May 2011

The Glory of Scotland…Without the Airfare!

Submitted by cashbox on Sat, 05/28/2011 - 20:08

By Sandy Graham

‘Across the Hills the pipes are heard and ancient Highland Blood is Stirred’. Don’t miss this chance to experience Scottish entertainment at it’s best when ‘The Glory Of Scotland’ comes to Toronto, Ontario.

THE GLORY OF SCOTLAND, a spectacular celebration of the best of Scottish music and dance, has been delighting thousands of people in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.

SAM ROBERTS BAND: Collider

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/27/2011 - 13:37

Universal

Remember when Sam Roberts was gonna be Bruce Springsteen? Then the bottom fell out of the straight-ahead rock’n'roll market with the advent of the new prog rock (Arcade Fire, The Dears, Patrick Watson), Sam’s last pair of albums landed with a lack of impact.

This one should go far to restore Sam’s star in the heavens of cool.

Much is made of Collider as a return to roots but it's very rhythm oriented in enough places to beg that question. Also, in recent interviews Sam’s been going on about his deep interest in South and West African music of all genres. that he’d been listening to lately,

I guess the rootsy parts would be the easy peasy wide-screen sprawl, the guitar dominance and Roberts’s organic style of song writing. The new stuff’s in the grooves and the way Roberts is now constructing songs around their rhythm pulse. Dude’s writing groove rock, referencing back when Radiohead were a guitar band.

It isn’t all changeups though; the fanbasers will drool on ‘Longitude’ whose searing layered guitars bring knives to this tale of a politely imploding relationship. Land of Talk vocalist Elizabeth Powell shows up to elevate the things in a duet with Roberts. And Streets of Heaven’ with its Springsteenian title delivers on that promise with solid rock riding on smacking bass lines.

Michelle Wright - On The Road Again

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/27/2011 - 12:04

Michelle Wright is one of Canada’s most widely recognized and awarded country singers with over30 major music industry awards to her credit, a string of 25 Top Ten hits on radio, including seven Number One singles, and nearly 2 million albums sold in North America. The first Canadian-born artist in the modern era of country music to have a Top Ten in the U.S., to have a Number One video on CMT-USA, and to win an Academy of Country Music Award, Michelle has been recognized from the outset for her expressive voice and distinctive style.

Wright kicks of her birthday celebrations on July 1st at Leduc Park in Leduc, Alberta then continues out West with a July 9th concert at Chinook Centre in Calgary. Continuing on she then travels on to Lockeport, Nova Scotia to appear on the Harmony Bazaar Festival of Women and Song at the Memorial Park Bandstand on July 30th on the East Coast of Canada.

Stewart Goodyear and The Beethoven Effect.

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/27/2011 - 12:08

Story:Lenny Stoute

Meet Stewart Goodyear, Canada’s hottest rising star you’ve never heard of. That’s because the 32 year old former child prodigy is a classical pianist and you know how many Junos they take home ever year.

But this year it’s going to be different because this year Goodyear is taking his much-acclaimed Beethoven Sonatas program to the international stage. While he boasts a repertoire ranging from Bach to Messiaen, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Gershwin, it is for his impassioned renderings of Beethoven’s sonatas which have brought him to the attention of the classical music fans.

Along with passion, Goodyear brings showmanship to the table. Much of the pre-show attention given to his Beethoven programs stemmed from the Guinness Book of Records type feat, in which he performed all 32 Beethoven sonatas, spread over nine concerts in five mind-blowing days, from July 27 to 31 during the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in 2010.

"It was a journey, and I knew it was going to be joyful no matter where the journey took me. It's a very overwhelming feeling to be immersed in the evolution of Beethoven's creativity."

The feat, which may a world first, represents a major milestone in the gifted pianist's life as he said he'd always wanted to do this since he first had the idea at age 15. He recalls at 3 ½ playing back what he heard on the radio, what his parents were playing in the home. He started formal lessons at 7 and by 8 started composing pieces, the first for his school choir.

DAWSON REIGNS IN AMICABLE SPLIT FROM MANAGEMENT

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/27/2011 - 12:16

On May 25, 2011 Dawson Reigns announced that he has parted ways with management company, Hummel Entertainment. The split was amicable.

According to Dawson, “I have tremendous respect for Kathryn. She’s doing great work with Hey Romeo and Chris Asaad. Sometimes though, for whatever reason, relationships don’t work out. After Kathryn and I talked, she contacted my Canadian and International publicists and thanked them for working with her. I thought that was really good of her…and I wish her and her other acts success.”

In 2007, Dawson was introduced to Jason Barry, one of Canada’s most respected producers. After meeting Dawson and listening to his music, Jason agreed to produce Dawson’s debut album at the Barrytone Studios based in Waterloo, Ontario. Dawson’s debut single, ‘If Crazy Wasn’t Beautiful’, was released to radio in January 2010, and was on the Top 20 on the Canadian Country Charts. His debut album, ‘Enjoy the Ride’ is available on iTunes in Canada, USA, UK, Japan and Australia. Recently thanks to fans and radio in Australia, Dawson has received his first #1 record for ‘If Crazy Wasn’t Beautiful’.