Music Biz Headlines, July 14, 2022

By Kerry Doole

Shawn Mendes postpones world tour to focus on his mental health

The Canadian pop star tells fans on social media he's 'hit a breaking point.' – CP

Shawn Mendes cancels tour dates to prioritize ‘my mental health, first and foremost’

The stress of a world tour has gotten to Shawn Mendes, who announced he is taking a break to focus on his mental health. Wonder: The World Tour, which had just gotten underway last week, is on hold for the next three weeks — affecting 12 concert dates in all. Mendes suffered personal stress as well late last year after he and singer-songwriter Camila Cabello broke up. – Deborah Vankin, LA Times

Her tears at the airport Tim Hortons let Tami Neilson know she was home

The Mississauga-born, New Zealand-based singer is back in Ontario to tour new album “Kingmaker,” her first visit since the pandemic began. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star 

Metric rocks out existentially in new album Formentera

Even Canadian rock stars are looking introspectively – and existentially – at their role and the meaning of it all in today’s seemingly crumbling world. But hey, a pretty rockin’ album came out of it. – AP

Field Trip, Toronto’s friendliest music festival, is back where it belongs

The return of the chill, inclusive, kid-friendly celebration to Fort York on July 9 was greeted with glee by Toronto concertgoers. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

The Weeknd tour stop in Toronto postponed due to Rogers outage

Rogers Centre says the tour stop by The Weeknd in Toronto on July 8 had to be postponed to a later date due to Rogers service outages affecting operations at the venue. It says information on a new show date will be shared as soon as possible. – CP

The Weeknd’s show at the Rogers Centre was canceled because of Rogers. Twitter wasn’t happy.

A big chunk of Canada was paralyzed for much of Friday because of the Rogers outage caused by…well, we’re not sure, really. No internet or wireless service. ATMs down. Debit machines down. The ability to call 911 impaired. Business impacted everywhere. Among the many casualties was The Weeknd’s big homecoming show in front of tens of thousands at–wait for it–the Rogers Centre. – Alan Cross, A Journal of Musical Things 

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song explores what everybody knows, and much we don't

The profound loss of Leonard Cohen as both artist and exalted human being is acutely felt in the documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song which seeks to understand Cohen’s life — more specifically, his search for the meaning of life — through his best known, most covered song, the iconic and heart-rending Hallelujah. –  Kim Hughes, Original Cin

Hamilton drummer Gene Champagne recovered from Covid and is back behind the kit

There's a July 22 show for his band The Un-Teens, and more dates in the works for Teenage Head and The Killjoys. – Graham Rockingham, Hamilton Spectator

How one Canadian writer turned Max Martin’s Top 40 hits into a smashing pop musical

“Schitt’s Creek” writer David West Read admits he wasn’t attuned to Max Martin’s outsized role in shaping pop music when producers working with the hitmaker called on him to pitch the musical that would become “& Juliet.” – David Friend, CP

Hamilton has returned to Canada, but is the American musical still a runaway hit? Caveat emptor

Hamilton, which tells the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton, continues to pull in the big bucks at the box office on Broadway – more than US$2-million a week, second only to a Hugh Jackman-led production of The Music Man. It also still has three touring productions on the road in North America, two of which happen to be in Canada this month. – JK Nestruck, Globe and Mail

7 facts about Kim Mitchell on the Canadian rock icon's 70th birthday

The musician sat down with Q's Tom Power ahead of his 70th birthday, marking five decades in the spotlight. – CBC Radio 

Ode to joy: the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Colin Clarke on his love of classical music

Colin Clarke is the artistic director of the new Oscar Peterson Program. For him, it all started with “The Wizard of Oz.” Hearing Herbert Stothart’s Oscar-winning score in the classic movie, he tells me, “is the first time I can recall being impacted as much by the music as I was by the on-screen action." – Shinan Govani, The Toronto Star

Dispatches from the 2022 Mariposa Folk Festival day two (Saturday)

As we pulled in for day two, we could hear the sound of David Woodhead’s version of Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain” gently wafting on the breeze. A good omen. –  Bev Kreller, Roots Music Canada 

Star soprano Sondra Radvanovsky announces Halifax concert November 5

One of the classical world's biggest stars, Radvanovsky will play the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast 

Collingwood Music Festival kicks off with concert honouring legacy of Canadian conductor Boris Brott

The 2022 festival season, running until July 15, features an eclectic mix of concerts featuring jazz, Indigenous, classical and folk music. – Joshua Chong, Toronto Star

International

UMG strikes licensing deal with African music service Mdundo

African music service Mdundo, which listed on the Danish stock exchange in September 2020, has struck a licensing deal with Universal Music Group (UMG). UMG says that its new deal covers key African territories. Mdundo reports to have 17 million active monthly users across Africa, which means it has added 10 million since February 2021. – Murray Stassen, MBW

The vinyl shortage explained

In recent years vinyl records have become increasingly difficult to obtain. We unpack how supply shortages, long waits and soaring retail costs are impacting the music industry. – Bill Kopp, Grammy.com

BRAUN: Vinyl makes a comeback — to the tune of $1 billion

There are many reasons vinyl albums have come roaring back in popularity, but here are the basics: the look, the feel, the sound. – Liz Braun, Toronto Sun

Bob Dylan one-off release of Blowin’ in the Wind sells for £1.5m

Single copy of 1962 hit made with longtime collaborator T Bone Burnett auctioned at Christie’s.– The Guardian

Forget the apocalypse, let's talk about what happened to music

Why music doesn't sound like music anymore. – Umair Haque, E and Co

‘We have a new Hitler in Russia’: Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina on Putin’s crimes and her years of resistance

The musician and activist has escaped her homeland – but its repression still torments her. She talks about being beaten and jailed, nuclear threats and the dangerous power of women. – Zoe Williams, The Guardian

Jury finds man guilty of murder of rapper Nipsey Hussle

The Los Angeles County jury also found Eric Holder Jr. guilty of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for gunfire that hit other men at the scene. – Andrew Dalton, AP

Reba McEntire will hit the road this fall with Terri Clark: 'Gals gotta stick together!'

Reba McEntire believes "that us gals gotta stick together” in country music. For her next tour she will have longtime friend and fellow country music singer, Canadian Terri Clark, to support her on the road. – Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAY