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Dan Mangan forges new frontiers with Blacksmith

The Juno-winning musician and songwriter rides a layered new album into Saturday’s Massey Hall show. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Wed Feb 25 2015 Dan Mangan is going deep. The 31-year-old eloquent, observant singer and songwriter has returned with a newly named band Blacksmith to introduce what’s arguably his finest album to date in Club Meds. The Smithers, B.C., native views the CD, his first since 2011’s Juno-winning Oh Fortune,…


Nickelback powers down the pyrotechnics: concert review

The band’s return to the ACC finds the usual frenetic energy somewhat lacking, owing to less anthem-y new songs and a very chatty Chad Kroeger, though the execution of the set was technically flawless. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Mon Feb 23 2015 Nickelback 2.5 stars At the Air Canada Centre, Feb. 22. Nickelback has changed its performance tactic. Once a combo that used all the bells and whistles available…


New Directions In “Dangerous” Jazz

Story by Nick Krewen | October 28, 2014 For SOCAN’s Words and Music “There’s a way of playing safe, there’s a way of using tricks and there’s the way I like to play, which is dangerously, where you’re going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven’t created before.” The late Dave Brubeck wasn’t Canadian, nor was he a SOCAN member, but the quote…


Ed Sheeran delivers an A+ show at the ACC

Ed Sheeran performs as if every show is his last, injecting his songs with an elevating jolt above what is heard in his recordings. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Fri Sep 19 2014 Ed Sheeran Air Canada Centre Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014 The singer and songwriter of “The A-Team” brought his A-Game to the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night. British ginger-haired dynamo Ed Sheeran is unlike any other contemporary…


GRAMMY HALL OF FAME RECORDINGS – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen

GRAMMY HALL OF FAME RECORDINGS Songs Of Leonard Cohen     Songs Of Leonard Cohen Columbia Records Released: December 26, 1967   Nick Krewen GRAMMY.com August 25, 2014 Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the year the world was introduced to Leonard Cohen, songwriter and recording artist, Canada was celebrating its first century as a nation. For both Cohen and Canada, 1967 marked new chapters filled with rebirth, hope and a…