Music News Digest, Jan. 28, 2019
The Alberta Country Music Awards, held in Red Deer last night were hosted by Aaron Godvin who took home the night's most prestigious award, for Entertainer of the
By Kerry Doole
The Alberta Country Music Awards, held in Red Deer last night were hosted by Aaron Godvin who took home the night's most prestigious award, for Entertainer of the Year. Other nominees in that talent-heavy category included Brett Kissel, Gord Bamford, and Paul Brandt. Watch a live stream of the show here. More info on the winners here, courtesy 107.3 Country.
– Last November, Toronto Reggae and Canadian Reggae World began a social media campaign along with a request for the city of Toronto to change the Toronto sign to honour Bob Marley on his birthday Feb. 6. The petition has been granted, so that evening the sign in front of City Hall will be lit in fitting red gold and green colours . An After Party at Remix Lounge that night includes African Star, Briggidier Kingsley (Jah International), Spicey Gad, Xixgon International, and Friendlyness with hip hop pioneer Michie Mee as host.
– Never far from the headlnes, Kanye West returns via a pair of lawsuits he filed Friday. They target high-profile record companies and music publishers, including Universal Music Group, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam and the Sony/ATV-owned EMI Music Publishing. The heavily redacted lawsuits were filed at LA Superior Court, Hollywood Reporter writes. While the exact nature of West’s lawsuits are unclear, it appears West is seeking both unspecified monetary damages from the record labels as well as a “transfer of property.” It is believed West's attempt to buy back his publishing is behind this move.
– On Sat. night in Park City, Utah, Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Régine Chassagne performed in support of the KANPE Foundation at Make Change @ Salesforce Music Lodge, a new series celebrating music as a platform for change during the Sundance Film Festival. The famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band played last night.
– Toronto rapper Pressa is now making serious moves. He has opened for Drake, collaborated with Tory Lanez, and with Lil Uzi Vert on hit track “420 In London,” and last month he played seven Canadian cities on his first headlining tour. He recently told HipHop Canada that “next for me is my Prestige project that I’m anticipating to drop on Feb. 16 and I just want to accomplish my own Europe and USA tour.” The album will include “420 In London.”
– MusicOntario, the 2019 Juno Host Committee, London Music Office and Ontario Creates are partnering on the Host City Music Exchange. The initiative travels to Mississauga (Feb. 7), Kitchener (Feb. 21) and Windsor (Feb. 28), and each stop includes discussions on the Junos and secondary markets, a school assembly promoting music education, industry panels, and a free concert featuring London artists alongside local musicians. Featured artists include Averages, Lost in Japan, Julia Haggarty, Casper Marcus, Daytrip, and Charlie Weber and the Glorious Failures. This culminates in a showcase in London during Juno Week. MusicOntario presents two industry panels during each event: Meet Your Allies in Ontario’s Music Industry, and Building Your Team & Understanding the Biz
– Toronto rocker Danko Jones releases a new album, A Rock Supreme, on April 26 via M-Theory Audio (U.S.), Rise Above (UK), and Indica (Canada, AU, NZ). In the producer chair is GGGarth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers).
– The SHINE Concert raises funds for the SHINE Youth Music Bursaries in memory of Toronto musicians Jim Fay, James Gray and Doug Queen. The 10th Anniversary benefit is on March 3, at Lula Lounge, and features October Browne, Taxi Chain, and The Rizdales plus appearances by the 2019 Shine Bursary recipients. Bursary applications here
– Fast-rising Juno-winning Indigenous singer-songwriter William Prince will open both of Neil Young’s Winnipeg homecoming shows on Feb 3 and 4.
RIP
Michel Legrand, the French composer who won three Oscars and five Grammys during a career spanning more than half a century, died on Jan. 25, aged 86.
Legrand first won an Academy Award in 1969 for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from the film The Thomas Crown Affair. He followed that with Oscars for his music for Summer of ’42 in 1972 and Yentl in 1984.
He first began working as an accompanist and arranger in the 1960s. During his career, he worked with Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Orson Welles, Jean Cocteau, Frank Sinatra and Edith Piaf.
Legrand was also known for his scores for the French New Wave director Jacques Demy for the films Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) in 1964 and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Ladies of Rochefort) in 1967, both of which received Oscar nominations.
He had been scheduled to hold concerts in Paris in April. Source: The Guardian
