If this was Elton John’s Toronto swan song in terms of concert appearances — he plans to retire from touring live next year — then it was a doozy. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star If this was Sir Elton John‘s Toronto swansong in terms of concert appearances, then it was a doozy. Performing in front of a crowd of 45,000 fans for the second night in a row…
By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Sometimes fate intervenes in mysterious ways. For example, take Blue Rodeo: the creation of the Toronto collective’s new album Many A Mile, released Friday, was as much a surprise to the band’s co-founding songwriters Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor as anyone. Even though it’s been five years since their last studio effort, 1000 Arms, it seemed it would be another little while before…
By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Sometimes no plans are the best plans. According to British pop superstar Sir Elton John, his star-studded, upcoming 32nd studio album, The Lockdown Sessions, out October 22, wouldn’t have happened without an invitation from Charlie Puth, the L.A.-based singer and songwriter of the hits “Marvin Gaye,” “Attention” and “How Long,” to write in his studio. “I had no plans to make any music at all,…
Nick Krewen Special to the Star She may be from Texas, but don’t be surprised if country singer and songwriter Mickey Guyton ends up hanging a flag bearing the Maple Leaf outside her house: Canadians have been a paramount factor in her ground-breaking success. “I looooovvvve Canadians – yes I do!” gushes Guyton, whose racially insightful anthem “Black Like Me” earned her pioneering stature as the first Black female to receive…
Nick Krewen Special to the Star You may know him as the artistic director of the currently paused Beaches International Jazz Festival or hear him on one of the three radio programs he either hosts or co-hosts in the city. But did you know that Toronto’s Bill King, a three-time Juno Award nominee, also served as music director for blues-rock singer Janis Joplin, the stylistically versatile Linda Ronstadt, The Pointer…
