Sat, 14 Jan 2006 - Hilary Duff - Regina Agridome

Life is sweet – and getting even sweeter – for the pop world's favorite girl-next-door. Sure, Hilary Duff starred in a monstrously huge TV show but that's, like, so yesterday 'cause Hilary's exercising her right to change her mind and act her age. No more trying to fit a circle into a square. With her first real pop-rock album, Metamorphosis, and the #1 single "So Yesterday," Hilary is finally free to be who she wants to be.

"Change is a very important and natural thing," says Hilary. "We called the album Metamorphosis because it's about changes that everybody experiences. It's not just about me, but it is very personal. The change might seem a little sudden because most people are used to seeing me as a character through Lizzie McGuire and movie roles that I played. So this music is a good way to get everyone to know the real me. Everyone evolves and changes."

A triple-threat talent, Hilary has become a music, film and television phenomenon thanks to an unbroken string of hits that began with her starring role in the Disney Channel Original Series Lizzie McGuire, the record-breaking #1 show in its timeslot. Hilary made her singing debut on that hit sit-com, lending her fresh vocals and sunny style to "I Can’t Wait" from the RIAA-certified platinum Lizzie McGuire Television Soundtrack. In her motion picture debut, Hilary co-starred with Frankie Muniz in this summer's action-adventure hit Agent Cody Banks. Next came singing and starring roles in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, in which Hilary played – prophetically enough – an American tourist mistaken for a huge singing star.

Proving that life imitates art, Hilary’s singing career is exploding on Top 40 radio, MTV and Top 200 retail charts. Metamorphosis – her amazingly appealing debut solo album of 13 songs – shipped well in excess of gold with 800,000 copies on August 26, 2003 and charted #2 on the Billboard 200 its first week of release. Its debut single, "So Yesterday," became an instant #1 retail hit at Walmart.com, and stormed the pop singles charts on July 29, hitting the #1 spot after quickly making top-request waves at national Top 40 radio and on MTV’s signature program "Total Request Live," where Hilary's "Why Not" music video (from the RIAA-certified platinum The Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack) had already been a Top 10 staple for months.

MTV also hosted a prestigious premiere for the "So Yesterday" music video on its July 21 presentations of Making The Video and TRL All-Star Backyard BBQ and featured Hilary in MTV Diary. Duff recently was a presenter at both the MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, where she accepted the trophy for "Favorite TV Show" on behalf of Lizzie McGuire. And although there’s not one molecule of space left for another top award her shelf, "So Yesterday" has become the #1 most-streamed video on AOL.


"I’ve always sung, ever since I could talk," says Hilary. "At home, at school, in the choir, everywhere. But about two years ago I decided to be a real singer, and started working with really cool singers, musicians and songwriters. Best of all, I started working in the studio, experimenting and putting material together. I’ve really fallen in love with the studio. I just know that a lot of my fans relate to the album."

What kind of music can fans expect from Hilary on Metamorphosis? A chameleon-like variety of changing moods, from the romantic ballad "Where Did I Go Right?" to the ultimate break up song, "So Yesterday." From the tough-talkin' "Party Up" to the hard rockin' "Little Voice."

"The music on the album is a little different from the pop songs everyone’s heard from me before, because Metamorphosis has all the kinds of music I like to listen to," Hilary explains. "There are a lot of different sounds, from rock to eletronic – with a whole range of tempos from some deep, slow songs, to some high-energy rock songs to give me a boost. Everybody goes through different moods and different feelings and sometimes when you put on your favorite song it makes you feel a little bit better."

The 13 pop-rock songs on Metamorphosis were produced, arranged, written and mixed by the very best in the business. The album’s behind-the-scenes-talent includes Charlie Midnight (Joe Cocker, James Brown, Joni Mitchell) who contributed to nine tracks; The Matrix (Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera), the producing masterminds behind "So Yesterday," "Where Did I Go Right?" and "The Math"; Chico Bennett (Madonna, Usher, Destiny’s Child); Matthew Gerrard (Nick Carter); John Shanks (Michelle Branch); Kara DioGuardi (Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias); singer-songwriter-producer Meredith Brooks; plus some of the best pop-rock musicians anywhere.

"Can I tell you how awesome everyone’s been to work with? They are the very best writers and producers and musicians ever, and they’ve been so open to my opinions," Hilary says. "It was important to me that all the songs we recorded really meant something special to me personally. I got to talk with some of the writers and say, 'You know, I feel like this . . .' and they really got it, which is so cool. I loved the whole process. It’s so exciting. I love that the whole album really relates to me and my life."

Two songs were special contributions from Hilary’s number one idol: her talented big sister, Haylie Duff. "Since she knows me better than anyone else in the world, Haylie wrote 'Sweet Sixteen,' a really fun song that totally relates to my life right now. She also came up with 'Inner Strength' and it's really beautiful. Very empowering and uplifting."

Speaking of idols, here's what another one has to say: "Hilary is just completely a light to the world," no less an authority than Britney Spears told Popstar! magazine. "So beautiful and so incredibly sweet. Her music is amazing . . . she should just be herself and never change."

It's difficult to comprehend all that Hilary Duff has accomplished in the past few years. Prior to Metamorphosis, Hilary had already sold 2.2 million albums, spent six weeks in the Billboard Top 10 and earned two platinum album awards. She has starred in one #1 television series, two hit movies, and has already made two more major films (20th Century Fox’s Cheaper By The Dozen with Steve Martin, and Warner Bros.' A Cinderella Story) to be released later this year. Plus, not one but two television specials will honor the big day she turns "Sweet Sixteen."

Not bad for someone who really just wants her driver's license.

Tonight! B.B. King - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Centennial Centre

His reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on earth. Yet B.B. King continues to wear his crown well. At age 76, he is still light on his feet, singing and playing the blues with relentless passion. Time has no apparent effect on B.B., other than to make him more popular, more cherished, more relevant than ever. Don't look for him in some kind of semi-retirement; look for him out on the road, playing for people, popping up in a myriad of T.V. commercials, or laying down tracks for his next album. B.B. King is as alive as the music he plays, and a grateful world can't get enough of him.

For more than half a century, Riley B. King - better known as B.B. King - has defined the blues for a worldwide audience. Since he started recording in the 1940s, he has released over fifty albums, many of them classics. He was born September 16, 1925, on a plantation in Itta Bena, Mississippi, near Indianola. In his youth, he played on street corners for dimes, and would sometimes play in as many as four towns a night. In 1947, he hitchhiked to Memphis, TN, to pursue his music career. Memphis was where every important musician of the South gravitated, and which supported a large musical community where every style of African American music could be found. B.B. stayed with his cousin Bukka White, one of the most celebrated blues performers of his time, who schooled B.B. further in the art of the blues.

B.B.'s first big break came in 1948 when he performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM out of West Memphis. This led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis, and later to a ten-minute spot on black-staffed and managed Memphis radio station WDIA. "King's Spot," became so popular, it was expanded and became the "Sepia Swing Club." Soon B.B. needed a catchy radio name. What started out as Beale Street Blues Boy was shortened to Blues Boy King, and eventually B.B. King.

In the mid-1950s, while B.B. was performing at a dance in Twist, Arkansas, a few fans became unruly. Two men got into a fight and knocked over a kerosene stove, setting fire to the hall. B.B. raced outdoors to safety with everyone else, then realized that he left his beloved $30 acoustic guitar inside, so he rushed back inside the burning building to retrieve it, narrowly escaping death. When he later found out that the fight had been over a woman named Lucille, he decided to give the name to his guitar to remind him never to do a crazy thing like fight over a woman. Ever since, each one of B.B.'s trademark Gibson guitars has been called Lucille.

Soon after his number one hit, "Three O'Clock Blues," B.B. began touring nationally. In 1956, B.B. and his band played an astonishing 342 one-night stands. From the chitlin circuit with its small-town cafes, juke joints, and country dance halls to rock palaces, symphony concert halls, universities, resort hotels and amphitheaters, nationally and internationally, B.B. has become the most renowned blues musician of the past 40 years.

Over the years, B.B. has developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarist's vocabulary. His economy, his every-note-counts phrasing, has been a model for thousands of players, from Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Jeff Beck. B.B. has mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In B.B.'s words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."

In 1968, B.B. played at the Newport Folk Festival and at Bill Graham's Fillmore West on bills with the hottest contemporary rock artists of the day who idolized B.B. and helped to introduce him to a young white audience. In ``69, B.B. was chosen by the Rolling Stones to open 18 American concerts for them; Ike and Tina Turner also played on 18 shows.

B.B. was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He received NARAS' Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1987, and has received honorary doctorates from Tougaloo(MS) College in 1973; Yale University in 1977; Berklee College of Music in 1982; Rhodes College of Memphis in 1990 and Mississippi Valley State University in 2002. In 1992, he received the National Award of Distinction from the University of Mississippi.

In 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000 and most recently two clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002. In 1996, the CD-Rom On The Road With B.B. King: An Interactive Autobiography was released to rave reviews. Also in 1996, B.B.'s autobiography, "Blues All Around Me" (written with David Ritz for Avon Books) was published. In a similar vein, Doubleday published "The Arrival of B.B. King" by Charles Sawyer, in 1980.

B.B. continues to tour extensively, averaging over 250 concerts per year around the world. Classics such as "Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss," "The Thrill Is Gone," How Blue Can You Get," "Everyday I Have The Blues," and "Why I Sing The Blues" are concert (and fan) staples. Over the years, the Grammy Award-winner has had two #1 R&B hits, 1951's "Three O'Clock Blues," and 1952's "You Don't Know Me," and four #2 R&B hits, 1953's "Please Love Me," 1954's "You Upset Me Baby," 1960's "Sweet Sixteen, Part I," and 1966's "Don't Answer The Door, Part I." B.B.'s most popular crossover hit, 1970's "The Thrill Is Gone," went to #15 pop.

Tonight - Edmonton: See My Chemical Romance

With the release of incendiary new album 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge,' New Jersey's own My Chemical Romance has consolidated a reputation for brilliant, biting and boundary-leaping rock and roll that first came to worldwide attention with their 2002 Eyeball Records debut 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.' Featuring thirteen new originals written by the band, 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge' is an impressive leap forward for a group that's been constantly on tour for the better part of 2 years, winning a fanatical following across North America and Europe, both as headliners and co-billed with The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Story Of The Year and a host of others.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Calgary Nov.24th to Dec. 24th

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By CHARLES DICKENS
Adapted for the stage by Greg Nelson and Ian Prinsloo
Directed by ERIC ROSE
Starring STEPHEN HAIR as Scrooge


Theatre Calgary is pleased to present Calgary's favourite holiday tradition...Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the story of the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge as he discovers the true meaning and joy of Christmas.

From the ghostly midnight visits of Jacob Marley to the colourful heart-warming merriment of the Fezziwig party, your family holiday celebrations wouldn't be complete without the well-loved tradition of A Christmas Carol. Travel back to Victorian England and experience Ebenezer Scrooge's legendary journey through the past, present and future to discover the true meaning of Christmas. An enduring tale for all time.

The 2005 production of A Christmas Carol is highlighted by Stephen Hair's 12th consecutive season playing Ebenezer Scrooge. 2005 also marks Mr. Hair's 17th production of Carol for Theatre Calgary, as he played many roles, including the Ghost of Jacob Marley in the productions prior to his playing Scrooge. For Theatre Calgary, 2005 is the 19th time that Theatre Calgary has staged the Dickens' classic, and it's 17th consecutive presentation.

Joining popular Calgary actor STEPHEN HAIR in the cast this year are (in alphabetical order) JASON CARNEW, JENNIE ESDALE, TONY EYAMIE, STEELE GIBSON, COURTNEY HARDER, VANESSA HOLMES, ELINOR HOLT, DANIEL JEFFERY, GERALD MATTHEWS, SARAH LOUISE MULLEN, SHAYAN PAYDAR, NATHAN PRONYSHYN, TYLER RIVE, KEVIN ROTHERY, and SHARI WATTLING.

Directing A Christmas Carol for his second time is ERIC ROSE, Theatre Calgary's artistic associate. Set design is by DANY LYNE, costume design is by CHARLOTTE DEAN, lighting design is by KEVIN LAMOTTE, original composition is by JONATHAN LEWIS, original illustrations by TY SEMAKA, musical direction by ANGELA CAVAR, choreography by ANITA MIOTTI and dialect coaching by DAWN MCCAUGHERTY. Stage Manager is BRIAN SCOTT, assistant stage manager is KELLY LUNN and apprentice stage manager is CURT POPE.

* Please note that Theatre Calgary has a "No babes in arms policy"
* Recommended age for this production is age 5 and up; some children may find
the special effects startling, loud noises disturbing, and the theme of ghosts frightening. Everyone must have a ticket to gain access to the theatre.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Vancouver @ Stanley Theatre

A FAIRYTALE MUSICAL, WITH A DISNEY FLAIR

MUSIC BY ALAN MENKEN. LYRICS BY HOWARD ASHMAN & TIM RICE
BOOK BY LINDA WOOLVERTON
DIRECTOR BILL MILLERD
MUSICAL DIRECTOR BRUCE KELLETT
CHOREOGRAPHER VALERIE EASTON

EXTRA WEEK ADDED
NOW PLAYING UNTIL JANUARY 22, 2006

Winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Best Musical, the most beautiful love story ever told comes to life on stage. Brilliantly adapted from the Academy Award–winning animated film, this much-loved spectacle will thrill you with its show-stopping musical numbers, astonishing sets, and lavish costumes. Belle, a feisty young woman confined in her small, provincial town, meets the Beast, in reality a young prince whose lack of compassion has trapped him under a spell. Can Belle teach the Beast to love? Can the spell be broken?

"YOU'LL HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE!" - GOOD MORNING AMERICA

Tonight in Montreal - Alvin Youngblood Hart's Muscle Theory

The Cosmic American Love Child Of Howlin Wolf and Link Wray!!! Known as a "musician's musician", his praises have been sung by everyone from Ben Harper to Brit guitar gods Eric Clapton & Mick Taylor.

Since his 1996 debut recording, the all-acoustic BIG MAMA'S DOOR, Alvin Youngblood Hart has carried his musical message the world over. A devout follower of the "no barriers" approach laid by veteran performers like Gatemouth Brown and the late great Doug Sahm, Alvin continues to defy the so- called purists. After receiving the 1997 W.C Handy Award for Best New Artist, as well as 2 Living Blues Awards, Hart’s 1998 release, TERRITORY, a rousing tribute to all forms of American music, received the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll Award for Best Blues Album (and it wasn’t even a Blues album). In the summer of '99 Hart teamed up with producer Jim Dickinson to begin recording START WITH THE SOUL.

This record would be hailed as a new breed Southern Rock classic & Alvin’s return to the "sacred garage" where many a guitar player's life began. "SOUL", Alvin's best selling record to date, was chosen in the New York Times top 10 releases of 2000 as well as the BBC's Blues record of the year. He also shared Living Blues Magazine's best guitarist honors with fellow road dog Big Jack Johnson in 2001. 2003 was a busy year. Not only was there a GRAMMY nomination, Hart also toured the world as a member of Job Cain, a hard rocking side project he put together with Cry Of Love/Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed.

In August of '03 Alvin was invited to fill in for Taj Mahal for five nights in Tokyo as a member of Kip Hanrahan's Conjure, the worlds longest running jazz poetry ensemble. Assembled to lend musical support to the words of Bay Area poet Ishmael Reed, Conjure featured the talents of tenor sax giant David Murray and also Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli. Hart continues to tour the globe as a solo artist and with his Mighty Muscle Theory band.

FUN FACTS: A true "blues traveler", Alvin grew up moving all over the United States. As he puts it,"3 high schools in 3 time zones". This was surely a contributing factor to his wide musical tastes. Hart has taken the stage at some of the world's great venues. He's appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

In the summer of 2000 he wowed 'em at the Hollywood Bowl closing his set with a sizzling duet with Bonnie Raitt. Alvin is a veteran of the US Coast Guard. He spent 3 ½ years as a grunt seaman on a buoy tender on the Lower Mississippi River and 3 ½ years as an electronics technician at a radio transmitter station on the west coast. He now puts his electronics training to use fixing guitar amps in his wife's Memphis guitar repair shop.

Many of the amps he uses on stage were once patients When not on the road Alvin spends much of his time in the Central Mississippi hill country where he enjoys, horseback riding, hunting, fishing and hanging out with his extended family. Alvin Youngblood Hart has commenced touring again with an electric band. Select solo dates are available as well.

Andre Rieu tonight @ 7:30 in Winnipeg, Manitoba

André Rieu is a Dutch violinist virtuoso and conductor of the JohannStrauss Orchestra. He was born in Maastricht, Holland in 1950 into avery musical family. His father was a conductor, and most of hisbrothers and sisters are professional musicians.

To overcome shyness onstage during his early career, and to remove theemotional distance between himself and his audience, he adopted theexample of Johann Strauss, who would create a festive atmosphere athis performances and encourage his audiences to enjoy the music bygetting out of their seats and waltzing in the aisles. This was wellreceived, and Rieu assembled a group of local Dutch musicians,creating the Johann Strauss Orchestra.

In 1994, he released his first album “Strauss & Co”. It was releasedas popular music, and did very well on the Dutch and German charts. In1996 Rieu toured throughout Europe, gaining additional fans inGermany, France and Austria. A new album, From Holland With Love,released that year, held the number one position on the Dutch chartsfor over a year.

His appeal is widespread and his fans are legion:"Rieu's live concerts attract a spectrum of fans, typically ranging inage from 16 to 65 years old. Members of the audience can be seen inany manner of attire, from formal black tie, to T-shirt and tennisshoes. Rieu himself dresses in tails and wears his hair long. TheJohann Strauss Orchestra, also dress elegantly, appear to enjoy everymoment of each performance. Rieu's warm demeanor habitually sets theaudience to tapping its collective feet, if not dancing in the aislesoutright. Rieu is not himself a dancer; he does not waltz and prefersit that way. Regardless he captured and held the interest of themainstream public with his classical music repertoire, a feataccomplished by only a very few artists. Rieu's phenomenal success isnot an accident; he is considered an excellent conductor, a talentedviolinist, and a great showman."

Gracenote (CDDB), the largest online database of music information,lists the following 30 albums for Rieu:

Andre Rieu / Romantic Moments
Andre Rieu / The Vienna I Love
Andre Rieu / André Rieu - Straus & Co
Andre Rieu / In Concert
Andre Rieu / The Christmas I Love
Andre Rieu & Johann Strauss Orchestra / Strauss Gala! - André Rieu
Andre Rieu & sein Johann Strauss Orchester / Rosen aus dem Sueden
Andre Rieu / Love Around The Word
Andre Rieu / Bal de Vienne
Andre Rieu / Live Gala Evening
Andre Rieu / King Of The Waltz
Andre Rieu / Dreaming
Andre Rieu / d'n Blauwen Aovond
Andre Rieu / Great Waltzes: Roses From The South - André Rieu
Andre Rieu / Fiesta
Andre Rieu / Ein Strauß-FestivalVerschiedene U. A.
Andre Rieu / Juwelen Und Kostbarkeiten
Andre Rieu / Hieringe Biete (Disc 2)
Andre Rieu / Wiener Bonbons
Andre Rieu / André Rieu - Gala Evening (Disc 1 Of 2)
Andre Rieu / André Rieu - Valses
Andre Rieu / Das Walzer-Paradies (Disc 3)
Andre Rieu / The Collection
Andre Rieu / Doppel Gold
Andre Rieu / ANDRE RIEU NO 2
Andre Rieu / Król Walca
Andre Rieu / Jazz Suite Waltz Nr. 2
Andre Rieu / Das Jahrtausend Fest
Andre Rieu / Strauss Gala!
Andre Rieu / Heartstrings