Rock ‘N Roll Hall Of Fame

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…


Chuck Berry was the true king of rock ‘n’ roll

Berry’s songwriting, guitar playing and legendary dance moves inspired scores of celebrated musicians and music lovers alike. Nick Krewen Music, Sun., March 19, 2017 The true king of rock ’n’ roll has died. Post 1955, you can list any number of stratospheric acts that followed Chuck Berry — Elvis . . . the Beatles . . . the Rolling Stones . . . the Beach Boys — and as much…


Minor missteps don’t mar Brian Wilson’s staying power

Overall, the nostalgic, shimmering harmonies were adequately preserved, and sometimes exemplary, at Massey Hall concert. Nick Krewen  Tues., July 5, 2016 Brian Wilson   At Massey Hall, Monday, July 4 There were some good, and not so good, vibrations at Brian Wilson’s Massey Hall performance. Anchored around the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds, the 1966 Beach Boys album that raised the bar for pop music with its stylistic intricacy, the…


Septuagenarian David Gilmour wows ACC with his guitar magic

Crowd treated to earful and an eyeful of past and present as Pink Floyd’s wizard of the six-string picked and sculpted his icon songs and applied fancy fretwork into his latest album. Nick Krewen Music, Fri., April 1, 2016 It was a guitarist’s dream. It’s one thing to hear David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s wizard of the six-string, perform soaring solos, but another to see him work his magic up close….


Paul McCartney delivers marathon concert at the Air Canada Centre

Paul McCartney delivers marathon concert at the Air Canada Centre At 73 years old, the Beatles co-founder delivered a set that would leave younger musicians reaching for their water bottles. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Sun Oct 18 2015   Paul McCartney, 73, churned out an impressive 41 songs during a three-hour marathon at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night, with nary a water bottle in sight. To put…