JUST ANNOUNCED
Just yesterday we announced that music legend Engelbert Humperdinck will return to Toronto for the first time in over 10 years. We’ll likely hear “Spanish Eyes” and “Please Release Me” among many of his numerous hits on April 12 at Massey Hall but we’re also looking forward to getting a sample of new material he’s been working on for his Duets album, which is said to feature Sir Elton John and Seal among others on the recordings. Tickets are available to FriendsFirst now and the public on sale begins this Friday at 10am.
PERFORMANCES Mo Kenney (Wednesday) Our Canadian Songbook at The Rivoli series continues this week with Mo Kenney. The term “one to watch” gets thrown around a lot but in this case, she really has something special happening. Her self titled album was recently released on Pheromone Records, and she has found a collaborator, mentor and producer in Joel Plaskett (watch the embedded video above).
Happy back-to-school everyone! I feel like every year I write a teensy love poem in the buzz to school supplies like coloured sharpies and Note Totes (do they make those anymore?) and here we are again! Lots and lots of good stuff in this week’s Buzz friends, so read on!
JUST ANNOUNCED Just yesterday we announced that the talented Jackie Evancho will be performing at Roy Thomson Hall on March 14, 2013. You may recall that Ms. Evancho took the world by storm after competing on America’s Got Talent. Her new album, Songs from the Silver Screen, becomes available October 2. Tickets for the concert at Roy Thomson Hall are available for purchase to FriendsFirst tomorrow (Thursday) and to the general public on Friday.
PERFORMANCES Back-to-school means one thing in particular around these parts – TIFF! The Toronto International Film Festival newly has a permanent home in our neighbourhood, but Roy Thomson Hall has long been a part of the epic celebration of cinema. Check out our event listings to learn what Gala screenings will be taking place here and, while I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding media coverage of the next two weeks here’s a good start: CBC has an interactive map on the geographical origins of this year’s films; The Toronto Star summarizes their 12th annual “Chasing the Buzz” poll; and BlogTO has an interview with the CONTINUE READING >
Happy Canada Day in advance loyal Buzz readers! The Buzz returns next week on Wednesday after celebrating the birth of our nation.
PERFORMANCES Chris Botti (Thursday): Chris Botti returns to Massey Hall with his signature sound blending pop, jazz, and classical music that’s sure to please. In advance of the show, you can check out some of the videos on his site including a series of interviews with Roy Firestone and an EPK for his latest recording, Impressions, featuring serious praise from the likes of David Foster, Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill, Andrea Bocelli, and Herbie Hancock.
MISSING LINKS Deceptive Cadence – at NPR Classical – currently has a great series called “The Young Person’s Guide To Making Music.” You can check out the whole series here featuring articles on everything from finding the right instrument and music teacher to “tantrum-free practice” and the excitement and anxiety that comes from the audition.
Can’t say we can recall the last time we pointed out an advertisement (*our own shows not included, wink, wink) here on Soundboard but this musical commercial for Old Navy had us thinking Don Draper would approve.
Hook Theory took what must have been a painstaking amount of time to study the chord progressions of over 1300 popular songs and dissect them for patterns and compatibility- read the results of their findings here. CONTINUE READING >
Margaret Cho – Cho Dependent (Friday): Ms. Cho appears on the Massey Hall stage showcasing her stand-up comedy as well as her latest comedy music. As you may recall, Cho was competing on Dancing With The Stars until quite recently when she was eliminated from the competition. She recently told Us Magazine that she’ll have great new material for her touring show, “talking a lot about DWTS.” You can also check out her recent interview with Metro News (where she makes reference to the “great comedy musicians like Weird Al.”
Stars (Saturday): It’s been a very busy couple of months for Stars. Not too long ago, the band released the highly anticipated album The Five Ghosts (you can check out their site for this fun little video about creating the 7” box set version of the album). Then, just last week they announced on their website that their digital release, Live from Montreal session is now available on iTunes for a limited time (for the low, low price of $5.99). Now, to top off all the awesome like a cherry on the sundae, they play Massey Hall this Saturday. Need more? Young Galaxy open up the night.
21st Annual Massed Military Spectacular (Sunday): This concert is always a special one and we’re so pleased to be on board again for this, the 21st Spectacular. The concert is very much a celebration this year in particular, as the Governor-General’s Horse Guards celebrate 200 years, the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada celebrate 150 years, and the Royal Canadian Navy Celebrate their centenary. Aptly titled Milestones, this year’s event will see eleven combined massed military bands and pipes and drums gather on the Roy Thomson Hall stage to perform in their honour and to feature some of the favourites, (including sing-alongs!) we look forward to each year.
An Evening With Anthony Bourdain (Wednesday): No-nonsense Bourdain comes to Massey Hall this week in support of his latest book, Medium Raw, descriptively subtitled “A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.” NOW Magazine recently interviewed the man himself – you can check out the chef-author’s wise responses here and here. VIP tickets are available which include not only premiere seating but an exclusive meet and greet session and lots of other good stuff. Check out the event page for all the details. Still deciding? Here are the Top 10 signs that you’re a Bourdain fanatic.
Lang Lang (Monday): Toronto favourite, Lang Lang, returns to Roy Thomson Hall for a performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestraas they kick off their new season. Lang Lang in performance is quite something to witness – his love of music and performing shines through with complete clarity. Plus, he’s perfectly charming at all times – even when (or perhaps especially when) he performs his encore on an iPad.
In case you missed it, at the end of last week we announced that the folks at Unique Lives & Experiences and The Toronto Star are bringing Penn & Teller to Massey Hall. Conversations with Penn & Teller. Celebrating “35 years of Magic and BS,” the pair promise an evening filled with their signature performance style plus an audience Q & A. Penn & Teller have been busy fellas – their Showtime television show has received 11 Emmy nominations and the 2004 WGA award for Outstanding Comedy/Variety Series, they’ve released an iPhone app (with which you can trick your friends into thinking you’re texting with Penn & Teller themselves), and they were recently featured in the Katy Perry music video “Waking Up in Vegas.”
We’re pretty excited that the new album from Stars, The Five Ghosts, hit the streets yesterday but we’re even more excited that yesterday also brought with it the announcement that Stars will be hitting Massey Hall on October 23. Stars currently has a pretty sweet contest where they are asking you to remix their song “We Don’t Want Your Body” (the single off the new album) with “complete artistic freedom” and then post it on the world wide web (on Stars’ site, of course) for all to hear, enjoy, and vote on their favourite. All the details are here.
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.
