By Kerry Doole
Orville Peck, Andy Shauf both cancel shows, citing health concerns
Canadian-American country music star Orville Peck has postponed all his upcoming shows due to his mental and physical health. Andy Shauf cites back pain in cancelling one show. – CP
How the music industry is changing its tune on climate change
Nothing says summer like staking a claim on a blanket in front of a stage on a sunny day, cold drink in hand, to hear a favorite band blast out tunes al fresco. But as the festival season returns across Canada, it’s becoming harder for fans and performers alike to ignore the impact of climate change. – Jeffrey Jones, Globe and Mail
'Chase your dreams': Nickelback recalls early years of industry rejection, unfaltering support from fans and family
Pride of Hanna, Alberta, shares reminiscences during Canadian Music Hall of Fame ceremony in Calgary. – Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald
Taylor Swift leaves Canada out of 2024 International Eras Tour and Canadian fans are livid
Canadian fans never thought in their “Wildest Dreams” that they would have “Bad Blood” with Taylor Swift but last week the singer announced the dates for her upcoming 2024 Eras tour and Canada was nowhere to be found. – Breanna Marcelo, NOW
From cost to stadium size, some possible reasons Taylor Swift is skipping Canada
Taylor Swift’s Canadian fans were left heartbroken and confused this week as they tried to understand why the pop superstar seems prepared to skip their country on her Eras Tour. Swift announced nearly 40 new dates on a world tour over the next year. Missing from the latest round of shows are stops in Canada. – David Friend, CP
One of the city’s most historic concert venues is set to reopen
One of Toronto’s most historic concert venues, located at 888 Yonge St., has been known by various names throughout its rich history, including the Masonic Hall and legendary Rock Pile. Now, simply dubbed The Concert Hall, this iconic venue guarantees unforgettable experiences for concertgoers, exuding charm, character, and a multitude of stories from its past. After all, there are only so many live music venues in city that have played host to Led Zeppelin and Frank Sinatra. – Ron Johnson, Streets Of Toronto
The night 50,000 Pink Floyd fans descended on Hamilton — inside the (literally) explosive 1975 show
An in-depth look at the legendary 1975 Pink Floyd concert at Hamilton’s Ivor Wynne stadium, including memories from the band’s drummer Nick Mason.– Luke Savage, Toronto Star
Alcohol-averse Gen Z evidently doing its best to ruin the live-music industry
As easy as it’s been to blame the live-music industry’s well-documented struggles on the pandemic, the lowly Canadian dollar, or the seductive pull of The Last of Us, there’s evidently another factor at play. Taking a lesson from two studies from the U.S., Gen Z is ruining, well, everything, but not being drinkers. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Women are woefully underrepresented in the DJ world
Here’s how Femme House and other collectives are filling the gap “You can’t be what you can’t see,” Calgary-based artist Joanna Magik, who is co-hosting a DJ workshop for women in Toronto, told the Star. – Richie Assaly Toronto Star
Roundup MusicFest cancelled for 2023, organizers say it will return for 2024 Stampede
'While regrettable, taking this pause gives us the opportunity to ensure the event is financially viable for many years to come.' – Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald
Review: A confident, ageless Shania Twain is still the one for Toronto fans
Twain delivered a performance that was more hit than miss and divided between eye-popping Vegas glitz and intimate, living room hang. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star
A slimmer, trimmer Something Else! Festival of creative music
Opening the festival on Friday, June 23 at 8 p.m. were Earth Wind & Choir under Sarah Good, Leonard Turnevicius writes. – Hamilton Spectator
Vancouver tour dates announced this week include Tegan and Sara, Portugal. The Man, the Zombies
It's the time of the season... for more concerts. – Yasmine Shemesh, Georgia Straight
Pride, Tkaronto Music Festival and Jazz Festival are all underway with great live acts to check out
Festival season is in full swing, and the streets of Toronto are packed with people, a smorgasbord of food options, of course, and endless variety of live music. – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
36th Brott Music Festival receives $1.2M in funding
Funding for the 36th season of the Brott Music Festival was announced on Friday. MP Filomena Tassi along with MP Lisa Hepfner and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath made the announcement of $1.2 million from the Canada Arts Training Fund. Brott founded the festival in Hamilton back in 1987. It’s the largest orchestral music festival in Canada. – Alex Last, CHCH
Edmonton's Jazz Festival packs the acts into a new five-day extravaganza
From world-class concerts to free shows and a full day of music in Victoria Park, Jazz Fest will kick off festival season in fine form. – Tom Murray, Edmonton Journal
Jenn Grant's back with the positive pop album you need to hear
"I'm all about empowering women and artists," the singer-songwriter says. – Morgan Mullin, The Coast
The steel pan is more than a vacation sound to Joy Lapps — it’s about the joy of self-expression
Lapps is one of the few women to specialize in steel pan or steel drum. She will share her passion with the Toronto Jazz Festival. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star
Loverboy, The Sheepdogs and the NAC Orchestra all working for the Canada Day Weekend
Surely a concert from the 1980s-era hitmakers is the perfect way to start a Canada Day weekend blowout. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
He’s Canada’s next big thing in down-and-dirty, classic-rockin’ blues guitardom
Things are happening for Garret T. Willie, the 22-year-old from Cormorant Island who wowed a crowd with AC/DC covers at 10.– Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
International
Scooter Braun wanted to sell Taylor Swift her masters. What happened?
Music Business Worldwide recently dove deep into the ill-tempered saga of Taylor Swift’s ‘Big Machine’ masters being sold – first to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings in June 2019, and then to US-based financial firm Shamrock Capital in October 2020. Now, MBW has obtained more startling evidence in this saga. – MBW
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour could become first ever to gross $1B
The star's upcoming Eras Tour is on track to become the biggest in concert history, potentially the first to gross $1 billion and breaking the record for global concert tours currently held by Elton John. A deep dive by The Wall Street Journal on Taylor Swift’s earnings during her Eras Tour shows reveals the makings of the biggest global concert tour in history. – Ashley King, Digital Music News
Warner Bros. Discovery negotiating $500M deal to sell film and TV music publishing assets
Warner Bros. Discovery is negotiating to sell around half of the storied Warner studio’s film and TV music-publishing assets for approximately $500 million, three sources confirm to Variety. The news was first reported by Hits. – Jem Aswad, Variety
Memorable moments from the Glastonbury Festival
Highlights included Elton John and The Pretenders. – Reuters
Louis Armstrong House Museum to expand with major addition honouring jazz legend
The Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York has announced the official opening date of its new building, an expansion that further preserves the legacy of the jazz legend. The new Louis Armstrong Center will open on Thursday, July 6. – Adam Feibel, JazzFM
Ozzy Osbourne is full of bull
The City of Birmingham UK has named its Commonwealth Games Bull sculpture in honour of the city’s favourite son Ozzy Osbourne. – Noise11
Pop star Kesha and producer Dr Luke settle longstanding legal battle over rape, defamation claims
Pop star Kesha and producer Dr. Luke have settled nearly a decade of suits and countersuits over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and defamed him, they announced Thursday, with the singer saying that “only God knows what happened that night.” – Jennifer Peltz, AP
Swans: The Beggar review – dark and unsettling, purifying and beautiful
Written during lockdown, the band’s 16th album is full of claustrophobic unease as Michael Gira contemplates life, mortality and the end of existence. – The Guardian
Spice Girls in 'bidding war' for massive reunion, sources say
The legendary pop band — Geri Halliwell, Melanie C, Emma Bunton, Mel B and Victoria Beckham — could be getting back together for a documentary. –BANG Showbiz
Bob Dylan keeps adding surprising songs to his shows
Bob Dylan is known for shaking up his set lists, often rearranging and reimagining his classic songs to such a degree that they end up not sounding at all like their recorded versions. His current set lists focus on songs from his most recent album, 2020's Rough and Rowdy Ways, as well as a few classic cuts like "When I Paint My Masterpiece" and "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" tossed in, plus some outliers. – Allison Rapp, UCR
Johnny Marr and Dave Grohl join The Pretenders at Glastonbury
Johnny Marr — who played briefly in the Pretenders after leaving The Smiths — sat in with Chrissie Hynde and Co. for part of their set at Glastonbury on Saturday, with Dave Grohl joining as well to help the band rip through “Tattooed Love Boys” off 1979’s Pretenders. – Slicing Up Eyeballs
Singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis talks humour, joy and her fifth solo album Joy’All
Indie-rock mainstay Jenny Lewis released her fifth solo album, Joy’All, this month. With it, Lewis continues to offer generous vulnerability both in her songwriting and in her singing. The album delivers the musician’s signature melodies, broad vocals and, above all, a plea to please continue finding beauty. – Sruti Islam, Globe and Mail
Gorillaz cancel US tour
Gorillaz have cancelled their entire US tour before it began citing “scheduling conflicts” as the reason for the no-show. – Noise11
David Bowie ‘Life On Mars’ given 4K upgrade for 50th anniversary
To mark the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s ‘Life On Mars?’, the video for the song has been upgraded to 4K. – Noise11
