Music Biz Headlines, April 13, 2023

By Kerry Doole

‘I was singing myself through the grief’: Feist on losing her father – and finding her voice

The singer was in a Covid bubble with her painter father and young daughter, but then everything changed. She discusses why she’s no longer willing to pull her punches, and explains her decision to pull out of a tour with Arcade Fire. – Laura Barton, The Guardian

Feist’s intimate new album Multitudes contains her

Feist has just released Multitudes, a collection of softly sung expressions of hope written in the wake of loss, new life and self-discovery. It is her first LP in six years. Returning from the pond with a dozen new songs, she spoke to us about the death of her father, the arrival of an adopted daughter and, even, her forest. – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail

The magnetic lure of rock ’n’ roll and 1 Yonge Street

A career as a  music promoter started as a young man who wanted to write about rock ’n’ roll, which brought me to the front doors of the Toronto Star. – Elliott Lefko, Toronto Star

Some April concert highlights listed

Our selection includes a virtuoso on the stretch didgeridoo and singer/songwriter turned author Tara MacLean. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Hip hop 50th anniversary celebration featuring Canadian legends coming this summer 

The second annual Black Culture Celebration will mark the 50th anniversary of hip hop with a stacked headlining lineup featuring some of the most noted Canadian artists in the game. Kardinal Offishall, Maestro Fresh Wes, Rascalz, and Choclair are set to perform at the Juneteenth event, at Sunset Beach Park on June 17. – Yasmine Shemesh, Georgia Straight 

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Halifax Jazz Festival

The annual event returns July 11-16, 2023. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast

Tara MacLean finds the power to forgive and let go

The singer/songwriter has more than enough reasons to be bitter, if not downright furious, with the hand life dealt her. First there’s the family stuff. She was raised off the grid in a cabin on Prince Edward Island by an actress mother and a musician father who bounced from Wiccan-practising hippies to born-again Christians. A new memoir, Sparrow, tells all. Graham Rockingham, Hamilton Spectator

Nestruck on Theatre: A Siminovitch protégé’s play about a classical composer 

The Siminovitch Prize in Theatre is an award backed by folks who really get it. From its inception in 2001, those who run the $100K accolade have understood that its value goes beyond being the richest prize in Canadian theatre to the attention that money brings with it. – JK Nestruck, The Globe and Mail

We got the beat: What London's Music City status means to these insiders

Hundreds of people attended the recent London City of Music Expo, the first event of its kind since UNESCO designated London as Canada’s first City of Music in 2021. Jonathan Juha spoke to attendees about the benefits the designation could bring to the city, its music and arts industry and what needs to happen for London to mine that potential. – London Free Press

Tomson Highway releasing a musical picture book for kids in Cree and English

The acclaimed playwright, author and musician is releasing a musical picture book for kids called “Grand Chief Salamoo Cook is Coming to Town.” Montreal-based publisher the Secret Mountain says the tale unfolds in English and is interspersed “with nine jazzy songs performed in Cree.” – CP

Finding perspective after cancer diagnosis, Sheepdogs drummer records solo album

“When I put the pen to paper and lyrics started coming out, I do think that helped process some of the things I was feeling at the time.” – Jocelyn Bennett, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

What to see at Stratford Festival and Shaw 2023

The spring runoff may still be under way, but the Shaw Festival and the Stratford Festival, Ontario’s two big destination theatres, are already off and running. Shaw, located in historic Niagara-on-the-Lake, got a head start on its repertory season on April 1 with the first performance of Prince Caspian. – JK Nestruck, Globe and Mail

Bawdy evening of song and fury anticipated for One Yellow Rabbit's Nightingale Alley

Two decades ago, when Calgary writer and composer David Rhymer was researching his play Bawdy for Lunchbox Theatre he stumbled on what, at their time, were known as flash songs. – Louis B. Hobson, Calgary Herald

Spinning support for vinyl venture

Brothers Baron staging FIINN concert to let fans in on financing of upcoming album. – Ben Waldman, Winnipeg Free Press

Viral video stokes hazy memories of Pink Floyd at Ivor Wynne in Hamilton

The 1975 concert was either the most famous or infamous in Hamilton’s history. – The Hamilton Spectator

International

Universal Music Group stock rating lowered by BNP Paribas

Universal Music Group was downgraded by BNP Paribas from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report released last week. – Defense World

Man pleads guilty in rapper Pop Smoke’s death, is sentenced to four years

A 20-year-old charged in the killing of Pop Smoke pleaded guilty in juvenile court Thursday, admitting he entered a Hollywood Hills mansion as a teenager in February 2020 intending to rob the rapper, who was shot to death in a struggle with his assailants. – Matthew Ormseth, LA Times

‘He was central to music history’: the forgotten legacy of Leon Russell

In an illuminating new book, the incredible highs and devastating lows of the influential musician are remembered. – Jim Farber, The Guardian

Mick Mars speaks out on Motley Crue lawsuits

'Those guys have been hammering on me since ’87, trying to replace me,' says Mars, talking about his legal efforts to maintain what he claims is a rightful place in the band's business affairs, even after retiring from touring.–  Chris Willman, Variety

Country superstars Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are set to host this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards this May. It’s a return for Parton who co-hosted last year with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, but will be the first time Brooks has hosted an awards show. – Pam Windsor, Forbes

Here are the lineups for this year's biggest music festivals

From Coachella to Lollapalooza, this is where your favorite artists will be performing this summer. – Opheli Garcia Lawler, Thrillist

Fall Out Boy back with solid pop-rock love letter to fans

Fame, parenthood and being Fallout Boy all explored on new release. – Eva Zhu, NEXT

Kid Rock opens fire on Bud Light over its deal with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney

Why did a minor partnership between Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney make Kid Rock so incensed he felt the need to shoot a product he previously enjoyed? It makes no sense. – Vinay Menon, Toronto Star

EDM may have waned, but the Sahara Tent remains the beating heart of Coachella

Whenever Michael Milano first parts the gates at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the 30-year-old from San Francisco heads straight to the Sahara Tent. “One of the most exciting things going in is seeing all the new stuff in there,” Milano said. – LA Times

‘Every river in this country is polluted’: how Feargal Sharkey got swept up by the clean water campaign

Time was, people would stop Feargal Sharkey in the street to talk about the song Teenage Kicks. These days, he says, “it’s always about shite in rivers”. The former Undertones frontman was searching for a hobby and ended up an environmental campaigner. And he’s a man who can win an argument. – Tim Adams, The Guardian

Rockin' Rod shows he's still got it

The crowd size was disappointing, but Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper both delivered the goods in Dunedin, NZ. – Otago Daily Times

Natalie Merchant emerges from darkness with nothing but love

As the nation went through a health emergency in 2020, so did Natalie Merchant. The singer-songwriter had major spine surgery just four days before lockdown, with three bones removed from her neck and an incision made over her vocal cords. She lost her voice and suffered nerve damage in her right hand. Now she's back. – Mark Kennedy, AP