Music Biz Headlines, June 30, 2022

By Kerry Doole

Alexisonfire returns with new album and a 4-day festival in St. Catharines

It’s been years in the making — Hamilton’s Arkells are finally back home

It’s Rally time. Hometown heroes Arkell’s ‘The Rally’ took over Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday. – Beatriz Baleeiro, The Hamilton Spectator

Canadian rockers Arkells have their sights set on major homegrown collaborations for their upcoming album

The Hamilton band offered a glimpse of what’s to come on their seventh studio effort “Blink Twice,” and it includes songs with Tegan and Sara, Joel Plaskett and Lights. Arkells revealed the details alongside the new single “Dance With You,” a bouncy electro-disco track featuring U.S. pop singers Aly & AJ and Montreal’s Béatrice Martin, known as Coeur de Pirate. – David Friend, CP

Tami Neilson: Kingmaker review – the queen of Kiwi country at her imperious best

The award-winning Canadian-raised singer’s effortless fifth album channels Patsy Cline and features a soaring duet with fan Willie Nelson. – Neil Spencer, The Guardian

Drake achieves 11th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart with ‘Honestly, Nevermind’

The Toronto star is one of only five acts with more than 10 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. – Keith Caulfield, Billboard

Drake’s party compound, the ‘Yolo Estate,’ has sold for $12 million

The Tudor-style house is a full-fledged party compound with a mechanical bull, sand volleyball court and custom swimming pool with an 80-foot rock waterslide and a secret grotto complete with TVs and a bar. – LA Times

It’s a fuel summer: Gas prices, soaring costs leave touring musicians in a tough spot

When Josh and Katie Pascoe mapped out their multi-province summer concert tour earlier this year they didn’t anticipate just how expensive it would be to fill their van’s gas tank. Now a few weeks into their tour, fuel prices hover around $2 a litre and the husband-wife duo are passing around a tip jar at shows to keep from running on empty. – David Friend, CP

Rock legend from Port Dover, Ont. gets hall of fame call

You may not know his name, but he’s performed alongside some of the all-time music greats. Rory Dodd from Port Dover, Ont. is hall of fame worthy when you realize his resume, one including Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf. He has just been inducted into the Forest City London Music Awards (FCLMA) hall of fame. – CTV News

Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh selling out Rogers Arena marks a cultural shift in B.C.

Diljit Dosanjh sold out the venue's nearly 18,000 seats. – Kiran Singh, CBC News

'The miles that they travelled': Garth Brooks fans flock to Edmonton for sold out concerts

A sold-out Commonwealth Stadium will be blasting country music Friday and Saturday night as Garth Brooks makes his return to Edmonton. The 60,000-plus seat stadium sold out both shows in less than an hour. “Let’s just blow it out and have some fun tonight,” Brooks said ahead of Friday night’s show. – Edmonton Journal

Graham Brown on rockin' the Telecaster, taking no prisoners, and sharing a gig with his old band Jr. Gone Wild

Graham Brown has been making a racket—a wonderful, melodic, guitar-drenched racket—for roughly four decades. In the early '80s he was a member of the first incarnation of Edmonton alt-country heroes Jr. Gone Wild. – Steve Newton, Georgia Straight

Lineup for Hamilton’s 2022 Festival of Friends announced

Organizers of Hamilton’s Festival of Friends have unveiled the lineup for this summer’s three-day event in Gage Park, July 29-31. Serena Ryder, Hamilton’s own Monster Truck and Gord Bamford will headline the three nights. Other artists that will be featured in the all-Canadian lineup include Snotty Nose Rez Kids, The Red Hill Valleys, George Canyon and much more. – Amy Kouniakis, InSauga

Amid Toronto band MANifesto’s camp and conviviality there’s a message of empowerment

The self-described “gaggle of grown-up gays covering songs originated by girl groups” performed at Buddies in Bad Times theatre. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

City of Vancouver honours a true world-music visionary by declaring Mel Warner Day

Recognizing a true local legend of the Vancouver music scene, the city declared June 23 as Mel Warner Day. Famous for bringing reggae, ska, and world music acts to the West Coast, Warner’s career spans four decades. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

Artist with 2.5 billion TikTok views says he hasn't been paid a dime

Canadian singer and actor Tyler Shaw has racked up billions of views on TikTok. He hasn’t received any money from the platform, he stated in a recent panel discussion at CMW. – Paul Resnikoff, Digital Music News

International

Inside CAA’s $750M ICM acquisition: What the supersize Hollywood Agency gains and ICM loses

Many veteran agents within ICM’s branding, independent film and unscripted TV departments have exited or won’t transition over. With the dust settled and CAA finally closing its $750M deal to acquire ICM Partners after a wait of nearly 10 months, a picture is becoming clear of just how much CAA is gaining from its acquisition — and how much of ICM is being left behind. – Brian Welk, The Wrap

Stephen Stills sells catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group in expansive deal

The Crosby, Stills & Nash legend has sold controlling interest of his intellectual property to Azoff's Iconic -- and the pair have big plans. – Melinda Newman, Billboard

Warner Music says long-serving CEO Steve Cooper to leave in 2023

Warner Music Group in a regulatory filing last week said its longest-tenured CEO, Steve Cooper, will leave the media company by the end of 2023. Cooper was appointed CEO of the recording label, home to artists including Cardi B and Bruno Mars, in 2011. – BusinessLIVE

Olivia Rodrigo sings ‘Fuck You’ to Supreme Court Justices at Glastonbury

Lily Allen joins singer onstage to perform 2009 single following Roe v. Wade repeal: “Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you!” – Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone

Paul McCartney joined by Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl in epic Glastonbury show

Paul McCartney was joined by special guests Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl in an epic performance at Glastonbury on Saturday night that spanned the first Beatles demo to some of his latest recordings. The singer-songwriter, who turned 80 a week ago, was the oldest ever solo headliner at Worthy Farm in southwest England. – Reuters

Stars use BET Awards stage to criticize Roe v. Wade ruling

Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Jazmine Sullivan were some of the big stars using the BET Awards stage to strongly criticize the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strip away women’s constitutional protection for abortion. – Jonathan Landrum,  AP

Janelle Monáe blasts Supreme Court from BET Awards stage: ‘F– You’

The artist denounced the high court for overturning Roe v. Wade ahead of presenting an award Sunday night. – Jolie Lash,The Wrap

Legendary composer John Williams steps away from scoring films, but not music

After more than six decades of making bicycles soar, sending panicked swimmers to the shore and other spellbinding close encounters, John Williams is putting the final notes on what may be his last film score. – Jake Coyle, AP

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is a dizzying, powerful work of pop-culture fantasy

We have never had an Elvis Presley played by the walking, talking, cinematic sex-bomb wonder that is Austin Butler. We have never had such a performance – a fearsomely committed, hip-thrusting act of pure actorly subservience to an entire culture’s concept of character – be captured via the unrelenting vision of a director like Baz Luhrmann. – Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail

Cream teas and rock’n’roll: older revellers live it up at Glastonbury

Veteran festivalgoers say event is ‘for everybody, all ages’ – with onstage lineup also on the older side this year. – Josh Halladay, The Guardian