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Luke Combs Confirms Massive 2023 World Tour

Eric Alper
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Luke Combs Confirms Massive 2023 World Tour

3 continents, 16 countries, 35 concerts. Country superstar and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs will embark on an unprecedented world tour in 2023. The massive trek includes 16 stadiums across North America, including Arlington, TX’s AT&T Stadium, Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, Kansas City’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium, as well as stops in Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, France and Belgium. See below for complete tour itinerary.

Tickets for the North American dates, which will feature special guests Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb, will be available for pre-sale starting next Wednesday, September 14 at 4:00pm local time through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, with general on-sale following Friday, September 16 at 10:00am local time. Combs’ official fan club, The Bootleggers, will once again have early access to tickets through Ticketmaster Verified Fan pre-sale starting next Wednesday, September 14 at 10:00am local time. Fans who are American Express Cardmembers can also get Front Of The Line pre-sale access to tickets for the Canadian shows in Vancouver, BC and Edmonton, AB before the general public, starting Thursday, September 15 at 10:00am local through 10:00pm local.

General on-sale for the international concerts is also Friday, September 16 at 9:00am local time in Europe (except Paris at 10:00am local time) and 2:00pm local time in Australia and New Zealand, with The Bootleggers pre-sale starting Monday, September 12 at 9:00am local time (except Australia and New Zealand at 9:30am local time and Paris at 10:00am local time). Special guests on the Australian and New Zealand dates are Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman.

The upcoming tour is just the latest milestone in an already monumental career for Combs, whose acclaimed new album, Growin’ Up, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart this past June. Out now via River House Artists/Columbia Nashville (stream/purchase here), Growin’ Up was produced by Combs, Chip Matthews and Jonathan Singleton and is his third studio album following 2019’s 3x Platinum What You See is What You Get and his 4x Platinum debut, This One’s For You. The record also features his current single, “The Kind of Love We Make,” which debuted at #17 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart—the highest chart debut since January 2020—and is currently top 5 and rising. The single adds to a historic run at country radio for Combs, who recently achieved his record-breaking, thirteenth-consecutive #1 as his single, “Doin’ This,” reached the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase/Country Aircheck charts.

A member of the Grand Ole Opry and a 6x CMA, 3x ACM, 3x Billboard Music Award-winner, Combs is in the midst of a record-setting and historic series of years. His previous release, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart as well as Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. With the record Combs reached #1 on Rolling Stone’s Top 200 Albums chart, Top 100 Songs chart and Artists 500 chart—the first country artist ever to lead all three charts in the same week and first to top the Artists 500. He also made history as the first artist ever to have their first two studio albums spend 25 weeks or more at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart—breaking Taylor Swift’s previously held record at 24 weeks.

LUKE COMBS WORLD TOUR 2023
On-sale next Friday, September 16
March 25, 2023—Arlington, TX—AT&T Stadium*
April 1, 2023—Indianapolis, IN—Lucas Oil Stadium*
April 15, 2023—Nashville, TN—Nissan Stadium*
April 22, 2023—Detroit, MI—Ford Field*
April 29, 2023—Pittsburgh, PA—Acrisure Stadium*
May 6, 2023—Chicago, IL—Soldier Field*
May 13, 2023—Minneapolis, MN—U.S. Bank Stadium*
May 20, 2023—Boise, ID—Albertsons Stadium*
May 27, 2023—Vancouver, BC—BC Place*
June 3, 2023—Edmonton, AB—Commonwealth Stadium*
June 10, 2023—Kansas City, MO—GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium*
June 17, 2023—St. Louis, MO—Busch Stadium*
July 8, 2023—Tampa, FL—Raymond James Stadium*
July 15, 2023—Charlotte, NC—Bank of America Stadium*
July 22, 2023—Foxborough, MA—Gillette Stadium*
July 29, 2023—Philadelphia, PA—Lincoln Financial Field*
August 9, 2023—Auckland, New Zealand—Spark Arena+
August 11, 2023—Brisbane, Australia—Brisbane Entertainment Centre+
August 16, 2023—Sydney, Australia—Qudos Bank Arena+
August 20, 2023—Melbourne, Australia—Rod Laver Arena+
August 23, 2023—Adelaide, Australia—Adelaide Entertainment Centre+
August 26, 2023—Perth, Australia—RAC Arena+
September 30, 2023—Oslo, Norway—Spektrum
October 1, 2023—Stockholm, Sweden—Annexet
October 4, 2023—Copenhagen, Denmark—Vega
October 6, 2023—Hamburg, Germany—Barclays Arena
October 7, 2023—Amsterdam, Netherlands—AFAS Live
October 8, 2023—Paris, France—La Cigale
October 10, 2023—Zurich, Switzerland—The Hall
October 11, 2023—Brussels, Belgium—Ancienne Belgique
October 13, 2023—Dublin, Ireland—3Arena
October 14, 2023—Belfast, N. Ireland—SSE Arena
October 16, 2023—Glasgow, Scotland—OVO Hydro Arena
October 17, 2023—Manchester, England—AO Arena
October 19, 2023—London, England—The O2 Arena
*with special guests Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb
+with special guests Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman

Get The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Into Your Life With Newly Mixed And Expanded Special Edition

Eric Alper
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Get The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Into Your Life With Newly Mixed And Expanded Special Edition

Revolver: The Beatles’ 1966 album that changed everything. Spinning popular music off its axis and ushering in a vibrant new era of experimental, avant-garde sonic psychedelia, Revolver brought about a cultural sea change and marked an important turn in The Beatles’ own creative evolution. With Revolver, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr set sail together across a new musical sea.

On October 28, Revolver will be released worldwide in a range of beautifully presented, newly mixed and expanded Special Edition packages by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. The Special Edition’s new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of the album’s opening track “Taxman” make their digital release debuts with today’s announcement and preorder launch.

The Revolver album’s 14 tracks have been newly mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell in stereo and Dolby Atmos, and the album’s original mono mix is sourced from its 1966 mono master tape. Revolver’s sweeping new Special Edition follows the universally acclaimed remixed and expanded Special Editions of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (2017), The BEATLES (‘White Album’) (2018), Abbey Road (2019), and Let It Be (2021).

All the new Revolver releases feature the album’s new stereo mix, sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes. The audio is brought forth in stunning clarity with the help of cutting edge de-mixing technology developed by the award-winning sound team led by Emile de la Rey at Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films Productions Ltd. The physical and digital Super Deluxe collections also feature the album’s original mono mix, 28 early takes from the sessions and three home demos, and a four-track EP with new stereo mixes and remastered original mono mixes for “Paperback Writer” and “Rain”. The album’s new Dolby Atmos mix will be released digitally.

Revolver Special Edition (Super Deluxe): 63 tracks

* Digital Audio Collection (stereo & hi res 96kHz/24-bit stereo + mono + Dolby Atmos)

* 5CD (stereo & mono audio) with 100-page hardbound book in a 12.56” x 12.36” slipcase

* 4LP+7-inch EP (stereo & mono audio) on half-speed mastered 180-gram vinyl with 100-page hardbound book in a 12.56” x 12.36” slipcase

  • DISC 1: Revolver (New stereo mix): 14 tracks
  • DISCS 2 & 3: Sessions (stereo & mono): 31 tracks
  • DISC 4: Revolver (Original mono master): 14 tracks
  • DISC 5: Revolver EP: 4 tracks
    • “Paperback Writer” & “Rain” (New stereo mixes & Original mono mixes remastered)

Revolver Special Edition (Deluxe): 29 tracks

* 2CD in digipak with a 40-page booklet abridged from the Super Deluxe book

  • DISC 1: Revolver (New stereo mix): 14 tracks
  • DISC 2: Sessions highlights + “Paperback Writer” & “Rain” (New stereo mixes): 15 tracks

Revolver Special Edition (Standard): 14 tracks
* Digital (New album mix in stereo & hi res 96kHz/24-bit stereo + new Dolby Atmos mix)
* 1CD in digipak (New stereo mix)
* 1LP (New stereo mix) on half-speed mastered 180-gram vinyl
* Limited Edition 1LP vinyl picture disc (New stereo mix) illustrated with the album cover art

Across all the configurations, Revolver’s Special Edition showcases the GRAMMYÒ-winning original album artwork created by The Beatles’ longtime friend, German bassist and artist Klaus Voormann. The Super Deluxe CD and vinyl collections’ beautiful book features Paul McCartney’s foreword; an introduction by Giles Martin; a thoughtful, enlightening essay by Questlove; and insightful chapters and detailed track notes by Beatles historian, author, and radio producer Kevin Howlett. The book is illustrated with rare and previously unpublished photos, never before published images of handwritten lyrics, tape boxes, and recording sheets, as well as 1966 print ads and extracts from Voormann’s graphic novel, birth of an icon: REVOLVER.

Following the December 1965 release of their groundbreaking album, Rubber Soul, and after wrapping up that year’s tour dates, a late decision to cancel shooting plans for a third Beatles film, A Talent For Loving, would have a significant effect on the creation of Revolver. The time allocated for filming and recording songs for a soundtrack was removed from the band’s schedule, allowing the group to take a four-month break before the Revolver recording sessions began. “One thing’s for sure,” John said a few weeks before the band’s return to the studio, “the next LP is going to be very different.”

On April 6, 1966, The Beatles gathered in Studio Three at EMI Studios (now called Abbey Road Studios) for their first Revolver recording session. With their producer George Martin flanked by recording engineer Geoff Emerick and technical engineer Ken Townsend, they went in blazing, starting with “Tomorrow Never Knows”. John’s ethereal vocals (fed from his mic through a rotating Leslie speaker), innovative tape loops – including Paul saying ‘ah, ah, ah, ah’, which when sped up produced a sound similar to a seagull’s screech – converge with Ringo’s thunderous drum pattern, George’s tamboura drone, and a backwards guitar solo. “Tomorrow Never Knows” propelled The Beatles and popular music into exciting new terrain. In an interview before Revolver’s August 5, 1966 release, Paul explained to NME, “We did it because I, for one, am sick of doing sounds that people can claim to have heard before.” Revolver’s Special Edition also features The Beatles’ first take of “Tomorrow Never Knows” from the April 6 session and a mono mix that was issued on a small number of records before the LP was recut with the correct version.

The next day, The Beatles returned to Studio Three, completed most of their “Tomorrow Never Knows” recording, and started work on the first version of “Got To Get You Into My Life”. As heard on the Special Edition’s Sessions One, this recording sounds very different from the released track. Revolver’s Special Edition also spotlights two more stages of the finished track’s evolution: an unreleased mono mix and a special mix highlighting the overdubs of three trumpets and two tenor saxophones.

One of George’s most important songwriting influences is heard in “Love You To”. The previous year, his deepening interest in Indian music and learning how to play sitar had brought him together with Ravi Shankar, who became his close friend and occasional musical collaborator. The Beatles began recording “Love You To” in Studio Two on April 11, the third anniversary of the UK release of “From Me To You”. Taken with the whole of Revolver, the short three-year span between these songs illuminates the band’s astonishing creative progression. “It was one of the first tunes I wrote for sitar,” George later recalled. “This was the first song where I consciously tried to use the sitar and tabla on the basic track.” With George on sitar and vocals, Paul on tamboura and vocal harmony, and university student Anil Bhagwat on tabla, the song’s intricate arrangement began to take shape over several takes. Overdubs included an additional harmony vocal by Paul, omitted from the released version but now faded up in a mix of Take 7. Revolver’s Special Edition also features Take 1 and a previously undocumented and only recently discovered rehearsal for the song with George playing sitar and Paul on tamboura.

Between April 13 and 16 in Studios Two and Three, The Beatles recorded their chart-topping “Paperback Writer” single (with layered harmonies, riffing guitars, and Paul’s booming bass lines) and its B-side “Rain” (achieved with tape machines slowed down for the recording and mixing processes). Prior to the single’s release on June 10 (May 30 in the U.S.), The Beatles spent a couple of days away from recording to shoot several promotional films for both songs with director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who would later direct the Let It Be film. In addition to the songs’ new stereo mixes and original mono mixes, Revolver’s Special Edition features “Paperback Writer” Takes 1 and 2 – Backing track and two versions of “Rain” Take 5: one at the actual speed The Beatles played it and the other, a slowed down evolutionary mix used to create the master tape.

The album’s opening track, “Taxman”, was recorded across three Studio Two sessions in April and May. One of three songs on the album by George, in “Taxman” he expresses his frustration with the UK’s ‘super-rich’ tax rate at the time (90%), with a vocal wink to the “Batman” TV theme song. In a 12-hour session on April 20, The Beatles recorded and mixed the first version of “And Your Bird Can Sing” (for this song, the Special Edition features two Version One/Take 2 recordings and Version Two’s Take 5), then began recording “Taxman”. They returned to the song the next day, laying down George’s foundational guitar, Paul’s bass and his dynamic, raga-style guitar solo, and Ringo’s drums and cowbell. Revolver’s Special Edition also features Take 11, with falsetto backing vocals by John and Paul with different words from the released version.

“Yellow Submarine” was recorded on May 26 and June 1 in Studios Three and Two, respectively. The iconic, sunny rite of singalong passage for children everywhere and a favorite for the young-at-heart began quite differently than it finished. Parts 1 and 2 of the Special Edition’s songwriting work tape for “Yellow Submarine” reveal the song’s evolution from a rather sad verse sung by John over acoustic guitar – “In the town where I was born / No one cared, no one cared…” – to its adaptation by John and Paul to suit the jollier subject matter of the chorus. Revolver’s Special Edition also includes “Yellow Submarine” Take 4 and highlighted sound effects (a complex and merry sonic seascape, including Mal Evans’ sand-shoveling and Brian Jones’ glass-clinking) for listeners to journey with The Beatles through the song’s progression. “We were really starting to find ourselves in the studio,” Ringo explained later. “The songs got more interesting, so with that the effects got more interesting.”

The Beatles’ final Revolver recording session took place in Studio Two on the evening of June 21, 1966 into the wee hours of June 22, just one day before the band traveled to Munich to start their international summer tour. The lyrics for “She Said She Said” drew upon the memory of a disorienting day of misadventure The Beatles had experienced in Los Angeles. Having received George’s help to create a whole new song from some unfinished fragments, John led the group through the rehearsals and recording while the clock ticked away the last remaining session time. Revolver’s Special Edition also features John’s home demo for the song and Take 15 – Backing track rehearsal, with its introductory speech revealing convivial banter between The Beatles as they worked out the arrangement (later praised by composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein as “remarkable” with “real inventions”).

By 4am on June 22, The Beatles finished “She Said She Said”, wrapping up their Revolver recording sessions. The album’s final mono and stereo mixes were completed that evening, and the next day The Beatles were once again off and running on tour. They would next return to Abbey Road in November 1966 to begin recording Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Released on August 5, 1966, Revolver spent seven weeks at number one on the UK albums chart, and a double A-side single with “Eleanor Rigby” and “Yellow Submarine ”topped the UK singles chart for four weeks in August and September. In the U.S., Capitol released an 11-track version of Revolver, which spent six weeks at number one on Billboard’s albums chart. “I’m Only Sleeping”, “And Your Bird Can Sing”, and “Doctor Robert” had been previously plucked from the sessions for Capitol’s North American release of the Yesterday And Today compilation album in June. That album’s sleeve was originally printed with the infamous “butcher cover” before pre-release controversy resulted in Capitol recalling and re-covering well over one million mono and stereo LPs with an innocuous photo of The Beatles gathered around a trunk.

REVOLVER SPECIAL EDITION
Tracklists

SUPER DELUXE [5CD + 100-page hardbound book in slipcase | digital audio collection]
CD1:Revolver (New stereo mix)
1: Taxman
2: Eleanor Rigby
3: I’m Only Sleeping
4: Love You To
5: Here, There And Everywhere
6: Yellow Submarine
7: She Said She Said
8: Good Day Sunshine
9: And Your Bird Can Sing
10: For No One
11: Doctor Robert
12: I Want To Tell You
13: Got To Get You Into My Life
14: Tomorrow Never Knows
CD2:Sessions One
1: Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)
2: Tomorrow Never Knows (Mono mix RM 11)
3: Got To Get You Into My Life (First version) – Take 5
4: Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version) – Unnumbered mix – mono
5: Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version) – Take 8
6: Love You To (Take 1) – mono
7: Love You To (Unnumbered rehearsal) – mono
8: Love You To (Take 7)
9: Paperback Writer (Takes 1 and 2) – Backing track – mono
10: Rain (Take 5 – Actual speed)
11: Rain (Take 5 – Slowed down for master tape)
12: Doctor Robert (Take 7)
13: And Your Bird Can Sing (First version) – Take 2
14: And Your Bird Can Sing (First version) – Take 2 (giggling)
CD3: Sessions Two
1: And Your Bird Can Sing (Second version) – Take 5
2: Taxman (Take 11)
3: I’m Only Sleeping (Rehearsal fragment) – mono
4: I’m Only Sleeping (Take 2) – mono
5: I’m Only Sleeping (Take 5) – mono
6: I’m Only Sleeping (Mono mix RM1)
7: Eleanor Rigby (Speech before Take 2)
8: Eleanor Rigby (Take 2)
9: For No One (Take 10) – Backing track
10: Yellow Submarine (Songwriting work tape – Part 1) – mono
11: Yellow Submarine (Songwriting work tape – Part 2) – mono
12: Yellow Submarine (Take 4 before sound effects)
13: Yellow Submarine (Highlighted sound effects)
14: I Want To Tell You (Speech and Take 4)
15: Here, There And Everywhere (Take 6)
16: She Said She Said (John’s demo) – mono
17: She Said She Said (Take 15) – Backing track rehearsal
CD4: Revolver (Original mono master)
Album tracklist (same as above)
CD5: Revolver EP
1: Paperback Writer (New stereo mix)
2: Rain (New stereo mix)
3: Paperback Writer (Original mono mix remastered)
4: Rain (Original mono mix remastered)

SUPER DELUXE VINYL [limited edition 4LP+7-inch EP + 100-page hardbound book in slipcase]
LP One:Revolver(New stereo mix)
Side 1
1: Taxman
2: Eleanor Rigby
3: I’m Only Sleeping
4: Love You To
5: Here, There And Everywhere
6: Yellow Submarine
7: She Said She Said
Side 2
1: Good Day Sunshine
2: And Your Bird Can Sing
3: For No One
4: Doctor Robert
5: I Want To Tell You
6: Got To Get You Into My Life
7: Tomorrow Never Knows
LP Two:Sessions One
Side 1
1: Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)
2: Tomorrow Never Knows (Mono mix RM 11)
3: Got To Get You Into My Life (First version) – Take 5
4: Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version) – Unnumbered mix – mono
5: Got To Get You Into My Life (Second version) – Take 8
6: Love You To (Take 1) – mono
7: Love You To (Unnumbered rehearsal) – mono
Side 2
1: Love You To (Take 7)
2: Paperback Writer (Takes 1 and 2) – Backing track – mono
3: Rain (Take 5 – Actual speed)
4: Rain (Take 5 – Slowed down for master tape)
5: Doctor Robert (Take 7)
6: And Your Bird Can Sing (First version) – Take 2
7: And Your Bird Can Sing (First version) – Take 2 (giggling)
LP Three: Sessions Two
Side 1
1: And Your Bird Can Sing (Second version) – Take 5
2: Taxman (Take 11)
3: I’m Only Sleeping (Rehearsal fragment) – mono
4: I’m Only Sleeping (Take 2) – mono
5: I’m Only Sleeping (Take 5) – mono
6: I’m Only Sleeping (Mono mix RM1)
7: Eleanor Rigby (Speech before Take 2)
8: Eleanor Rigby (Take 2)
Side 2
1: For No One (Take 10) – Backing track
2: Yellow Submarine (Songwriting work tape – Part 1) – mono
3: Yellow Submarine (Songwriting work tape – Part 2) – mono
4: Yellow Submarine (Take 4 before sound effects)
5: Yellow Submarine (Highlighted sound effects)
6: I Want To Tell You (Speech and Take 4)
7: Here, There And Everywhere (Take 6)
8: She Said She Said (John’s demo) – mono
9: She Said She Said (Take 15) – Backing track rehearsal
LP Four:Revolver (Original mono master)
Album tracklist (same as above)
Revolver EP (7-inch vinyl)
Side 1
1: Paperback Writer (New stereo mix)
2: Rain (New stereo mix)
Side 2
1: Paperback Writer (Original mono mix remastered)
2: Rain (Original mono mix remastered)

DELUXE [2CD in digipak with 40-page booklet]
CD 1:Revolver (New stereo mix)
CD 2: Sessions
1: Paperback Writer (New stereo mix)
2: Rain (New stereo mix)
3: Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1)
4: Got To Get You Into My Life (Early mix)
5: Love You To (Take 7)
6: Doctor Robert (Take 7)
7: And Your Bird Can Sing (First version) Take 2
8: Taxman (Take 11)
9: I’m Only Sleeping (Take 2) – mono
10: Eleanor Rigby (Take 2)
11: For No One (Take 10) – Backing track
12: Yellow Submarine (Take 4 before sound effects)
13: I Want To Tell You (Speech and Take 4)
14: Here, There And Everywhere (Take 6)
15: She Said She Said (Take 15) – Backing track rehearsal

STANDARD [1CD | digital | 1LP vinyl | limited edition 1LP picture disc vinyl]
Revolver (New stereo mix)

Queen & David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” Played By 1,000 Musicians

Eric Alper
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Queen & David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” Played By 1,000 Musicians

In 1981 the meeting between Queen and David Bowie gave us one of the most memorable rock songs of all time in Under Pressure. The group Rockin’ 1000 pays tribute to the song, more powerful than you ever thought.

40 Years Ago, Herbie Hancock Showed The Kids On ‘Sesame Street’ How A Fairlight CMI Synthesizer Worked

Eric Alper
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40 Years Ago, Herbie Hancock Showed The Kids On ‘Sesame Street’ How A Fairlight CMI Synthesizer Worked

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock went on “Sesame Street,” in 1983, and showed kids what made the Fairlight CMI synthesizer one of the most futuristic pieces of music equipment at the time.

Women In Music Canada Welcomes Robyn Stewart As Executive Director

Eric Alper
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Women In Music Canada Welcomes Robyn Stewart As Executive Director

Women in Music Canada (WIMC) is happy to announce Robyn Stewart (she/her) as its Executive Director.

Stewart is welcomed into the association by Chair and Founder, Samantha Slattery, who has spent the past eight years administering the non-profit organization, since its 2014 inception. Stewart will oversee all aspects of WIMC, including its various educational, career development and networking events, as well as programming, industry engagement, research and advocacy initiatives. An accomplished veteran in the Canadian cultural industries, Stewart brings with her a wealth of knowledge from all facets of event management, partnership relations, fund development and beyond.

Women in Music Canada (WIMC) is a registered non-profit organization and one of the largest music industry associations in Canada. The organization is dedicated to fostering gender equality in the music industry through the support and advancement of female identifying professionals and creatives at every stage of their career. The goal is to strengthen the social-economic balance of the music industry by providing professional development, support and resources for our community. Women in Music hosts educational, career development and networking events alongside broader programming initiatives, industry engagement, research and advocacy to serve the needs of our diverse community. Our panels, seminars, webinars, workshops and performance serve to educate, empower, and celebrate female contributions to the music world, and strengthen community ties.

“I am excited to take on this role, bringing immense passion for the importance of culture and music and of supporting emerging talent,” says Stewart. “Following my tenure at the Western Canadian Music Alliance, I am thrilled to support gender equity in the Canadian music industry through WIMC programming, training support and community building. I look forward to learning the experiences of those struggling to reach their dreams and aspire to be a part of paving the way for a more equitable future for women and gender diverse artists and industry folks. I also look forward to working with fellow intersectional service organizations, IIMS, ADVANCE and others, to maximize the support we can provide for all under-represented creators and innovators.”

Stewart is an accomplished 19-year Event Director, currently holding the role of Executive Director and CEO of the Western Canadian Music Alliance. Having started her career as a theatre Stage Manager, among other roles in the cultural industries, she is passionate about the creative process and the role culture plays in communities. Her experience reaches all areas of event management and talent buying, with her strongest skills lying in financial management, complex logistics, government relations and fund development, and partner relationship building.

Celebration Sites Coordinator for the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2010 and Entertainment Buyer for PanAmerican Games 2015 are among the projects Stewart is most proud of, as well as her work with the WCMA, which allowed her to support developing artists and engage in passion projects including working towards gender parity in the music industry on an international level. A travel enthusiast herself, Stewart is incredibly driven by her work supporting artists to showcase and develop business in international markets. Stewart holds positions on the Polaris Music Prize (national), Canadian Live Music Association (national) and KeyChange (international) Boards of Directors, and the Manitoba Heart and Stroke Foundation advisory board. Robyn is a mom to Jasper (9) and Ty (1), who are her greatest joys and challenge in life, to ensure they grow up to be good humans.

Slattery shares, “We are absolutely thrilled to have Robyn at the helm of Women in Music Canada! Her depth of experience, passion and knowledge will prove invaluable as we enter into the next chapter of the organization.”

Slattery, also a music industry veteran, has been working throughout North America and the UK for over two decades, primarily in the live sector on major music festivals (including Coachella Music Festival, Reading & Leeds Music Festivals, Virgin Festival and JUNOS to name a few), as well as spending several years on Nettwerk Management’s UK artist management team, working for major-label multi-platinum artists. She will continue on as the Chair of the WIMC Board of Directors.

Along with Stewart’s appointment to Executive Director, Women in Music Canada will be announcing the new members of its Board of Directors. Stay tuned for that news coming soon.

About Women in Music Canada

My Next Read: “”21 Hit Wonder, Flopping My Way To The Top Of The Charts” by Sam Hollander

Eric Alper
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My Next Read: “”21 Hit Wonder, Flopping My Way To The Top Of The Charts” by Sam Hollander

On November 1, songwriter and producer Sam Hollander will release his new book, 21 Hit Wonder, Flopping My Way To The Top Of The Charts on BenBella Books Inc., a true story about his adventures in songwriting.

As one of the most renowned multi-platinum selling songwriters and producers in the game, Hollander has written and produced for the likes of Panic! At The Disco, One Direction, Katy Perry, Weezer, Def Leppard, blink-182, Fitz and the Trantrums, Train, Ringo Starr, Carole King, Tyga, The O’Jays, Gym Class Heroes and many others.

But rising up the charts seemed, at many points in his career, highly unlikely. This is his story of failing his way to the top. Sam Hollander spent thirty years trudging through the peaks and valleys of a songwriting career. Before he was stacking up hits, he was piling up bad luck, calamitous flops, fake starts and feeling like the world was moving on and up without him while he spun in place. Now he wears his failures like a badge of honor.

In 21 Hit Wonder, Hollander has collected anecdotes from his weird waltzes around the banquet of pop to help aspiring songwriters and other creatives learn about survival, endurance, scheming, hustle and the importance of laughing even on the worst days of the journey.
21 Hit Wonder is one part chronicle of a songwriter’s storied career and another part love letter to anyone who has been counted out-from no hit wonders to the novelties and never-beens – and just needs a bit of inspiration to persevere. Sam’s inspiring story is proof that setbacks are just steps on the road to success.

Today, Hollander has achieved 22 Top 40 Hits as well as 10 Number 1’s, 10 Top 5’s, and 87 Top 10 chart positions globally. His songs have streamed over 5 billion times and in 2019 he held the #1 position on the Billboard Rock Songwriters chart for nine weeks, a year-end record. Sam has also been featured on Variety’s Hitmaker list as well as being named as Rolling Stone’s Hot List Producer Of The Year.

Hollander’s career has recently hit new heights from collaborations with Fitz and the Tantrums’ multi-platinum, billion streamed worldwide hit, “HandClap” and eight songs he co-penned on Panic! At The Disco’s Billboard 200 No. 1 album Pray For The Wicked, including the billion streamed, record-breaking global smash “High Hopes” (5x platinum) and “Hey Look Ma, I Made It!” (2x platinum) which replaced “High Hopes” at No. 1 on the Hot Rock Songs chart. Other notable recent successes include writing Banners’ “Someone To You” (platinum), blink-182’s Alternative Top 10 single “Blame It On My Youth”, James TW’s “When You Love Someone” (platinum) and writing and producing two songs on the legendary Ringo Starr’s recent release What’s My Name.

“Looking back on my career thus far, I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to bridge so many generations as a collaborator,” says Hollander. “There’s something really special about getting in a room with different types of creators and allowing them to inspire each other, and we can make something great out of it. I feel like the luckiest conduit in the world. I’ve written tunes with artists age 13-90.”

Hollander’s career began when he collaborated with Carole King on her critically-acclaimed Love Makes The World record. This lead to co-writes with industry legends like Paul Williams, Nile Rodgers, Cyndi Lauper & Donna Summer. Within a few years, he achieved his first platinum successes with Gym Class Heroes (“Cupid’s Chokehold”) which went #1 at Top 40 radio, Metro Station (“Shake It”), Boys Like Girls (“The Great Escape” & “Love Drunk”) & We the Kings (“Check Yes Juliet”), Daughtry (“Waiting For Superman”) Train (“Save Me San Francisco” & “Marry Me”) among others. These triumphs lead to producing 25 songs for the second season of NBC’s Steven Spielberg-helmed series SMASH including the Emmy-nominated “Voice in a Dream.” In 2019, Hollander sold his songwriting catalogue to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. His current work is administered by Sony Music Publishing.

Beyond songwriting, Sam has served as a Governor of the New York Chapter of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (The GRAMMYs). He currently sits on the Advisory Boards for Musicians On Call and Songwriters of North America (SONA). As an essayist, he’s been published in The New York Times, Variety & Billboard among others.

Depeche Mode 12″ Vinyl Singles Project Continues With The Release Of ‘Playing The Angel’

Eric Alper
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Depeche Mode 12″ Vinyl Singles Project Continues With The Release Of ‘Playing The Angel’

Rhino’s Depeche Mode 12″ vinyl singles project continues with the release of Playing The Angel | The 12″ Singles on November 11, 2022.

Playing The Angel | The 12″ Singles, a collector’s edition deluxe box set, contains ten 12″ vinyl discs presenting singles—”Precious,” “A Pain That I’m Used To,” “Suffer Well,” and “John The Revelator/Lilian”–alongside B-sides, remixes, instrumentals, dub versions, and other recordings contemporaneous to Depeche Mode’s 11th studio album, Playing The Angel, originally released in October 2005.

Playing The Angel | The 12″ Singles presents electrifying remixes of Depeche Mode originals including a disc devoted to “The Darkest Star,” the track from which Playing The Angel derives its title. The tenth disc in the box is newly compiled for this collection, bringing together B-sides and mixes first released across CD and maxi-singles throughout the Playing The Angel campaign.

The first Depeche Mode album to be produced with Ben Hillier, Playing The Angel found the classic DM lineup (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher), 25 years into the band’s history, breaking open new sonic terrain with a raw, grittier sound bridging the cosmic spiritual connection between the primal roots of rock and throbbing 21st century Techno dance-floors around the world. The Playing The Angel campaign continued Depeche Mode’s tradition of issuing monumental 12″ singles to supplement and compliment their album releases. Playing The Angel premiered essential new additions to the DM canon including “Precious,” “A Pain That I’m Used To,” Suffer Well,” “John The Revelator,” “Lilian,” “The Darkest Star,” and more.

From their earliest days as a band, Depeche Mode have championed 12″ vinyl, embracing the format’s singular power and potential for innovation. The 12″ single allowed the band to explore new sonic possibilities while the tactile real-world beauty of physical packaging gave Depeche Mode room to develop their consistently sophisticated and commanding design aesthetic. Depeche Mode have used their singles discography as a means of offering fans the opportunity to enjoy left field remixes, rare B-sides, standout concert performances and other exclusive delights.

Rhino released the first two box sets in the Depeche Mode 12″ singles series–Speak & Spell | The Singles and A Broken Frame | The Singles–in August 2018 with the second batch–Construction Time Again | The 12″ Singles and Some Great Reward | The 12″ Singles–arriving in December 2018. Rhino released Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration | The 12″ Singles and Music For The Masses | The 12″ Singles on May 31, 2019. 2020 saw the release of Violator | The 12″ Singles in July and Songs of Faith and Devotion | The 12″ Singles in October. The ninth collection in the series, Ultra | The 12″ Singles was released on September 27, 2021 with the tenth volume, Exciter | The 12″ Singles, arriving on June 10, 2022.

Each box set in the series contains the singles from each Depeche Mode album on audiophile-quality 12″ vinyl, with audio mastered from the original tapes. The artwork for the exterior of each of the box sets draws on iconography inspired by the original releases, while the vinyl sleeves themselves feature the original single artwork.

The Depeche Mode 12″ Singles Series will continue over coming years, with plans to release boxes containing the singles from each of the band’s albums in similar deluxe audiophile-grade collector’s editions.

Playing The Angel | The 12” Singles
Precious (12BONG 35) / LP01
A1 Precious (Sasha’s Spooky Mix – Full Length)
A2 Precious (Sasha’s Gargantuan Vocal Mix – Full Length)
Precious (L12BONG35) / LP02
A1 Precious (Misc. Full Vocal Mix)
A2 Precious (Michael Mayer Balearic Mix)
B1 Precious (Motor Remix)
B2 Precious (Misc. Crunch Mix)
A Pain That I’m Used To (12BONG 36) / LP03
A1 A Pain That I’m Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
AA1 A Pain That I’m Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Dub)
A Pain That I’m Used To (L12BONG 36) / LP04
A1 A Pain That I’m Used To (Bitstream Threshold Mix)
AA1 A Pain That I’m Used To (Bitstream Spansule Mix)
Suffer Well (12BONG 37) / LP05
A1 Suffer Well (Tiga Remix)
A2 Suffer Well (Tiga Dub)
B1 Suffer Well (Narcotic Thrust Vocal Dub)
Suffer Well (L12BONG 37) / LP06
A1 Suffer Well (Metope Remix)
A2 Suffer Well (Metope Vocal Remix)
B1 Suffer Well (M83 Remix)
B2 Better Days (Basteroid ‘Dance Is Gone’ Vocal Mix)
The Darkest Star (XL12BONG 37) / LP07
A1 The Darkest Star (Holden Remix)
AA1 The Darkest Star (Holden Dub)
John The Revelator / Lilian (12BONG 38) / L08
A1 John The Revelator (‘Dave Is In The Disco’ Tiefschwarz Remix)
AA1 John The Revelator (Tiefschwarz Dub)
AA2 Lilian (Chab Dub)
John The Revelator / Lilian (L12BONG 38) / LP09
A1 John The Revelator (Murk Mode Dub)
AA1 John The Revelator (Boosta Club Remix)
AA2 Lilian (Chab Vocal Remix)
Playing The Angel Promotional Collection (PSTUMM260) / LP10
(newly compiled exclusive limited edition)
A1 Free
A2 Better Days
A3 Newborn
A4 John The Revelator (Single Version)
A5 Lilian (Single Version)
B1 Precious (Michael Mayer Ambient Mix)
B2 Suffer Well (Alter Ego Remix)
B3 Lilian (Robag Wruhme Slomoschen Kikker)
B4 A Pain That I’m Used To (Goldfrapp Remix)
B5 A Pain That I’m Used To (Telex Remix)

Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews lip sync each other’s lines in this outtake from Mary Poppins

Eric Alper
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Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews lip sync each other’s lines in this outtake from Mary Poppins

Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews lip sync each other’s lines in this outtake from Mary Poppins.

EXCELSIOR Coming From STEVEN PAGE, First Album In More Than 4 Years Out September 30

Eric Alper
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EXCELSIOR Coming From STEVEN PAGE, First Album In More Than 4 Years Out September 30

On September 30, Steven Page will release Excelsior digitally; it’s his first solo album since 2018. The album on Page’s Fresh Baked Goods imprint will be available on CD November 11 with a 2-LP vinyl version out early in 2023.

The album’s 11 tracks were composed and produced entirely by Page, who co-founded the band Barenaked Ladies, before departing on a solo career in 2009. The lion’s share of material on Excelsior was “workshopped” for audiences on his wildly popular virtual concert series Live From Home that Page has been conducting via Zoom since April of 2020 from his home near Syracuse, NY. Thousands of fans throughout the world have been tuning in on Saturdays (5 PM Eastern, 2PM Pacific,10PM/UK, 7AM Sunday – Australia-Eastern), which are limited to 1000 ticketed audience members per show, with an estimated to-date paid viewer total of 85,000+. The more than 90 episodes of Live From Home are available through Patreon.  The Excelsior track titled “Zoom” is, in fact, the album’s first single and out this week.

While Page played most of the instruments heard on Excelsior, other musicians participating include Craig Northey (guitar, vocals) and Kevin Fox (cello, vocals), members of the Steven Page Trio, his touring ensemble who are well known to Live From Home viewers for their ability to accompany Page from remote locations. Also heard on Excelsior are Doug Elliott of the Odds (bass), as well as Joe Pisapia (pedal steel), who had been a member of Guster and has both backed and produced k.d. lang. Steven’s brother Matthew Page guests on drums.

Once the Canada-US border re-opened, Page was able to complete Excelsior at his Fresh Baked Woods (FBW) studio in Blackstock, Ontario with some of the basic tracks recorded in the Upstate New York basement from which Live From Home originates most Saturdays. FBW is the same facility where several Barenaked Ladies albums, including Barenaked For The Holidays were recorded. Seven of the 11 tracks comprise a thematically linked song cycle that Page characterizes as “a suite of songs tied into what we’ve been involved with over the last ten years.” These will occupy sides A and B of the 2 LP version of Excelsior when it is released next year along with the unrelated additional four songs (“gifts with purchase,” Steven jokes) to be found on side C of the second LP. Side D will be silent and occupied by an etched graphic. “So you have two buckets of songs, so to speak. One speaks to an ‘outer life’ — bigger picture stuff. The others are largely about our very online existence and isolation we’ve all experience. It’s about all of us who spend too much time online.”

The songs on sides A and B are, in some way, an overview of humanity’s plight as reflected in the struggles of the individual. Says Page, “I don’t want to make it totally prescriptive as in ‘this is how you should hear it,’ but you might want it to apply it to your own lives if you feel so moved.”

“Feel” takes place at a funeral and deals with loss and grieving, a church choir plays inside the mourner’s head while “What Will I Do Now” is about learning to live with loss. “Human Doll” imagines a world where the ideal partner can be acquired by mail order and shipped to one’s door, the outcome of which is equally lonely and troubled as our current reality. “How Much Is Enough” that had been set to debut but was postponed due to COVID19 as part of Here’s What It Takes, the musical Page wrote for the 2020 Stratford Festival in Ontario.

“Look To the Stars” is a musical contemplation of what might be “bigger than us” and beyond our ability to understand. Page describes “Infinitely Light Years” along these lines: “In my mind we’re floating through space . . . it’s a duet with myself but imaged as between two separate people, a kind of quantum entanglement. It asks if it’s possible that we’re tied to somebody else who we don’t even know.” That’s followed by “Safe” in which one member of a couple explains the benefit of boundaries; Page suggests it’s “a plea for time and letting people set their own space.” In more than one way it calls back “Feel,” the opener.

The free-standing songs on side C include “Xylorimba,” conjured up for a special episode of Live From Home that called for Steven to perform 26 songs, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet.  For Live From Home A to Z, Steven had 25 letters covered with existing repertoire, so he commissioned himself to write a song titled with a word starting with ‘X.’ He chose an arcane musical instrument that he calls a “the oddball child of a xylophone and a marimba” popular 90+ years ago and not often spoken of or played in more recent times. The song addresses that oversight, both in a titular and musical sense.

The song “Zoom” is paradoxical for Page to have created, as he is something of a skeptic.  “There’s a point of view that we’re supposed to believe that technology somehow makes our lives worse. During the pandemic Zoom did what it was supposed to do so you gotta hand it to them.” “The Golden Age of Doubling Down,” is focused on “our desire to be cruel to each other,” but is musically quite upbeat.

There’s also the self-deflating “Something About Me,” which Page characterizes as “a personal song about my own tendency to make everybody else’s problems about me. People’s sense of empathy is defined by their own ego. I like to point fingers at myself, not at other people.”

The album’s title, taken from the state motto of New York that relates to a Canadian living there and unable to go back to his native land for more than a year and half to see his parents or kids. Page, who was born in Scarborough, Ontario and inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in explains, “I was kind of stuck here (Manlius, NY) and, in essence, became a true New Yorker. The state’s vaccine passports are called Excelsior Passes and we reflect the slogan’s ‘onward and upward’ meaning in the album’s artwork.”

Beyond Live From Home and the new album, Page was commissioned to write “Canada Loves You Back” on the occasion of Ryan Reynolds being given the nation’s 2021 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. In a Tweet seen by almost 4 million, Reynolds referred to Page as “a friend and a legend” and thanked him “for wasting this amazing song on me.”

This fall, the Steven Page Trio open select North American dates for The Who. “We’re not using drums on the Who dates; we can’t compete with them so the best thing you can do in that situation is to do the thing you do well.”  He points out that “The Who was the first band — that wasn’t the Beatles — that I fell in love with.” The Steven Page Trio is additionally doing Midwest tour dates and expects to be on the West Coast in January in support of Excelsior. 

Steven Page – Excelsior track list 

Side A
1)    Feel
2)    What’ll I Do Now
3)    Human Doll
4)    How Much Is Enough
Side B
1)    Look To The Stars
2)    Infinitely Light Years
3)    Safe
Side C
1)    The Golden Age Of Doubling Down
2)    Xylorimba
3)    Zoom
4)    Something About Me
Side D – intentionally blank with etched graphic
 
Excelsior Streaming and Purchase Links can be found here:
https://linktr.ee/stevenpage
 
STEVEN PAGE TOUR DATES
 
Steven Page Trio UK Tour
Thu Sep 8:   Luton – Bear Club
Fri Sep 9: Birmingham – Castle and Falcon
Sat Sep 10:  London – Omeara
Mon Sep 12: Brighton – Komedia
Tue Sep 13: Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach
Wed Sep 14: Leeds – Brundenell
Fri Sep 16: Manchester – Band on the Wall
Sat Sep 17:  Glasgow – King Tuts
Sun Sep 18: Glasgow – King Tuts
 
Steven Page Trio BC Dates
Wed Sep 28: Nanaimo BC – Port Theatre
Thu Sep 29:  Campbell River BC – Tidemark Theatre
Fri Sep 30: Maple Ridge, BC – Act Theatre

The Who Hits Back support dates (Except Nashville)                                      
Sun Oct 2:   Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Tue Oct 4:   Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Fri Oct 7:      Elmont, NY – UBS Arena
Sun Oct 9:   Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
Mon Oct 10: Nashville, TN – City Winery
Wed Oct 11: Chicago, IL – United Cente

Steven Page Trio US tour, Part 1                                                                                 
Fri Nov 11:  Minneapolis, MN – Dakota
Sun Nov 13:  Madison, WI – The Bur Oak
Mon Nov 14: Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
Wed Nov 16: St Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
Thu Nov 17:  Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theatre
Fri Nov 18:  Council Bluffs, IA – Arts Center at Iowa Western
Sun Nov 20: Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre

Steven Page Trio US Tour, Part 2
January 2023: West Coast dates to be announced

Steven Page Trio Cross-Canada Tour
Starting in Spring 2023:  Canadian dates to be announced

Calgary Country Star KIM THOMPSON Says ‘HEY COWBOY’ With New Single

Eric Alper
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Calgary Country Star KIM THOMPSON Says ‘HEY COWBOY’ With New Single

From Calgary, the country capital of Canada, indie cowgirl Kim Thompson is charging forward with her latest single – “Hey Cowboy”!

Her seventh single is a country anthem, sashaying like a request from the saloon jukebox. The song is uptempo and authentic, complete with Thompson’s swinging vocals wrapped like a lasso around the melody.

The Alberta native is a trifecta of talent; a singer, songwriter with further credits in commercial and film including Heartland, and the Oscar-winning Brokeback Mountain. In addition to her work on screen, Thompson is routinely found on the stage in Calgary, and spun on Sirius country stations. Accolades include a CCMA, Country Music Alberta, YCC Awards and ACMA nominations, a SOCAN Travel Grant and Thompson continues to represent Alberta with ISSA. Thompson is also the vocal prowess behind the anthem while riding at Canadian Pro Rodeo and JHL Games.

Now saddled up with her latest single, “Hey Cowboy” is another win for Thompson and her commitment to pure country music. It’s a yarn-spinning, boot-stomping, railway rushing ditty that evokes nostalgia and compels you to want to sing along.

“‘Hey Cowboy’ is a song about the movies and production, written when I was working on set for the TV series, ‘Heartland’ with the horses and cowboy wranglers, riding and roping,” says Thompson, adding: “It speaks about simple cowboy spirit behind the scenes. I always liked to talk to the cowboys and hear the stories about movie work. The fantasy of movies we have painted with the cowboys and cowgirls as heros and cool folk. The importance is to recognize the dream of living the cowfolk life in the movies and so many characters.”

Thompson’s music is complete with visual components – videos that bring to life the story she’s telling. In “Hey Cowboy”, the viewer is up close and personal with true-blue cowboys, wrangling calves, roping, and riding.

A co-write by Thompson and Chard Morrison, “Hey Cowboy” was produced by Chris Birkett in Ontario, Canada. It follows Thompson’s previous releases “Heartache Heartbreak”, “This Christmas”, “Thinkin’ Bout” and “Game Of Love”. “The songs are energetic love empowerment for all ages,” Thompson describes.

So, dust off the boots. Tip your hat. Find a worn pair of Levis and head out to the ranch with “Hey Cowboy”. Kim Thompson promises to wrangle your attention and your heart.

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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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