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This article was published 11/08/2016 (3349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sturgill Simpson

In support of his third full-length, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, roots-rock singer and Kentucky native Sturgill Simpson will make a stop at the Burton Cummings Theatre Thursday, Aug. 11, as part of his North American summer tour.

His record has been generating major buzz since its release April, with heavy hitters such as Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and NPR singing its praises for the intimacy of the lyrics and the creativity of the musicality, not letting the genre labels of “roots” or “country” prohibit him from trying other, more adventurous, combinations and sounds.

Produced by Simpson himself and recorded primarily in Nashville, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was written as a letter to his first child, who was born in the summer of 2014. At that time, Simpson’s second album had received kudos similar to his most recent work’s, resulting in much more time away from home, and he began to question the life he had chosen for himself.

“I really questioned whether I wanted to spend however many more years on this bus, not being there and seeing all that was happening,” Simpson, 38, said in a news release.

“That’s where this record came from, just processing all that guilt and homesickness. I had to figure out a way to put that into music, so I decided to write the whole record from the perspective of a sailor going to sea and not knowing if he’s ever coming home.”

Tickets for An Evening with Sturgill Simpson range in price from $29.50 to $39.50 and are available at Ticketmaster. Doors are at 7 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m.

— Erin Lebar

 

 

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al Yankovic brings almost 40 years of parody songs, videos, costume changes and accordion solos to the Burton Cummings Theatre on Monday, Aug. 8.

Yankovic, who got his start in the late 1970s and put out his first comedy album in 1983, is known for spoofing Michael Jackson’s hits, with Eat It (based on Jackson’s Beat It) and Fat (a sendup of Bad) being two of Weird Al’s biggest hits.

The list of artists who’ve refused Yankovic’s overtures to parody their songs is as impressive as the list of those he’s punked: Weird Al says Prince turned him down several times over the years, for instance. Winnipeg’s Crash Test Dummies weren’t so fussy — their hit Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm was spoofed in Headline News from Yankovic’s 1994 box set, Permanent Record: Al in the Box.

There should be gags aplenty at the Burt. Yankovic is dressed like a Communist strongman while promoting his Mandatory World Tour, in support of his 2014 record, Mandatory Fun, which earned him his fourth Grammy Award.

Parodies include Word Crimes (a spoof of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines), while songs by Iggy Azalea, Lorde and Imagine Dragons also get the Weird Al treatment on the album.

There are still some tickets available for the show at Ticketmaster; they range in price from $39.50 to $79.50 plus fees.

— Alan Small

 

 

After Interstellar

While it’s probably true that what goes up must come down, it’s also fair to say that there’s no need to rush the descent. And when it comes to Winnipeg’s annual Interstellar Rodeo music festival, held at The Forks Aug. 12-14, the Winnipeg Wine Cru has created an after-party event that will give festival-goers a soft place to land as they to ease their way back to earth after a full day of music, food and wine.

After Interstellar takes place Saturday, Aug. 13, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in The Forks Market Food Hall, with entertainment from Duotang and DJ Co-op (along with some special surprise guests), and complimentary food and wine sampling from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The Common, The Forks’ wine and beer kiosk, will be open for business throughout the evening, offering 20 different beer selections and 20 different wines.

Tickets for the official after-party of Interstellar Rodeo are $50 ($40 for Interstellar Rodeo weekend pass holders and Grand Cru members), available at store.sixshooterrecords.com/tickets.

— Brad Oswald

 

 

Ripcordz

Nomeansno, DOA, SNFU, Dayglo Abortions — Canada has a rich history of legendary punk bands who started decades ago and continue putting out albums and playing shows in clubs filled with aging, beer-fuelled fans (the latter three are slated to hit Winnipeg in the coming months — start waxing up your mohawk).

Any list of such bands, however, is incomplete without the inclusion of Montreal’s Ripcordz. Since 1980, the Montreal trio has released 15 full-length, fast-paced albums, as well as a handful of EPs.

They roll into town Monday, Aug. 15, to play the Windsor Hotel with Suburban Hypocrites and Yer Mum (tickets are $12) in the latest of one of countless appearances in the city — and one of over 2,000 shows played throughout the country. (By contrast, they’ve played just a dozen times in the U.S.)

And while Ripcordz’s Facebook page proclaims the band “never broke up because they haven’t found anything better to do,” it’s worth noting the sole constant member throughout the band’s existence has been vocalist/guitarist/primary songwriter Paul Gott.

Gott’s gravelly delivery over Ripcordz’s anthemic, rockabilly-infused, fist-in-the-air punk has earned them legions of longtime fans throughout the country, many of whom have seen the band every time they play the local beer-soaked bar or basement show.

—Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson