Music News Digest, April 10, 2019

By FYI Staff

CBC Music Festivalhas announced the lineup for its seventh year at Toronto’s RBC Echo Beach on May 25. It is headlined by Alvvays, along with Stars, Rhye, Cœur de pirate, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Charlotte Cardin, and Exco Levi. The q stage features Peach Pit, Hubert Lenoir, The Courtneys, Emmanuel Jal, and 2019 CBC Searchlight winner Shopé. A Juno 365 stage includes 2019 Juno nominees Elisapie, Nuela Charles, Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, and winner Laila Biali. Tix on sale Friday

– The Raconteurs first tour since 2011 includes Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on July 19 and Toronto's Sony Centre on Sept. 12. The Detroit band is supporting the June 21 release of Help Us Stranger on band member Jack White’s Third Man Records.

– American EDM maestro Marshmello will be headlining iHeartRadio FanFest when it returns to Rebel Nightclub in Toronto, May 8. Tagged as part of CMW, others named to appear on the night include Famba, Lu Kala, Neon Dreams, and The Launch’s Cassiøpeia and Olivia Lunny.

– Norah Jones promotes her April 12 Blue Note EP Begin Again with jazz festival appearances in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal on June 25, 26, 27 respectively, and Vancouver’s Orpheum July 28.

– Celine Dion has added a second date at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena. She now plays there Dec. 9 and 10.

– Juno-winning vocalist Laila Biali is the latest name added to the lineup for JAZZ Lives: A Tribute to Jazz.FM91. Biali won her first Juno a few weeks ago with her self-titled record stealing the Vocal Jazz Album trophy. She joins Kellylee Evans, Barbra Lica, David Clayton-Thomas, June Garber, Jay Douglas, and John Finley at Koerner Hall tonight (10^th).

– Burton Cummings joins The Northern Pikes, Loverboy and 54-40. at Shake the Lake outdoor music festival in Regina's Wascana Park Aug. 30/31. Cummings headlines Friday with Styx closing Saturday’s event. Two-day passes are selling for $129+ applicables, VIP packages at $320+.

– Hotel California has its replay at a pair of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena shows on Sept. 27-28. The Eagles lineup will feature Don Henley, Joe Walsh, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey divvying up vocals on the songs the late Glenn Frey sang with the band. The lowest price for a ducat right now is US$321 with a VIP wknd package for one retailing for $7,500.

– AEG has two of the hottest tours running this year in North America. The privately held concert company is named tour promoter for Celine Dion’s 50-city Courage extravaganza that opens in Quebec City on Sept. 18, and the Rolling Stones’No Filter stadium jaunt that is being rescheduled to tentatively start in July following Mick Jagger’s recent heart surgery.

– Singer Gloria Estefan and her musician-producer husband, Emilio, have reduced their bayfront estate on Star Island in Miami Beach to US$32M. The property has been on and off the market since 2015, when it was priced at $40M.

In Seattle, musician-songwriter Ann Wilson has sold her Seattle home for $4.32M. She purchased the two-story house in 1980 for $460,000.

-- Rock The Rink, an annual tour featuring three Canadian figure skating superstars Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir, and Patrick Chan is emphasising live music for this year's just-announced whirl that features Toronto combo Birds of Bellwoods. The cross-country tour launches Oct. 5 in Abbotsford, BC, hitting 30 cities before wrapping in St. John’s, NL, Nov. 23. Tix on sale May 3 here 

– Geoff Kulawick's ArtsFest 2019 moves from Waterdown, ON, to the Westdale section of Hamilton for its fourth edition, June 22 and 23. The lineup features David Clayton-Thomas, John McDermott, Dione Taylor, Sass Jordan, Marc Jordan and Amy Sky, Steve Marriner's All-Star Blues Band, Sue Foley, Roxanne Potvin, Big Rude Jake, and a Last Waltz tribute. The free fest is preceded by a ticketed event with Crystal Shawanda and Amanda Rheaume, June 21 at the Westdale Theatre. 

– Running April 12-14 in Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards honour the province's best country acts with an Access Saskatchewan broadcast hosted by Aaron Goodvin. The 30th Anniversary Gala Award show at TCU Place on April 13 features performances by 18 of Saskatchewan’s top artists from the past 30 years.  More info here

– News of a new music venue opening in Toronto is always welcome. Located at 725 Queen Street East (near The Opera House), the 200-capacity Jasper Dandy opens with a concert series this month. The shows are free to attend by RSVP'ing bookings@jasperdandy.ca. Artists featured include Zeus, Single Mothers, Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs,  Bad Waitress, and Communism.

– The list of the UK's Top 40 bestselling vinyl albums of 2019 so far makes for interesting reading. To no surprise, Queen's Greatest Hits album, first released in 1981, is the year's top seller to date, with 9,200 sales. Three more Queen albums make the list. Foals take second place with Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, while The Dark Side of the Moon  and Rumours place 3rd and 4th. New Order takes the Top 3 vinyl singles chart placements with, in order, "Ceremony," "Temptation," and "Everything's Gone Green." Source: Officialcharts.com

– Fielding questions on his archival website‘s Letters to the Editor section on the weekend, Neil Young tipped fans off to a new Crazy Horse record. “Crazy Horse is about to enter the studio with 11 new ones,” he wrote. Young and CH also announced a May 14 show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, adding to his previously announced May 15 gig there. Both shows will feature a set by Elvis Costello. Pre-sale tickets on sale now here.

– The Dine Alone Records Store in Toronto (864 Eastern Ave) open its doors to commemorate Record Store Day on April 13, 9 am - 5 pm. The event will also feature live performances in its event space by The Trews.

– Bob Dylan is set to help open a whiskey distillery in downtown Nashville in fall 2020 under the brand “Heaven’s Door.” A news release says Heaven’s Door Spirits will transform the 160-year-old Elm Street Church into the Heaven’s Door Distillery and Center for the Arts, featuring the distillery, a whiskey library, a restaurant, a 360-seat performance venue, and displays of Dylan’s paintings and metalwork sculptures. The opening date and some facility details were announced yesterday (April 9) to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Dylan's Nashville Skyline album. Source: AP

– Fleetwood Mac has postponed four Canadian dates due to Stevie Nicks’ flu. Those four dates are April 8 in Toronto, April 11 in Winnipeg, April 13 in Edmonton, and April 15 in Calgary. The band’s summer dates in Europe have Fleetwood Mac looking to October or November for makeup dates. Ticket-holders will receive details shortly; refunds available at point of purchase.

– The Halifax Jazz Festival is celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month with free TD Jazz Labs shows on three consecutive Saturdays, April 13, 30, and 27, respectively featuring Laura Gallant, Bill Stevenson, and the Andrew Miller Trio ft. Tom Easley & Geordie Haley.

– Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN, runs June 13-16. Those playing mainstage sets include Phish, Childish Gambino, Brandi Carlile, The Avett Brothers, Post Malone, ODESZA, and The Lumineers. Full sked here. 

– Speaking of Phish, the famed jam band has given out $100K (US) to seven non-profit groups in upstate New York after last year’s canceled Curveball Festival at Watkins Glen. That fest was canceled at the last minute due to flooding and health concerns about drinking water. Phish later announced it would donate $100K to help in the recovery effort through The WaterWheel Foundation, a non-profit group that oversees the band’s charitable activities. A check presentation was held at Watkins Glen International Raceway yesterday. Source: Celebrity Access

– The TDJ News Corps is a Toronto Downtown Jazz initiative geared towards post-secondary students who are interested in writing about jazz. Successful applicants to the program are given full media accreditation for the Toronto Jazz Festival and are assigned a mentor – an experienced music journalist (KD: this scribe was previously a mentor and enjoyed the experience). This year's mentors are Garvia Bailey (Downbeat) and Ben Rayner (Toronto Star). Here is the online application form. Deadline is May 10.

– Fortuitous timing meant that Canadian jazz trumpeter/composer Jonathan Bauer had some home country support when he launched his new album, Walk, Don't Run, at The Ace Hotel in New Orleans last Thursday (it is out via Slammin' Media). His gig coincided with a visit to The Big Easy by Toronto station JAZZ.FM91's Jazz Safari, headed by Jaymz Bee, who added Bauer's show to the itinerary. Born and raised in Northern Alberta, Bauer is now based in New Orleans.