By Kerry Doole
Spotify ‘Wrapped’ has arrived: Here’s what dominated Canadian streaming charts
Toronto’s very own Drake was Canada’s most streamed artist, followed by Taylor Swift and The Weeknd. – Toronto Star
Hugh Dillon is one of the busiest entertainers in Canada
Famed Canadian rock singer Hugh Dillon of Headstones returned to Q to talk about his band's latest album, Flight Risk. It’s just one of the big releases for Dillon this year, as he awaits the Season 2 premiere of his Paramount+ show Mayor of Kingstown. He spoke with guest host Talia Schlanger about channelling all that creative energy. – CBC
A Celtic Christmas with Loreena McKennitt
The Grammy-nominated musician brings her seasonal tour to Hamilton’s Music Hall Dec. 9. – Graham Rockingham, Hamilton Spectator
Snotty Nose Rez Kids give listeners some pandemic relief with ‘I’m Good, HBU?’
Darren “Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce feel blessed to be so busy, with touring, awards show appearances and their “greatest album to date” in the works. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star
Alberta Ballet updates the The Nutcracker for the first time in 15 years
The two-act ballet set to the famous score by Tchaikovsky opens Wednesday in Edmonton and Dec. 16 in Calgary. – Angela Johnston, Edmonton Journal
Cadence Weapon launches campaign to help artists keep merchandise profits
Venues often extract 15 to 35 per cent of merchandising sales, which can amount to hundreds and thousands of dollars. The #MyMerch campaign aims to stop that. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star
‘Master architects’ The Killjoys to hit hometown stage
Hamilton’s own Juno-winning super-trio of Mike Trebilcock, Shelley Woods and Gene Champagne are playing the Bridgeworks Dec. 10. – Jeffrey Martin, Hamilton City Magazine
Canadian concert calendar includes Kronos, Barbara Hannigan and a farewell from the Emerson String Quartet
Superstar Barbara Hannigan will show why she is one of the hardest working people in showbusiness in performance with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Global refugee film/music project to screen at Westdale
Sultans of String join with global refugee collaborators in Cannes-winning humanitarian response to crisis, writes Jeff Mahoney. – Hamilton Spectator
Jessie Reyez dazzles fans with songs of empowerment at first of two shows at History
As a performer, the Toronto-born Reyez is a dynamic and charismatic presence whose every physical move seems engineered to force as much power as possible through the microphone, writes Nick Krewen. – Toronto Star
Honouring Boris Brott at a beautiful time of year
Music director of the Kingston Symphony to conduct Handel’s ‘Messiah’ in Hamilton, in tribute to his mentor. – Leonard Turnevicius, Hamilton Spectator
At age 55, indie-rock elder Jason Collett perseveres in a genre in decline.
A frequent member of Broken Social Scene, he has released a new solo album. – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail
Spotlight: Unison Fund’s Amanda Power
Amanda Power’s path to becoming a leader in the music industry started with wanting to follow her heart. Now the Executive Director at The Unison Fund, a non-profit charity providing counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community, Power landed her first job in 2003 as Awards & Event Logistics Manager with the CCMA. – Tabassum Siddiqui, CMRRA
From pro soccer hopeful to hip hop artist with illness and addiction along the way, Tymaz Bagbani releases debut album
During the early days of the pandemic, Bagbani wrote songs with a fervour — 30 a month at his fastest pace. His favourite 12 tracks make up his album entitled “Heavenly”. – Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star
Hamilton singer turns the negative side of social media into inspiration for love songs
Anthony DiDomenico is new to the local music scene and uses social media to promote his work. But attention comes at a price. – Beatriz Baleeiro, The Spectator
Gord Downie’s lyrics feature in paintings inspired by his band’s songs at Gallery 1313 exhibition
Echoes of the Flame: Art Inspired by the Lyrics of the Tragically Hip features art based on songs including ‘Bobcaygeon’ and ‘Ahead by a Century.’ – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
International
The 50 worst decisions in music history
Horrible business moves, artistic blunders, deeply questionable moral judgment — with appearances by Adam Levine, Kiss, Kanye West, and many more. – Rolling Stone
You better lawyer up, Ticketmaster: Taylor Swift fans file Eras Tour lawsuit
It’s no secret that there is bad blood between Taylor Swift fans and Ticketmaster. Now the Swifties are officially taking legal action. – Christi Carras, LA Times
Dipesh Parmar named Pres of Columbia Records UK
Dipesh Parmar has been appointed President of Columbia Records UK, effective immediately. He will continue to report directly to Jason Iley, Chairman and CEO, Sony Music UK & Ireland. Amy Wheatley has been appointed Managing Director of Columbia Records UK, reporting to Parmar. – Tim Ingham, MBW
Remembering Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie with 8 essential tracks
Across a catalog that includes titanic pop smashes and lesser-known gems, the singer, songwriter, and keyboardist, who passed away yesterday at age 79, had a gift for imbuing the snappiest songs with heartfelt vulnerability. – Andy Cush and Marc Hogan, Pitchfork
Taylor Swift ticket troubles prompt call for FTC bots inquiry
U.S. lawmakers last week pressed the Federal Trade Commission to enforce a 2016 law against ticket scalpers using bots after Ticketmaster blamed the software for troubles selling tickets to pop superstar Taylor Swift's upcoming tour. – Diane Bartz, Reuters
Rolling Stones' 60th year honoured with U.K. collectible coin
Now the Rolling Stones can say they’re on money, the face of a new collectible coin issued by Britain’s Royal Mint to celebrate the band’s 60th anniversary. – AP
‘George & Tammy’ pulls back the curtain on country icons George Jones and Tammy Wynette
In preparation for their upcoming series “George & Tammy,” Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain spent months learning the songs that George Jones and Tammy Wynette made famous, working with a vocal coach and making the pilgrimage to Nashville to record. – Kristin M. Hall, AP
A muddled George & Tammy doesn't quite do justice to the legendarily magnetic, complicated pair
Chastain and Shannon only scratch the surface of Wynette and Jones’ magnetic connection, but for a little while that’s enough to propel the series. – Kristen Reid, Paste
Mother Earth, musical prodigy or steely powerhouse? The enigma of Christine McVie
Through Fleetwood Mac’s most turbulent times, she held the line – and wrote some of their most beautiful, bittersweet songs. We pay tribute to Christine McVie. – Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker on doing things their own way while engineering a comeback
The famed singer-songwriters collaborated to write an original song for the documentary ”The Return of Tanya Tucker“. – Steve Pond, The Wrap
Czech museum to return original Beethoven score to heirs
A musical manuscript handwritten by Ludwig van Beethoven is getting returned to the heirs of the richest family in pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, whose members had to flee the country to escape the Holocaust. The museum put the score on display for the first time this week in anticipation of handing it over to its rightful owners. – Karel Janicek, AP
Borat targets Trump, Ye and antisemitism at Kennedy Center Honors
Sacha Baron Cohen skit receives mixed response at ceremony for lifetime achievements in the arts. – The Guardian
Neil Diamond surprises Broadway audience with rare performance of 'Sweet Caroline'
Neil Diamond's impromptu performance marked the first time the music icon has performed in his hometown of New York City since 2017. – People
