Songwriter

Steely Dan delivers thrills at Casino Rama without the late Walter Becker: review

The occasion was one of the first handful of Steely Dan concerts performed since the September 3 passing of the band’s co-founding guitarist, songwriter and producer Walter Becker. Nick Krewen Music, Fri., Oct. 20, 2017 With the sting of the passing of a beloved Canadian icon still fresh in their hearts, music lovers gathered at Casino Rama on Thursday night to mourn the loss and celebrate the melodies of another…


Roger Waters offers the hits and his hatred for Donald Trump in concert: review

Pink Floyd was resurrected as closely as it will ever be at the Air Canada Centre on Monday, with a lot of commentary along the way. Nick Krewen Music, Special to the Star, Tues., Oct. 3, 2017 Roger Waters  At the Air Canada Centre on Monday, Oct. 2. Also performs Oct. 13. Boy, does Roger Waters know how to push your buttons. In a two-and-a-half-hour Air Canada Centre concert that…


Ralph Murphy: “Every Day I Want To Write The Ultimate Song”

Story by Nick Krewen | September 19, 2017 FOR SOCAN Words and Music Ralph Murphy has been writing songs, as he likes to describe it, “since God wore short pants.” And he’s had a lot of success over the decades. The iconic, Nashville-based SOCAN member, a 2012 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, penned the No. 2 Jeannie C. Riley hit “Good Enough to Be Your Wife” in 1971;…


Future of pop music is in great hands with Bruno Mars: review

Mars’s 90-minute set Saturday night at the ACC demonstrated the pop star’s gifted intuition for pop music. Nick Krewen Music, Sun., Aug. 27, 2017 Bruno Mars at the Air Canada Centre, Aug. 26, 2017 He had razzle. He had dazzle. And on Saturday night, for the first of two hotly anticipated Air Canada Centre sell-out concerts, Bruno Mars had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand with…


Canadian country star Dean Brody’s latest conquest: Toronto

Without any real help from a U.S. career, Brody savours his upcoming big T.O. show at the Budweiser Stage — and plans his next move. Nick Krewen Music, Sat., Aug. 19, 2017 Precedents are difficult to come by in the world of music, but when he plays Toronto on August 24, country music sensation Dean Brody will be achieving a big one. When he takes to the Budweiser Stage headlining…