Music Biz Headlines, Nov 15, 2021

By Kerry Doole

Despite setbacks, Gordon Lightfoot, 82, prepares to reopen Toronto’s storied Massey Hall

Well, we almost had a Massey Hall reopening without a Gordon Lightfoot concert. Reached at home by phone, Lightfoot admits that even though his Nov. 25 to 27 dates to welcome patrons back to the Grand Ole Lady following her $184-million facelift have been on sale for months, he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to honour his commitment. The culprit? A compound fracture of his wrist. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star

Review: The Beaches rock a surprise homecoming show at the El Mocambo

The Toronto band kicked off the Spadina venue's new weekly emerging artist showcase, Lemmon Stage. Richard Trapunski, NOW

Toronto’s Haviah Mighty releases ‘Stock Exchange,’ a mixtape of songs released separately throughout the pandemic

Two years after winning the Polaris Music Prize for her excellent and incisive album “13th Floor,” Mighty says the accomplishment “jump-started” her career. “My guarantees for shows went up a lot,” said the 28-year-old Toronto rapper, singer and songwriter during a phone interview to promote “Stock Exchange,” her new mixtape released Friday. – Nick Krewen, The Star

Paul Simon is both the wonder and the wonderer in Malcolm Gladwell’s audiobook Miracle and Wonder

Early in Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon, Malcolm Gladwell’s rambling and compelling new audiobook, Simon tells a story about getting lost on the way from Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama to Malaco Studios in Mississippi. Adopting a rube’s Southern drawl, Simon convincingly imitates a gas station attendant who offered directions.–  Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

The List: North America's oldest music festival returns to Edmonton

The 56-year partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Canada covers less than half the lifetime of the annual Edmonton Music & Speech Arts Festival. Since its inception, countless Edmonton musicians have demonstrated their skills against one another — Robert Goulet received a mark of 84 when he sang in the competition in the ’50s.– Jenny Feniak, Edmonton Journal

IronFest concert series jazzes up Vancouver's fall scene

IronFest kicks off next Thursday (November 18) with the Bill Coon Quartet with Campbell Ryga (saxophone), Miles Hill (bass), and Dave Robbins (drums). The event’s name is a play on the society’s Gastown venue, the Ironworks. – Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight

Peter Oundjian will face the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the first time in over three years

When Peter Oundjian mounts the podium on the stage of Roy Thomson Hall Nov. 24, 3 1/2 years will have passed since he last stood, baton in hand, facing the TSO, his final appearance as the orchestra’s music director. The next time will mark his first appearance as the orchestra’s conductor emeritus, an honorary title acknowledging his 14 years of service with the orchestra. – William Littler,Toronto Star

Country superstar Blake Shelton to perform at 2022 Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is more than half a year away, but organizers have scored their first major concert headliner for the 2022 event. – Calgary Herald

Canadian Afghanistan war veteran finds music helps soothe battle with PTSD

Despite dabbling in music since he was a teenager, it was only recently that Afghanistan war veteran Dennis MacKenzie came to appreciate its power to ease the mental turmoil he has struggled with since returning to Canada. – Keith Doucette, CP

Video of the week: Villages' "Glistening Hum"

Folk-rock quartet Villages has long known how to grow magic out of the rich sonic topsoil of Cape Breton. Starting out as the indie rock act Mardeen before falling back in love with the roots music of its home island, the band blends influences like War on Drugs and Fleet Foxes with the salt sprayed-melodies of Cape Breton roots music. – Morgan Mullin,The Coast

The Canadian Brass gets patriotic — not to mention poppy — on 108th album, ‘Canadiana’

“Laugh Now Cry Later, “ “Senorita” and “I Remember” are normally songs you would respectively associate with rap king Drake, the romantic pairing of Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and EDM master deadmau5. One act you wouldn’t associate them with? The Canadian Brass. – Nick Krewen, Toronto Star

What Travis Scott’s Astroworld can learn from the Toronto Radiohead stage collapse

A Canadian event safety expert breaks down concert tragedies and the shooting at the 2019 Raptors championship parade. – Richard Trapunski, NOW

International

CMA Awards top broadcast, but dip to another record low viewing

ABC’s annual Country Music Awards dropped 40% last year. The CMA Awards slipped to another record low Wednesday night, but the drop in viewership was nothing compared to the 2020 decline. And hey, ABC still won primetime outright. – Tony Maglio, The Wrap

Know how the Beatles ended? Peter Jackson may change your mind

It is a cold January morning in 1969, and three of the four Beatles are assembled in a cavernous film studio in London, with cameras rolling and microphones everywhere. “Lennon’s late again,” Paul McCartney says matter of factly, as he plugs in his bass guitar. The band have loose plans for a concert TV special featuring brand-new songs, but most of the men appear to be dreading it — and may be dreading one another, too. – Ben Sisario, New York Times

What happened to Eric Clapton?

The guitar legend has long been inscrutable, but his covid turn has friends and fans puzzled like never before. – Washington Post

8 new albums you should listen to now: Taylor Swift, Jonny Greenwood, and more

Also stream new releases from Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy, Irreversible Entanglements, Makthaverskan, Haviah Mighty, and Dltzk. – Madison Bloom, Pitchfork

Britney Spears’ conservatorship is over 

An L.A. judge has terminated the 13-year arrangement less than six months after the singer shared emotional testimony in court and hired attorney Mathew Rosengart. – Chris Gardner and Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter

This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Bob Gruen, photographer.

Last year Bob Gruen published “Right Place, Right Time: The Life of a Rock & Roll Photographer,” one of the most solid memoirs of contemporary rock. It’s a bit of an irony that Gruen, now 76 and one of the best-known rock photographers of our time, fell into photography by accident. – Larry LeBlanc, Celebrity Access

The Who’s Roger Daltrey labels The Rolling Stones “a mediocre pub band”

However, he says that in Mick Jagger they have "the number one rock'n'roll performer." – Will Richards, NME

Keb' Mo' honours pal Bill Withers with cover of "Lean on Me"

The way the world is today--what with the pandemic and the divisiveness and the climate change and the human suffering and all--certain tunes really resonate. Bill Withers' humanitarian hit from 1972, "Lean On Me", is one of them, and Grammy-winning blues artist Keb' Mo' would no doubt agree. Yesterday he released a cover of the song that's on his upcoming album, Good To Be. – Steve Newton, Georgia Straight

Anti-vax Eric Clapton 'too selfish' to associate with, says bluesman Robert Cray

“What’s wrong with this picture?” Cray asked himself when he saw Clapton posing with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. "Why are you doing this?" – Mary Papenfuss, Yahoo News

HYBE and Universal Music Group are launching a girl group

HYBE, the company behind worldwide superstars like BTS and TXT , and Universal Music Group are coming together for a huge joint project. The two industry giants are looking to launch a girl group with the the first-ever HYBE x Geffen Global Girl Group Audition. –  Jasmine Ting, Paper Magazine

 Meet KINGSHIP, a new virtual band from Universal Music Group

We recently asked if major labels signing and releasing music by virtual artists was just a gimmick, or the start of an industry-wide trend? It’s possible that it could be the latter, as we just learned that a label owned by the world’s largest music rightsholder, Universal Music Group, is launching a ‘metaverse group’ consisting of four virtual characters. – MBW