Comedy Dynamics announced it has acquired Ward Anderson’s new stand-up comedy special titled Ward Anderson: Kind Of, Sort Of, Grown-Up, which will be released on July 9, 2019 on the Comedy Dynamics Network via iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, Comcast, Charter, Dish and the Comedy Dynamics channel.
Comedian Ward Anderson talks about life, love, middle age, marriage and parenthood in this honest, revealing, and hilarious stand-up comedy special.
Ward brought home the Accolade Award in Humor at the 2017 Accolade Global Film Competition for Kind of, Sort of, Grown-Up, his second award from that film festival. No stranger to working in television, Anderson also hosted his own talk show, Offstage with Ward Anderson, for three seasons. A panel program featuring some of today’s brightest stars and upcoming talent, Offstage was created with Bell Canada, Volvo, and Strellson. All three seasons are carried on Amazon Prime around the world. For five years, Ward Anderson was also co-host of the popular daily Sirius XM show Ward and Al. Co-hosted with comedian Allison Dore, Ward and Al hosted guests from all over the entertainment industry and was a hit with critics and audiences alike and was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award. During that time, Anderson also managed to publish two novels, with USA Today comparing him to bestselling author Nick Hornby.
“Every comedian dreams of having his own stand-up comedy special,” said Ward Anderson from his home in Toronto, “After twenty years on the road, I’m so excited to finally bring that dream to life thanks to everyone at Comedy Dynamics” said Ward Anderson.
“Ward’s broad range of comedic talent is on full display in his new special and we’re proud to be releasing it for the world to see.” said Brian Volk-Weiss, CEO of Comedy Dynamics.
Founded by Brian Volk-Weiss, Comedy Dynamics, a Nacelle company, is the largest independent comedy production and distribution company, producing the reboot of Mad About You featuring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt, Netflix’s Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History, Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us, Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape, The CW’s Discontinued, Animal Planet’s Animal Nation with Anthony Anderson, the scripted comedy on Hulu There’s… Johnny!, History’s Join Or Die with Craig Ferguson, MTV2’s Wild ’N On Tour, and Hulu’s Coming To The Stage. Comedy Dynamics began releasing original films in theaters and will release the acclaimed independent film Slut in a Good Way in Spring of 2019. In 2017 the Comedy Dynamics Network (CDN) was launched and currently distributes specials, television shows and films to all major transactional platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Google, PlayStation, Xbox and many major telco & satellite providers, including AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Dish, and Verizon. The company has worked with a wide range of established and emerging comedic talent including Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Jim Gaffigan, Ali Wong, David Cross, and many more. 17 Comedy Dynamics releases have been Grammy-nominated (with three wins), including all 5 in the Comedy Album category for the 61stAnnual Grammy Awards.
Today, BASE Hologram, the leading content developer, producer and distributor of concerts, theatricals and spectacles that combine holographic cinema and mixed reality with live entertainment, announced North American tour dates for Roy Orbison & Buddy Holly: The Rock ’N’ Roll Dream Tour, a groundbreaking tour featuring the award-winning rock and roll legends.
Stemming from the success of BASE Hologram’s In Dreams: Roy Orbison in Concert tour that broke records across the globe in 2018, the company will bring Orbison and Holly together for an enthralling event that will see concurrent dates across North America, Europe, and UK. Eric Schaeffer (Million Dollar Quartet), who shepherded the In Dreams event, will return as the director.
“When you look at the architects of the Rock and Roll era, the names that come to mind are Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly,” said Brian Becker, Chairman and CEO of BASE Hologram. “Both of these men weren’t just gifted musicians, but skillful innovators who helped influence others in game-changing ways.”
Accompanied by a live band and back-up singers, this cutting-edge, multi-media holographic performance and remastered audio will transport audiences back in time for an evening of Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly’s greatest hits on stage.
“These men weren’t just one thing – they were artists in every sense of the word,” said BASE Hologram CEO of Production Marty Tudor. “Like Roy, Buddy has a truly impressive songbook, and in many cases, audiences may not have realized he was the one behind so many hits. Part of the beauty of these productions is we get to share the legacy of these performers and remind people the full range of their talent.”
Universally recognized as one of the great music legends and praised by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Bono, Roy Orbison’s catalog includes such chart-toppers as Oh, Pretty Woman, You Got It, Only The Lonely, Crying, I Drove All Night, It’s Over and In Dreams.
“My father’s music meant the world to not just us Orbisons but to millions of fans worldwide. Being able to reopen his legendary songbook and again hear his voice bounce off great concert hall walls is both a transcendent and cathartic experience,” said Roy Orbison, Jr., President of Roy Orbison Music. “Dad jammed with Buddy in Lubbock, Texas and helped change music history by turning Buddy on to Norman Petty Studios; Buddy later returned the favor by recording two of Dad’s songs on his first Cricket’s album. How beyond cool and special that these two great friends, now get to tour the world together.”
A seasoned performer by age 16, Buddy Holly was known not just for his distinguished look, but also for his mastery of several music styles. In addition to hits such as Peggy Sue, Oh Boy!, Not Fade Away and That’ll Be the Day, Holly was among the first artists to use techniques such as double-tracking on his albums. Along with his beloved band The Crickets, Holly helped set the standard for the Beatles and others for rock and roll orchestration by setting the two guitar, bass and drum line-up now seen in traditional concerts.
“Buddy and Roy were Texans who shared mutual respect and admiration for each other’s creative musical genius and brilliant songwriting abilities,” said Buddy’s wife Maria Elena Holly. “I am proud to work with a company like BASE Hologram. Their long-time fans and a new generation of fans will now have the opportunity to see these great legends perform together in a unique setting, showcasing two of the finest, most influential, and beloved artists in music history.”
With nearly 3 million followers on Facebook and almost 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify between them, audiences are still enamored with the men who brought “geek chic” and horn-rimmed glasses into the mainstream. This tour will allow fans old and new to get the chance to experience these pioneering figures in a spectacular and thrilling new way. Pulling from their combined 16 platinum records, 19 gold records, nearly two dozen Top 40 hits and 10 combined GRAMMY awards, this transcendent musical event will give audiences a once in a lifetime musical experience.
“Working on the original Roy Orbison hologram tour last year was something special and to be able to do it again and add someone like Buddy Holly into the mix is very exciting,” said director Eric Schaeffer. “This show will be a celebration that blends these men’s similar styles into one unforgettable evening that audiences will remember for a long time to come.”
Roy Orbison/Buddy Holly Hologram Tour Dates
September 19, 2019 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts
September 20, 2019 – Redding, CA @ Redding Civic Auditorium
September 21, 2019 – Stockton, CA @ Bob Hope Theatre
September 24, 2019 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
September 25, 2019 – Hanford, CA @ Fox Theatre
September 26, 2019 – Santa Barbara, CA @ The Granada Theatre
September 27, 2019 – Beverly Hills, CA @ Saban Theater
September 28, 2019 – Bakersfield, CA @ Majestic Fox Theater
September 30, 2019 – Riverside, CA @ Fox Performing Arts Center
October 1 – San Diego, CA @ TBD
October 3 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Music Hall
October 4 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center
October 6 – Albuquerque, NM @ Popejoy Hall
October 7 – Ft. Collins, CO @ The Lincoln Center
October 8 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
October 9 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center
October 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater
October 11 – Helena, MT @ Helena Civic Center
October 12 – Missoula, MT @ Dennison Theatre
October 14 – Boise, ID @ Morrison Center
October 17 – Prior Lake, MN @ Mystic Lake Casino – Mystic Showroom
October 20 – Catoosa, OK @ The Joint – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
October 21 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theater
October 22 – Cedar Rapids, IA @ Paramount Theatre
October 23 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre
October 24 – Peoria, IL @ Civic Center
October 25 – Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theatre
October 27 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Devos Hall
October 28 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre
October 29 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
October 30 – Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace
November 1 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Broward Center for the Performing Arts
November 2 – Melbourne, FL @ Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts
November 3 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
November 4 – Sarasota, FL @ Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
November 6 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre
November 8 – Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Symphony Hall
November 9 – Raleigh, NC @ Memorial Auditorium
November 10 – Collingswood, NJ @ Scottish Rite Auditorium
November 12 – New Brunswick, NJ @ State Theatre
November 13 – North Bethesda, MD @ The Music Center at Strathmore
November 15 – Albany, NY @ The Egg – Center for the Performing Arts
November 16 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center Shubert Theatre
November 17 – Rochester, NY @ Auditorium Theatre
November 19 – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Concert Hall
November 20 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Last week, Old Man Luedecke released his latest LP, Easy Money on True North Records. Today, the acclaimed songwriter is announcing a run of fall tour dates supporting the record and for the first time ever, will have a full band to support him on stage.
“This will be the first tour I’ve ever done with a full band,” says Luedecke. “Mostly made up of the album band from working at Montreal’s Hotel2Tango with Mike O’Brien (Vic Chestnutt, Sin and Swoon) and Jamie Thompson (Socalled, Islands), and rounded out with Brian Kobayakawa on bass (Serena Ryder, Creaking Tree). I thought it’d be really nice to recreate the calypso vibes of the new record. We performed the record in Montreal to great success this past Sunday at the Festival Folk Sur Le Canal and it felt so good to be on the festival main stage with a fuller sound for the afternoon easing in to the evening. It’s pretty exciting to put old and new songs into the band context and bring the sound not just of this record but all of my records on to the road this fall. It just seems like time for this new fun.”
Easy Money picks up where Old Man Luedecke’s award winning, and most successful release to date, Domestic Eccentric (2015), leaves off; four years farther down the road, dreaming about his ship coming in, still a parent but now grappling with the newness of middle age, dad jokes, love for an abiding partner, the death of a parent, along with some calypso-feeling local Nova Scotia history thrown in for good measure.
Composition and recording were both begun at the Banff Centre’s songwriter-in-residence program. It was there that Luedecke met the album’s producer Howard Bilerman of Montreal’s famed Hotel2Tango studio where the album was eventually recorded. The ten new original compositions and two covers run a modern storytelling line from the fifties folk and calypso boom into the everyday of tangible middle life. Guest appearances by long-time collaborator and Grammy award-winning Tim O’Brien, Afie Jurvanen of Bahamas, and Fats Kaplin (Jack White, John Prine) add piquant accents to the impeccable playing of Luedecke and a crack Montreal studio band of Mike O’Brien, Joshua Toal, and Jamie Thompson.
Easy Money begins with three upbeat incantations of what is surely the beginnings of a mid-life crisis (“Dad Jokes”? “Wakeup Call”, come on!) then moves to 2 songs musing about death; both inspired in part and in different ways, by the passing of Luedecke’s father, the passing of Leonard Cohen, and current politics and the death of truth. There are two island-themed numbers that imagine a laid-back life in the local un-tropical paradise of the Canadian Maritimes. Then comes a country song with killer fiddling and harmony singing by Tim O’Brien, a dance number of frightful worry, and then a cover of Nana Mouskouri’s French language cover of Bob Dylan’s topical apocalyptic plaint, “Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”. This is followed by a traditional sea shanty about a mermaid and a shipwreck. The album closer, “‘I Skipped a Stone”, is the most beautiful song about hoping your wife will pick up the phone. The song is made all the sweeter by the special appearance of Bahamas’ playing and singing, to close out Luedecke’s sixth full length studio album.
Old Man Luedecke is the recording and performing name of Christopher Luedecke, 2 time JUNO and multi East Coast Music award-winner, and Polaris Music Prize nominee from Chester, Nova Scotia. Since 2004 he has travelled the world playing festivals, theatres and clubs. He delights his audiences with his heart-felt command of the stage. Plus, his inspired banjo playing and wry storytelling cut to the heart of normal/extraordinary experience itself.
Born and raised in Toronto, Luedecke followed Thoreauvian and romantic notions to Canada’s Yukon where he fell in love and started composing folk songs with a banjo. Since 2005, he has lived rurally on the south shore of Nova Scotia in Canada’s music-rich Maritime provinces. He has had major appearances at Canadian, Australian and UK festivals and has performed with the likes of Feist, Bahamas, Tim O’Brien, and Rose Cousins. He has built a name and a following that has been uncompromisingly unique and is now firmly established in the top echelon of Canadian folk artists. As the Vancouver Folk Festival says, “He is a musical singularity to be savoured and shared.”
SUMMER TOUR DATES Jul 21 – Mount Stewart, PE – Trailside Music Cafe Inn
Aug 1 – Cambridge, UK – TBD
Aug 2 – Barnsley, UK – Underneath The Stars Festival
Aug 3 – Wickham, UK – TBD
Aug 4 – Ieper, BE – Festival Dranouter
Aug 6 – Lorient, FR – TBD
Aug 10 – Bristol, UK – Folk House
Aug 16 – Swanage, UK – TBD
Aug 17-18 – Ottery St Mary, UK – Beautiful Days Festival
Aug 20 – Canterbury, UK – Waterstones
Aug 21 – London, UK – Cecil Sharp House
Aug 23 – Tonder, DK – Tonder Festival Folkspot
Aug 25 – Thame, UK – Towersey Village Festival
Aug 26 – Kettering, UK – Greenbelt Festival
Sep 20 – Barrie, ON – St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
FALL TOUR DATES (FULL BAND)
Oct 02 – Halifax, NS – St. Matthew’s Church (TICKETS)(EVENT)
Oct 5 – Church Point, NS – Universite Sainte Anne – Theatre Marc Lescarbot
Oct 10 – Ottawa, ON – National Arts Centre
Oct 16 – London, ON – Aeolian Hall
Oct 17 – Hamilton, ON – Mills Hardware
Oct 18 – Toronto, ON – Hugh’s Room
Oct 19 – St. Catharines, ON – Warehouse Concert Hall Nov 17 – Saskatoon, SK – The Bassment (TICKETS)(EVENT) Nov 21 – Sherwood Park, AB – Festival Place
Nov 22 – Medicine Hat, AB – Stir Studio
Nov 23 – Lethbridge, AB – Lethbridge College
Nov 24 – Nelson, BC – The Hume Hotel (TICKETS)(EVENT) Nov 26 – Victoria, BC – Capital Ballroom (TICKETS) (EVENT) Nov 27 – Vancouver, BC – The Fox Cabaret (TICKETS) (EVENT) Nov 28 – Kelowna, BC – Snedden House (TICKETS) Nov 29 – Calgary, AB – King Eddy (TICKETS) Nov 30 – Regina, SK – Artesian (TICKETS)(EVENT)
Since moving to the United States for The Late Late Show, James Corden has been searching for a way to determine which is better: the UK or the US. So James enlists Michelle Obama to put together a group of American all-stars, including Kate Hudson, Mila Kunis, Melissa McCarthy, Lena Waithe and Allison Janney, to take on a group of formidable UK foes. Can James, Reggie Watts, Harry Styles, Benedict Cumberbatch and John Bradley earn honor for Great Britain?
The Canadian Paralympic Team will shine on the international stage next year with a new soundtrack, as the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s Paralympic Network, announced today their official theme song for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The song, and its accompanying music video, can be found below, and is produced as the result of a partnership between CPC, CBC Sports, and CBC Music.
“Shine” will help showcase the performances of Canada’s Paralympians in Tokyo and will be used throughout the Games by the CPC and CBC/Radio-Canada on the official broadcasts and digital coverage. Recorded in a CBC studio in Toronto, it was written by Paul DeRosa and is performed by Canadian singer Eva Avila.
“We were looking for a new and unique way to highlight our superb athletes at the Paralympic Games, and the idea of a theme song was a perfect fit,” said Martin Richard, executive director, communications and brand, Canadian Paralympic Committee. “We really wanted a song that would honour and complement our athletes and the emotion, drive, and spirit they display while competing. “Shine” is an uplifting, celebratory song that not only helps tell the story of our athletes but spreads a positive message to all Canadians to lift each other up and that anything is possible.”
Working with Toronto musician and songwriter DeRosa, “Shine” came to life. Avila, originally from Gatineau, Que. and the winner of the fourth season of Canadian Idol, sings both the English and French versions of the song. In French, the song is called “C’est toi.” The songs were produced by the award-winning Murray Daigle.
“Our collaboration with CBC Music and the Canadian Paralympic Committee on the new theme song was an ideal way to further highlight and build awareness for Canada’s athletes across our platforms,” said Chris Wilson, Interim Head of CBC Sports. “We look forward to telling the athletes’ stories over the next year leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, enhanced by this inspiring anthem.”
Also announced today, “Shine” is one of the song options in CBC Music’s 2019 Canadian Music Class Challenge, which encourages students in classrooms across Canada to record their own versions of pre-selected songs for the opportunity to win thousands of dollars in prizes for their school’s music program. Additionally, schools that choose to produce their own version of “Shine” will be entered in a CPC contest for the chance to receive a visit from a Paralympian, while the best submitted covers will be spotlighted during a Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games broadcast. The complete details for the 2019 Canadian Music Class Challenge, including how to register and timelines, can be found HERE.
The complete versions of “Shine” in English and French will be available for the public to download next spring in the lead-up to the Paralympic Games. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will take place next summer from August 25 to September 6.
Catfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenCatfish and the BottlemenThe Worn FlintsThe Worn FlintsThe Worn FlintsThe Worn FlintsThe Worn FlintsThe Worn Flints
The 5th annual Canadian Music Class Challenge, from CBC Music in association with Canada’s music education charity, MusiCounts returns this fall. The nation-wide contest invites eligible music classes, music clubs and after-school programs to submit a video performance of a Canadian song (full 2019 list below) for a chance to win various prizes for the music classroom. Last year saw 15,000 music students from across every province and territory enter videos for the six categories. Explore the 2018 winning classroom submissions here.
Registration for this year’s contest opens on Tuesday, August 27th at 9 a.m. ET, with the winners revealed on December 17, 2019. More details regarding this year’s prizing will be announced later this summer. For full criteria and details on how to submit a video, please visit www.cbcmusic.ca/musicclass.
The Canadian Music Class Challenge builds on CBC Music’s ongoing commitment to support and foster Canadian music 365 days a year, paired with MusiCounts’ mandate to encourage music in classrooms and communities across Canada.
New to this years’ competition, music students will have a chance to cover the new theme song for Team Canada for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The official song, “Shine” was announced earlier this morning as a partnership between the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and CBC/Radio-Canada.
Approved 2019 Canadian Music Class Challenge songs are:
“Calling to Say” by Serena Ryder
“Come Wid It” by Shopé
“Camilo (The Magician)” by Said The Whale
“Complicated” by Avril Lavigne
“Hand Me Downs” by Arkells
“Hang Ups” by Scott Helman
“Human” by Twin Flames (the official song of the International Year of Indigenous Languages)
“I’ll Be The Captain” by Splash ‘N Boots
“I’s The B’y” (traditional)
“In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes
“J’endtends le Moulin” (traditional)
“Je Decolle” by Marie-Mai
“Just Fine” by Desirée Dawson
“Nowhere With You” by Joel Plaskett
“Prémonition” by Coeur de Pirate
“Reflektor” by Arcade Fire
“River” by Joni Mitchell
“Scars To Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara
“Shine a Light” by Bryan Adams
“Shine” by Eva Avila (the official song of the Canadian Paralympic team for Tokyo 2020)
“Snowbird” by Anne Murray
“Walking With A Ghost” by Tegan & Sara
“Wolves Don’t Live By the Rules” by Elisapie
“You Got To Run (Spirit of the Wind)” by Buffy Sainte-Marie with Tanya Tagaq
“Young As We Are Tonight” by Terri Clark
Participating schools also have the opportunity to apply for new instruments and equipment through MusiCounts’ Band Aid Program. Through this program, MusiCounts provides musical instruments to support public (elementary, secondary and separate) school programs across Canada. Visit www.musicounts.ca for more information.
For the next seven days, including National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21), along the Highway of Tears and in a dozen cities across Canada, billboards by Indigenous artists nationwide will soar across the country, featuring such paintings as NOT FORGOTTEN (by Dakota Sioux artist Maxine Noel); SHE WHO LOVES THE TRUTH (by Cree artist Betty Albert); SISTERS (by Anishinaabe artist Frank Polson) as part of our historic EAGLES RISING CAMPAIGN.
“Sisters is dedicated to the memory of our missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. They were traumatized and stolen and it will continue if we do not commit to action and change. All Indigenous women and girls are sacred. We must break the cycles of violence,” says contributing artist Frank Polson.
This week-long campaign aims to both honour the memory of the more than 1000 Indigenous missing and murdered woman and girls across Canada such as Tina Fontaine (on the DAUGHTER TO US ALL billboard by Metis artist Christi Belcourt) and keep the conversation about Indigenous missing and murdered women alive following the powerful MMIW Inquiry report released last week.
“I am honoured to be a part of this project, and to donate my own art to Artists Against Racism, joining with other First Nations artists in lending our work and our voices to this desperately needed conversation and reconciliation, “ Maxine Noel (Not Forgotten).
BILLBOARD LOCATIONS
HALIFAX: 132 Main St. east of Gordon Ave.
MONCTON: Paul St. north of Kennedy
MONTREAL: Boul Rene Levesque and Delorimier
OTTAWA: Road 174 Orleans just west of Trim Road
TORONTO: Gardiner Expressway east of Islington Ave.
THUNDER BAY: Memorial Ave. north of Harbour Expressway
WINNIPEG: St. Mary’s Rd. north of Vivian Ave.
SASKATOON: Idylwyld Dr.N.
REGINA: Victoria Ave. west of Park St.
EDMONTON 50 St.south of Sherwood Park Freeway
VANCOUVER: Scott Rd. south of Larson Rd.
KAMLOOPS: Highway 5 south of Halston Ave.
Celebrate over 35 years of the world’s most notorious rock band with the multi-voice audiobook edition of New York Times bestseller, The Dirt – the outrageous, legendary, no-holds-barred autobiography of Mötley Crüe, read by Sebastian York, Roger Wayne, Fred Berman, MacLeod Andrews, and Hillary Huber. It’ll be available on June 25, 2019.
Blondie’s Debbie Harry endures years of superficial, tedious, and demeaning questions from journalists until she devises a brilliant way to turn interviews on their head.
