Avenuer
Senior Member
A lack of live music venues definitely doesn't help.
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- Thread starter Gronk!
- Start date
IanO
Superstar
I should note that from a tourism, economic development and inspirational level, tours are fantastic for Edmonton and it punches way above its weight for that, but that's very different from creating a scene.
archited
Senior Member
If you followed Austin's development vis-a-vis music "scene" that is the next step for Edmonton, surely. It is strong on the concert tour listing and in the development of music oriented festivals and development of local talent... live music venues will begin to gain prominence again (many local "scenes" -- no matter the city -- like hospitality/retail and the ravaging of venues by COVID were stressed to the point of numerous closings) -- live venues, that is the next step for Edmonton. There are a lot of eyes on Edmonton -- more so than any other Canadian city. Anyway this discussion started with recognition of Edmonton as a tour locale, but "expert" Ian knows better than anyone, no matter the subject.
Avenuer
Senior Member
I hope you're right, because we only have a handful of dedicated small to medium sized live music venues now:
The Starlite Room
The Aviary
Union Hall
99Ten
Midway Music Hall
Blues on Whyte
The Yardbird Suite
Did I miss anything?
archited
Senior Member
Here's a few more...
Boot Scootin' Boogie Dancehall
Cook County Saloon (particularly relevant in that I helped Dale Cook and Barry Sparrow put this one together)
Blackjacks Roadhouse & Games Room
River Cree
Kelly's Pub
Arden Theatre
Nest Taphouse Grill
Sewing Machine Factory
The Buckingham
Winspear Centre
The Common
Dinwoodie Lounge
Temple Ballroom
Betty Andrews Recital Hall
The Mercury Room
Bunkers Sports Pub
Muttart Hall
The Foundry Chinatown
and I'm sure that I have missed a few... (maybe some hotels still have performance venues or will begin to revive some post-COVID)
I know the Station on Jasper closed
-- let me know if any of the above were COVID casualties.
Boot Scootin' Boogie Dancehall
Cook County Saloon (particularly relevant in that I helped Dale Cook and Barry Sparrow put this one together)
Blackjacks Roadhouse & Games Room
River Cree
Kelly's Pub
Arden Theatre
Nest Taphouse Grill
Sewing Machine Factory
The Buckingham
Winspear Centre
The Common
Dinwoodie Lounge
Temple Ballroom
Betty Andrews Recital Hall
The Mercury Room
Bunkers Sports Pub
Muttart Hall
The Foundry Chinatown
and I'm sure that I have missed a few... (maybe some hotels still have performance venues or will begin to revive some post-COVID)
I know the Station on Jasper closed
-- let me know if any of the above were COVID casualties.
IanO
Superstar
'There are a lot of eyes on Edmonton -- more so than any other Canadian city.'
That's simply an outright lie man; I honestly don't know how you can say that. I would give my right thumb for a more robust scene in Edmonton and there are some really dedicated folks making of it what they can, but from all accounts it pales.
archited
Senior Member
^^^^ Wrong!!! As I said I am actively engaged in the music business and so I know how often Edmonton is referenced in L.A. -- but I am not going to take on the impossible task of convincing you.
Are these your "friends" feeding you information again?
archited
Senior Member
archited
Senior Member
IanO
Superstar
I'll assume that you know more here, but honestly man, I chat with local music folks regularly and the stories, adjectives and representation of the scene is not what you are purporting.
archited
Senior Member
Musicians and Band Members are notorious for griping and deluding themselves that "the grass is greener"... music centres no matter the city were equally hard hit by COVID (that fact is a no-brainer). Anytime that I was in the office of Arista Records (West Coast - now defunct) the A&R department received an average daily demo allotment of over 1,000 tapes, CDs, DVDs -- they would listen (typically) to the first 20 seconds of a song and if nothing grabbed them they would send out a "pass" form letter or not reply at all if the song was not listed with the Library of Congress. Most (I believe All Now) A&R departments in SoCal have a policy of not responding to unsolicited material at all. The letters that accompany demo submissions are mostly bitching about how the recording industry is corrupt and how most artists are shit and "my demo" will provide a fresh new approach to music (hint -- they don't). Same bitching goes on at open mic nights. In short, if your barometer to Edmonton's music scene is listening to musicians, it is little wonder that you are befuddled.
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archited
Senior Member
In Edmonton you should chat with Holger Petersen, founder of Stony Plain Records (now sold to an Eastern Canadian outfit) to update your viewpoint.
archited
Senior Member
Oh... and we shouldn't overlook Festival Place in Sherwood Park and some highlighted Edmonton acts featured in this Journal Article
A rich tapestry of Black talent has musical showcase at Festival Place
Despite having our fair share of innovative talents, Alberta isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of Black music. There are some great musical reasons to mark Black Hist…
edmontonjournal.com
archited
Senior Member
Here are some samples...
(^^^^you might recognize the City in this video)
archited
Senior Member
And from Edmonton in the C&W genre...
(^^^^ Koreen Perry)
(^^^^ k.d. Lang)
(^^^^ Adam Gregory)
(^^^^ Carmen Rasmusen)
(^^^^Bobby Wills)
https://www.lauravinson.com/music/videos/video/9-the-spirit-sings-live (^^^^Laura Vinson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfFMt4ZQWZ4 (^^^^Orville Peck)
https://www.lauravinson.com/music/videos/video/9-the-spirit-sings-live (^^^^Laura Vinson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfFMt4ZQWZ4 (^^^^Orville Peck)