British Columbia

Oh Susanna beats cancer to sing other people’s songs

Oh Susanna’s Suzie Ungerleider had to delay her Namedropper album — with contributions from Ron Sexsmith, Joel Plaskett, Melissa McClelland and others — for treatment, but she finally debuts it in concert on Saturday. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Thu Oct 23 2014 When Oh Susanna performs Saturday night at the Great Hall, Suzie Ungerleider will be celebrating not only a sparkling new album called Namedropper, but successful treatment for…


Nashville Expands

Story by Nick Krewen | March 21, 2014 For SOCAN Words And Music.   Name any gigantic country hit of the last two decades or so and there’s a better-than-average chance that it was generated from Nashville, Tennessee. Sure, Texas factors into the mix, and maybe there’s a touch of Bakersfield in there, too. But for the most part it’s a 30-block-or-so chunk Southwest of downtown Nashville, nicknamed Music Row,…


Nelly Furtado: concert review

Nelly Furtado is learning just how fickle fame can be. She’s as talented as ever but isn’t pulling in the mega-crowds of yesteryear.   Canadian Grammy-winning singer Nelly Furtado performs at the Sony Centre for Perfoming Arts on Thursday. By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Thu Jan 24 2013     Woe, Nelly. If anyone has been learning a bitter lesson about just how fickle a mistress…


Mother Mother takes a trip to dark side – and to Kool Haus

B.C. band comes up with the accidental concept album, a testimonial to an outcast. By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Fri Nov 30 2012 Well, Mother Mother certainly didn’t waste any time. A mere 18 months after the quirky Vancouver alt rock band issued its third album Eureka and relentlessly toured North America to support it, leader Ryan Guldemond led his troops back into the studio and…


Xavier Rudd savours that healing energy

Aussie multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd plays the Phoenix on Nov. 28. By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Fri Nov 23 2012 Environmentally topical singer and songwriter Xavier Rudd has been entertaining global audiences for over a decade with his one-man set-up, an intriguing skeletal hybrid of guitar, pedals, percussion and didgeridoos, the guttural-sounding instrument of aboriginal origin native to Australia. But about 18 months ago, his life —…