Music Biz Headlines, Aug. 11, 2022
Sara Quin welcomes motherhood, Digging Roots (pictured) explore songlines, and chaos at Kultureland. Also in the headlines are Chantal Kreviazuk, Drake, Glenn Gould, Osheaga, copyright laws, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ron Hawkins, Colyn Cameron, Live Nation, Barbara Mandrell, Mickey Jupp, Emmaline Rasmussen, David Bowie, Woodstock 99, Rolling Stones, Fender, and Archie Roach.
By Kerry Doole
Sara Quin takes to social media to announces that she's the proud parent of a new baby
It’s goodbye sleep, clubbing, and cranking Black Flag while making dinner-party cocktails, and hello motherhood for Sara Quin. – Mike Usinger Georgia Straight
Drake’s Young Money reunion with Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj was a thrillingly nostalgic act of mythmaking
The first OVO Fest in two years was a nostalgic trip through the late 2000s and early 2010s, an era when Young Money Entertainment ruled the world of hip hop. – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
Digging Roots bring unconditional love from Anishinaabe origins
The creative process behind Zhawenim, the fourth album from Juno Award-winning Indigenous husband-and-wife duo Digging Roots, is a compelling blend of the ancient and the contemporary. – Kerry Doole, Words & Music
Fans demanding refunds after Kultureland, other local festivals spiral into chaos over the weekend
Fans in attendance at Kultureland were less than pleased after the venue was changed last minute on Sunday and a string of artists cancelled. – Aisling Murphy Toronto Star
Russia sanctions LGBTQ activist, Freeland and Joly’s staff, singer Chantal Kreviazuk
Moscow’s latest round of sanctions target multiple staff of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly’s media team. Also on the Kremlin list are Ian Scott, head of the CRTC, pastor Brent Hawkes, and Juno-award winning singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, who is of Ukrainian and Indigenous heritage. – CP
The opera ‘Gould’s Wall’ has the soprano climbing an 18-metre rock wall
In the “vertical spectacle,” Lauren Pearl plays an artist climbing toward mastery, inspired by great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. The opera is having its world premiere in Toronto Aug. 4 to 12. – Karen Fricker, Toronto Star
Osheaga apologizes after rapper appears in swastika T-shirt at music festival
Organizers at Montreal’s Osheaga music festival are apologizing after a British rapper performed while dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with a swastika. The festival says the fashion choice by Slowthai “caused confusion” with some festivalgoers who might’ve not understood that it “denounces the regime.” – CP
Jazz Sudbury once again will see you in September
The annual festival will run from September 8-10 and will not only include it’s annual Jazz Walk but after parties now as well, thanks to its new indoor venue. – Jenny Lamothe, Sudbury.com
Artists to cash in when work is resold with update of copyright laws
Artists are to get paid when their work is resold in a shakeup of copyright laws that would give them a slice of collectors’ profits. Painters, sculptors and other visual artists stand to get a payout when their work is resold at auction and by galleries, in a government move designed to help sustain thousands of artists currently working below the poverty line. – Marie Woolf, CP
Carly Rae Jepsen announces new album The Loneliest Time, with isolation a driving theme
Sometimes-hometown-hero Carly Rae Jepsen has announced a title for her sixth full-length release, with The Loneliest Time hitting the streets and streaming services on October 21. As one might glean from the record’s title, the idea of being isolated—not only physically but psychologically—is one of the album’s driving themes.– Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Lowest Of The Low leader Ron Hawkins profiled
If I was putting together a soundtrack of my youth, somewhere near the top of the list is Lowest of the Low and their debut album Shakespeare… My Butt. – LusoLife
Colyn Cameron explores apocalyptic anxiety, romance, and palpable nostalgia in video for "Deepfake"
In an admirably understated way, Colin Cameron’s video for “Deepfakes” captures the weirdness of what it is to be alive in what we’d hoped would be the Roaring ’20s Pt. II. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Burlington’s Cam Bogle ready to rock Boots and Hearts Music Festival
The 22-year-old was invited to perform as an emerging artist at the prestigious Barrie country music festival. – Jeff Mahoney, Hamilton Spectator
International
Live Nation has already sold 100M tix for 2022 concerts, more than all of 2021
Live music’s lockdown hiatus feels like a distant memory this week in the wake of Live Nation‘s healthy Q2 results. According to the company’s investor filing for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, the live events giant has sold 100M tickets for concerts in 2022 so far, which, it says, is already more than what it sold for the whole year in 2019. – Murray Stassen, MBW
Do not, in any circumstances, incite the crowd’: how the Astroworld tragedy changed gigs for ever
Since 10 fans were killed at a Travis Scott event, artists from Billie Eilish to Harry Styles have been stopping their shows at the first sign of trouble. Safety experts explain why – and how it started with Oasis. – Kyle MacNeill, The Guardian
Barbara Mandrell returns to the Opry for 50th anniversary
Country Music Hall of Famer and Grammy winner Barbara Mandrell retired from music more than two decades ago, but the Grand Ole Opry still feels like home to her. – Kristin M. Hall, AP
‘I don’t want my career resurrected!’ The last orders of pub rock pioneer Mickey Jupp
After emerging from the 60s R&B scene, the songwriter skirted greatness before all but retiring to Cumbria. Now, at 78, he’s been convinced to release a collection of songs from his secret archive. – Dave Simpson, The Guardian
How glam, guitars and ‘A Clockwork Orange’ led to David Bowie’s masterpiece, Ziggy Stardust
There’s little question that David Bowie’s rise to superstardom in 1972 was a carefully calculated campaign, involving an unforgettable, otherworldly image, a strategically timed public announcement of his bisexuality, a rapid-fire series of tour dates and television appearances, no small amount of business and P.R. savvy — and one of the greatest albums in rock history. – Jem Aswad, Variety
A new doc shines a light on the Rolling Stones as individuals, not just as a band
“My Life as a Rolling Stone,” premiering on Epix, gives Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and the late Charlie Watts an episode each. – LA Times
Fender reportedly lays off hundreds of California employees
The layoffs allegedly include some very senior positions. – Cillian Breathnach, Guitar.com
Mayor Adams announces $5.5M investment for Universal Hip Hop Museum in Bronx
The museum will open in a 52,000-square-foot space at the Bronx Point development at Mill Pond Park. The Universal Hip Hop Museum is the only state chartered educational museum dedicated to celebrating and preserving local and global contributions to hip hop music and culture. – ABC7NY
National Indigenous Music awards 2022: stars pay tribute to Archie Roach in emotional ceremony
Incredible lineup of First Nations acts perform at the Amphitheater in Darwin’s botanic gardens and pay homage to the late songman. –The Guardian
Where I’m coming from: 60 Years of Jamaican music in 60 songs
In the 60 years since Jamaica achieved its independence from England, on Aug. 6, 1962, the tiny Caribbean nation has created some of the world’s most influential musical styles, including ska, rock steady, reggae, dub, and dancehall.– Rolling Stone
Lady A postpones tour as Charles Kelley focuses on sobriety
The Grammy-winning country trio Lady A has announced that its upcoming tour is being postponed to allow band member Charles Kelley time to focus on his sobriety. The group was set to start the tour on Aug. 13 in Nashville, but in a social media post, the band said the tour would be postponed until next year. – AP
It's not just Lizzo and Beyoncé; check out these hits that had objectionable lyrics rewritten
This isn't the first time big names received blowback and had to reconsider lyric choices. Times change. Meanings change. Sensitivities change. Certain words become unacceptable. Sometimes even concepts become inappropriate. – Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Netflix miniseries Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 documents a music festival horrifically derailed
Lack of accountability is the key theme that runs through Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99, a riveting and often unsettling three-part series streaming on Netflix that revisits the mayhem and irresponsibility of the infamous music festival that took place 23 years ago in Rome, N.Y.– Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Woodstock '99 epitomized the white male gatekeeping of rock music in the MTV era
A new Netflix docuseries evades a disturbing truth about why a mob of young white men felt entitled to engage in nihilistic behavior at the late '90s festival. – Candice Frederick, HuffPost
This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Emmaline Rasmussen, Founder, Sound Nutrition
Sound Nutrition’s founder Emmaline Rasmussen has developed a comprehensive service that promotes optimal nutrition and wellness throughout an artist’s career by reducing or managing mental health struggles and stressors of life that are common in touring. – Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access