort “Rattlesnake”. Certainly, based on the success of their last album “Hope” and the chart-topping... Read More

It was Only Rock and Roll But They Loved It.

July 2, 2019July 2, 2019 Music Express

To put a little spin on the Keith Richards quote “They had the sun, they had the moon, they had the air that they breathe and for two hours 71,000 people had The Rolling Stones. Canada Rocks, Oro-Medonte at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds, was the only Canadian stop on The Stones current North American No Filter Tour. It was one... Read More

Hart’s National Tour A Love Affair With His Audience

July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 Keith Sharp

Corey Hart is about to vacate his hotel room in Vancouver and head out to the airport for a flight to Japan where he and his band are set to perform concerts in Tokyo and Osaka before an insane schedule which sees everyone fly back to Quebec City July 4th just in time to headline at the Festival d’été de... Read More

Chad Brownlee – Back In The Game by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019 Roman Mitz

Chad Brownlee – Back In The Game by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces For Chad Brownlee, the title of his new EP ‘Back In the Game’ says it all You see the singer/songwriter has been pretty low-key since his last musical offering in 2016. It’s been a time of reflection for the singer, and this led directly to major changes... Read More

Pure Country Provides A Fresh Coat Of Paint To Canadian Country Music

June 27, 2019June 28, 2019 Keith Sharp

Canada’s Radio landscape just got more countrified with the partnership of 13 regional Country Music radio stations under the iheart logo. Pure Country is the banner that links a network of key regional stations together with a new syndicated programme hosted by Shannon Ella airing four hours a day on each station. Each segment will feature all the latest country... Read More

Cuddy Turns On Creativity With New Album Recorded In Just Three Days

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 Keith Sharp

Jim Cuddy is a creative songwriting tour-de-force. He is so overloaded with song ideas that he needs two bands; Blue Rodeo and his own Jim Cuddy Band to contain this outflow of creativity. And even then, he has achieved additional co-writing and performing outlets with the likes of Corey Hart and Barney Bentall. If you don’t believe me, take a... Read More

Mercury’s Timeless Gem Released After 4 Decade Search

June 23, 2019June 23, 2019 Keith Sharp

The global success of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody (which generated more than $903 million in ticket sales) has revitalized interest in Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury who died from AIDS November 24th, 1991. Rami Malek won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Mercury and even though the movie received mixed critical reviews, Queen faithful and a generation of new... Read More

Category: Interviews