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…

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Bob Dylan, Business, Canada, Country, Country Music Hall Of Fame, Emmylou Harris, Gordon Lightfoot, In Memoriam, JUNO, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Leonard Cohen, Los Angeles, Music Industry (Trade), Music Publishing, Nashville, New York, Producer, Record Labels, Robbie Robertson, The Band, Toronto, United States July 10, 2024

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…

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…

Arranger, Bob Dylan, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Composer, Emmylou Harris, Engineer, Grammy, Hamilton, JUNO, Los Angeles, Neil Young, Producer, Québec, Robbie Robertson, Songwriter, Soul, The Band, The Tragically Hip, Toronto, United States, Willie Nelson March 16, 2021

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…

Adult Contemporary, Blues, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Composer, Fusion, Grammy, Jazz, JUNO, New York, Pop, Rock, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Songwriter, The Band, Toronto, United States, Voice April 8, 2020

On new album, David Clayton-Thomas says something

Nick Krewen Special to the Star At 78, Blood, Sweat & Tears’ most recognizable voice – Toronto resident David Clayton-Thomas – is still fighting for justice on his acclaimed new solo album, Say Somethin’. “Burwash,” the opening salvo of the two-time Grammy winner and Canadian Music Hall Of Fame member’s latest effort, describes his lengthy incarceration at Burwash Correctional Centre in Killarney, Ontario when he was 16 for what he…