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The National Ballet of Canada Welcomes Scottie Barnes, Max Kerman, and More as ‘Cannon Dolls’ for 30th Anniversary of ‘The Nutcracker’

Eric Alper
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The National Ballet of Canada Welcomes Scottie Barnes, Max Kerman, and More as ‘Cannon Dolls’ for 30th Anniversary of ‘The Nutcracker’

Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, shared today this season’s lineup of Cannon Dolls for James Kudelka’s The Nutcracker. Toronto Raptors Scottie Barnes and Jamal Shead will make their debut as Cannon Dolls on December 19. 

The holiday favourite celebrates its 30th anniversary this season and to mark this milestone, Rex Harrington, the original Peter/The Nutcracker who created the role 30 years ago, will appear as a Cannon Doll on opening night, December 5. 

This season, the Cannon Doll lineup features CBC Q host Tom Power and Arkells frontman Max Kerman, Olympic Ice Dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Wynton McManis and Damonte Coxie of the Toronto Argos, Chris Boushy and Challen Rogers from the Toronto Rock, Toronto AFC’s Victoria Pickett and Sarah Rollins, Canadian Women’s Rugby players Brittany Kassil and Taylor McKnight, Toronto Star reporters Joshua Chong and Victoria Gibson, Sirius XM Radio Hosts Allison Dore and Victor Bibby aka DJ Frank Vinatra, TSN Football Analyst Davis Sanchez and host Kate Beirness and longest running Cannon Doll, Global TV’s Susan Hay, in her 23rd year, who will be appearing with anchor Antony Robart. 

In addition to the luminaries listed above, the National Ballet invites colleagues in the Toronto arts and dance community and our community partners to join the company onstage as Cannon Dolls. This season we are thrilled to welcome members of DanceWorks, Hart Dance, dance immersion, Surrey Place, York South Family Network and West Neighbourhood house.

Celebrity walk-on roles are a long-standing tradition with Nutcrackers all over the world. In the National Ballet’s production, the cameo roles are Cannon Dolls, colourfully costumed Petrouchka dolls who shoot a cannon into the audience in Act I. To date, the National Ballet has invited 1,378 Canadian luminaries and personalities to appear onstage in the coveted roles.

Past Cannon Dolls have included former Toronto Raptors Kyle Lowry and Matt Thomas, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and former Leafs Winger Mitch Marner, Olympic Gold Medalist Figure Skater Tessa Virtue, Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer Summer McIntosh, Actors Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Graham Greene and Sarah Gadon, Astronaut Chris Hadfield, Comedian Rick Mercer, Authors Carley Fortune and Emma Donoghue, Musician Brendan Canning and more!

Over its 30-year history, The Nutcracker has captivated audiences of all ages, with over 1.3 million people attending 672 performances since its premiere in 1995. With Kudelka’s imaginative choreography, Tchaikovsky’s timeless score, breathtaking designs by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, this beloved production continues to delight year after year.
 
Tickets are almost sold out with best availability on December 31. 

BRUCE MCCULLOCH Announces Cross-Canada Tour For Acclaimed One-Person Show ‘Dark Purple Slice’

Eric Alper
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BRUCE MCCULLOCH Announces Cross-Canada Tour For Acclaimed One-Person Show ‘Dark Purple Slice’

Bruce McCulloch, best known as a founding member of the legendary sketch troupe The Kids in the Hall, will take his acclaimed one-person show “Dark Purple Slice” on a cross-Canada tour beginning in February 2026 and continuing into April. The show is a brilliant blend of music, stand-up, and storytelling, offering audiences a poetic flyover of McCulloch’s life that is equal parts funny, relatable, and surprisingly poignant. With his trademark wit and offbeat sensibility, McCulloch invites audiences to laugh, reflect, and contemplate the absurdities of being human.

“Dark Purple Slice” explores McCulloch’s lifelong habit of looking at the world as an outsider, weaving together gallows humour, humanistic yearnings, and razor-sharp observations. McCulloch comments that the show is “about finding the beauty and joy in life, even in these troubling days. And how we use dark humour to get through life’s toughest times.” The tour showcases the singular ability of the celebrated writer, performer, and director—whose recent work includes the newest season of The Kids in the Hall on Amazon Prime Video—to find light in the dark. For ticket information, fans can visit his official website.

Tour Dates:

February 5, 2026, London, ON – The Aeolian Hall
February 7, 2026 – Guelph, ON – Royal City Mission
February 12, 2026 – Sarnia, ON – Imperial Theatre
February 19, 2026 – Peterborough, ON – Showplace Performance Centre
February 20, 2026 – Ottawa, ON – Algonquin Commons Theatre
February 22, 2026 – Oshawa, ON – Regent Theatre
February 27, 2026 – Hamilton, ON – The Westdale
February 28, 2026 – Paris, ON – Paris Presbyterian Church
March 6, 2026 – Toronto, ON – The Royal
March 8, 2026 – Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre
March 12, 2026 – Saskatoon, SK – Broadway Theatre
March 20, 2026 – Edmonton, AB – Myer Horowitz Theatre
March 22, 2026 – Winnipeg, MB – West End Cultural Centre
March 27, 2026 – Victoria, BC – Macpherson Playhouse
March 28, 2026 – Coquitlam, BC – Great Canadian Casino Vancouver
April 9, 2026 – Calgary, AB – Bella Concert Hall
April 11, 2026 – Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Community Theatre
April 24, 2026 – Moncton, NB – Capitol Theatre
April 25, 2026 – Halifax, NS – Casino Nova Scotia

BRIDGET HAYDEN Releases Standalone Single ‘Our Ship is Ready’ From ‘Cold Blows the Rain’ Sessions

Eric Alper
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BRIDGET HAYDEN Releases Standalone Single ‘Our Ship is Ready’ From ‘Cold Blows the Rain’ Sessions

Experimental musician Bridget Hayden, who released the critically acclaimed album Cold Blows the Rain this year, has unveiled a new single, “Our Ship is Ready,” taken from the same recording sessions. This classic folk song, which couldn’t physically fit on the vinyl album, is a deeply personal track that Hayden first heard her mother sing about a decade ago. She was so captivated that she made her mother sing it repeatedly until she learned it herself. The single is also being released alongside a limited edition lino print, made from an original block created by her father, Reg Hayden, in 1984.

The songs that make up Cold Blows the Rain and this new single are wrapped in mist and drizzle, elements that shape the music as much as the instruments, creating a sound that is “as real but ambiguous as the ghosts that linger in the shadows.” Hayden explains that the music captures the atmosphere of the dark valley floor in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, where she lives, adding, “The weather speaks the most eloquently about human loss.” Fans who witnessed Bridget Hayden & The Apparitions’ startling performances at festivals like Green Man, End Of The Road, and Supersonic can now enjoy an accompanying live video for “Our Ship Is Ready.”

BABY CONDOR Release Melancholic Single ‘Silver Stereo’ From Self-Titled Debut EP

Eric Alper
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BABY CONDOR Release Melancholic Single ‘Silver Stereo’ From Self-Titled Debut EP

Dutch brother duo Baby Condor has released “Silver Stereo,” the third single from their forthcoming self-titled debut EP, which is set to arrive on January 23rd through Coast to Coast records. The track is a melancholic song about a golden era when music felt more like human art than a corporate product, influenced by pop, country, folk, and indie, and defined by a vintage production style, live horns, and an anthem-like chorus. The song’s title is a direct reference to the silver Luxman L-4 amplifier their father owned, which introduced the brothers to the songwriting of the Beatles and Beach Boys, inspiring their mission to create timeless, soul-infused music for the modern listener.

The brothers, Nolle and Beinte Groen, created “Silver Stereo” entirely in their self-built Mermaid Studio, writing, arranging, and producing the track themselves, even utilizing hand-soldered recording gear and analogue effects to achieve their signature sound. The track features Menno Nijen Es on Wurlitzer and Hammond, and a legendary hornpack featuring Isaac McCluskey, Nick Feenstra, and Joël Botma, cementing Baby Condor’s cinematic sound, which offers an escape down endless highways and sunlit coastlines.

LACI KAYE BOOTH Unveils Heartbreaking New Single ‘I’m In Love With A Man’

Eric Alper
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LACI KAYE BOOTH Unveils Heartbreaking New Single ‘I’m In Love With A Man’

Geffen Records artist Laci Kaye Booth has released her new single, “I’m In Love With A Man,” a gorgeous love song that delivers a stunning emotional twist. The track sees Booth painting a picture of an ideal man—attentive, faithful, and loving—before revealing the crushing truth in the chorus: “I’m in love with a man / You’ll never be.” Booth co-wrote the psychologically thrilling song with Tofer Brown and Lauren Hungate, and it was produced by Ben West, who also helmed her acclaimed debut album, The Loneliest Girl In The World. Booth shared that after playing the song live the week she wrote it, she immediately knew from the audience’s reaction that it was a song people needed to hear as much as she needed to write it, calling it “a love story with a twisted ending.”

The single is accompanied by a vintage-vibe visualizer directed by Natalie Sakstrup, who previously directed Booth’s visuals for “Luck Of The Draw” and “George F****** Strait.” “I’m In Love With A Man” demonstrates Booth’s ability to blend deep emotion with sophisticated storytelling, positioning her as a leading voice in modern country music.

TRISHA YEARWOOD Announces Expanded Digital Edition ‘The Mirror (Deluxe)’ And Intimate Acoustic Tour

Eric Alper
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TRISHA YEARWOOD Announces Expanded Digital Edition ‘The Mirror (Deluxe)’ And Intimate Acoustic Tour

TRISHA YEARWOOD Announces Expanded Digital Edition ‘The Mirror (Deluxe)’ And Intimate Acoustic Tour

Trisha Yearwood, The Mirror (Deluxe), Virgin Music Group, Gwendolyn Records, Christmastime, Christmastime: 12 Days of Christmas Symphony Tour, The Mirror Tour: An Intimate Acoustic Evening of Stories and Songs, Leslie Satcher, Bridgette Tatum,

Country music icon Trisha Yearwood is set to release The Mirror (Deluxe) on January 23rd via Virgin Music Group and Gwendolyn Records, an expanded digital edition of her acclaimed recent album, The Mirror. This deluxe version will feature five bonus tracks, including “You’re Gonna Love It Here,” “Different Kind of Hard,” “Undone,” and “Country Music HerStory,” along with the fan-favorite “Put It In A Song.” Yearwood, who is currently celebrating the season with her new album Christmastime and the Christmastime: 12 Days of Christmas Symphony Tour, explained that the new tracks were too important to leave behind and felt like a natural extension of the original album’s deeply personal narrative.

To celebrate the expanded release, Yearwood will embark on The Mirror Tour: An Intimate Acoustic Evening of Stories and Songs, joined by fellow singer-songwriters Leslie Satcher and Bridgette Tatum. The tour, which kicks off in March 2026, promises a rare, up-close experience where Yearwood will bring the new and original songs of The Mirror to life in a stripped-down, acoustic setting, alongside the iconic hits that have defined her legendary career. Yearwood noted, “The Mirror Tour is really about bringing these songs to life in the way they were written, with just a guitar and a story… I can’t wait for folks to hear The Mirror in this setting.”

The tour dates span the country throughout March and April 2026. This intimate format aligns perfectly with Yearwood’s vision for the music, stating that the whole writing process opened a new “portal” for her, making these co-written songs too vital to discard. Tickets for The Mirror Tour went on sale on Friday, December 12th.

TRISHA YEARWOOD 2026 THE MIRROR TOUR DATES:

  • Mar 4 — Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
  • Mar 5 — Palm Desert, CA @ McCallum Theatre
  • Mar 6 — Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center for the Arts
  • Mar 8 — Beaver Creek, CO @ Vilar Performing Arts Center
  • Mar 9 — Aspen, CO @ Wheeler Opera House
  • Mar 12 — Salina, KS @ The Stiefel Theatre
  • Mar 13 — Des Moines, IA @ Hoyt Sherman Place
  • Mar 14 — Green Bay, WI @ Meyer Theater
  • Mar 19 — Bloomington, IL @ Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts
  • Mar 20 — Shipshewana, IN @ Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
  • Mar 21 — Paducah, KY @ Carson Center for the Arts
  • Apr 9 — Albany, NY @ The Egg
  • Apr 10 — Ithaca, NY @ State Theater
  • Apr 11 — Shippensburg, PA @ H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center
  • Apr 12 — Wilkes-Barre, PA @ The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

FENDER Introduces Limited-Edition ‘Arm The Homeless’ Guitar, Recreating Tom Morello’s Iconic Instrument

Eric Alper
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FENDER Introduces Limited-Edition ‘Arm The Homeless’ Guitar, Recreating Tom Morello’s Iconic Instrument

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has officially introduced Tom Morello’s “Arm The Homeless” guitar, a limited-edition instrument that faithfully recreates one of the most distinctive and influential guitars in rock history. This launch is a deeply personal project for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer, offering fans the chance to experience the guitar that powered anthems from Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage. The collector’s edition mirrors the original’s unconventional design, including its active electronics, Gotoh Double-Locking Tremolo, custom Hockey Stick headstock, and the provocative “Arm The Homeless” lettering with hand-drawn hippopotamus artwork on a striking blue ice metallic finish.

The original “Arm The Homeless” guitar, a heavily customized build assembled from mismatched parts, became an extension of Morello’s voice and vision, channeling everything from delicate jazz passages to blistering rock riffs. Morello stated, “The ‘Arm the Homeless’ guitar has been my comrade for life in the sonic sphere. It allowed me to find myself as an artist. Over 22 albums and in countless collaborations ‘Arm the Homeless’ has been an indispensable ally.” Fender worked closely with Morello to reproduce every nuance of the original, including the untrimmed strings on the headstock, creating an instrument that balances modern craftsmanship with the expressive range that defined Morello’s groundbreaking sound for decades.

A key feature of the instrument is its active electronics, which deliver the dynamic tonal range essential to Morello’s playing. The faithful recreation of this legendary guitar is a powerful symbol of artistic rebellion and a celebration of Morello’s unwavering commitment to musical innovation and social change. As part of this special project, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the guitar will benefit Midnight Mission and Covenant House, two local Los Angeles organizations hand-picked by Morello for their dedication to providing shelter and dignity to people experiencing homelessness.

Max Gutnik, Fender’s Chief Product Officer, remarked that the mission was to “honor his vision and build an instrument with the same edge and attitude as the original,” emphasizing the commitment to capturing the raw spirit and personality of the iconic guitar. The Tom Morello “Arm The Homeless” Guitar ($1,699.99 USD) is part of Fender’s Artist Signature Series.

You can watch Tom Morello’s “Arm The Homeless” Guitar in action, and high-resolution images are available HERE. For technical specs, additional information, and to find a retail partner near you, visit www.fender.com. .

KEITH URBAN To Headline Boots In The Park Festival In Gilbert, Arizona

Eric Alper
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KEITH URBAN To Headline Boots In The Park Festival In Gilbert, Arizona

Activated Events has announced the return of the Boots In The Park festival to Gilbert, AZ, on Saturday, March 21st, 2026, headlined by country superstar Keith Urban. The event, taking place at Gilbert Regional Park, will feature a powerhouse lineup including Dustin Lynch, Mitchell Tenpenny, Mackenzie Carpenter, Bryan Martin, and more. This festival follows two successful 2025 events in the region, showcasing the traveling festival’s popular mix of world-class country artists, line dancing, craft food from local vendors, and diverse beverage selections. Boots In The Park is known for creating all-day country parties that offer a full sensory experience, complete with whiskey and tequila tastings and captivating art installations. The Gilbert event joins a growing list of announced 2026 festivals, including two days in Albuquerque featuring Post Malone and Jelly Roll. Fans can sign up for the presale now, which begins Friday, December 12th at 8 am MST, before the public sale starts the same day at noon MST.

GILBERT LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Keith Urban
  • Dustin Lynch
  • Mitchell Tenpenny
  • Mackenzie Carpenter
  • Bryan Martin

BRISTOL TRIO MASCA Announces Debut Album ‘Love Letters’ Alongside New Single ‘Oxytocin’

Eric Alper
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BRISTOL TRIO MASCA Announces Debut Album ‘Love Letters’ Alongside New Single ‘Oxytocin’

Bristol trio Masca has announced that their highly anticipated debut album, Love Letters, will be released on April 3, 2026, coinciding with the launch of their feelgood new single and music video, “Oxytocin.” This lead track is a perfect introduction to the album’s blend of rock with a pop sparkle and pop with a rock snarl, which vocalist and guitarist Christina Maynard explains is a song “for my baby, or to music, or anything that soothes you.” The album, which blends glittering melodies and blistering riffs, delves deep into poignant compositions directed to Tina’s son, band life intricacies, working on minimum wage, and even critiques on global billionaires.

Masca was born in 2021 during lockdown when Tina and Jack (drums, vocals) began livestreaming jam sessions to cover their mortgage, quickly discovering a “magic” in writing together. After an initial run as a duo, they completed their current lineup with Ben on bass after their piano/synth virtuoso Georgie Ward was whisked away to tour with Dua Lipa. Despite having a new baby in the mix—a period during which Tina recorded many of her vocals in a duvet fort at home while dealing with first-trimester sickness—the band built a garden home studio to maintain their creative grind. Tina, whose confidence in playing and performing grew after filling in on guitar for IDLES in 2022, emphasizes that their process is built on trust, vulnerability, and a refusal to stop creating.

For Masca, being a band is ultimately about resilience, family, and chasing the moment when melody meets riff and everything clicks. The album, which was mixed by Elliott Vaughan, showcases their intentional sound that’s built for curious minds who also want to move their bodies. Tracks like “Act My Age” and “DWIW” promise an album that is as socially aware as it is deeply personal and melodic. You can catch Masca live at several UK dates in December 2025 and June 2026.

CLIPSE Releases New Visual for Grammy-Nominated ‘P.O.V.’ Featuring Tyler, The Creator

Eric Alper
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CLIPSE Releases New Visual for Grammy-Nominated ‘P.O.V.’ Featuring Tyler, The Creator

Five-time Grammy nominees Clipse have released the new visual for “P.O.V.” featuring Tyler, The Creator, marking the fifth official video from their triumphant and critically-acclaimed album, Let God Sort Em Out. Directed by acclaimed director Cole Bennett, the eerie new video—which features the duo and Tyler rapping in a bizarre banquet hall with animatronic characters—is a standout from the album, which has earned major nominations for Album Of The Year and Best Rap Album at the upcoming 68th annual Grammys. The album, executive produced by Pharrell Williams, took fans, critics, and the charts by storm, debuting in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 and featuring multiple other Grammy-nominated tracks, including “Chains And Whips” (Best Rap Performance nominee) and “The Birds Don’t Sing” (Best Rap Song nominee).

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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