JUST ANNOUNCED If you missed it, last week we announced that Lewis Black will be performing at Massey Hall this September presented by Just for Laughs. Looking to do some preliminary research? Here’s his take on weather and meteorology (but head’s up: not entirely safe for work). Tickets are currently on sale!
PERFORMANCES
Dala (Friday): The duo that is Dala is made up of Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine and they’ll be hitting the Glenn Gould Studio stage this Friday in a highly anticipated concert with special guest Kevin Fox. Dala’s new album, Best Day, is available starting today – and you can check out a trailer for the record here (or embedded above). We’re giving away copies of Best Day on our Twitter and Facebook page – if you’re not already, follow us for your chance to win (and other good things, of course).
TSO – Late Night (Saturday): Once again this year, the TSO “stays up late” to deliver a very special concert starting at 10:30pm. This year’s program sees the performance of Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 “The Year 1905.” The evening’s entertainment doesn’t stop there, a post-performance party in the lobby features music from BADBADNOTGOOD (you can download their new album for free at their website). On the TSO’s site you can read more about the show, the symphony, and check out a video from Music Director Peter Oundjian about the excitement the night promises.
Tori Amos will be paying a visit to Massey Hall this year – she performs on December 8. L.A. Times reports that her next album, Night of Hunters, is set for release in September by Deutsche Grammophon. It also reports that the tour announcement describes the album as “a 21st century song cycle inspired by select classical pieces spanning the last 400 years.” Tickets for this one go on sale to FriendsFirst members tomorrow (Wednesday) and to the public on Saturday.
Larry King will also be hitting the Massey Hall stage this coming November where he’ll be sharing stories of his incredible experiences from his 50-year broadcasting career. The clever (and funny) promo for this tour promises you’ll see “Larry King like you’ve never seen him before. Standing up.” The Tickets for this very special event go on sale to FriendsFirst members today (Tuesday) and to the public on Wednesday. And if you’re simultaneously a Harry Potter fan and a Larry King fan, check out this video – When Harry Met Larry.
PERFORMANCES
Craig Ferguson (Friday): Craigyferg returns to Massey Hall for another hilarious night of his signature comedy this Friday. He’s been a busy fellow with his show taking a trip to Paris (the shows air next week) and the release of Winnie the Pooh, his latest voice-acting gig. In this new imagining of Winnie the Pooh, he voices wise ‘ol Owl– you can read an interview with Ferguson about the film and catch the charming trailer for the movie, here. Ferguson makes time for Toronto this Friday night at 7pm with an all-new show of stand-up comedy.
This week we announced that a new speaker-series, National Geographic Live, is coming to Roy Thomson Hall next season. Featuring four speakers – explorers, photographers, scientists – on a diverse set of topics from National Geographic’s underwater photography to the fascinating Genographic Project (check out the embedded video above.) The presentations, which feature incredible storytelling, photographs, and video, start this November – you can buy your subscriptions starting next Monday, June 6, 2011 here.
PERFORMANCES
Sam Roberts Band with special guest Zeus (Friday & Saturday) : Sam Roberts’ new album Collider debuted at Number 3 last week (on the Neilson SoundScan Album Chart) and this week he takes the stage for two nights at Massey Hall. He talks about his new album and his tour in this Toronto Sun article. Also, make sure you arrive early enough to catch special guest, Zeus, who perform both evenings.
Doug Paisley with special guest Lindi Ortega (Saturday): We’re very excited to be introducing you to Doug Paisley this Saturday at the Rivoli and the international media of the world are pretty excited about this fellow as well. Rolling Stonecalled his Constant Companion “one of 2010’s best singer-songwriter albums,” MOJO named it #10 on their list of the top 50 albums of 2010, and Pitchfork was pretty impressed too, noting the impressive company he keeps on this recording: Garth Hudson (of The Band), Feist, Jennifer Castle, and Julie Faught. It’s going to be a pretty special night of music at the Riv – hopefully we’ll see you there. If you are reading this early enough, be sure to catch Doug Paisley and his band when they perform on CTV Canada AM, this morning at 8:50am EST. (we’ll post a link to it here once its up on the CTV site.)
If you’ve missed it, this has been a week of very exciting show announcements. The Coles’ Notes:
A second Sam Roberts Band show will now take place on June 4 (again, with special guest Zeus) – tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday and FriendsFirst members have access to tickets starting Thursday. Sam Roberts bands’ new album Collider makes itself available for purchase on May 10 – which gives you lots of time to study it thoroughly prior to the two concerts but if you can’t wait until then, the first single “I Feel You” is now available on iTunes.
And, Bill Maher hits Massey Hall’s stage on Saturday, September 24. Bill Maher has made a name for himself with his commentary and take on world events and issues. A comedian first starting in 1979, Maher gained fame from his television shows Politically Incorrect (1993-2002) and more recently on HBO’s Real Time earning 22 Emmy nominations. Tickets for Maher go on sale to the public on Friday, April 15 and for FriendsFirstmembers on Wednesday. Want to know more about the FriendsFirst program? Check this out.
But there’s more! We’ve just announced that Kellylee Evans will be joining the bill as special guest to Dianne Reeves’ show this Saturday (details below). Evans just won a Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year for her release Nina, a tribute to jazz giant Nina Simone. You can check out video of Evans over on her website.
Not enough you say? Challenge accepted! We just announced the 11|12 Virtuoso Performances series line-up for the 2011-2012 Season. We’ll start the year by welcoming back Maestro Valery Gergiev conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra featuring Georgian pianist Alexander Toradze. Then in the spring we welcome Yundi (formerly known as Yundi Li), winner of the 200 Chopin International Piano Competition. Yundi will showcase his prowess at the work of Chopin and will also be performing works by Chinese composers (full program TBA). The series concludes with the duo-recital of bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff and tenor Michael Schade accompanied by Justus Zeyen on piano (who accompanied Measha Brueggergosman at Roy Thomson Hall on her November recital). The program features lieder selections of Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms. You can read all about the series here and order subscriptions through our box office now.
OVATION:Celebrating Classical Music at the JUNO Awards (Tonight, Tuesday): JUNO Week is here in Toronto and we’re helping to celebrate 40 years of the JUNO Awards tonight and tomorrow. Tonight promises a very special concert indeed where classical musicians and fans of classical music will gather to celebrate the remarkable achievements and outstanding artistry of our Canadian musicians. The eclectic program includes presentations from JUNO Award nominees past and present Amici Chamber Ensemble, soprano Measha Brueggergosman, violinist Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà, Duo Concertante, Gryphon Trio, pianist Anton Kuerti, violinist Lara St. John, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and cellist Winona Zelenka and is hosted by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director, Peter Oundjian.
Juno Songwriters’ Circle (Wednesday): Juno Songwriters’ Circle is another special event of JUNO Week – it takes over Massey Hall on Wednesday night. Hosted by Johnny Reid, the six other songwriters taking the stage to share their stories and their songs are the accomplished Dan Hill, Randy Bachman, Luke Doucet, Lynn Miles, Royal Wood, and Sylvia Tyson. Storyteller extraordinaire, Sylvia Tyson (check out the video embedded above!) was just featured in the Globe and Mail as she recently released her first novel, Joyner’s Dream. The book “follows a family of musicians and thieves from Southampton, in 1788 England, to present-day Toronto, their stories passing through multiple generations in a common family journal kept by the heirs to Old Nick, their ancestral fiddle.” You can also check out this article on the Juno Songwriters’ Circle specifically over at NOW Magazine.
Mississauga Children’s Choir (FREE! Thursday): Did you know that Roy Thomson Hall offers Free Noon Hour Choir & Organ Concerts? It’s true and it’s great! If you’re in the neighbourhood this Thursday, stroll over to the Hall to check out Mississauga Children’s Choir (celebrating its 30th anniversary season) conducted by Thomas Bell with Michael Bloss performing on the Gabriel Kney Pipe Organ. You can read more about our Free Noon Hour concerts here.
JUST ANNOUNCED
Just yesterday we announced that Sam Roberts Band is coming to Massey Hall this June. The show is in support of Sam Roberts Bands’ new album Collider which, according to Chartattack, hits stores on May 10. Last week, the National Post featured the album in their “opinionated list of the best culture headed this way” and noted that joining Roberts on the recording are “members of introspective art-rockers Califone, Afrobeat revivers Antibalas and jazz-influenced indie band Land of Talk.” The guys keeps good company. Speaking of which, CONTINUE READING >
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