Music

Top 10 Crazy Moments at Montreal jazz fest

By Richard Burnett What happens behind the scenes when the stars arrive, or arrive late, or don’t show up at all? Patience and quick thinking are job requirements for Festival International de Jazz de Montréal organizers dealing with divas, massive egos, cancellations, no-shows and the inevitable musician being held up at Canada Customs. I spoke […]

Books Music

Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris and The Renegades of Nashville by Michael Streissguth (it Books, $31.99)

“What kind of music do you usually have here?” “Oh we got both kinds.  We got country and western!”                                                                                                 -from The Blues Brothers By Andreas Kessaris for Curtains Up!  There was a time when a handful of people in Nashville had a virtual monopoly on Country & Western music.  All the recording artists were […]

Music

The Lion of Africa: Reggae icon Alpha Blondy headlines Montreal jazz fest

By Richard Burnett for Curtains Up @bugsburnett When Africa’s iconic roots-reggae legend Alpha Blondy returned home to Ivory Coast in 2011, the post-election violence in that country had spread to the political capital, Yamoussoukro, as well as Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, where security forces loyal to incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo were fighting the supporters […]

Music Theatre

Fringe-For-All (…or almost all)

Kibitzing with members of Montreal media at the crudité table was a great way to get a heads-up on my first Fringe-for-All. Fringe organizers welcomed the media at Petit Campus for a pre-show cocktail, and as a Fringe ‘virgin’, I appreciated sage advice from seasoned veterans as to what was about to be an all-out […]

Dance Music Varia

Notre Home’s Honest Family Values

The Honest Family, as the name suggests, are the grace and force of good karma. Vibrant, willing, spirited, and vocal youthful performers and entertainers that bridge the gap from young to “not-so-old” to spread their message. A message of “positivity”, of reality, of strength, courage, wisdom, love and hope. Family values that are intertwined between […]

Music

TEN RULES FOR A NO RULES GAME – Becoming a Musician

                    By Mitchell Field for Curtains Up (Mitchell performs regularly as a solo artist, drummer and lead singer for Montreal’s best British Invasion band the Hi-Fins.) Have you ever wondered how does one go about becoming a musician?  Do you have to study music?  Practice ten hours […]

Dining Music

A Montreal Juke-Joint: Smoke Meat Pete’s

By Rik Roe for  Curtains Up A Juke joint is the vernacular term for an “informal establishment featuring music, dancing, and drinking”. The term “juke” is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly. Classic juke joints were often found at rural crossroads, and catered to the rural workforce that began […]

Music

The Blushing Brides “Love Is Strong”

By Rik Roe for Curtains Up The Blushing Brides are a constant reminder how the very provoking lyric of “Love is Strong”, is both their motto and their moniker. Having recently had the grand privilege of seeing and hearing them at a packed Club Soda, mere months before their iconic counterparts appear in Montreal, we […]