Raul Midón (Thursday): Raul Midón takes to the Glenn Gould Studio stage later this week with his soulful take on jazz guitar. The show promises some serious talent from Midón – the Memphis Flyer recently called him “ a player who’s not easily pigeonholed in any identifiable genre” and noted that his “nimble tenor and gift for melody earns comparisons to Stevie Wonder, but his guitar playing is seldom if ever compared to other artists because there aren’t any other players like him.” Those are some pretty serious compliments and we think you’ll find them well-deserved. Check out some samples of Midon’s smooth sounds on his myspace page.
An Evening with Joe Bonamassa (Saturday): This week is not one to disappoint fans of guitar geniuses as Saturday brings one Joe Bonamassa to Massey Hall. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently featured an article online regarding Bonamassa’s new album, Dust Bowl (released just last week), and his career. The album, Bonamassa’s tenth, is pretty special – the article notes that there are guest appearances from John Hiatt and Vince Gill and recalls that “[l]ast year, he was voted the best overall guitarist and best blues guitarist (for the fourth year in a row) by readers of Guitar Player magazine.”
ACCOLADES
The JUNO Awards were this weekend in Toronto, as we’re sure you know – but did you know that a whole bunch of awards were given to artists and groups who have recently been featured on our stages? Congratulations to all of the winners (and the nominees of course) but special shout-outs to: CONTINUE READING >
Peter Frampton (Thursday): Frampton’s career properly took off in 1976 with his epic album Frampton Comes Alive! which features the songs we now know, love, and call classic – “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” and “Do You Feel Like We Do” – and was the best selling album of all time (to that point). True Story: Peter Frampton began his musical journey with a Banjolele – a “banjo-shaped ukulele.” I wish I could say I made up this word but it’s totally legit – it’s pretty much the best word mash-up since liger. Also very cool: you can make your very own banjolele. While I would be surprised if Frampton cracks out ye olde banjolele on Thursday, I am certain that he will bring the awesome sounds that have made him the legend he is (legendary enough, in fact, to have appeared on both The Simpsons and Family Guy).
WEB WATCH
While it may seem like early days yet for the flurry of TIFF-related blog posts here on Soundboard, the delightful tidbits have started to drop from the TIFF office including this one: Score: A Hockey Musical will be the Opening Night Gala here at Roy Thomson Hall on September 9. You may recall us mentioning the film back in February when it was still in production. Cameos from musical artists include Hawksley Workman, John McDermott, and Nelly Furtado.
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.
