Story by Nick Krewen | March 16, 2017 Decades before Jenson Vaughan became known as a hit maker for Madonna, Britney Spears and currently, High Valley, the Dartmouth, NS, native was in the dark about the artistry it took to write a song. So he plucked one out of the air. “I formed a little a capella group,” says Vaughan, recalling his high-school years. “And because of my jazz background,…
Long-running roots supergroup gets royal reward of guest stars, on new album and at Massey Hall on Saturday. Nick Krewen Music, Thu. Feb 23, 2017 Those Nashville connections continue to pay sweet dividends for Toronto-born Colin Linden and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, who kick off a 14-date cross-Canada tour at Massey Hall Saturday. Linden, 56, who also resides in the town that the country-music business TV soap opera is…
New venues help bring Grammy winners — and many others — to Southern Ontarians’ backyards. Just don’t get them started about Donald Trump. Nick Krewen Music, Tues., Jan 31, 2017 Suburbanites: now you don’t necessarily have to go to Toronto to see the big shows — more than ever, they’re coming to you. This week, for example, four-time Grammy winners Los Lobos perform at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre on…
HIGH VALLEY’S BRAD REMPEL CO-WRITES SONGS AT THE BEACH Story by Nick Krewen | January 4, 2017 For SOCAN Words and Music. Isolation has its advantages. Growing up in the tiny northern Mennonite hamlet of La Crete, Alberta, about 250 km south of the Northwest Territories border, Brad and Curtis Rempel were cut off from the type of media exposure the rest of us take for granted. For example,…
Story by Nick Krewen | November 15, 2016 For SOCAN Words and Music. Guardian angels sometimes arrive in unusual forms. For Calgary singer-and-songwriter JJ Shiplett, after 12 years of constant slogging on the club circuit, his cherub arrived unexpectedly in the guise of Johnny Reid, the multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter who has the ability to pack arenas across Canada. After hearing Shiplett sing harmony on some Joni Delaurier songs, Reid called…
