JUNO

Cape Breton’s Fertile Music Scene

Story by Nick Krewen | September 17, 2018 For SOCAN Words & Music On Cape Breton Island, the music flows like water. Despite its relatively modest population, at 132,000 residents, this Northeastern tip of Nova Scotia, spread over 10,311 square km, has launched a number of tuneful tributaries surnamed MacMaster, Rankin and Sampson: artists that have impacted lands and listeners far beyond its borders. The Island’s musicians are largely known…


On the second floor of a Shoppers Drug Mart, there’s a shrine to Yonge Street’s musical history

July 4, 2018 Nick Krewen Special to The Star It’s not often that you have the opportunity to shop for acne ointments and body lotion before stepping into a museum that spotlights a bygone era of Toronto’s fabled musical history. But there The Friar’s Music Museum sits – on the second floor of Shoppers Drug Mart’s brand-new Yonge and Dundas location opposite the Eaton Centre – offering a time capsule…


KILLY: Capturing The Energy of the Moment

Story by Nick Krewen | May 2, 2018 For SOCAN Words & Music… KILLY season has arrived. Five years after his first club performance, Scarborough’s Khalil Tatem – a.k.a. KILLY – is killin’ it for real: joints like 2017’s “Killamonjaro” and “No Romance” are racking up streams and views well into the eight figures. Now, with his 11-track independent album Surrender Your Soul, and a summer world tour that will…


Country-music stalwart Brett Kissel says he’s done looking for U.S. breakthrough

Canadian hitmaker says his new album is utterly true to himself — but he’s sure it will put him on ‘big stages, big festivals and arenas’ somewhere. Nick Krewen, Music Sun., Dec. 17, 2017   There aren’t too many artists who can boast of an appearance by heavy metal guitarist Dave Mustaine and country music legend Charley Pride on the same album. In fact, Flat Lake, Alta.’s country music sensation…


Local reggae king Exco Levi busy uplifting and uniting

Multiple Juno-winning performer, with local shows over the weekend, is working hard to raise commercial profile of a genre that ‘plays in every continent.’ Nick Krewen, Music,  Sat., August 5, 2017 You’d think with five Juno Awards to his credit, Exco Levi would be a household name by now. After all, the 36-year-old Manchester, Jamaica native — who now calls Brampton home — has dominated the Juno Reggae Recording of…