Emmylou Harris

Remembering the Toronto music exec who helped shape the careers of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen

Artists as diverse as Van Morrison, Thin Lizzy and the Marshall Tucker Band were touched by Mary Martin’s expertise. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star If the only thing Toronto’s Mary Martin had achieved during her extraordinary career was introducing Bob Dylan to the Hawks, it would have been enough to enshrine her place in music history. But Martin, who died July 4 in Nashville at the age of…

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‘I’m proud of the contribution that I’ve made to the Canadian songbook’: Ron Sexsmith on his Massey Hall retrospective

‘Sexsmith at Sixty’: The singer-songwriter has never had a top 40 hit, but he’s earned the admiration of some of the biggest names in the music business. by Nick Krewen Special to the Star Even Ron Sexsmith would admit he’s a bit of an anomaly. On Thursday, as he performs his career retrospective “Sexsmith at Sixty” while headlining Massey Hall for the sixth time, it’s worth noting that the mellifluously…


Why Whitehorse’s new album turns up the twang: the pandemic was so apocalyptic, ‘only country music seemed appropriate’

New release I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying sees Toronto duo exploring a part of their musical tastes that Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland say has always been a part of what they do. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Well, this is an interesting turn. For the newest Whitehorse effort, the Toronto-based husband-wife duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland has switched gears from the hip volcanic mélange of…


Choir Director Johnny Shepherd Brings Gospel-Infused Soul to Daniel Lanois Project Heavy Sun

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star For his new,  brilliant gospel-flavoured soul album Heavy Sun, seven-time Grammy winner Daniel Lanois had to convince a Shepherd to leave his flock. Describing himself as a “now-and-again” guitarist for the Hallelujah Train band at the Shreveport, Louisiana-based Zion Baptist Church run by Brady Blade Sr., the Hull, Québec-born artist and award-winning producer of blockbuster albums by Peter Gabriel, U2 and Robbie Robertson says…


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…