PERFORMANCES TSO – The Hockey Sweater (Young People’s Concert Series) (Saturday): Saturday afternoon sees two matinee performances of this TSO Co-Commission based on Roch Carrier’s classic story. Roch Carrier himself narrates the piece and former Montréal Canadiens’ goaltender, Ken Dryden, hosts the performances. A very special afternoon for young fans of music and hockey alike! (Go Leafs Go!)
Glenn Gould Prize Gala Concert In Honour of Leonard Cohen (Monday): As we announced recently in the Buzz, this very special evening will fête Leonard Cohen with quite a list of those honouring him including Colm Feore, Basia Bulat, Cowboy Junkies, John Prine, Serena Ryder, and Gordon Pinsent with Travis Good & Greg Keelor (whom we present at Glenn Gould Studio later in June), among others. This celebration will include this, the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize, as well as the presentation of the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize winner as selected by Mr. Cohen, Sistema.
JUST ANNOUNCED
Last week we announced two very exciting additions from the Bureau of legendary Canadians to the line-up of our presentations. Leonard Cohen will be honoured at the Glenn Gould Prize Gala Concert on May 14 . Tickets are now available for this exciting event where Mr. Cohen will be present but not perform. Performances will come, however, from the likes of Basia Bulat, Cowboy Junkies, John Prine, Serena Ryder, and others. This promises to be a very special night indeed.
Also very special should be a presentation at Glenn Gould Studio of “Good, Pinsent, & Keelor” – that is Travis Good of The Sadies, Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, and acclaimed actor Gordon Pinsent. The trio have just released an album, Down and Out in Upalong, and are hitting the Glenn Gould Stage to show off their new stuff. You can read the 4-N album review in NOW (where Sarah Greene reports that “[t]he album is reminiscent of Billy Bragg and Wilco’s Mermaid Avenue, but with strong Canadian flavour.” You can also read about the project in the National Post. While the three will be performing as part of the aforementioned Leonard Cohen tribute, you can see their full length show at the Glenn Gould Studio on June 19.
PERFORMANCES There is a lot happening at the Halls this week, not least of which Chilly Gonzales tonight at Glenn Gould Studio, Colin James at Massey Hall on Friday, and Georgy Tchaidze at Glenn Gould Studio on Saturday. If that’s not enough, check out these other great shows:
Happy Home Opening Series to the Toronto Blue Jays!! Good luck this season boys!
Just Announced
Joe Bonamassa comes to Roy Thomson Hall on Saturday November 17 in support of his forthcoming 12th studio album Driving Toward the Daylight. The blues rock guitarist was last here at Massey Hall in early 2011. Tickets are onsale Wed Apr 11, 11am to FriendsFirst members and Fri Apr 13 10am to the general public.
Performances
We’ve got some great shows coming up that we’re really excited about…
Bob Newhart (Friday): The comic legend, joins us at Roy Thomson Hall on Friday, April 13. Mr Newhart is an icon from the golden era of American comedy. The dry, stammering delivery he has cultivated over the years has worn quite well with age. I was fortunate enough to catch his last show here in 2009 and it was real treat. This is not to miss! CONTINUE READING >
JUST ANNOUNCED
We’ve had lots of exciting new Massey Hall show announcements in the past week or so. Daughtry will be stopping in at Massey Hall with their Break the SpellTour on March 24. The band will be showcasing tunes from their latest album Break the Spell including “Crawling Back To You” and “Renegade.”
Then in April Death Cab for Cutie hits the Massey Hall stage on April 19. The concert should be pretty special as the band will be performing on stage with members of The Magik*Magik Orchestra. Magik*Magik Orchestra is, in fact, a modular orchestra who love collaboration and whose mission it is to “attract new listeners and participants to the orchestral experience.” As you can imagine, we think this is pretty cool – and obviously so does Death Cab For Cutie. You can get a feel for the kind of activities the Orchestra gets up to by checking out the “Watch and Listen” section of their webpage here.
Craig Ferguson (two shows on Friday): It’s a late-night television love-in this Spring starting with Craig Ferguson’s double bill on Friday night (and then we’ll see Conan O’Brien in May. See Web Watch, below). Toronto’s pretty excited to have funny-man Ferguson in town – read all about Ferguson’s climb to the top of the Late-Night Ladder in this feature article in The Toronto Star .
Sibelius Festival (Wednesday and Thursday) : The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Sibelius Festival concludes with two concerts of “the three towering final works.” CBC Radio 2 will be broadcasting the full festival in the week of April 29 on Tempo, and this program on May 2 at 11 a.m. Also, check out Stephen McGrath’s thoughts on why Sibelius is not that different from Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett. CONTINUE READING >
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.
