MUSIC NEWS: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
DAUPHIN'S COUNTRYFEST ANNOUNCES FIRST ROUND OF PERFORMERS
"Dauphin’s Countryfest is extremely proud of Canada’s homegrown artists, so we’ve put together a special line-up for Canada Day featuring some of Canadian country’s hottest acts. Plan to celebrate on July 1st with your friends at Countryfest this summer,” says Eric Irwin, president of Dauphin’s Countryfest. “The rest of our line-up for the weekend features favourite acts from across North America. We’ve released a few artist names today, and are close to releasing more exciting news, so stay tuned.”
It was announced yesterday that Autumn Hill, High Valley, Dallas Smith and Dean Brody would be performing on Canada Day. Other artists announced include newcomer Chris Janson and recent chart topper Thomas Rhett.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, November 2nd at 9am.
The 27th Dauphin’s Countryfest takes place June 30th to July 3rd. Stay connected with Countryfest all year on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or by signing up for e-news at countryfest.ca.
www.facebook.com/dauphinscountryfest
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LIGHTFOOT SCULPTURE
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot is expected to attend a sculpture unveiling in his honour today.
The legendary troubadour is scheduled to be his native Orillia, Ont., to see the piece called ``Golden Leaves _ A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot.''
Figurative artist Timothy Schmalz of St. Jacobs, Ont., created the four-metre-high bronze work for the Gordon Lightfoot Trail.
The sculpture is being gifted to the City of Orillia, by the Rudolph P. Bratty Family Foundation.
It's one of many honours the 76-year-old Lightfoot has received in his lifetime.
He's won five Grammy nominations and 17 Juno Awards for his hits, which include ``If You Could Read My Mind'' and ``The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.''
(The Canadian Press)
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MUSIC-DRAKE-DANCING
Toronto rapper Drake is sparking scores of comparisons, parodies and memes with his shimmy-shuffle slow grooves in his new video for the earworm ``Hotline Bling.'' But what do dance experts think? Renowned choreographer Tre Armstrong, a judge on ``So You Think You Can Dance Canada,'' opined, ``Young man can dance and he's got some groove in his system.'' And Melissa Nascimento-So, youth program director at City Dance Corps in Toronto, applauds Drake for putting himself out there. She says, ``He looks like he's having a great time,'' adding, ``really, that's what dance is all about.''
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CEELO GREEN - RETURNS
CeeLo Green is offering his regrets for the mess he's made. He is offering his ``deepest, sincerest apologies for any inconvenience, any ignorance, any ill will, anything.''
Green's career took a nose-dive after he pleaded no contest to giving a woman ecstasy at a 2012 dinner and later tweeting, ``Women who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!'' Green says it was a ``very redefining moment'' for him, and it's been a blessing to learn from his mistakes. Green will put out a new album, ``Heart Blanche,'' on November 6th. He's also approached ``The Voice'' about returning as a coach.
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LAMB OF GOD - CZECH REPUBLIC
When Randy Blythe of Lamb of God was accused of a crime he didn't think he committed in the Czech Republic, why did he ever return there? Blythe says it was because a young man who was a fan of his band had died. Blythe says his going to prison and dealing with the Czech legal system was nothing compared to what the man's family went through. Blythe was charged with pushing a 19-year-old fan who had jumped onto the stage at a show in the Czech Republic in 2010. The man later died of a head injury suffered in the fall. Blythe only remembers lots of fans climbing on the stage and poor security. He spent 37 days in jail and the charges were dropped at trial. He writes about his experiences in the new book, ``Dark Days.''
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ELTON JOHN - NEW ALBUM
Elton John went with tried-and-true allies for his upcoming album, ``Wonderful Crazy Night.'' Drummer Nigel Olsson has been playing with John since he hit it big in the late 1960s, and guitarist Davey Johnstone first played with John in 1971. The songs on the album were co-written by lyricist Bernie Taupin, John's friend and collaborator for 48 years. ``Wonderful Crazy Night'' is John's 33rd studio album. It will come out February 5th. The first single, ``Looking Up,'' is out today.
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ADELE - NEW SINGLE - ALBUM
You can get the first listen of Adele's new album starting today. The video for her first single, ``Hello,'' is out today, and the single is available for digital sale and streaming.
Adele's third album, ``25,'' will be released on November 20th.
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EUROPE -GEICO
Geico has breathed new life into an old Europe song. Billboard reports since Geico started running a commercial featuring Europe's ``The Final Countdown,'' the song is seeing a resurgence in sales. Before the commercial began running, Europe sold about a thousand downloads of the song per week for the past two years. In the five weeks since the ad has run, Europe sold 31-thousand downloads of ``The Final Countdown.'' It tops Billboard's Hard Rock Digital Songs chart.
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AMERICAN JAZZ MASTERS
Saxophonists Pharoah Sanders and Archie Shepp and vibraphonist Gary Burton have been selected for the America's highest honour in jazz. They have been named 2016 Jazz Masters by the National Endowment for the Arts. They will be given awards during an April 4th concert in Washington.
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WILL SMITH - LATIN GRAMMYS
Will Smith will be part of the entertainment at the Latin Grammys. Smith and Colombian band Bomba Estereo will perform their remix of ``Fiesta.'' The original version without Smith is nominated for record of the year. The Latin Grammys will be shown live on Univision on November 19th.
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PSY - LANDLORD
Psy is trying to evict artists who are tenants in a building he owns in Seoul, South Korea. Psy bought the six-floor building in 2012. He wants to evict the artists who occupy two floors because of a 2011 court ruling that ordered them out by the end of 2013. The artists won't leave because they say the ruling was based on the previous owner's plans to reconstruct the building.
The artists say Psy's agents agreed to let them stay through November. The artists have staged rallies since March and one was seriously hurt. Psy's lawyers say the artists are exploiting his celebrity and trying to defame him.
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PENTATONIX - JASON DERULO
The story of how Pentatonix met Jason Derulo is surprisingly simple. Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying says they were doing ``Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' and Derulo had the dressing room next to them. Hoying says he cringed when bandmate Kevin Olusola just walked into Derulo's room. It turns out Derulo was a fan and said he'd love to work with them.
Hoying says they followed up with a phone call and suggested a song he's been obsessed with for a long time, ``If I Fall In Love'' by Shai. Derulo stopped him right there and said that's the song.
Their collaboration appears on the new self-titled Pentatonix album, out now.
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SIMON COWELL - ``AMERICA'S GOT TALENT''
Looks like American T-V viewers will have Simon Cowell to kick around again. The former judge on ``American Idol''
is returning to the judge's chair _ but in another show that he created. He will be on the panel for ``America's Got Talent,''
replacing Howard Stern, who left after this past season. The N-B-C show returns this coming summer. It's unclear whether the other judges from last year _ Howie Mandel, Mel B and Heidi Klum _ will return.
SONNY ROLLINS TRIBUTE
Keith Richards has saluted vocalist Merry Clayton of ``Gimme Shelter'' fame and an all-star gathering of jazz musicians has paid tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins on the Apollo Theater's stage. It was part of the Jazz Foundation of America's 14th annual benefit gala, ``A Great Night in Harlem.''
The 85-year-old Rollins spoke, but didn't play, Thursday night as he received the foundation's lifetime achievement prize.
Clayton, one of the top backup singers of the 1960s and '70s, appeared only by video. She's recovering from a 2014 auto accident in which she lost both her legs. Clayton was the first recipient of the Clark & Gwen Terry Courage Award.
The foundation provides a wide range of support for jazz musicians, from rent money to medical care.
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(The Associated Press)