Leonard Cohen

Before she went to New York and became famous, Joni Mitchell played the Half Beat in Yorkville

     Nick Krewen Special to the Star John McHugh remembers the time he accidentally became Joni Mitchell’s matchmaker. McHugh, who owned the Yorkville-era clubs The Penny Farthing and The Half Beat back in the ‘60s, recalls meeting “Joanna Anderson” when she came around to one of his venues around 1963-64. “It was at the Penny Farthing that (singer) Cathy Young brought this young lady in with her,” McHugh recalled recently…


Adam Cohen mans up with new album

Entertainment / Music Leonard’s lad, at age 39, reckons he has finally done right by his legacy. Adam Cohen, son of Leonard, says he has been arrogant and naive. Nick Krewen  Special to the Star,  Published on Fri Jan 06 2012 Adam Cohen is a humbled man. At 39, with three underperforming albums behind him, the Montreal-born son of poet and songwriting icon Leonard Cohen has finally come to terms with his…


Pop Progeny Enter Parents’ Spotlight

  Nick Krewen The Toronto Star January 14, 1998   Forget The Prodigy: the next big thing in music might very well be the progeny. As 1998 groans forward, there seems to be an unprecedented number of celebrated musical offspring preparing to cut the umbilical cord of their famous parents and springboard into their own careers. The kickoff unofficially begins this week on a few fronts. Martha Wainwright, the Montreal-based…


The Book Of Secrets Revealed

PUBLISHED IN CANADIAN MUSICIAN     Nick Krewen   When it comes to exploring her Celtic ancestry, Loreena McKennitt leaves no stone unturned. She’s trekked to the far corners of the Earth following her muse, this one-woman dynamo on a mission of cultural renaissance. Her travels have taken her to London, Ireland, Athens, Istanbul, Sicily and even a ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway to inspire her latest masterpiece, The Book…