Bieber’s CA-US Believe Tour Sells Out in 1 Hour

Justin Bieber will embark on his CA-US Believe Tour beginning on September 29 in Phoenix, USA and ending January 26, 2013, in Miami. Label mate Carly Rae Jepsen will be joining him in concert. Bieber will play shows in 8 Canadian cities (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto). All of his shows have sold out (though there may still be some VIP tickets available). His entire tour sold out in less than 1 hour; in New York his 2 shows at Madison Square Garden sold out in 30 seconds. Bieber’s new single “Die In Your Arms”, followup to “Boyfriend”, has been released in lieu of his much anticipated Believe album which will be out in a couple of weeks.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” continues to be thwarted from entering the #1 spot on the United States’ Billboard chart, as Gotye has charmed his way into the American psyche. Her single has reached #1 in the official charts of Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.

 

Bryan Adams in Concert

The king of heartland rock is in the middle of his cross-Canada tour which began in St. John’s on April 11; tonight he is in Toronto.  After Thunder Bay, May 9th, he is off to Portugal and will return to do western Canada in June.  Bryan Adams released his first hit single in 1979, “Let Me Take You Dancing” which received extensive airplay on Vancouver’s “LG73″.  After two albums that saw modest sales, he unleashed his triple platinum Cuts Like a Knife in 1983 which spawned 3 Top 40 hits. This album was basically the setup for his hydrogen bomb, Reckless, the first Canadian album in history to go diamond at home with a million copies sold and 6 Top 20 hits, including “Run to You” which made the Top 5.

In 1991, Adams released his second diamond album, Waking up the Neighbours, which saw one of the biggest hit singles in history top the charts around the globe and was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster motion picture Robin Hood:  Prince of Thieves.  The song was “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”.  Waking Up the Neighbours became the first Canadian album since Neil Young’s Harvest in 1972 to top the album charts in the United Kingdom.  Although the 90s saw Adam’s greatest success on the singles charts (9 number ones), most think of him as an 80s sensation. His achievements brought unsurpassed Canadian pride to those who spent their youth in that decade.

Check out the tour dates on Bryan Adams’ website.

 

Stef Lang’s Fighting Mirrors Cross-Canada Tour

Live music is such a treat; it really is.  But we have to be smart.  We have to drop the potatoes on the couch, go out, and see the artists perform before they become huge international superstars.

Just after Carly Rae Jepsen released her “Call Me Maybe” single in Canada, she played a quaint little venue in Vancouver (a former church). Those who saw her then were very, very lucky.  They could stand within a few metres of the stage.  When the song reached #1, she opened for Hanson, playing at a larger venue.  Now that she has become an international celebrity, those days are over.  From now on, it’s big arenas where you have to camp out overnight or pay a small fortune if you don’t want to be in a position where all you can see is a small dot on the distant stage.

Seize the Opportunity

Stef Lang is a treasure trove of talent and she is generating press as far away as Britain.  Her upcoming cross-Canada tour which begins a dozen days from now may be the last time you can see her before she becomes a dot on a distant stage.  You never know!

We’ve listed the dates and venues below.  New cities may be added later; we’ll keep you all posted.  For details (addresses, times, ticket prices, etc.), go to her website HERE.  Promoting her tour is her brand new EP Fighting Mirrors which she is offering Radiohead-style, i.e. free download.  We’ve also embedded a nice interview with Stef below the dates.

Date	City	Venue
29 Mar (Thu)	Duncan	Duncan Garage Showroom
30 Mar (Fri)	Nanaimo	Diners RendezVous
31 Mar (Sat)	Ladysmith	The Bean Time Café
1 Apr (Sun)	Vancouver	Joe’s Apartment
4 Apr (Wed)	Calgary	The Hub (At Mount Royal University)
6 Apr (Fri)	Edmonton	The Haven Social House
7 Apr (Sat)	Lethbridge	The Slice Bar & Grill
12 Apr (Thu)	Winnipeg	Pyramid Cabaret
14 Apr (Sat)	Thunder Bay	Black Pirates
22 Apr (Sun)	Wakefield	Black Sheep Inn
24 Apr (Tue)	Ottawa	Zaphod Beeblebrox
26 Apr (Thu)	Waterloo	Maxwell’s Music House
28 Apr (Sat)	Guelph	Jimmy Jazz
29 Apr (Sun)	Hamilton	Casbah

 

Nickelback’s Here and Now Tour Launches in April

The 2012 concert tour of the most successful Canadian rock band of modern times is here and now.  Chad, Daniel, Mike, and Ryan, operating on the flip-side of the 5-cent piece, are hitting the 401 with international backers Bush (from the U.K.), Seether (from South Africa), and My Darkest Days (from Turana). Nickelback’s last tour in 2009 attracted 2 million fans in 120 shows. This new Canada-US tour is launched to promote their latest studio album Here and Now, the sixth best-selling 2011 Canadian album in the world. The band, originally from Alberta and now based in Vancouver, has sold nearly 50 million records, enjoyed 20 hit singles, and won a dozen JUNO awards. The tour begins April10th and finishes in Vancouver on June 26th. Tickets for most shows will be available January 21st. You can find a full list of dates at their website HERE.

 

The Plan, Hedley, and Jann: February is Concert Month in 2012

So far, three big names will be rockin’ across the country early next year, all launching their tours in February, which will have that rare 29-day span.

The trio of superstars are…

The funniest woman in Canada, Jann Arden. I love a woman who can make me laugh, but sorry Jann, I’m already taken, eh. We’re not sure yet who will be opening for her. She’s on tour to promote her GOLD album Undercover Me 2. She begins her tour in Victoria on February 19th and finishes off in Montreal on March 14th. Full list of dates is HERE.

Simple Plan. Not sure how jet lagged they’ll be from their touring, but we do know that Marianas Trench will be opening for them along with All Time Low and These Kids Wear Crowns. The Plan released their GOLD album Get Your Heart On! earlier this year. We are wondering whether Marie Mai and Natasha Bedingfield will make a special appearance. Simple Plan is keeping their tour simple—just hitting the big cities, but that’s because they’re tourin’ the globe. For the Canadian leg, they begin in Vancouver on February 11th and finish in Halifax on February 26th. Full list of dates is HERE.

Hedley. They will be headlining while Anjulie, Classified, and Kay will be backin’ ‘em. Storms has just been certified GOLD. Hedley’s tour path is a bit more stormy, not just a straight sweep from west to east. They begin in Kelowna on February 10th, proceed east, hitting various cities on the way to St. John’s, and then do a 180, heading west, visiting various cities on the way to Vancouver where they will finish on March 24th. List of Hedley dates is HERE.