Education

Arranger, Bass, Beach Boys, Beatles, California, Composer, Education, Experimental, Grammy, In Memoriam, Piano, Pop, Producer, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Ron Sexsmith, Songwriter, United States, Voice June 12, 2025

Brian Wilson’s genius remembered by Steven Page, Ron Sexsmith and other Canadian musicians: ‘It’s like living in the time of Mozart or Beethoven’

Moe Berg, of the Pursuit of Happiness, and Burton Cummings, of the Guess Who, also weigh in on the late musician. June 12, 2025 By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Back in 2000, singer and songwriter Steven Page couldn’t believe his eyes … or his ears. He was sitting around in an L.A. studio with the rest of his Barenaked Ladies bandmates as they worked on their album Maroon, when their producer Don…

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Americana, Americana, Arranger, Canada, Composer, Education, Events, Folk, Hamilton, JUNO, Songwriter, Toronto January 30, 2025

This acclaimed Toronto singer says she’s getting a raw deal from the Junos

A technicality that prevented Lori Yates from submitting her album Matador for consideration exposes the conflict between what an indie artist needs and an industry behemoth requires. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star In a move that illustrates the conflict between what a musician feels may be best for her career and standard music-industry practices, a veteran Toronto recording artist’s album has been denied entry for Juno Award consideration…

Beatles, Business, Canada, Collectibles, Education, Events, Music Industry (Trade), Toronto, United Kingdom September 22, 2024

He unearthed a recording of a legendary 1965 Beatles concert from Maple Leaf Gardens. Here’s why it might be worth a fortune

Toronto Beatles expert and author Piers Hemmingsen recently determined the reel-to-reel tape was higher quality than he initially believed. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star There may be no happier man on the planet right now than Piers Hemmingsen. In a story that broke a few weeks ago in Billboard magazine, the Toronto-based Beatles expert announced that he had a reel-to-reel recording of the Fab Four’s entire afternoon Maple…

Australia, Children's Music, Education, Television October 7, 2023

The Wiggles got flak for going ‘woke’ — but they say it was time to wake up

‘Your audience isn’t all white with blue eyes’: The Wiggles, popular Australian entertainers, doubled their lineup in an effort to better reflect the diversity of their fans. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Now there are even more Wiggles to embrace. Until their 30th anniversary in 2021, there were four members of the Australian children’s entertainment phenomenon under the leadership of Wiggles founder Anthony Field. But now the group has doubled…

Arranger, Bass, Big Band, Composer, Education, Grammy, Herbie Hancock, Jazz, JUNO, Newfoundland, Piano, Producer, Voice February 13, 2023

Christian McBride and Joe Sealy double bill mixes Black history with the music.

McBride’s The Movement Revisited and Sealy’s Africville Stories about destroyed Black Canadian community will be part of Meridian Hall double bill. By Nick Krewen  Special to the Star Four powerfully influential U.S. figures and one Canadian tragedy. That’s what’s in store for appreciators of Black History Month when a potent jazz double bill of Christian McBride and Joe Sealy takes to the Meridian Hall Stage on February 17.  For the…