By Kerry Doole
St. John’s was a ‘safe’ spot for Tina Turner, and Newfoundlanders remember her fondly
Tina Turner is being remembered in Newfoundland and Labrador for her kindness, her connection with the province, and for the series of unforgettable shows she played in St. John’s to kick off the North American tour for her biggest album. – Sarah Smellie, CP
Jully Black, Bret Hart among Canada’s Walk of Fame inductees getting their stars
Keanu Reeves, Jully Black, Bret Hart, actor Graham Greene, Ajay Virmani, Bruce Cockburn, Damian Warner, and Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire. are now immortalized on Canada’s Walk of Fame. Posthumous Walk of Fame stars are awarded to Salome Bey, media mogul Allan Slaight and members of the team that discovered insulin a century ago. – CP
Arkells bringing ‘cosy’ campfire show to Norfolk County this summer
Hamilton rockers hosting singalong under the stars for 2,500 fans at lakeside winery. – J.P. Antonacci, Hamilton Spectator
Celine Dion cancels Courage world tour dates citing medical condition
Celine Dion apologized to fans as she cancelled the remaining dates of her world tour last Friday, citing ongoing health woes that her team said “prevent her from performing.” – CP
Celine Dion cancels upcoming shows and ‘will likely never tour again,’ source says
Celine Dion announced the cancellation of her “Courage World Tour” dates through 2024 and “will likely never tour again,” a source close to Dion told CNN Friday.” “She is in a lot of pain,” the individual said. “She does daily physical therapy.” – Lisa Respers France and Chloe Melas, CNN
Hayden’s first solo album since 2015, ‘Are We Good,’ was worth the wait
Packed with several gems of emotional nuance and sly wit and humour, the album doesn’t stray too far from the low-fi, grassroots charm that Hayden first established. – Nick Krewen, The Star
Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard humbled by band’s legacy
of indie rock’s most influential projects, Death Cab for Cutie will play back-to-back shows at Toronto’s Massey Hall, on June 2 and 3. We spoke with Gibbard about the band’s 25-year legacy and his thoughts on looking back. – Conor Rooney, The Globe and Mail
Duncan Hopkins’ latest album pays tribute to two unsung Canadian jazz heroes
“Who Are You? The Music of Kenny Wheeler” is about the late, Toronto-born trumpeter but also Warren Stirtzinger, the St. Catharines guitarist who introduced them. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star
Performers pick the must-see concerts at this year’s Scotia Festival of Music
The world-class Scotia Festival of Music, an annual event since 1980, takes place in Halifax at the Dalhousie Arts Centre from May 28 to June 11. 13 concerts feature everything from chamber masterpieces to whimsical poetry, young local orchestral musicians to star international soloists, along with a showstopper involving eight pianists on twopianos. Here some of the musicians pick the performances that excite them the most. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Why Owen Pallett doesn't recommend becoming a professional musician
In a Q interview, Pallett talks about reissuing two of their early records as Final Fantasy. – CBC Arts
Dilly Dally says goodbye to fans with two last shows: ‘ I’m really just grateful,’ says singer Enda Monks
The band’s breakup is amicable. And the Lee’s Palace gigs “are going to my favourite shows I ever play,” says guitarist Liz Ball. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
Hamilton’s legendary Grant Avenue Studio sold to big player in film sector
A look at this amazing gem in the city’s cultural history, Jeff Mahoney writes. – Hamilton Spectator
This local DJ collective wants to make Toronto a rave city
Sandwich District is an electronic DJ collective building its reputation from the ground up and their goal is to host exceptional techno raves in Toronto. The DJs are local talents, mostly in their twenties, who've known each other for years. They started the collective out of the sheer joy of making music together and they want to spread that energy. – BlogTO
Pink Floyd showcases its ‘Dark Side’ as immersive exhibit rolls into Toronto
An immersive journey through the mind-bending history of Pink Floyd is headed to Toronto this summer. Organizers say after a successful run in several global cities, “The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains” will land at Exhibition Place’s Better Living Centre on June 16 with an open-ended run through the season. – David Friend, CP
Every big show coming to Halifax in 2023
An ever-updated list of concerts, comedy shows, live performance, theatre and more. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
What's In Your Fridge: Kenzie Cates
What’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s in their fridge. Here's Kenzie Cates an artist, songwriter and cult survivor. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
International
NME Networks, a division of BandLab Technologies’ parent company Caldecott Music Group, has sold long-running UK-based music media brand Uncut to Kelsey Media. The deal includes the brand’s print publications, plus its social and digital assets. The companies say that “there will be no interruption to Uncut’s publishing schedule”. – Murray Stassen, MBW
Queen set to sell music catalog for $1.1 Billion
Queen, coming up on the 50th anniversary of their debut, is in talks to sell their catalog of music for an estimated $1.1B as reported by American Songwriter. Several music companies, including Universal Music Group (UMG) and Disney Music Group (DMG), which already owns the band’s catalog in North America, are both in the running for the acquisition, reports suggest. – Celebrity Access
After two ‘catastrophic’ years for Broadway, have the Tonys become too big to fail?
Though it ultimately secured a compromise that will allow the ceremony to proceed despite the ongoing writers’ strike, the Tony Award Management Committee’s position exposed just how dependent the American theater industry has become on the annual celebration. – Ashley Lee, LA Times
Rod Stewart calls off potential Hipgnosis sale: ‘This was not the right company’
Stewart and Hipgnosis had been in negotiation for a catalog deal for the last two years, according to a representative for the singer. – Kristin Robinson, Billboard
The shifting look of pop stars
As Lily-Rose Depp steps into the role on The Idol, we look at the history of the pop icon and what it reveals about our cultural desires. – Anna Zanes, Ssense
Sam Smith cancels shows due to vocal cord injury and offers refunds
Sam Smith has cancelled upcoming concerts in Birmingham and Glasgow on doctors' advice, after having to stop last week's Manchester gig just four songs in due to "a vocal cord injury". A spokesperson for the "heartbroken" star, 31, said on Instagram that medics recommended a "complete vocal rest". – Paul Glynn
Nick Cave speaks out against boycotting songs because of creators’ actions
Australian musician told Hay festival we should not ‘eradicate the best of these people in order to punish the worst of them’. – Lucy Knight, The Guardian
Country singer Tyler Hubbard’s growth expands beyond Florida Georgia Line
Singer-songwriter Hubbard was fully prepared to hang up his boots so to speak when his duo partner in Florida Georgia Line, Brian Kelley, said he wanted to go solo. The pair had been together more than a decade, and whether you were a fan of their bro country sound or not, their music set the tone for a generation of country fans. – Kristin Hall, AP
Arlo Parks returns with ‘My Soft Machine,’ an uplifting new album filled with colour and light
Start your weekend with a curated playlist of new music, with fresh cuts from Rich Aucoin, Symphony Orchestra, Lovejoy, plus a track from Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” gets a remix featuring Kendrick Lamar. – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
The tragedy and beauty of Nick Drake, by those closest to him
From a youthful hook-up with the Rolling Stones to crafting his bleakly brilliant final album, three extracts from an exhaustive new biography offer the most nuanced portrait to date of the 70s singer-songwriter. – Richard Morton Jack, The Guardian
The secret sound of Stax
The rediscovery of demos performed by the songwriters of the legendary Memphis recording studio reveals a hidden history of soul. – New Yorker
Rapper Lil Durk lost numerous friends and loved ones to violence. He turned to therapy
Durk’s new album, “Almost Healed,” features guests J. Cole and Morgan Wallen and unusually frank talk of seeking professional help. – LA Times
