Behold Winnipeg Fanfare and other New Music delights

The Winnipeg New Music Festival is back with a bang this week as its offers its first full line-up of nightly concerts since January 2020.

Add this Winterruption to your social calendar

Some people view the coldest months of the year as a hibernation period for music festivals and concerts in Manitoba. Winterruption (Jan. 20-29) is out to wake those people up.

Chorus of support has Vancouver folk fest board reviewing cancellation, letter says

VANCOUVER - A groundswell of support for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival has its board of directors rethinking plans to cancel this year's event and dissolve the society.

An open letter from the board says several parties have offered possible solutions for funding and support since it announced the plan to end the festival last week.

It says the board has paused the motion to dissolve the society and moved the annual general meeting from Feb. 1 to March 1, while it explores options to save the festival.

The letter says there's been an extraordinary response to the decision to cancel the festival, with board members have receiving numerous messages of love and support from attendees, dedicated volunteers, musicians and many others.

Shania Twain says she feels ‘time crunch’ to record more albums while she has a voice

Shania Twain says she worries her singing voice is on borrowed time and so she plans to "hurry up and make more records."

Twain told The Canadian Press she feels a "time crunch" on her voice, and feared she may lose it in the fallout of contracting Lyme disease roughly two decades ago.

"It may not last forever; I know that, I've been told that," she said Wednesday in a call from Las Vegas to promote her sixth album "Queen of Me," out Feb. 3.

"I've got so many songs written and I want to get in there and record them while I can."

Justin Bieber sells his rights to ‘Sorry,’ ‘Despacito’ and other hits to Hipgnosis

TORONTO - Justin Bieber has sold the rights to his entire back catalogue, including megahits "Despacito," "Sorry" and "Baby," to Hipgnosis Song Management.

The song investment company says it's struck an agreement with the Stratford, Ont.-raised pop singer for his share of all publishing copyrights and royalties from his master recordings.

The deal covers Bieber's entire back catalogue of more than 290 titles released before the end of 2021.

Terms were not disclosed by Hipgnosis and the company declined to put a value on the deal.

Classified, The East Pointers lead East Coast Music Awards nominations with six each

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia-based rapper Classified and Prince Edward Island pop-folk trio The East Pointers lead the nominations for the 35th East Coast Music Awards, with six each.

Classified's Retrospected is nominated for album of the year, and both he and The East Pointers are up for entertainer of the year and video of the year.

Newfoundland and Labrador country singer-songwriter Jason Benoit's five nominations include album of the year — for Time Traveller: Side A — entertainer of the year and Indigenous artist of the year.

Singer-songwriter David Myles, musical duo Madison Violet, musician Andrew Waite and singer-songwriter Lisa LeBlanc each have four nominations.

Star Trek rogue John de Lancie leans in to narrator role for Peer Gynt with WSO

Few can snap their fingers so audibly, and so famously, as John de Lancie.

It’s a handy skill for an actor who plays an omnipotent alien that can change the universe with the snap of his fingers while making life miserable for Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation and other series in the franchise that explore “Space, the final frontier.”

Q, de Lancie’s roguish character that returned to the small screen last year in the Star Trek offshoot Picard, has become the actor’s calling card in the science-fiction realm.

Singer Michelle Willis on the ‘joy of knowing’ late David Crosby, a mentor and friend

TORONTO - David Crosby was an acclaimed musician to many, but for Michelle Willis he was also a surprise mentor who became a friend in recent years.

The Ontario-raised singer-songwriter says she first met Crosby, who died Wednesday at 81 years old, during a recording session for the instrumental band Snarky Puppy.

Both of them had been invited to record on Snarky Puppy's 2015 album "Family Dinner, Vol. 2," a collaborative project that attracted musician friends from around the world.

Once in the studio, it was clear she shared a spark with the founder of the folk-rock group Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Reports: David Crosby, rock star and CSNY co-founder, dies

David Crosby, the brash rock musician who evolved from a baby-faced harmony singer with the Byrds to a mustachioed hippie superstar and an ongoing troubadour in Crosby, Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Young, has died at 81, several media outlets reported Thursday.

The New York Times reported, based on a text message from Crosby's sister in law, that the musician died Wednesday night. Several media outlets reported Crosby's death citing anonymous sources; The Associated Press was unable to reach Crosby's representatives and his widow.

Crosby underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after decades of drug use and survived diabetes, hepatitis C and heart surgery in his 70s.

While he only wrote a handful of widely known songs, the witty and ever opinionated Crosby was on the front lines of the cultural revolution of the ’60s and ’70s — whether triumphing with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young on stage at Woodstock, testifying on behalf of a hirsute generation in his anthem “Almost Cut My Hair” or mourning the assassination of Robert Kennedy in “Long Time Gone.”

New music: Reviews of this week’s CD releases

Pop &Rock

Indigenous music series launches third season

The third season of a video series highlighting live performances and original new music by First Nation, Métis and Inuit artists will première on Facebook and YouTube on Jan. 20.

Vancouver folk festival cancels, Squamish’s future uncertain as music fests pressured

TORONTO - Two West Coast music festivals say their future is in doubt as soaring costs and uncertain ticket sales make it impossible to plan and stage their events.

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival announced Tuesday it's decided to cancel its 2023 edition due to rising production costs that are "not realistic or sustainable" under the current model. It says the festival would need another $500,000 to cover higher expenses this year.

And the Squamish Constellation Festival, which hosts an array of independent Canadian rock acts, said it must decide within the next two weeks whether to scrap this year's edition.

Both festivals described an industry that underwent seismic changes after the COVID-19 pandemic ground live music to a halt in 2020.

Nunavut plans to support Inuit language, culture with new music industry association

IQALUIT, Nunavut - Nunavut musicians have a music industry association to call their own.

Organizers of Nunavut Music say the non-profit will work to support industry professionals, build careers and strengthen Inuit language and culture.

They say Nunavut was the only Canadian province or territory without an official music industry association until now.

Founding members include the Qaggiavuut Society, Alianait Arts Festival and Iqaluit Music Society.

Country singer Tenille Townes, Punjabi rapper AP Dhillon added to Juno performers

TORONTO - A dazzle of country and a sparkle of pop are being added to this year's Juno Awards in the latest round of performers joining the broadcast.

Organizers say they've booked Nashville-based Alberta singer Tenille Townes as well as Punjabi-Canadian viral sensation AP Dhillon for the show being held this March in Edmonton.

They join a trifecta of dance-pop names in rising Montreal singer Rêve who will perform alongside Preston Pablo of Timmins, Ont., and Montreal producers Banx & Ranx.

Former "Kim's Convenience" star Simu Liu will return as host for the second consecutive year, ahead of his appearance in the summer movie "Barbie."

What’s old is new: Why a Weeknd song from 2016 is now a chart smash

TORONTO - If the Weeknd's fresh hit "Die For You" seems mighty familiar, it's probably because it first soared up the radio charts five years ago.

The Toronto pop superstar's moody and melodic track is scaling the upper ranks of the Billboard Hot 100 — a chart where new singles reign supreme. This week, it rises to No. 6 from No. 8.

But it's hardly a new song, having appeared three studio albums ago on the Weeknd's smash 2016 record "Starboy." In that era, it was released as a radio single and became a Canadian hit long before its more recent comeback.

"Die For You" is part of an increasingly frequent phenomenon in which an older song climbs the music charts after a gale force of social media attention makes it impossible to ignore.

Hamilton snowplow named after Arkells lead singer Max Kerman in landslide vote win

TORONTO - Max Kerman can fill a stadium with his rock band Arkells, but his latest claim to fame will be how his namesake clears the streets.

The frontman of the Hamilton act secured a landslide victory in the city's name-that-plow contest, resulting in one of 10 newly named plows being dubbed the "Max Kermanator."

Kerman told The Canadian Press he was "delighted" by the "incredibly stupid" honour.

"I don't even own a car, so having my own snowplow is pretty cool," he said Monday.

Madonna unveils 2023 North America and European tour dates

NEW YORK (AP) — Madonna will “Take a Bow” with a new tour through North America and Europe starting this summer that will be a “Celebration” of the pop icon's hits, which include 38 songs in the Billboard Hot 100.

The 35-city Live Nation-backed "Madonna: The Celebration Tour" will kick off July 15 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta and Boston, among others. That leg ends on Oct. 7 in Las Vegas.

Then the Material Girl hits Europe, where she has 11 dates throughout the fall, including London, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Milan and Stockholm, among others. The tour will wrap in Amsterdam on Dec. 1.

The singer will “be highlighting her unmatched catalog of music from the past 40-plus years,” according to the announcement. It will also “pay respect to the city of New York, where her career in music began.”

Robbie Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive dies at 69

NEW YORK (AP) — Robbie Bachman, the drummer for the Canadian hard rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive that was known for such 1970s hits as “Takin' Care of Business" and “You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet," has died at age 69.

His death was announced on social media Thursday by his brother and bandmate, Randy Bachman, who did not cite a cause.

“The pounding beat of BTO has left us," Randy Bachman wrote. “He was an integral cog in our rock ‘n roll machine and we rocked the world together."

The Bachman brothers were Winnipeg natives who had been playing music since childhood.

Lizzo, Ed Sheeran among acts set for 2023 Jazz Fest

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lizzo and Ed Sheeran are among the headliners at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which takes place over two weekends beginning April 28.

The lineup released Friday also includes Dead & Company, Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Santana, Jon Batiste, Jill Scott, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Kane Brown, H.E.R., the Steve Miller Band and Ludacris.

Quint Davis, the festival's producer, said he's really excited about this year's event.

“This one is special,” Davis told The Associated Press by phone. “We've got something for everybody. Don't just read through the first few names on the list. Read down through it. There's some great stuff all over it. If there's someone scheduled that you haven't heard of, go to YouTube or Google them. There's buried treasure in this festival."

Robbie Bachman, co-founder and drummer of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dies at 69

Robbie Bachman, the self-taught drummer who co-founded Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died at age 69.

Bachman died this week in Vancouver, where he lived, said his older brother and former bandmate Randy Bachman. He did not have any more details.

The younger Bachman — born Robin Bachman — played drums to hits "Takin' Care of Business" and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," helping establish the band as a formidable force in Canadian music during the 1970s.

"He was a really cool, inventive — not a disciplined — drummer," Randy Bachman said in a phone interview. "He never had drum lessons. He just listened to the records and played like John Bonham and Ringo Starr."