Bobby Curtola, one of Canada’s initial teenage heart throb pop stars, passed away Sunday at his Edmonton home at the age of 73. Yes the Thunder Bay Ontario may have been preceded into the charts by Ottawa’s Paul Anka who scored with “Diana” as a 15-year-old in 1958. But one year later, 16-year old Curtola enjoyed equal success when his “Hand... Read More

By Keith Sharp To paraphrase the Soup Nazi on the Seinfeld’ television show, thousands of The Tragically Hip fans, denied tickets by Tuesday’s farcical Fan Club Pre-Sale event, tried again Friday when the official on-line sales were staged only to be met with identical results, Ticketmaster claiming all tickets sold out literally seconds after the 10 am. posting time. Some... Read More

Reprint courtesy of the CBC,   Frustrated Tragically Hip fans — some who couldn’t snag presale tickets today or yesterday — are calling on the CBC to broadcast the band’s final concert, and the CBC says it is interested in doing just that. A series of petitions and open letters to CBC management have been posted online, urging the public broadcaster to record the... Read More

By Keith Sharp Shocked by the news that The Tragically Hip’s lead vocalist, Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, North Bay Ontario resident, and card-carrying Hip fan club member, Mandi Lusic-Sturgeon was determined to secure tickets for at least one date of the Hip’s (now) 15 finale concert tour dates and see her beloved band one more time... Read More

This coming weekend sees the unofficial kick off of this year’s concert festival season across Canada. The fluctuating dollar has taken it’s toll on many Canadian promoters from attracting major U.S and International names although the big festivals like Ottawa’s Blues Festival, the Quebec International Festival, Osheaga (which scored Radiohead’s only Canadian appearance... Read More

By Keith Sharp A line on the promotion poster for yesterday’s announced Fire Aid concert to be staged Wednesday June 29th at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium to raise funds for the beleaguered residents of Fort MacMurray says it all.  “The show goes rain or shine, we’re praying for rain!” A who’s who of Canadian talent, many with strong Western Canadian ties... Read More

By Keith Sharp With what is sure to be the hottest concert ticket of the season, The Tragically Hip announced today on their face book, the 10 dates that will constitute, the band’s final tour this summer. Having announced yesterday, the shocking news that lead singer, Gord Downie had been stricken with terminal brain cancer, band members Paul Langlios, Gord... Read More

Now it’s getting personal! It’s one thing to deal with the untimely deaths of music superstars like David Bowie, Prince and Glenn Frey but today’s announcement that Tragically Hip, lead vocalist Gord Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer strikes as a real punch to the gut for all music loving Canadians. The Tragically Hip are our band. The Kingston Ontario septet... Read More