Bluewater Bridge No Barrier to The Bluewater BorderFest

April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 Keith Sharp

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.

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 Keith Sharp

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

A Buzz Of Sweet New Country Releases For Spring 2023

March 20, 2023April 1, 2023 Roman Mitz

by Roman Mitz As people are buzzing with excitement as the NCAA tournament gets Stateside underway, there’s also a beehive of activity north of the border as our finest Canadian country acts race for the number one sweet spot on the country charts. Here are some of the hottest new entries to consider when filling in your bracket. With powerhouse... Read More

Colourful Junos Had Everything, Including Hockey Superstars And Topless Protesters

March 14, 2023March 24, 2023 Keith Sharp

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

March 14, 2023March 20, 2023 Keith Sharp

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

January 30, 2023February 1, 2023 Keith Sharp

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

Lee Aaron Elevates Her Game

January 13, 2023January 15, 2023 Roman Mitz

By Roman Mitz Lee Aaron has a new album called “Elevate,” and the Merriam-Webster dictionary says that verb means “To raise in rank or status” or “To raise the spirits of.” Well, her new album certainly succeeds on both counts. The award-winning songwriter, producer and Canadian vocalist blazed back onto the rock scene in 2016 (after a ten-year hiatus to... Read More

Coney Hatch’s UK Tour 40 Years In The Making

December 5, 2022December 25, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp The invitation came right out of the blue. When Coney Hatch bassist Andy Curran touched base with Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris during his band’s Toronto and Hamilton dates (as part of Maiden’s global Legacy Of The Beast tour), Harris mentioned he would be taking his British Lions’ side project on a brief but intense 11 dates... Read More

Blakk Turns Traumatic Childhood Experience Into Moving Emotional Vignettes

November 26, 2022November 27, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Considering Forest Blakk’s traumatic childhood upbringing, it would have come as no surprise if his musical influences had been Thrash Metal or Gangsta Rap. Yet his third EP, ‘Every Little Detail’ contains eight emotional introspective compositions which rank highly on wedding musical theme lists, an image which belies his gruff, tattooed physique. Blakk grew up in Montreal,... Read More

Workaholic Hugh Dillon Balances New Album And Tour With High Profile TV Roles

November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 Music Express

Sound Of Music 2019 – Photo by Corey Kelly By Keith Sharp The big question is where the Headstones’ Hugh Dillon finds the time to record a new album,`Flight Risk,’ and plan a 17-date Canadian tour (with two dates in Buffalo) while at the same time completing the second season of The Mayor Of Kingstown TV series with season five... Read More

Steve Norman Keeping Spandau Ballet’s Legacy Alive

November 17, 2022November 22, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp When you are the co-founder of a supergroup, it’s hard to let the project go, especially when there have been serious reformation attempts throughout the years. So, Spandau Ballet tenor saxophonist Steve Norman continues the band’s legacy, performing band classics like “True,” “Gold,” and “Through The Barricades” which were staple hits during the band’s peak popularity in... Read More

Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express Puts A New Twist On Fundraising

November 7, 2022November 8, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp It was one of those eureka moments. Barney Bentall and his son Dustin were watching a YouTube episode of The Grand Ole Opry when they heard the MC say, “and the next song by Mel Tillis is sponsored by Gillette.” Songs sponsored by corporations, what a novel concept! “It was 2006, we were planning on doing a... Read More

Bedouin Soundclash Returns To Their World Beat Roots With New Release ‘We Will Meet In A Hurricane’

October 26, 2022November 1, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Like most musicians, the Bedouin Soundclash duo of Jay Malinowski and Eon Sinclair found themselves with time on their hands as they waited out the COVID pandemic, with Sinclair travelling to Malinowski’s Victoria B.C residence to see if they could recapture the World Beat spirit of previous releases. Their previous `Mass’ release in 2019 had seen Bedouin... Read More

Sykamore’s ‘Pinto’ Fires On all Cylinders By Roman Mitz

August 28, 2022August 29, 2022 Roman Mitz

Born in a small town outside of Calgary, pop/country vocalist Sykamore grew up on a cattle ranch surrounded by country music which laid the groundwork for her to start writing her own songs. Soon her songwriting would garner attention in Canada, leading her to be nominated for the Canadian Country Music Association’s (CCMA) coveted Discovery Award in 2015. Her biggest... Read More

Country Thunder Bounces Back From Pandemic Disruption

July 11, 2022July 16, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Thursday, July 14, sees the return of Country Thunder – Craven, Saskatchewan, with the likes of Morgan Wallen, Lee Brice and the legendary Tanya Tucker joining forces with domestic talent Chad Brownlee, Washboard Union and Lindsay Ell for the first of three Canadian festivals that will also feature the official début of Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose... Read More

It’s All About Persistence – An Interview With Strange Advance

May 10, 2022May 11, 2022 Keith Sharp

Strange Advance Releases 4 2022 By Keith Sharp “Just like getting back on a bike, it was so great to play in front of a live audience again,” enthused Strange Advance keyboardist/vocalist Drew Arnott after finally getting to parade his reconstituted line up which now features six musicians; including vocalist/guitarist Sean Dillon, keyboardist Rob Bailey, guitarist Ian Cameron, drummer/vocalist Russ Friesen... Read More

Arrive, Raise A Little Hell, Retire – Trooper Original Duo Call It A Day.

November 20, 2021November 23, 2021 Keith Sharp

Trooper’s Lead Singer Ra McGuire and Bassist Doni Underhill – Photo by Hope Photography By Keith Sharp The announcement on Trooper’s November 8th Facebook post that original band members; vocalist Ra McGuire and lead guitarist Brian Smith have chosen to retire from the band, may have caught many fans by surprise, but the reality is that the ongoing COVID19 pandemic... Read More

THE COOPER BROTHERS – “RADIO SILENCE” CD RELEASE AT CENTREPOINTE

May 2, 2017May 2, 2017 Music Express

Ottawa’s rock ‘n roll cowboys, The Cooper Brothers, treated their fans to an exceptional and extra special performance at Centrepointe Theatre Friday night, which was jam-packed with special guests in celebration of their newest album release, “Radio Silence”. In addition to the band’s seven members, a four-piece horn section added a colourful boost to the first half of... Read More

Big Wreck Reassembled!

January 23, 2013January 23, 2013 Music Express

It’s coming up to a year since Ian Thornley released his first Big Wreck album since disbanding the rock band a decade ago after two critically acclaimed albums, 1997’s platinum-plus In Loving Memory Of… and 2001’s The Pleasure and the Greed. Next month, Albatross — which features only two of the four original Big Wreck members, Thornley and guitarist Brian... Read More

Sheepdogs ‘Dialed In’ to Success

January 17, 2013January 22, 2013 Music Express

Members of Canadian rock band The Sheepdogs are not content to rest on their laurels, forging ahead with vigour and passion as 2013 begins. But they certainly have every right to look back on the success of the past couple of years with pride. Already a beloved concert attraction on the so-called ‘indie circuit,’ The Sheepdogs were catapulted to continental... Read More

Tag: Interview