JUST ANNOUNCED
We are very excited to have just announced a presentation featuring the man behind This American Life, Mr. Ira Glass. The event, entitled Reinventing Radio: An Evening with Ira Glasswill take place at Massey Hall on Saturday, October 27 and tickets are on sale right now. The show will feature Ira Glass talking about how his program is put together and then through a process of combining stories from the show with pre-taped quotes and music, he’ll recreate the sound of This American Life in front of our Massey Hall audience. If you’re not familiar with Glass or This American Life you can (and should) get a good idea from this article (via AnnArbor.com). And be sure to check out the This American Life website which includes ways to listen to the show like streaming online and through the mobile app.
And Canada’s Walk of Fame announced yesterday three exciting concerts at Massey Hall as part of the Canada’s Walk of Fame Festival – on Thursday, September 20, Sarah McLachlan and K’Naan will perform; Saturday, September 22 features a return from Jann Arden; and Sunday, September 23 will showcase Johnny Reid in a feature performance at the Grand Ol’ Lady of Shuter Street. Tickets for the public are available starting tomorrow, Thursday, July 5 at 10am.
PERFORMANCES
Norah Jones (Thursday): The great Norah Jones returns to Massey Hall in support of her latest album Little Broken Hearts. You can read about the album and the various recent projects of Norah Jones in this recent article from CNN. CONTINUE READING >
PERFORMANCES Amelia Curran (Tonight – Tuesday): The lovely and talented Amelia Curran returns for an intimate engagement at Glenn Gould Studio this evening and we are so excited to see her for a solo date after getting a taste of what she’s been up to when she opened for Whitehorse back in February. Also, have you seen this video (embedded above) yet? Ms. Curran debuts a stellar new song “Modern Man” on our own Soundboard, recorded at Toronto’s own Revolution Recording.
Jay Douglas (Friday): Jay Douglas is a Toronto and reggae music institution and he’s taking the Glenn Gould Studio stage with his 12-piece All-Star band this Friday night. You can read all about the impressive CV that Mr. Douglas has acquired on the event page and be sure to take a moment to view his recent visit to Revolution Recording where he recorded a cover of Bob Marley and The Wailers “Simmer Down” and listen to him on the Soundboard podcast. You can do both here.
Filmed live at Toronto’s Revolution Recording Inc. JUNO Award winner Amelia Curran, took time out for us a few weeks ago to debut this stunning, brand new song titled “Modern Man” – Watch here from the Massey Hall Soundboard:
JUST ANNOUNCED
We’ve got some great spring/summer shows to tell you about.
Bonnie Raitt returns to Massey Hall on Saturday May 26 hot on the heels of releasing her upcoming album Slipstream. In her words the album has her “in the slipstream of those who came before me…holding up the traditions of the music that I love”.
Amelia Curran, JUNO Award winner in 2010 for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year, will play the Glenn Gould Studio on Tuesday, May 15. Amelia’s also appearing as special guest at the upcoming Whitehorse show we’re presenting at the Winter Garden on February 24.
And the Good Lovelies, also JUNO Award winners (and newly nominated for a 2012 JUNO), perform at the Glenn Gould Studio on Saturday, June 16. Expect witty banter, instrument swapping and beautiful three part harmonies from this Folk/Roots trio.
Deepak Chopra (Friday): Deepak Chopra returns to Roy Thomson Hall after his last appearance here in Spring 2009. Author of more than 55 books published in more than 85 languages, Time Magazine has called Chopra the “poet-prophet of alternative medicine.” Chopra is featured as the cover story in the current issue of Zoomer Magazine (with photography by Bryan Adams) where we are reminded that he “recently performed Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats’ wedding ceremony and has worked with Madonna and Goldie Hawn,” and that’s in addition to the fact that “he practised meditation with Beatle George Harrison” and “was a friend of Michael Jackson.” Originally a practitioner of Western Medicine, Chopra has a thorough and diverse CV (not to mention references) – see for yourself, this Friday at Roy Thomson Hall.
Kenny Rogers (Friday): It’s officially December starting tomorrow so bring on the Holiday Cheer! Kenny Rogers performs at Massey Hall this Friday as part of his Christmas & Hits tour – singing your holiday faves and treasured Kenny Rogers classics. Rogers is an institution – Soundspike reminds us that he is celebrating his 50th year in the industry and that he has no less than 65 albums and sales of more than 125 million copies.
Amelia Curran (Saturday): If you’ve been reading The Buzz regularly or following our Twitter account (@soundboardTO) you’ll know by now that Amelia Curran is an award-winning machine. This Spring she took home a JUNO Award for Solo Roots & Traditional Album of the Year, in the Summer she was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize, and this Fall she received four awards from The Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, three Music Nova Scotia Music Awards, and the award for Solo Artist of the Year from the Canadian Folk Music Association. See for yourself what all the well-deserved hype is about this Saturday at Glenn Gould Studio. And check out the EPK embedded above.
Rufus Wainwright(Saturday): Rufus Wainwright performs at Massey Hall on Saturday and he’s one busy artist. The collab between his mother, Kate McGarrigle, himself, and Josh Groban is now available on Groban’s latest disc (Groban wrote the music, McGarrigle and Wainwright wrote the lyrics, in French), and it was recently announced that Wainwright would be resident at the Royal Opera House in July featuring five concerts – you can learn more about both of these projects over on his site. You can also check out the Globe and Mail’s take on Wainwright’s latest tour here where critic Marsha Lederman calls the Vancouver show “one of the stranger, more beautiful and certainly most intense evenings of [her] concert-going life”
Bahamas with Special Guest Doug Paisley (Thursday): Bahamas arrives at Glenn Gould Studio this Thursday for a performance sure to impress. His raw yet sweet songwriting makes him a real diamond in the rough – see for yourself in this recent In-Studio performance over at National Post’s Ampersand. Special bonus: Roots-folkster Doug Paisley is Special Guest for the evening – for a taste, check him out over on NPR Music or on Myspace.
Royal Wood with Special Guest Hannah Georgas (Friday): You loved him last year in his stellar performances at Glenn Gould Studio, this year we bring the charismatic and innovative singer-songwriter to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (on the grounds of the CNE) for a presentation that will knock your argyle socks off. Super fun extra: Hannah Georgas appears as Special Guest on the bill. You can check each of them out in advance at their (individual) Concerts on Demand over on CBC – Royal Wood (at our own show at Glenn Gould Studio) is here and Hannah Georgas can be heard performing live at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver here or as part of this year’s CBC Radio Song Questhere.
Barenaked Ladies with Special Guest Jenn Grant (Friday): Barenaked Ladies, a part of the Canadian music tapestry, perform at Massey Hall this Friday. Their new album, All In Good Time, is their first as a four-piece and has been met with mass critical acclaim. Of their latest material and recent performances, Ed Robertson says “It’s a little more raw and rough. It’s a little more rock. Yeah, I think there’s a little more space for everybody to step out and shine.”. Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, Kevin Hearn, and Jim Creeggan (the four-piece BNL) welcome as their special guest, the charming Jenn Grant (who performed at Glenn Gould Studio last year).
Women’s Blues Revue (Saturday): This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Toronto Blues Society who present with us the Women’s Blues Revue, now in its 24th year. It must be said, there are some seriously amazing women in blues here in Canada and we are so proud to be a part of celebrating that and invite you to join us for the party! Here’s a really neat thing: Rita Chiarelli, performing in this year’s Revue, recently took a “pilgrimage to the birthplace of the blues” – Angola Maximum Security Prison. Bruce MacDonald directs a compelling documentary about her determined journey called Music From the Big House, check out the site for more details and the trailer here.
Bellydance Superstars: Bombay Bellywood(Monday): The Bellydance Superstars will take over the Queen Elizabeth Theatre next Monday with their energetic take on “fusion” bellydancing. Featuring the company’s first male dancer, Samir (formerly of Cirque du Soleil), and a cast of brilliant female dancers “[d]ecked out in yards of swirling silky Technicolor-hued fabric,” the bellydancers bring to Toronto their interpretation of Bollywood dancing in what promises to be a performance full of life, beauty, and creative expression.
JUST ANNOUNCED
In the spring we announced that soprano Angela Gheorghiu would be gracing the Roy Thomson Hall Stage on April 7, and now we are thrilled to announce the full complement that will join her – Conductor Steven White and none other than the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. The concert – a program of opera arias – is the long-awaited Toronto debut of Ms. Gheorghiu and is sure to be a beautiful night of music.
Maceo Parker takes the stage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on February 10. Parker has musical history with James Brown, George Clinton, and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. This is one funky show that is not to be missed. The sultry Lizz Wright is set to deliver her signature R&B at Glenn Gould Studio – including material from her new album – on February 20.
We’ve just announced that John Mellencamp will be performing at Massey Hall on Wednesday,February 9, 2010. A very special performance by the legend will include an “opening” act in the form of a documentary film by Kurt Markus entitled, It’s About You, chronicling the creation of his latest album, shot over the course of last year’s tour of minor league baseball stadiums with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. The show itself will see Mellencamp perform acoustically, with a small combo, and then finally with a full rock band. Tickets go on sale to FriendsFirst members on Thursday, October 14, and then to the general public on Friday, October 15. Until then, check out Mellencamp, as well as Neil Young, Jeff Tweedy, Willie Nelson, and others in a series of videos on TwentyFourBit from Farm Aid’s 25th anniversary concert.
In other legendary musical-icon-show-announcement-news, the one and only Kenny Rogers will bring his Christmas & Hits Tour to Massey Hall on December 3 performing everything from “White Christmas” and “Let it Snow” to “The Gambler” and “Islands in the Stream”. With 50+ years of music-making and over 105 million albums sold worldwide, Kenny Rogers ranks #8 on R.I.A.A’s list of Top Selling Male Artists of all time! Tickets for this show go on sale to the general public on Saturday (Oct 16) at noon.
PERFORMANCES
Belle & Sebastian (Tuesday): By now, you’re all caught up on Belle & Sebastian’s new album Write About Love, but did you know that the lads and lasses from Scotland could well Write About You? The album drops today and inside the packaging itself is your chance to have Stuart Murdoch pay you a visit in order to write a song about you. All the details are here, but just in case you don’t win, the group pays a visit to Massey Hall tonight.
Sufjan Stevens (Wednesday): Like Belle & Sebastian, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens’ new album drops today; then, tomorrow you get to witness the music innovator live in person at Massey Hall. The new album just received four stars and was called the Disc of the Week by the Globe and Mail. Robert Everett-Green notes that the album is “delicately made and densely layered,” and we can’t wait to see it live.
The Amazing Kreskin (Wednesday & Thursday): What can we possibly say to express how excited we are to welcome The Amazing Kreskin for two nights this week at Glenn Gould Studio? Seriously impressing audiences for decades now, this mentalist and thought reader is a one of a kind entertainer and a true icon of the stage. Check out this clip of Kreskin on CBC The Hour and listen for him live this Thursday on CBC Q, The New Classical 96.3, JAZZ FM and CP24 Breakfast just to name a few.
Danny Michel & His Band (Friday & Saturday): Danny Michel’s latest album, Sunset Sea, was released in July to critical acclaim (and apparent dismay from multiple critics that he is “criminally overlooked”.) Danny Michel has won two Juno Awards and this summer, he also won the special honour of David Suzuki’s Playlist for the Planet for his tune “Feather, Fur & Fin”. Check him and his band out for one or both of his shows this week at Glenn Gould Studio.
Yesterday we announced our 2010-2011 Season. While, of course, everything that made it into this year’s Season Brochure is most awesome, I’m particularly excited about the concerts coming to the smaller spaces in which we’re presenting this year: Glenn Gould Studio and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
For me, Amelia Curran and Bahamas are among the Glenn Gould Studio highlights. While their sounds are totally different, they’ve been going head to head for accolades over the last year: both were nominated for the JUNO award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (solo) (and Amelia took the hardware home) and both were long-listed for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize. You might recognize Amelia Curran from her appearance on our Canadian Songbook event honouring Bruce Cockburn in June – enjoy a flashback here care of CBC Concerts on Demand.
Bahamas’ music includes original songs that are beautiful in their simplicity (try “Lonely Loves“ or “Till The Morning”) and I’m perfectly enchanted by his cover of “Whole Wide World.” Also, this guy keeps some fine company; he was a touring member of Jason Collett’s band and then Feist’s band and his album, Pink Strat includes guest appearances from members of Zeus and The Great Lake Swimmers.
Soundboard is the official community of musicians, music fans, and friends of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Canada. It’s your behind-the-scenes source for related music news, recommendations, and rewards.
