The Jazz musician, John Coltrane, discusses his art, the meaning of music in human experience, and his particular spiritual approach. This rare interview was done in November, 1966, less than a year before his death.
Steve Martin performs stand-up comedy for dogs on the Tonight Show in 1973
Rare early Steve Martin stand-up routine from February 15, 1973. He performs for an audience of dogs and later does some card tricks for Johnny Carson.
Pink Floyd Performs “Astronomy Domine” To An Empty Fillmore Auditorium in 1970
On April 30 1970, Pink Floyd played an hour-long set in an empty Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, filmed for broadcast by small local television station called KQED. “At that point, they were really anxious to have whatever publicity they could,” remembers the program’s co-producer at KQED, Jim Farber. “We did not have much of a budget. Pink Floyd did the performance and offered the rights for a certain number of airings for practically nothing. My memory is we paid them $200.”
Gil Grand Launches Country Music Sight-Seeing, Sing-A-Long Tour Company
Canadian Country Music Association multi-award winner Gil Grand has launched the Gil Grand Country Music Tours – Canada’s only sight-seeing and sing-a-long tour company. Country music lovers will have the chance to ride in a luxury coach to the biggest and greatest country music events and destinations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The entertainment begins from the moment you step onto the bus and continues in transit all the way to your final destination making it the ultimate country music experience.
Grand shares, “I can remember in my early 20s there was a gentleman by the name of Bill Rivers who was a true champion of country music in the Sudbury region. He owned and operated a company called Rivers Tours and the Country Music Travellers where he took bus loads of enthusiastic local country fans to Nashville, Branson and Memphis. I got to become friends with Bill and performed at several of his Sunday afternoon dances early on in my career. I never forgot his bus tours and I’d like to think that in a small way I can continue this tradition.”
Join Gil Grand on the first trip March 5 – 10 to Nashville, Tennessee and stay at the world famous Opryland Hotel. Trip and package will include backstage with Grand for a VIP tour of the Grand Ole Opry, with the option to watch the curtain rise from the stage. Take a walk down honky-tonk highway on lower Broadway, visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, see the homes of your favorite country stars, and learn to line dance while you enjoy some of the finest southern cooking, plus a One Night of Country Legends concert featuring Grand, with special guests, at the legendary Nashville Palace. MUST SIGN UP BY JANUARY 31, 2020! First 10 people will have the option to upgrade to VIP. Bus will depart from Casinorama in Orillia, shuttle service will be available to and from Casinorama from Sudbury and there will be a pickup in Mississauga also. This trip is in partnership with Little Rock Tours, along with Pure Country 91.7 Sudbury and Pure Country 106 Orillia. Tickets and more information can be found HERE.
Grand explains, “This has been a dream of mine for many years now. Living in Nashville for the past 15 years I’ve witnessed the rise in popularity and love affair that the world has with Nashville. And, a big number of the tourists here are Canadian. I can’t wait to ride the bus and sing with everyone!”
The Gil Grand Country Music Tours bus ride will feature live entertainment, country music karaoke and country music trivia games for fun prizes.
Canadian Hip Hop Artist Toronto Poor Boy Releases Inspiring New Single “Big Dreams”
Canadian hip hop artist Toronto Poor Boy is set to inspire with the release of his fired up new track, “Big Dreams” — available now.
With 300,000 views across YouTube and radio airplay throughout Toronto, Australia and the UK, Toronto Poor Boy has released the track ahead of his forthcoming debut studio album, available this spring.
Hot on the heels of late 2019’s single release, “Karma,” “Big Dreams” amplifies the Jamaican-born entertainer’s dynamic blend of hip hop, rock and reggae, while drawing audiences to his magnetic online presence full of original comedy skits.
But even further, the track mirrors Poor Boy’s own story and path; born in Jamaica into poverty, he was raised in group and foster homes throughout Toronto from the time he immigrated to Canada as a young teen, to the point of legal age and when he was released on his own.
It’s this come up — from straits to the stage — that magnify Toronto Poor Boy’s achievements in working hard to pursue his dream of writing and performing. It’s his personal struggle — the loneliness of not having a family, the experience of navigating life far back from the ‘starting line,’ and the quest to stay out of trouble— that create such a rich and dynamic storytelling within the rapper’s music.
Poor Boy’s music is very much a reflection of his complex identity; “I’m very much two people,” he says. “Not innocent or bad, but both parts exist simultaneously.”
“Ultimately, it’s my goal to inspire those in my community. My message to everyone is to never give up, and keep working on those ‘Big Dreams.’”
“Big Dreams” is available now.
Jennifer Hudson is Aretha Franklin in the new biopic “Respect”
Following the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon’s journey to find her voice. Starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Skye Dakota Turner, Tate Donovan, and Mary J. Blige.
Matt Berninger of The National sings “The Long Words Song” on Kids’ TV show Helpsters
The Helpsters and Matt Berninger sing a short ditty about long words on the new Apple TV+ show Helpsters.
Smash Mouth Song ‘All Star’ Played on Ocarinas Made Out of Melons
Hey now, Finnish musician and ocarina maker Toni Patanen, aka Pupsi is an All-Star, as he performs Smash Mouth’s hit song “All Star” using melons to make music.
Canadian Music Week 2020 will ‘Focus on The Netherlands’
Canadian Music Week is highlighting the Netherlands at CMW in Toronto from May 20-22, 2020. The CMW ‘Focus on the Netherlands’ supports the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands by Canada. The activity is designed to build new bridges for bilateral music trade relations between Canada and the Netherlands.
Neill Dixon, president of Canadian Music Week states, “We are proud to welcome the first official music mission to Canada from the Netherlands and look forward to opening new trade routes for both Dutch and Canadians to do business together.”
“We are excited about the extensive program we have prepared together with the Canadian Music Week team for Dutch artists and music professionals. Thorough preparations of this mission fit perfectly with the current professionalization of Dutch Music Export. Giving more attention to the Canadian music industry has been on the wish list of many Dutch artists for years and we are proud of this collaboration,” says Marcel Albers, ‘Chef de Mission’ Dutch Music Export.
Canadian Music Week is working with Global Affairs Canada, Ontario Creates, the Embassy of Canada to the Netherlands in The Hague, along with Dutch Music Export (DME) who have been instrumental in adding to the magnitude of the mission. DME is promoting the event to the Dutch music industry and will showcase the best in emerging Dutch talent to Canadian audiences and industry professionals during CMW.
To advance this initiative, the European Music Exporters Exchange (EMEE) has, for the first time, allowed a Canadian panel at ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), which takes place in Groningen, the Netherlands from January 15 to 18, 2020.
Nuno Saraiva, the Portuguese-Canadian Executive Director of WHY Portugal who leads the panel, notes: “The session will explore the peculiarities of the Canadian music market. On one hand, Canada is a multi-cultural land of music lovers, open to European music, while on the other hand, its strong national support systems for music seems like it is a difficult country to export to. Or is it?” Panelists will include Neill Dixon (CMW), Brian Hetherman (Cerberus Management) and Marcel Louwman (Embassy of Canada in the Netherlands).
The Focus on the Netherlands is a joint effort between Canadian Music Week (CMW) and The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Music and the Arts (CAAMA.)
Now in its 38th year, Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining multifaceted information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; awards shows and the nation’s largest new music festival which spans five nights of performances (May 19 – 23, 2020) by hundreds of bands at more than 40 live music venues in downtown Toronto. All CMW conference functions take place at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen Street W. Toronto from May 20 – 22.
Chad Brownlee Announces 2020’s Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere Tour with Lauren Alaina
Coming off his most successful year to date, award-winning Universal Music Canada country music star Chad Brownlee announced the Ontario leg of his 2020 Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere Tour with Lauren Alaina and special guest, 2019 CCMA Rising Star Award recipient, Jade Eagleson.
Beginning in London Ontario on March 25th, this leg of the tour will hit seven Ontario cities with Brownlee’s largest and most explosive production to date. His two-song guest appearance on the record-breaking “Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone Tour” gave country music fans nationwide a taste of the infectious energy, and vocal acrobatics that overflow out of Brownlee every time he hits the stage. Adding one of the best vocalists that the country genre has ever seen, in Lauren Alaina, and the rich and timeless country vocal of Jade Eagleson to Brownlee’s soaring melodies, and powerhouse vocal chops is sure to leave country fans speechless.
The Fall 2020 Western Canadian portion of the tour will be announced on August 25, 2020.
“I don’t think I’ve enjoyed performing these songs more than I do right now, and can’t wait to get on that stage and hear all of you sing them back in 2020,” says Chad Brownlee. “Along with Lauren Alaina and Jade Eagleson, I’m excited to finally hit the road on my own tour!! It’s going to be a show you’ve never seen before.”
Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere Tour:
| 3/25/2020 | Budweiser Gardens | London |
| 3/26/2020 | Queen Elizabeth Theatre | Toronto |
| 3/27/2020 | Meridian Centre | St Catharines |
| 3/28/2020 | Memorial Centre | Peterborough |
| 3/30/2020 | Tributes Communities Centre | Oshawa |
| 4/1/2020 | TD Arena | Ottawa |
A modest and humble Canadian country music artist from British Columbia, Chad Brownlee has the kind of drive and determination that legends are made of. In the company of his beloved dog Ellie, the soft-spoken country star has spent the past few years pondering life in his cabin near the ocean nestled among the trees where he is confronted by the wilderness around him. It is the warmth of the woodsman lifestyle without any distractions that lets him ruminate over love and life. Deep in the backwoods is where he finds his centre by brooding over love, loss and family with a heartwarming vulnerability that he unearths as age and experience makes him wiser, stronger and more resilient. The outdoors animate his clever tunes and melodies, which he writes on both the guitar and piano, alternating depending on his impassioned whims.
Brownlee’s time of reflection has also yielded new insights. In late 2017, he made a monumental business decision to seek new label and management teams. This decision resulted in him signing with Canada’s leading music label, Universal Music Canada, and the powerhouse management team at Starseed Entertainment (also managing Dean Brody, James Barker Band, The Reklaws, Jade Eagleson, and Emily Reid), led by Shannon McNevan (co-founder of Boots and Hearts and WayHome Music & Arts Festival) and Don Green (former President of the Canadian Country Music Association).
In June 2019, Brownlee delighted fans with the release of a new EP, “Back In The Game”. To mark the EP release, Brownlee shared a new music video for the upbeat, summertime track, “The Way You Roll”. The EP includes previously gold certified released singles, “Dear Drunk Me” which was his first ever Top 5 single on the Canadian Country music charts, and “Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere”, which hit #1 on the Canadian Country music charts. In the Spring of 2019, Chad became only the second domestic-signed artist ever to be featured on “Hot Country” (world’s largest country playlist) elevating his overall global streams to over 59 Million. “The Way You Roll” recently became Chad’s third consecutive Top 5 single at Canadian country radio, and is well on his way to becoming his third GOLD certified record in row.
The ruggedly charming country singer’s raw talent mixed with heartbreak inspires his pop, country and rock sound. His polished and infectious music leaves his past behind with an honest and deep-rooted authenticity while the sincerity of his songwriting is captivatingly grounded in the discomfort and distress of certain endings and specific goodbyes.
Once a Vancouver Canucks draft pick, now a critically acclaimed country music star, Chad Brownlee is no stranger to the country music world. Brownlee first entered the limelight with the release of his self-titled debut album in 2010 which features fan-favourites “Hood Of My Car” and “Carried Away”. 2011 saw Brownlee winning the CCMA Rising Star Award, lifting him into the upper echelons of the Canadian country music scene. This led him to his albums “Love Me Or Leave Me” in 2012, where he then celebrated the successful release of his sophomore album by hitting the road with Grammy-nominee Dierks Bentley across Canada. Brownlee continued to build on this momentum by building one of Canadian country music’s most passionate fan bases through his next two albums – “The Fighters” (2014) and “Hearts on Fire” (2016). His catalogue of albums contains a plethora of fan-favourites and radio hits like “Love Me Or Leave Me”, and recently gold-certified “I Hate You For It” – proving the steady stream of love for Brownlee’s sound and words. Brownlee holds numerous accolades including a highly coveted JUNO nomination for Country Album of the Year, and consecutive Canadian Country Music Association Award nominations for Male Artist of the Year (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018), Fan’s Choice Award (2017, 2018), Album of the Year (2016) amongst many more.
As his passion for music, art, sport and philanthropy run deep Brownlee habitually donates his time to a variety of causes close to his heart and continues to participate in charitable benefits across Canada and the US. His annual charity “Boys of Fall Golf Tournament” which he started with fellow country artist Dallas Smith in 2013, has raised over $800,000 for Basics for Babies, a branch of the BC food bank.
In the Fall of 2019, Chad toured across Canada performing a special guest spot on the Dean Brody and Dallas Smith “Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone” national tour.
Platinum-selling star Lauren Alaina’s latest encouraging number, “Getting Good,” is playing now on country radio. The song follows “audio delight” and big ol’ dance party” – “Ladies in the ’90s” – a song that pays homage to some of Lauren’s biggest female role models from Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Dixie Chicks to Britney Spears, TLC, Spice Girls and more.
Lauren’s critically-acclaimed sophomore album, Road Less Traveled, landed on multiple “Best Of” lists including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Amazon, and it became the top-streamed female country album release of 2017. Praised as “full of life lessons and uplift” (PEOPLE), the collection of 12 songs all written by the young star includes Lauren’s first No. 1 smash, “Road Less Traveled,” the Top 25 hit “Doin’ Fine,” and the deeply personal and inspiring, “Three.”
Lauren has received multiple nominations for the ACM Awards, CMA Awards, CMT Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, Radio Disney Awards and Billboard Music Awards including taking home last year’s ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year Award and CMT Collaborative Video of the Year Award for “What Ifs,” the 4x Platinum-selling No. 1 hit with childhood friend, Kane Brown. Lauren is one of CMT’s Next Women of Country and she received her very first CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year with her No. 1 hit “Road Less Traveled.”
The “sassy Southerner with killer pipes” (PARADE) has shared the stage with superstars including Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Martina McBride and Jason Aldean, as well as headlining her own shows including her recent U.K. tour with sold-out shows in Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow. Lauren heads out in January on her own headlining That Girl Was Me Tour.
At just 25 years of age, Jade Eagleson’s voice takes listeners back to the days of Johnny Cash, George Jones and Randy Travis, in that it’s unmistakably country.
In August 2017, Eagleson was crowned the winner of the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist showcase, beating out a lengthy list of other talented artists. Following the victory, Jade signed with Universal Music and went on to record his debut, and now certified Gold, single, “Got Your Name On It”. The song garnered over 41 million global streams and peaked at #6 at Canadian Country Radio. Shortly after the song’s music video was released, Jade was featured as YouTube Trending’s ‘Artist On The Rise’ and appeared on the website’s homepage, which is the first time a Canadian-signed artist in any genre received such an honour. As a result, the music video for “Got Your Name On it” was streamed as much as half-a-million times in a 24-hour period and now has 10x more views than any other Canadian Country Music Video released in 2018.
Jade currently has over 53 million global streams after only 3 songs released to streaming services and 2 singles released to radio. Since the success of his first EP, Jade has released a new two pack which includes country anthem, “Good Country People” and the title track and third single “Lucky”. With new music and more shows ahead, be sure to check out jadeeagleson.com for the most up-to-date information on this young star in the making.