Blackie & The Rodeo Kings

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….

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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…

Bass, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Cinema, Composer, Drums, Festivals, Garage Rock, Guitar, Indie, Producer, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Songwriter, The Tragically Hip, Toronto, Voice September 5, 2024

Revisiting his brother’s death for a Tragically Hip docuseries was the hardest but also most fulfilling thing Mike Downie has ever done

“It wasn’t uncommon for me to have a good cry,” says Mike Downie about making a documentary about brother Gord Downie and his band. The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal debuts at TIFF on Sept. 5. by Nick Krewen Special to the Star Mike Downie’s labour of love was also his toughest assignment. As the director and producer of the superb four-hour-plus documentary The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal that…

Americana, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Canada, Composer, Country, Guitar, Hamilton, Joni Mitchell, k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, Producer, Songwriter, Toronto, United States February 4, 2024

Toronto’s legendary Matador club is gone, but Lori Yates hasn’t forgotten

The veteran singer writes about the place that played host to Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen on her new album Matador. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Who remembers the Matador? Lori Yates does — and she’s put it to song. The legendary after-hours country music watering hole at 466 Dovercourt Rd. is long gone — only the marquee remains — but Toronto singer-songwriter Yates has rekindled some…

Americana, Arranger, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Bob Dylan, Canada, Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Composer, Country, Folk, Guitar, JUNO, Music Industry (Trade), Neil Young, New York, Producer, Record Labels, Robbie Robertson, Songwriter, Television, The Band, Toronto, Video, Voice, Willie Nelson November 4, 2023

‘I just thought it was time’ — Sylvia Tyson on ‘At the End of the Day,’ her (maybe) final album

If anyone thinks Sylvia Tyson at 83 is any less authoritative an artist, hearing “At the End of the Day” will quickly quell that notion. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Her singing voice is a little more weathered, but no less formidable; her lyrics are incisively sharp. If anyone thinks the legendary Sylvia Tyson at 83 is any less authoritative an artist, hearing her newly released 12-song album At…