Artist Spotlight

Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye, Business, Canada, Events, Hamilton, Music Industry (Trade), Professional Adjustment, Toronto, Tourism, Travel, United States December 12, 2025

Paul McCartney tickets for $5,000? Insiders reveal why going to a concert costs so much

Artists’ business managers say that after the pandemic touring became a lot more expensive.  For Paul McCartney’s recent performance at Hamilton’s TD Coliseum, it wasn’t unusual seeing tickets go for $5000. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star It’s no secret that concert ticket prices have reached unprecedented heights, bolstered in part by the secondary resale market, dynamic pricing and ticketing fees that rise accordingly with each transaction. In fact,…

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Americana, Arranger, Artist Spotlight, California, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Composer, Country, Country Rock, Events, Farm Aid, Folk, Garage Rock, Grammy, Grunge, Guitar, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, JUNO, Kathleen Edwards, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Piano, Pop, Producer, Psychedelic, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Songwriter, Toronto, United States, Voice, Willie Nelson November 9, 2025

Neil Young is about to turn 80 — and these Canadian musicians are throwing him a party at Massey Hall

“NY80: A Celebration of Neil Young and His Music,” hosted by CBC’s Tom Power, will take place Nov. 12.  Nov. 9, 2025 By Nick Krewen Special to the Star On the cusp of 80, few performers have remained as relevant as Toronto’s own Neil Young. He’s been steadily rockin’ in the free world since forming The Squires in Winnipeg in 1965 — and in a career that has seen him thrive…

Arranger, Bass, Beach Boys, Beatles, California, Composer, Education, Experimental, Grammy, In Memoriam, Piano, Pop, Producer, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Ron Sexsmith, Songwriter, United States, Voice June 12, 2025

Brian Wilson’s genius remembered by Steven Page, Ron Sexsmith and other Canadian musicians: ‘It’s like living in the time of Mozart or Beethoven’

Moe Berg, of the Pursuit of Happiness, and Burton Cummings, of the Guess Who, also weigh in on the late musician. June 12, 2025 By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Back in 2000, singer and songwriter Steven Page couldn’t believe his eyes … or his ears. He was sitting around in an L.A. studio with the rest of his Barenaked Ladies bandmates as they worked on their album Maroon, when their producer Don…

Americana, Arranger, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Bob Dylan, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Grammy, In Memoriam, JUNO, Producer, Robbie Robertson, Rock, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Songwriter, Stratford, Toronto, United States January 23, 2025

Music insiders on the extraordinary legacy of Garth Hudson and the Band: ‘It was unlike any other music I’d ever heard’

Colin Linden, Rob Fraboni and John Simon, all of whom worked with the Band, offer remembrances. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star In 1968, when Colin Linden was eight years old, he heard a song on the radio that boggled his young mind. He was at Alexander’s department store in White Plains, N.Y., when rock radio station WNEW-FM played “The Weight” by a Canadian-American band simply called The Band….

Accordion, Americana, Arranger, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Bob Dylan, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Engineer, Grammy, In Memoriam, JUNO, Piano, Robbie Robertson, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Saxophone, Stratford, The Band, Toronto January 21, 2025

Garth Hudson, founding member of the Band, dead at 87: ‘He was always all about the music’

The Windsor-born multi-instrumentalist was part of the Canadian contingent of the famous band. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star The last living charter member of The Band has died. Keyboardist, saxophonist and occasional trumpeter Garth Hudson, perhaps best known for his powerful, blasting Lowrey organ intro for the classic Band song “Chest Fever,” passed away peacefully in his sleep after a lengthy illness Tuesday morning at a nursing home…