By Kerry Doole
Punk Rock Museum to open in Las Vegas with Canadian punk at the helm
The collection will have over 250 Canadian punk history artifacts, and a Canadian punk legend is at the helm. – Cara Nickerson, CBC News
Amanda Marshall leaves behind two decades of ordinary for a return to making music
Amanda Marshall is getting reacquainted with the spotlight. Two decades have passed since the smoky-voiced singer disappeared from the music scene with little explanation, leaving behind years of soulful Canadian hits including “Let It Rain,” “Believe in You” and “Birmingham. The big question obviously is what happened,” Marshall acknowledges. – David Friend, CP
Veteran concert promoter Rob Bennett earned artists’ trust
For more than 40 years, Mr. Bennett promoted carefully curated concerts in Toronto and up and down the corridor from Windsor to Montreal. He lived a dream, presenting the artists he loved to listen to himself: Bonnie Raitt, Jesse Cook, Harry Chapin, Peter Tosh, Van Morrison, Dire Straits, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, John Prine and many more. –Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail
Dallas Green on hope in the new City and Colour album
‘There was a time where I would have gone in the complete opposite direction,' says the Canadian singer-songwriter. He is back with his seventh solo album, “The Love Still Held Me Near.” – Justin Smirlies, Toronto Star
Maestro Rafael Payare aims to create music that doesn’t just ‘check a box’
The Venezuela-born maestro has officially been music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since September, 2022, but has already embarked on two tours with the orchestra: to Europe last fall, and to the United States recently. – Catherine Kustanczy, Globe and Mail
For Grammy winner Alex Cuba, melodies are the gift of music
It seems appropriate that our conversation with Alex Cuba comes exactly one year and one day after the acclaimed singer-songwriter from Smithers, BC, won his first-ever Grammy Award. That was in the Best Latin Pop Performance category, for the album Mendo. – Kerry Doole, Words & Music
On Our Radar: Experimental alt-pop artist Mauvey keeps the vision alive
Hot on the heels of recent high-profile performances at JUNOFest, SXSW, and Treefort Music Fest, Mauvey is set to release a new mixtape, BEFORE THE ALBUM 2: a brief overview, on April 14 via 604 Records. – Yasmine Shemesh, Georgia Straight
Mark Howard’s new book a travelogue of recording studios
The Hamilton-raised sound engineer/producer’s new book ‘Recording Icons/Creative Spaces,’ is filled with candid photos of the artists and the environments in which they worked, Graham Rockingham writes. – Hamilton Spectator
Chiiild doesn’t care if you think their music is uncool
Yonatan Ayal is happy his electro-soul outfit Chiiild has a catalogue of songs its core audience loves, including new album “Better Luck in the Next Life.” –Ben Rayner, The Star
HPO fetes Franz Schubert everywhere all at once
Schubert’s oeuvre and the highs and lows of his life are the subject of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s Composer Festival which runs from April 1 to 15. – Leonard Turnevicius, The Spectator
Terra Bruce Productions wants to rock the Canadian musical theatre status quo
Founded in Newfoundland and Labrador five years ago, the growing enterprise is “aggressively” – to use chief operating officer (and Great Big Sea co-founder) Bob Hallett’s word – pursuing plans to put itself on the musical-theatre map in this country, many of which will become clear over the next 12 months. – JK Nestruck, The Globe and Mail
Matt Andersen sells out three Halifax concerts this May, adds fourth show
Halifax just can't get enough of Matt Andersen and his band The Big Bottle of Joy—as proved by a trio of instantly sold out shows the band is mounting in the city this May. Andersen just announced he'll be adding a fourth Halifax show on May 3 at The Light House Arts Centre. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
TIFF plans ‘rejuvenation’ of Bell Lightbox headquarters, inside and out
Step outside the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto, and you’re likely to hear the steady, clanging drone of construction. But as annoying as that hum might be, it represents opportunity for the Toronto International Film Festival. – Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
$7-million Queen-Anne-style house boasts space for entertaining: Home of the Week
Generous, light-filled spaces; classic heritage details; large living room and dining room; two separate apartments. Oh, and a dreamy walk-in closet. These are features of the house wned by hit songwriters Amy Sky and Marc Jordan that is now on the market. – Allison Harness, Toronto Star
On opening night of the ‘Rock of Ages’ revival, here’s who came to party
The glam-rock musical runs at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto until May 20. – George Pimentel, Toronto Star
International
BMG annual revenues jumped 30.6% to over $900M in 2022, as it spent $400M on catalog acquisitions
BMG‘s annual revenues hit EUR €866 million (USD $911m) in 2022 – climbing by €203 million, or 30.6%, year-on-year. Results showed that BMG’s annual operating EBITDA rose by over €50 million (+35.4%) YoY in 2022 to reach €195 million ($205m). – Tim Ingham, MBW
Believe blasts into publishing, buying $51M-valued Sentric
Believe has acquired UK-born music publishing platform Sentric. Paris-based Believe says that its acquisition of Sentric acts as “a first step for Believe in rolling out a global and comprehensive publishing business”. – Murray Stassen, MBW
5 best indie rock albums of 2023 so far
The column Modern Rock In Motion went through the many indie rock artist releases this year and picked albums by The Church, Eyelids, Lucero, Ivan Julian and Robert Forster as the best (so far). Read the reviews and sample the music! –Peter Lindblad, Goldmine
SXSW 2023: How immersive experiences ruled at the Austin fest
Brands like TikTok, Roku, HBO Max, and more flexed their experiential muscles at Austin’s massive 10-day festival. Check out the 20 activations that caught our eye. – Shannon Thaler, BizBash
Spinning Gold profiles a complicated and legendary music biz mogul
In a music industry full of larger-than-life characters, Casablanca Records’ late Neil Bogart stood out. He was a successful record industry executive, and a colourful character whose career spanned several key decades in 20th century pop music. – Karen Gordon, Original-Cin
Review: boygenius is cohesive and powerful in 'The Record'
The supergroup, consisting of best friends Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, formed and released their critically well-received self-titled EP in 2018. – Nardos Haile, AP
Lily Allen recorded new music after joining Olivia Rodrigo onstage at Glastonbury
“It sparked something in me.” – Ali Shutler, NME
The lingering beauty of Elliott Smith
Twenty years after his death, the singer-songwriter still isn’t particularly well known, or well understood, but he is terribly loved. – The New Yorker
