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FYI

Music Biz Headlines, Feb. 23, 2018

Gibson attempts to dampen rumours of bankruptcy, and Chris Cornell's widow opens up about his death. Also in the headlines are Erin Benjamin, Elise LeGrow, Bluebird Cafe, Wavelength, Soft Cell, LSD, Matt Holubowski, Herb Alpert, and Ornette Coleman.

Music Biz Headlines, Feb. 23, 2018

By Kerry Doole

Gibson Guitars responds to bankruptcy rumours

After multiple reports it was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, the renowned guitar and musical instrument manufacturer has issued a statement designed to calm the nerves of the legions that rely on its products  – Ian Courtney, Celebrity Access


Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Hedley? 'A wake-up call for everybody'

Music Canada Live executive director Erin Benjamin moderated a panel on the hot topic at last weekend’s Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City –  Lynn Saxberg, Ottawa Citizen

Elise LeGrow: 'That’s the essence of creativity: not caring what other people need you to do or need you to be'

As concepts for debut albums go, LeGrow’s is certainly intriguing. Rather than creating an album of original work, she has instead taken on one of the most formidable back catalogues in music history –   Elizabeth Audrey, The Independent

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The history of the Bluebird Cafe

The storied Nashville music venue is smaller than the living rooms of some of the stars it’s spawned, but its influence is very big… –  Country Music

Chris Cornell’s widow opens up about his addiction and death in her first TV interview

"My husband was the furthest thing from a rock star junkie," she insists –  Luke Britton, nme.com

Wavelength Winter Festival proved the series is still a pillar of Toronto's DIY music scene

Here are five ways the newly renamed three-night festival showed Wavelength's continued relevance in the local music community –  Michael Rancic, NOW

Bran Van 3000 diva Stéphane Moraille can't shake the music

Daïva draws on Moraille's musical and personal history, from her childhood in Haiti to her time singing in clubs and with Bran Van 3000, and a stint in politics –  T'cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

Soft Cell reunite for 40th anniversary show and to say goodbye

Marc Almond and Dave Ball play one final show, then the electro-pop heroes retire   – VVN Music

Fast-working Jay Som adds polish to indie pop

Soon after graduating high school, she created Turn Into, a nine-track collection recorded in her bedroom that would put her on the radar of cult indie label Polyvinyl Records  –  Kate Wilson, Georgia Straight

Inside the mind of Amanda Fielding, countess of psychedelic science

If LSD is having its renaissance, 75-year-old English countess Amanda Feilding is its Michelangelo –  Wired

Singer Matt Holubowski, a big hit in Quebec, takes another crack at Toronto

Folk-pop star in La Belle Province got a big break on TV, and had some mixed feelings about it. That’s past him now and his efforts to break through elsewhere seem to be paying off  –  Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

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Why musicians need better access to mental health services

The broken system has turned me from an artist into a DIY drone therapist – and that should worry you – Kristel Jax, NOW

What In the Word? Bent Phrasing Is On the Rebound In Country Music

Just when you thought it was dying, the pun is doing its best to have the last word in country music  – Tom Roland, Billboard

The improv jazz sculptures of Herb Alpert

A look at the life and music of the trumpeter turned label head – Jessica Gelt, LA Times

B.C. musician uses planks of discarded wood for his unique sound system

Giorgio Magnanensi makes the wood resonate to create music –  CBC News

Musical revolutionary Ornette Coleman unleashed Free Jazz in 1950s L.A.

Few Americans know much about it, but a radical midcentury revolution in jazz was born in Los Angeles in the late 1950s   – Tony Mostrom, LA Weekly

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Hillside Festival poster
Artwork by Alyah Holmes

Hillside Festival poster

Concerts

Guelph, Ontario's Hillside Festival Gets Richard Thompson, Aysanabee, Patrick Watson for 2024 Edition

Running July 19-21, the Ontario summer favourite's eclectic lineup also featuresBry Webb, Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) and Jim White.

Long one of the most popular Ontario summer music fests, Hillside returns to Guelph Lake Island, July 19-21. The just-announced lineup features artists from Australia, South Africa, Morocco, Benin and Cameroon as well as notable names from across Canada and the U.S.

Heading that list are British folk legend Richard Thompson, roots rock supertrio Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, with guests Daniel Lanois and Terra Lightfoot, the Polaris-winning Patrick Watson, Ashley MacIsaac, recent Juno winner Aysanabee, former Constantines frontman Bry Webb, long-running indie rock band Land of Talk, The Messthetics (which features Joe Lally and Brendan Canty from Fugazi) and American indie faves Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) and Jim White.

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