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Frank Dukes at Regent Park School Of Music

Meet Frank Dukes – the go-to producer for superstars like Rihanna and Drake

Nick Krewen The Toronto Star July 12, 2019 He’s the go-to guy when you’re a pop music superstar looking for a hit – and he’s from Toronto. Frank Dukes may not be a household name to the general populace, but the 35-year-old songwriter and producer is on the speed dial of everyone who is anyone in pop music these days. Lorde, J. Balvin, Post Malone, Rihanna, Eminem, Travis Scott, Camila…


Chef Kelis

Kelis explains her move from making tunes to making savoury sauces

Nick Krewen Special To The Star Since you really liked her “Milkshake,” Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Kelis is banking that you’ll really like her new line of sauces. Kelis (pronounced Kuh-leese) Rogers has expanded her musical career to embrace a culinary one, as she’ll demonstrate at Harbourfront on July 11 as part of the venue’s Brave: Secret Lives, Second Chances series, where she’ll cook up a few dishes that will…


Ariana Gillis: Hamilton singer-songwriter spent years overcoming a concussion and her new album is a triumphant comeback

On the Buddy Miller-produced The Maze, her first album in six years, Ariana Gillis has finally found her sound. This may not seem like such a big deal, but for a time, there was a question whether the 28-year-old singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario, would ever play any of her riveting, self-described “Canadiana Americana; edgy pop with steel guitars” again due to a debilitating accident she suffered four years ago. “We…


Lisa Loeb Photo: Frances Iacuzzi

Award-winning ‘Stay’ singer keeps on moving

Lisa Loeb a triple threat as children’s musician, author and entrepreneur May 08, 2019   Nick Krewen Special To the Star   Though she’s known for her chart-topping hit “Stay (I Missed You)” and Feel What U Feel, her 2017 Grammy-winning collection of children’s music, “Renaissance woman” may be a more apt description of  singer and songwriter Lisa Loeb. Loeb, who is performing three shows at the Toronto Centre For…


‘Unknown band’ is opening for Cher in Toronto — but their leader is not worried

Nick Krewen Special to the Star April 18, 2019 Nile Rodgers is discovering during the Cher opening slot that Chic’s relative anonymity is working to his advantage. “We’re an unknown band opening for a big star,” he says over the line from New York. “We walk out onstage — most people don’t know who we are — but by the end of the show they go, ‘Jesus Christ, I know…