Business

Frank Dukes at Regent Park School Of Music

Meet Frank Dukes – the go-to producer for superstars like Rihanna and Drake

Nick Krewen The Toronto Star July 12, 2019 He’s the go-to guy when you’re a pop music superstar looking for a hit – and he’s from Toronto. Frank Dukes may not be a household name to the general populace, but the 35-year-old songwriter and producer is on the speed dial of everyone who is anyone in pop music these days. Lorde, J. Balvin, Post Malone, Rihanna, Eminem, Travis Scott, Camila…


Chef Kelis

Kelis explains her move from making tunes to making savoury sauces

Nick Krewen Special To The Star Since you really liked her “Milkshake,” Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Kelis is banking that you’ll really like her new line of sauces. Kelis (pronounced Kuh-leese) Rogers has expanded her musical career to embrace a culinary one, as she’ll demonstrate at Harbourfront on July 11 as part of the venue’s Brave: Secret Lives, Second Chances series, where she’ll cook up a few dishes that will…


PledgeMusic troubles hit Canadian musicians like Dayna Manning and Amanda Rheaume

Nick Krewen Special to the Star Thursday, March 28, 2019 After singing the PledgeMusic blues, independent recording artist Dayna Manning is breathing a sigh of relief. Like too many other artists — L7, Fastball and Jesus Jones, to name a few — Manning is owed money donated by fans via the nine-year-old U.K. crowdfunding platform, which has all but suspended operations due to financial woes. Delayed payments dating back to…


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…


Massey Hall’s Massive Revitalization

Story by Nick Krewen | December 13, 2017 The Grand Old Lady is not only getting a facelift, but a makeover. Massey Hall, originally built in 1894 by Canadian industrialist and philanthropist Hart Massey at a cost of $152,000, is in the midst of a $139 million revitalization that will see the iconic, downtown-Toronto, 2,765-seat music venue shutter for a little over two years, starting July 30, 2018. When it…