Award Winners

Simple Plan shallow next to Marianas Trench

Entertainment / Music Previous act on Air Canada Centre bill shows headliner how it’s done.   Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Mon Feb 20 2012 The boys of Simple Plan certainly had their work cut out for them.   Headlining a four-band bill, the five-piece Montreal punk-pop band faced the unenviable task of closing for Vancouver’s Marianas Trench, who had just finished mopping up the Air Canada Centre general…


Marianas Trench grows ever broader

Entertainment / Music Vancouver band opening for Simple Plan has a nonstop creative engine in Josh Ramsay.   Marianas Trench: Josh Ramsay, right, keeps busy. Nick Krewen  Special to the Star Published on Fri Feb 17 2012 Look up the word “ambitious” in the dictionary, and you might just see Josh Ramsay’s picture staring up at you. There seems to be no shortage of drive in the young Vancouverite, whether it concerns…


Kathleen Edwards’ new sound shines at the Phoenix

Entertainment / Music Without ex-husband and ex-bandmate, rising star fills void with passionate performance.     Nick Krewen  Special to the Star Published on Sun Feb 12 2012 Heartbreak can be an inspiring catalyst. Since 2008’s Asking For Flowers, singer and songwriter Kathleen Edwards endured a divorce that not only provided fodder for her recently released Voyageur, but also placed her in a bit of a quandary. Whether on record or on stage, there…


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…


Trails and Trials

Story by Nick Krewen | December 26, 2011 He’s known for his amazing country ballad “Trail In Life,” but British Columbia’s Dean Brody truly knows what it means to have trials in life. In the past three years alone, the 36-year-old singer and songwriter – a recent hat trick winner at the 2011 Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards for Album (Trail In Life), and for Single and Songwriter of…