Award Winners

Blues, Canada, JUNO, Pop, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Songwriter, Toronto, Voice July 20, 2023

After 23 years out of the spotlight, a Canadian superstar returns with a new album: “Nobody was waiting for the record.”

Amanda Marshall is back with Heavy Lifting, her first album in two decades. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Music comeback story of the year? Well, that would belong to one Amanda Marshall,  the Toronto-born vocal powerhouse that is finally emerging from the mists of time following a 22-and-a-half-year hiatus between albums: Heavy Lifting, a 12-song opus featuring 11 Marshall originals and a cover of Floetry‘s “I Hope She Cheats”…

Adult Contemporary, Arranger, Bryan Adams, Business, Composer, Grammy, John Hiatt, Los Angeles, Mariachi, Music Industry (Trade), Music Publishing, Pop, Producer, Record Labels, Trumpet, United States May 10, 2023

Herb Alpert brings 60 years of hit-making to Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre

 By Nick Krewen Special To The Star You may remember him for his No. 1 smashes “This Guy’s In Love With You” and “Rise” – and for his signature “happy” trumpet sound fronting The Tijuana Brass –  but Herb Alpert has worked his way into your musical DNA probably more than you realize. Yes, there were the familiar ’60s instrumental hits like “The Lonely Bull,” “A Taste of Honey,” “Spanish Flea”…

Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Engineer, Grammy, Honolulu, JUNO, k.d. lang, Metallica, Producer, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Ron Sexsmith, Songwriter, The Tragically Hip, Toronto, United States, Vancouver, Voice, Willie Nelson May 5, 2023

‘He was a great man’: Bob Rock on Gord Downie and Lustre Parfait: their happy accident album.

Love of family and hockey bonded the late Tragically Hip frontman and the Payola$ co-founder and producer. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star So, it turns out that Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie had at least one more album in him. But there’s a difference between Lustre Parfait, the brilliant work he recorded with Payola$ co-founder and über-producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Michael Bublé, Mötley Crüe) that’s out Friday and…

Garage Rock, Grammy, Grunge, Guitar, Guns N' Roses, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, Los Angeles, Metallica, Rock, Songwriter, United States April 13, 2023

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett loves Toronto – but he won’t be playing here anytime soon

Hammett and his metal band mates are limiting their time on the road but not the music itself. New album 72 Seasons is out Friday. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Metallica fans, there is some good news and some bad news. First, the positive stuff: to support 72 Seasons, the San Francisco heavy rock band’s 11th studio album and first since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, the tandem of singer…

Business, Canada, JUNO, Music Industry (Trade) March 10, 2023

TikTok and the Junos: how app supports for artists like Dax turns into award nominations

Popularity of TikTok and other social media platforms means artists can bypass more traditional mediums of music discovery. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Initially, Canadian rapper and singer/songwriter Daniel Nwosu Jr. – known in the music world as Dax – wasn’t thrilled about the app known as TikTok. The 28-year-old native of St. John’s and Labrador, Newfoundland, nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year on Monday’s Juno Awards…