Rock

Arranger, Bass, Composer, Concert reviews, Events, Grammy, Guitar, New Wave, Pop, Reggae, Rock, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Songwriter, United Kingdom, Voice September 21, 2024

‘Surprise is the essence of music’: Sting still has a few tricks up his sleeve in five-show Toronto stint

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star One amazing evening down … four to go. Rock superstar Sting returned to the familiar and intimate surroundings of Massey Hall Friday night for the first of five concerts in six nights at Toronto’s Grand Old Lady, which — if not unprecedented for the venue — certainly is rare. With his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and recently recruited Mumford & Sons touring drummer…

Beatles, Bob Dylan, Concert reviews, Events, Pop, Rock, Tom Petty, United Kingdom September 10, 2024

Jeff Lynne’s ELO bring their rousing jukebox to Toronto for their final tour

he band played the hits from their 50-plus-year career at the Scotiabank Arena. by Nick Krewen Special to the Star Jeff Lynne’s ELO 3.5 stars (out of 4) Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 As the co-founder and creative driving force of the Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne has regaled audiences with a musical evolution over 50-plus years that has been nothing short of astonishing, moving from symphonic and…

Bass, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Cinema, Composer, Drums, Festivals, Garage Rock, Guitar, Indie, Producer, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Songwriter, The Tragically Hip, Toronto, Voice September 5, 2024

Revisiting his brother’s death for a Tragically Hip docuseries was the hardest but also most fulfilling thing Mike Downie has ever done

“It wasn’t uncommon for me to have a good cry,” says Mike Downie about making a documentary about brother Gord Downie and his band. The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal debuts at TIFF on Sept. 5. by Nick Krewen Special to the Star Mike Downie’s labour of love was also his toughest assignment. As the director and producer of the superb four-hour-plus documentary The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal that…

Arranger, Bass, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Composer, Drums, Garage Rock, Guitar, Indie, JUNO, Producer, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Songwriter, The Tragically Hip, Toronto, Voice September 5, 2024

Sidebar: Canada had a love affair with the Tragically Hip. These 10 songs remind us why

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star They’re Canadian to the core. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Kingston, Ontario’s the Tragically Hip with a number of projects, ranging from the devastatingly good docuseries The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal to  oral history coffee table book “This Is Our Life” (out Oct. 1) and the boxed set of the band’s first album, Up to Here (Nov. 8), here’s a…

Adult Contemporary, Alberta, Canada, Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Country, Grammy, JUNO, k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, LGBTQ, Nashville Sound, Pop, Producer, Punk, Songwriter, Voice August 30, 2024

As ‘90s icon k.d. lang enters the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, she reflects on her extraordinary career

The singer said she doesn’t miss the stage but still feels the creative impulse. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star In 1988, k.d. lang arrived at what she called “an emotional destination:” she recorded an album called Shadowland with the legendary Owen Bradley, who decades earlier had produced country icon Patsy Cline. At the time, the perennially lowercased lang was still something of an unknown quantity in the U.S….