Music Biz Headlines, March 26, 2018

By Kerry Doole

Tina Turner: the making of a rock'n'roll revolutionary

With new stage production Tina: The Musical now open, we look back at the boundary-breaking 60-year career of a singer who crossed racial lines and overcame violent oppression to revolutionise music  – Daphne Brooks, The Guardian

Amplify B.C. fund pledges $7.5 million boost to the music industry

The B.C. Music Fund is a project that has aimed to put British Columbia's music scene on the map – Kate Wilson, Georgia Straight

Sure, Jessie Reyez had as many Juno nominations as Arcade Fire, but she feels like she’s only getting started

A showcase at SXSW, guesting on hit singles, an NBA All-Star Game commercial: none of that makes Reyez feel like ‘I made it,’ she tells Raju Mudhar – Toronto Star

Canadian proto-grunge band Slow are back, planning new music, playing shows

Vancouver punks Slow were around for just a few years in the mid-’80s, during which time they released just one single and one EP that have been considered highly influential on the development of Seattle grunge –  Andrew Sacher, Brooklyn Vegan

I realised that no-one in the music business knew what they were doing

London-based High Time is an artist management house and record company, in addition to being a music publisher, merchandise and branding hub and, of late, even an independent concert promoter. Founder Carl Hitchborn explains his strategy – Tim Ingham, MBW

Fund launches for uninsured musicians to get medical tests

The death of a 28-year-old drummer from East Nashville has inspired a fund meant to pay for primary care and diagnostic testing for musicians  – Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

The Art of Time leader  Andrew Burashko explores synesthesia

His Toronto Harbourfront Centre solo performance series delves into what was formerly a fringe musicological concern – Peter Goddard, Globe and Mail

'Frozen' on Broadway: It's no 'Tempest' (or 'Lion King'), but the musical sings with sisterly appeal

Disney, like Blanche DuBois, wants magic, not realism. And were there more enchantment to this relentlessly perky stage adaptation of the highest-grossing animated movie in history, my mind probably wouldn't have strayed from the path of fantasy and fallen victim to the mudslide of fact – Charles McNulty, LA Times

Justin Bieber was the worst SNL musical guest: Bill Hader

“Everyone’s usually on great behaviour. Yeah, Bieber’s the only one in my experience. I think it was just, he seemed exhausted or at the end of a rope" – WENN

Roxanne Shanté: the rapper who paved the way for Cardi B and Nicki Minaj

New Netflix film Roxanne Roxanne dramatises the life of a rapper who influenced every female MC since the 1980s. It’s about time her story got heard –  Peter Cashmore, The Guardian

Latin folk-rockers Andino Suns write about Chile's own 9-11 in song

"It's ingrained in us, not just the socialist ideology, but the culture that comes with it, the arts, the music, the dance, the poets"  –  Andino Suns' leader Andres (Andy) Davalos – Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan are tired of the "maelstrom of confusion” that follows them

On their heavy and ambitious new album Dirt, the Toronto band are "here to rock, not wax philosophical about culture and race all day" – Suzanne Andrew, NOW

Liam Corcoran builds Nevahland 

The Two Hours Traffic leader crafts new sounds and stories on his debut solo album – Jonathan Briggins, The Coast

Beth Ditto is truly the mother of reinvention on her solo debut, Fake Sugar

The former Gossip singer proves she still has plenty to say – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight

 ’N Sync reuniting to receive star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

The boy band will earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 30. Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick will attend the event –  AP

Mapping the places that made Central Avenue swing

From the 1920s to 1950s, the world-famous avenue in Los Angeles was the hub of the West Coast jazz scene –  Hadley Meares, LA Curbed