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Shania Twain’s Charitable Foundation Launches Fundraising Efforts with Text-to-Donate Campaign

SHANIA KIDS CAN (SKC), the non-profit foundation established by artist and children’s advocate Shania Twain, is excited to announce a Text-to-Donate fundraising initiative campaign to coincide with Shania’s current North American NOW tour.

Founded in 2010 by artist and advocate Shania Twain, Shania Kids Can works directly with schools to help provide the basics, offering academic, social and personal support to children. Through Shania Kids Can Clubhouses, the foundation provides inclusive support and stability by qualified professionals in the form of one-on-one consultations as well as group activities while in a safe, inclusive, confidence-building environment.

Shania Twain’s NOW tour is currently underway and fund-raising efforts are in full swing for Shania Kids Can. Until August 6, 2018, fans throughout North America can text ‘SHANIA’ to 20222 and donate $10 to Shania Kids Charitable Foundation. Proceeds will support and expand programs offered to school children via Shania Kids Can Clubhouses in Canada and the U.S.; within SKC Clubhouse kids can access services that promote positive change in times of personal and economic hardship.

“My hope is to expand SKC programs to help support children who are facing challenges in their daily lives,” says SKC founder Shania Twain. “Through the SKC programs, we’ve witnessed improvement in the general health and well-being of the children. These kids are achieving higher academic marks, demonstrating improved social skills, and have an overall better attitude towards school.”

Studies show that by age three, children from low-income households begin to under-perform on cognitive tests. Children who live in poverty are more likely to experience weaker academic and health outcomes, and higher levels of anxiety and stress than affluent children. About a third of the children who grow up in low-income households will remain in low-income circumstances.

After experiencing poverty as a child, Shania Twain founded Shania Kids Can in 2010 to address the needs of young school children. SKC promotes positive change by working with elementary schools throughout North America to deliver programs by qualified professionals that provide support and stability to vulnerable children. SKC provides children with one-on-one consultations, academic support, group activities as well as nutritious snacks and meal programs, in the safe, confidence-building environment that is the Shania Kids Can Clubhouse.

“We support these children at a primary age and teach them how to become responsible, confident, and proactive members of their school community,” says Shania. “These children will grow to be adults who are in a better position to succeed and contribute positively to society.”

Liona Boyd to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award from JoAnn Falletta Guitar Competition

Liona Boyd, “First Lady of the Guitar,” will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition on Saturday, June 9, at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY.

Boyd, an internationally renowned classical guitar player, has been given five Honorary Doctorates, The Order of Canada, The Order of Ontario, the Diamond Jubilee Medal, five Junos, and is five-time winner of the Guitar Player Magazine poll for best classical guitarist. On Saturday evening, her award list grows longer with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition.

The guitar competition includes two semi-finals at 7:30 pm Wednesday, June 6, and Thursday, June 7, at WNED-TV studios, 140 Lower Terrace, Buffalo, NY, and the finals at 7:30 pm June 9 at Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY. For more information about the competition and to buy tickets to the events, click here.

Boyd plays a romantic and unique brand of classical, folk, and world music that she has performed for dozens of world leaders, including the British Royal Family and the US president. Since 1975, when she made her Carnegie Recital Hall debut, Boyd has been called “The First Lady of the Guitar.” Through her concerts, television specials, and 28 recordings, many of which attained Gold and Platinum status, Boyd introduced millions of people around the world to her beloved instrument and her total online views are over six million.

Boyd has recorded with Sir Andrew Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra, Yo Yo Ma and Georges Zamfir, and breaking with classical tradition, she has toured with Gordon Lightfoot and Tracy Chapman as well as recorded with Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Steve Morse, Roger Whittaker and Olivia Newton-John.

Boyd has composed and arranged hundreds of pieces for the guitar and also written a best-selling autobiography, In My Own Key… My Life in Love and Music. Her new autobiography No Remedy for Love, was released in 2017 by Dundurn Press. For more information about Boyd, click here.

Liona Boyd Tour Dates
June 23 – 8:00PM
with Andrew Dolson
With special guests Jack Grunsky and the Voices Rock Canada choir
Presented by The Toronto Jazz Festival
Church of the Redeemer – Box Office: 1 888 655-9090

NOVEMBER 2018 ONTARIO TOUR
Liona Boyd in concert with Andrew Dolson
Tickets on sale June 22nd
Nov. 1 – Brockville Arts Centre – Box Office: 613 342-7122
Nov. 2 – Belleville Empire Theatre – Box Office: 613-969-0099
Nov. 3 – Cornwall Aultsville Theatre – Civic Complex Box Office: 613 938-9400
Nov. 4 – Ottawa Centrepointe Theatre – Box Office: 613 580-2700
Nov. 6 – Orillia Opera House – Box Office: 705 326-8011
Nov. 7 – Huntsville Algonquin Theatre – Box Office: 705 789-4975
Nov. 8 – Oshawa Regent Theatre – Box Office: 905 721-3399, Ext. 2
Nov. 9 – Guelph River Run Centre – Main Stage – Box Office: 519 763-3000
Nov. 10 – Kingston Grand Theatre – Box Office: 613 530-2050
Nov. 13 – London Aeolian Hall – Box Office: 519 672-7950
Nov. 15 – Sarnia Imperial Theatre – Box Office: 519 344-7469
Nov. 18 – St. Catharines Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre – Box Office: 905 688-0722
Nov. 19 – Peterborough Showplace Performance Centre – Box Office: 705 742-7469

Limited Edition Yellow Submarine 50th Anniversary 7” Picture Disc Pre-Sale Starts Now

This July marks the 50th anniversary of Yellow Submarine, one of the most iconic and groundbreaking animated films of all time with a limited run of screenings around the world. As part of the celebrations, The Beatles are releasing this picture disc of the title song, Yellow Submarine b/w Eleanor Rigby, which together was originally released as the band’s 13th single in August 1967.

Featuring images taken from the high resolution 4k restoration of the film, this limited edition single is a fun way for us all to join the party!

– 50th Anniversary Edition 7” vinyl single picture disc
– Housed in a 7”x7” card sleeve with die-cut hole on the front to show the disc
– Limited Edition

SIDE 1
A. Yellow Submarine
SIDE 2
B. Eleanor Rigby

Reserve yours today in The Beatles Official Store here.

The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman reuniting for “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” 50th anniversary tour

Founding Byrds members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman will reunite for a U.S. tour in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their old band’s influential country-rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which was released in August of 1968. McGuinn and Hillman will be backed on the trek by veteran country singer/guitarist Marty Stuart and his group the Fabulous Superlatives.

So far, five dates for the tour have been confirmed, spanning from a July 27 show in Los Angeles through an October 3 concert in Akron, Ohio. Additional performances will be announced soon.

In advance of the trek, McGuinn and Hillman will perform a few songs from the album on June 6 at Stuart’s 17th annual Late Night Jam event at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium. Stuart cites Sweetheart of the Rodeo as a huge influence on his own music, and he plays a 1954 Fender Telecaster originally owned by late country-rock guitar great Clarence White, who was a member of The Byrds from 1968 to 1973.

Sweetheart of the Rodeo was The Byrds’ sixth album overall and the only one to feature singer/guitarist/songwriter Gram Parsons, who joined the group after the departure of founding member David Crosby. The country-flavored album featured mostly covers, including songs by Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Merle Haggard and The Louvin Brothers. A number of respected Nashville session musicians contributed to the record, including White.

“I can’t wait to be on stage with Chris Hillman, Marty Stuart and those Fabulous Superlatives!” says McGuinn in a statement. “We’re all looking forward to taking the fans through the back pages of the recording. The concert will include songs that led up to that groundbreaking trip to Nashville and all the songs from the album.”

Here are all of the confirmed tour dates:

7/24 — Los Angeles, CA, Ace Hotel
7/29 — Saratoga, CA, Mountain Winery
9/18 — Albany, NY, Hart Theater @ The Egg
9/20 — Hopewell, VA, Beacon Theatre
10/3 — Akron, OH, Akron Civic

Hamilton First Municipality to become “Licensed To Play” with SOCAN

The City of Hamilton is standing up for fair and legal music licensing for music creators, becoming the first Canadian municipality to receive a special SOCAN Licensed To Play designation.

After confirming that all of its city-owned recreational facilities – including community halls, swimming pools, arenas, and other recreational services – are legally licensed by SOCAN to play commercially released music, Hamilton was given a Licensed To Play designation by SOCAN. It includes a Hamilton-specific version of the emblem that more than 40,000 Canadian music-using businesses have so far received to show their support of fair compensation for music creators.

“We are proud to be the first Canadian municipality to receive the special Licensed To Play designation from SOCAN. Music is an important aspect of community, culture, and recreation activities, and can bring people from all backgrounds together through special events, festivals, fitness, and dance,” said Laura Kerr, Manager of Program Development, Recreation Division, at the City of Hamilton.

Hamilton’s vibrant music scene and music-related initiatives have made the city a popular residence for music creators, including SOCAN members, and Hamilton’s SOCAN-licensed recreational facilities set the stage for many private and public events each year where music is heard and performed.

“Hamilton is a true playground for music creation, publishing and performance,” said Hamilton-based SOCAN member, Max Kerman, of Arkells. “The SOCAN Licensed To Play designation confirms that Hamilton recognizes the hard work of music creators and publishers, and the importance of venues having a music license. To truly celebrate Canadian culture, it’s important to honour the livelihood of the thousands of songwriters, composers, music publishers, and other musicians living in the area. These administrative steps really add up for someone who works in music.”

While Hamilton is home to a diverse community of musicians, it also boasts a growing number of businesses using music as their core offering, or which offer music to improve their business. The City of Hamilton’s Planning & Economic Development Department encourages businesses to use music responsibly by becoming Licensed To Play with SOCAN.

“The City of Hamilton believes that musicians and artists are entrepreneurs and being Licensed To Play with SOCAN helps ensure that music creators and publishers are fairly compensated for their hard work. Our Music Strategy and Hamilton Music Advisory Team are focused on cultivating local music creation and talent and encouraging others to support artists via SOCAN licensing and fair payment. A lot of time and effort is invested in the creative process before you listen to the final song,” said Debbie Spence, Business Development Consultant Creative Industries, City of Hamilton.

While organizations that use music in their business are expected to abide by the law, constantly monitoring every one of Canada’s music-using businesses isn’t feasible. SOCAN works with businesses and their trade associations, as well as municipalities, to encourage them to stay up-to-date with their music licenses. Collectively, music licensing provides a major part of songwriters’, composers’, and music publishers’ livelihoods through royalties. It’s a vital aspect of Canada’s music ecosystem.

“The City of Hamilton is making a clear statement that it stands up for music rights and the need for songwriters, screen composers, and music publishers to be fairly compensated for their music,” said SOCAN Vice President of Licensing, Leslie Craig. “As the first Canadian city to receive this designation, it’s a milestone for the Hamilton music community, and the more than 150,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers represented by SOCAN.”

Licensed To Play is a long-term program encourages businesses to show that music is an instrumental aspect of the customer experience, and that they stand up for songwriters, screen composers, and music publishers who have created the valuable music that enhances their business.

…And Here’s Darth Vader Shredding The Bass Guitar on Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing In the Name’

While hanging out in Melbourne, Victoria Australia, lucky guy Steve Powell captured Darth Vader shredding the bass licks of the Rage Against the Machine song Killing In the Name, because, of course.

Postmodern Jukebox’s Scott Bradlee Releases New Book “Outside the Jukebox: How I Turned My Vintage Music Obsession into My Dream Gig”

With student loan debt piling up and no lucrative gigs around the corner, Scott Bradlee found himself in a situation all too familiar to struggling musicians and creative professionals, unsure whether he should use the little income he had to pay the rent on his basement apartment on the fringes of New York City or to avoid defaulting on his loans.

It was under these desperate circumstances that Bradlee began experimenting, applying his passion for jazz, ragtime, and doo wop styles to contemporary hits by singers like Macklemore and Miley Cyrus–and suddenly an idea was born. The bands Bradlee went on to launch–from A Motown Tribute to Nickelback to Postmodern Jukebox, the rotating supergroup devoted to period covers of pop songs for which he is best known–borrowed from and refined the initial idea he had arrived at to bring genres now sometimes considered arcane to wide audiences. Today, the success he has had is astonishing, with Postmodern Jukebox collecting upwards of three million subscribers on YouTube, selling out major venues around the world, and developing previously unknown talent into superstar singers.

“They paired me with this amazing singer named Miche Braden who was actually a Motown legend. She grew up in Motown she studied with the Funk Brothers and they told me that she would be singing one of my arrangements. At this point I had never really teamed up with a singer before I didn’t even really like singers …so we got into the studio and Miche Braden just to let loose with this amazing kind of Bessie Smith blues voice …Hearing this amazing singers sing to one of my arrangements and I just thought, well maybe I’m not just a pianist maybe I have a chance of being a producer. Maybe you know, maybe arranging, maybe that’s something I like to do.”

Taking readers through the false starts, absurd failures, and unexpected breakthroughs of Bradlee’s journey from a lost musician to a musical kingmaker headlining Radio City Music Hall–and presenting all the insights he learned along the way to becoming an entrepreneur like no other–OUTSIDE THE JUKEBOX is an inspiring memoir about how one musician found his rhythm and launched a movement that would forever change how people make, distribute, and enjoy their favorite songs.

Pre-order it here.

Alec Benjamin Unveils Video For “let Me Down Slowly”

Rising singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin has unveiled the emotionally stirring video, directed by Matt Swinsky, for his recently released single “Let Me Down Slowly”. The single, which debuted last Friday and has already accumulated over two million global streams in its first week, heralds a new chapter for the extraordinary storyteller. Balancing relatable yet mature lyrical content with vitalizing production, he pleads, “Now, I’m slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace, oh please, please, could you find a way to let me down slowly?” atop a sentimental yet powerful drum-guitar ensemble.

“I’ve always felt awkward in front of the camera so I decided that in my music videos I would play the role of the narrator,” says Alec Benjamin of the “Let Me Down Slowly” video. “Most of my songs are based on a specific narrative so I figured why not just tell the story as it is and have some great actors bring the story to life.”

Upon release, “Let Me Down Slowly” garnered immediate support from digital streaming platforms including global placement on numerous Spotify “New Music Friday” playlists as well as an interview on Beats 1 A-List Pop (watch here). The single is climbing Spotify’s Global & US Viral charts, hitting the top 10 within a week of release. In addition to an outpour of praise from industry fans including Julia Michaels, the song’s accompanying lyric video has amassed nearly 250K views on YouTube in just over a week.

Alec Benjamin simply refers to himself as a “narrator.” Inspired by Eminem, Paul Simon, and Citizen Cope, the Phoenix-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter fashioned a cinematic, lo-fi sound that stirred up a buzz online right out of the gate, landing him a major label deal by the age of 18. A day after he turned in his first album, he was dropped by the label he thought would take his artist project to the moon. However, it was going to take a lot more to stop him. Alec immediately hit the road for a self-booked European tour in May 2016. He performed “parking lot shows” for fans outside of Shawn Mendes and Troye Sivan concerts, handing out business cards to leave a tangible keepsake for those listening and building his brand from the ground up.

Shortly after the tour, he jumped in the studio with Jon Bellion and ended up earning a co-write on the pop star’s debut album, “New York Soul (Part II). This session would also open the door for Alec to join Bellion on tour directly after. With an insatiable urge to rise to the top, the tenacious prodigy found himself back performing in parking when he wasn’t on-stage opening for Bellion. Knowing that some of those fans would search for him after the performances, Alec made it his mission to consistently uploaded one new song every two weeks to his YouTube channel and build a catalog his fans could listen to. Within the span of six months, he logged over 165 shows and amassed 150K YouTube subscribers simply through perseverance and a D.I.Y. attitude. Alec managed to hit even bigger strides in 2017 when his viral hit “I Built A Friend” ignited online, clocking nearly four million Spotify streams in under a year and earning airplay for millions of Americans on the national TV show, America’s Got Talent. While his story is certainly one of a kind, Alec’s narrative is only just beginning.

This invention translates dance moves into music, making two things I can do at the same time I’m bad at

Yamaha Corporation is excited to announce that Yamaha artificial intelligence (AI) technology enabled a world-renowned dancer Kaiji Moriyama to control a piano by his movements. The concert, held in Tokyo on November 22, 2017, was entitled “Mai Hi Ten Yu”‘ and was sponsored by Tokyo University of the Arts and Tokyo University of the Arts COI. Yamaha provided an original system, which can translate human movements into musical expression by using AI technology, as technical cooperation for the concert.

Drawing on the system provided by Yamaha, Moriyama gave a brilliant performance with synchronized beautiful piano sound. Moreover, the performance was accompanied by other leading players, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Scharoun Ensemble.

The concert performed by the talented players with Yamaha technology showed “a form of expression that fuses body movements and music.”

Yamaha believes this performance represents steady progress in the pursuit of new forms of artistic expression and will continue to develop this technology to further expand the possibilities for human expression.

BECK + U2 = “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way (Beck Remix)”

Beck has reunited with U2 to remix another track from the band’s international #1 album, Songs of Experience (Interscope). This time, current single “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” gets the Beck remix treatment, as the GRAMMY Album of the Year winning musician pulls from his palette of sonic colors to emphasize the organic foundations underpinning its soaring harmonies.

“Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” comes from the critically acclaimed, Songs Of Experience, called “Their best album in years” by USA Today and “a remarkable accomplishment for a band in its fifth decade of existence” by Variety.

Beck previously collaborated with U2 on an exclusive remix of “Lights of Home (Free Yourself/Beck Remix),” released to mark Record Store Day earlier this year. Prior to the release of his critically acclaimed Colors (Capitol), Beck supported U2 on the final U.S. leg of last year’s #1 grossing tour, The Joshua Tree Tour 2017.

U2 is currently in the midst of the groundbreaking eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour, whose May 2nd debut in Tulsa, OK moved Rolling Stone to rave “after this incredible opening night almost anything feels possible.” During the tour’s swing through Nashville, U2 became the first act in the history of Jack White’s Third Man Records to record a single directly to acetate: a stripped-down acoustic version of “Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way,” to be released by Third Man Records on limited edition vinyl. Details to be announced soon.

The eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour 2018:
June 5 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
June 6 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
June 9 – Uniondale, NY – NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 13 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
June 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
June 17 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
June 18 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
June 21 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
June 22 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
June 25 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
June 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
June 29 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
July 1 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
July 3 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun
August 31 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena
September 1 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena
September 4 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
September 5 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
September 8 – Paris, FR – AccorHotels Arena
September 9 – Paris, FR – AccorHotels Arena
September 12 – Paris, FR – AccorHotels Arena
September 13 – Paris, FR – AccorHotels Arena
September 16 – Lisbon, PT – Altice Arena
September 17 – Lisbon, PT – Altice Arena
September 20 – Madrid, ES – WiZink Arena
September 21 – Madrid, ES – WiZink Arena
September 29 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
September 30 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
October 3 – Hamburg, DE – Barclaycard Arena
October 4 – Hamburg, DE – Barclaycard Arena
October 7 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
October 8 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
October 11 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
October 12 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
October 15 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
October 16 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
October 19 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Arena
October 20 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Arena
October 23 – London, UK – The O2
October 24 – London, UK – The O2
October 27 – Belfast, GB – SSE Arena
October 28 – Belfast, GB – SSE Arena
November 5 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
November 6 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
November 9 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
November 10 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena

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That Eric Alper
6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week, a 16-time JUNO Award winner overseeing PR campaigns, and have also been truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

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