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Music

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Marina Costa-Jackson (right, as Tosca) and Gregory Dahl (as Scarpia) star in The Manitoba Opera’s production of Puccini’s Tosca, mounted for the first time since 2010.

Manitoba Opera mounts Puccini’s Tosca for the first time since 2010

Eva Wasney 6 minute read Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025

Tosca returns to the Centennial Concert Hall this weekend for the first time in more than a decade.

Puccini’s beloved tragedy was last presented by the Manitoba Opera in 2010 and was on the books for 2021, but the pandemic had other plans.

Set in Rome following the French Revolution, the Italian libretto sees famous singer Tosca (played by Marina Costa-Jackson) and her painterly lover Cavaradossi (David Pomeroy) entwined in a deadly struggle with the corrupt police chief, Scarpia (Gregory Dahl).

This is American Costa-Jackson’s Canadian debut and a homecoming for Dahl, who was born in Winnipeg (no relation to soprano Tracy Dahl). It’s also a professional reunion for Pomeroy, who has been a frequent performer on local classical stages.

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French Masters rendered with fearless technical mastery

Holly Harris 5 minute read Preview

French Masters rendered with fearless technical mastery

Holly Harris 5 minute read Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra put the ooh-la-la into its latest musical offering Thursday, as it presented French Masters, featuring a trio of works spanning 1847 to 1947.

The 89-minute (sans intermission) program also welcomed internationally acclaimed conductor Nodoka Okisawa to the podium. The multi-award winning maestra, who made her local debut here in 2023, is currently serving as the 14th chief conductor of the city of Kyoto, in addition to making guest appearances around the world.

It’s taken four years to once again witness the brilliant artistry of Canadian dynamo pianist Stewart Goodyear, who last wowed listeners on this stage in 2021. His latest performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand proved — lest there were any doubt — that nothing is out of hand for this virtuoso, renowned for his technical mastery and fearless approach to some of the solo piano canon’s most fiendishly difficult works.

The Ravel is among those, written in 1929-30 and dedicated to its first soloist, Paul Wittgenstein, for its Vienna Symphony Orchestra première in 1932. The Austrian-American concert pianist had tragically lost his right arm during the First World War and subsequently commissioned several composers, including Ravel, to create music he could play.

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Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

Matt Duboff photo

Pianist Stewart Goodyear was especially masterful in Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.
Matt Duboff photo Pianist Stewart Goodyear was especially masterful in Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

Osbourne’s second memoir chronicles health woes, final show

Reviewed by Jonathan Ball 4 minute read Preview

Osbourne’s second memoir chronicles health woes, final show

Reviewed by Jonathan Ball 4 minute read Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

At one point in Last Rites, Ozzy Osbourne recalls seeing the movie This is Spinal Tap shortly after its 1984 release and not realizing that it was a comedy, “thinking to myself, wow, this is the most interesting and relatable documentary I’ve ever seen.”

He’s been lost in a maze of tunnels and hallways trying to get to the stage. After firing Ozzy, Black Sabbath once tried to take a model of Stonehenge on tour, but the set builders misread the plans and constructed it in metres rather than feet (whereas in the movie it’s too small, in Black Sabbath’s case it was too big). The amps going to 11 reminded him of when they spent a ton of time and money getting their amps across the ocean, then couldn’t use them on American voltage.

Although the madness of Osbourne’s long, strange life feels somewhat normal to him, he remains in awe of how he went from growing up so poor that his parents wouldn’t buy underwear to becoming one of the most famous rock stars in the world.

However, since this is his second major memoir, following 2009’s I Am Ozzy (also written with Chris Ayres), the emphasis isn’t on the piles of cash blown during parties, but all the money Osbourne has thrown at hospitals trying to keep himself alive.

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Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

Ashley Landis / Associated Press files

Despite the relatively downbeat subject matter of Ozzy Osbourne’s posthumous memoir, the singer’s grateful attitude about life keeps the book from becoming a downer.
Ashley Landis / Associated Press files Despite the relatively downbeat subject matter of Ozzy Osbourne’s posthumous memoir, the singer’s grateful attitude about life keeps the book from becoming a downer.

Former Great Big Sea frontman serves as tourism guide in book about home province

Ben Sigurdson 6 minute read Preview

Former Great Big Sea frontman serves as tourism guide in book about home province

Ben Sigurdson 6 minute read Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Alan Doyle loves his home province, and he wants you to love it too.

The former Great Big Sea frontman and pride of Petty Harbour, N.L., has long woven stories of Newfoundland and Labrador into his music — and, since 2014, into his autobiographical works of non-fiction.

His latest and fourth book, The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador, is no exception, as Doyle explores the Rock, revisiting old haunts and new frontiers, bringing into focus just how much he knows, didn’t know or thought he knew about the sprawling Maritime province.

Doyle launches The Smiling Land at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location tomorrow at 2 p.m., where he’ll be joined in conversation by Virgin Radio host Ace Burpee. (You’ll have to excuse him if he’s not at his best, to paraphrase Spirit of the West, as he’ll be coming off a headlining spot at tonight’s Grey Cup festivities at the convention centre.)

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Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Heather Ogg Photography

Alan Doyle and his family travelled throughout Newfoundland and Labrador while researching his latest non-fiction book.
Heather Ogg Photography Alan Doyle and his family travelled throughout Newfoundland and Labrador while researching his latest non-fiction book.

Exploration of indie rock’s history, from scrappy DIY recordings to lifestyle brands, hits all the right notes

Reviewed by Jordan Ross 5 minute read Preview

Exploration of indie rock’s history, from scrappy DIY recordings to lifestyle brands, hits all the right notes

Reviewed by Jordan Ross 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

‘I hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables. I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars.”

American music critic Chris DeVille quotes this LCD Soundsystem lyric twice in his ambitious debut book Such Great Heights. It’s a lyric that skewers the cyclical nature of cultural trends, and the desire — shared by musicians and listeners alike — to be the first to adopt a certain sound or aesthetic, and the first to discard it once it becomes uncool.

DeVille is a self-described “elder millennial” and the managing editor of Stereogum, an independently owned website that publishes music news, album reviews, artist interviews and trend thinkpieces.

He defines indie rock as “music released on independent music labels — i.e., companies not associated with the ‘big three’ major labels Warner, Sony, and Universal — or self-released without label support at all.” However, he quickly complicates that definition, showing how “indie” was always a fluid term, “less a defined musical style than a container for a particular audience’s evolving tastes.”

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Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025

Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune

In this 2016 photo, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem performs at Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Grant Park.
Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune In this 2016 photo, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem performs at Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Local music industry players win WCMAs

Eva Wasney 1 minute read Monday, Sep. 29, 2025

Those working behind the scenes in Manitoba’s music industry were recognized with Western Canadian Music Awards over the weekend.

Organizers of the Sakihiwe festival, which hosts national and local Indigenous artists in Winnipeg each summer, received the community excellence award.

Paquin Artists Agency won the impact in artist development and impact in live music categories.

And Birthday Cake Records took home the impact in music marketing award.

Trio of’ Tobans honoured by Western Canadian Music Awards

Eva Wasney 2 minute read Preview

Trio of’ Tobans honoured by Western Canadian Music Awards

Eva Wasney 2 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Three Manitobans are being celebrated for their impact on Canadian music.

On Monday, the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) announced Winnipeg-born Juno winner Chantal Kreviazuk as this year’s inductee to the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame, which recognizes the achievements of artists and bands.

Cross Lake singer-songwriter Ernest Monias — also known as “Elvis of the North” — has received the WCMA’s Heritage Award, given to an individual who has made significant industry contributions throughout a career.

And local promoter John Scoles, owner of the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club, has earned the Kevin Walters Industry Builder Award for his mentorship and leadership.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

SUPPLIED

Ernest Monias
SUPPLIED Ernest Monias

Band leader embraces musical reputation as ‘old man’

Conrad Sweatman 4 minute read Preview

Band leader embraces musical reputation as ‘old man’

Conrad Sweatman 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Carter Graham isn’t afraid to be untimely.

The 30-something pianist and leader of soul outfit Vox Populi — which launches its debut LP, Invasive Species, in a concert tonight at the West End Cultural Centre — thinks in musical terms that almost seem old-fashioned today: albums, melodic and harmonic richness, live bands.

“I was told by many people to not even do this,” he says. With the music industry now geared heavily towards singles in an era of algorithmically curated playlists, he describes producing and releasing a full-length record as a quasi-act of “rebellion.”

“I feel like I have to. It’s like, ‘Why do I do music?’ No one would do this job of lugging your stuff out for 50 bucks and getting either heckled or harassed or talked down by drunks if you didn’t love it.”

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Supplied

Vox Populi

Supplied Vox Populi

Taking Reel Pride in transformation

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Preview

Taking Reel Pride in transformation

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

Reel Pride isn’t entering a mid-life crisis.

At 40, the annual Winnipeg LGBTTQ+ film festival appears as forward-looking as ever — though at the moment, its president, Ray Desautels, is feeling reflective about its arc.

“The festival started at a time when … you didn’t see LGBTQ characters on television, and if you did, they were shown in a very poor light or very stereotypical way,” he says.

“It’s become more, I think, a gathering place for queer people and queer arts … It’s more of an arts festival, not necessarily just strictly the film festival that it used to be. So we’re a gathering place for the queer community and its allies and supporters.”

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Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2025

Supplied

Odd Fish follows childhood friends Björn and Hjalti as they open a restaurant and as Björn transitions into Birna.
Supplied Odd Fish follows childhood friends Björn and Hjalti as they open a restaurant and as Björn transitions into Birna.

Photographer focuses on finding the whimsical

Conrad Sweatman 5 minute read Preview

Photographer focuses on finding the whimsical

Conrad Sweatman 5 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025

Synesthesia — a psychological condition associated with sounds producing the sensation of colours and shapes — is supposed to affect many of the world’s musical savants.

Interdisciplinary Winnipeg artist Ayoub Moustarzak seems to have this condition in inverse.

“This song was a little backwards. I started with visuals,” he says of his debut single, Breaks Apart, a theatrical ballad featuring pianist Dallas Nedotiafko, released in August.

“(My music) is more of a visual storytelling experience that comes with a song.”

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Wednesday, Sep. 10, 2025

Ayoub Moustarzak photo

Edmonton pop artist Margo.
Ayoub Moustarzak photo Edmonton pop artist Margo.

On the money

Conrad Sweatman 5 minute read Preview

On the money

Conrad Sweatman 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 5, 2025

Three million $2 coins bearing artwork by Daphne Odjig will soon circulate through the country.

Odjig, who died in 2016, was one of the country’s most notable artists and a key innovator of the Woodlands style, an Indigenous art movement that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century. Her celebrated career took flight while living in Manitoba.

The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled the commemorative coin at a media conference at the Manitoba Museum on Thursday, marking the first Canadian circulation coin to feature a female visual artist.

The toonie comes in coloured and uncoloured varieties.

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Friday, Sep. 5, 2025
On the money

Calgary trio embraces post-pandemic life on the road

Conrad Sweatman 5 minute read Preview

Calgary trio embraces post-pandemic life on the road

Conrad Sweatman 5 minute read Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Touring is dead, long live touring.

This seems to be the attitude of Woodhawk, Calgary stoner rockers who have toured Western Canada an estimated 15 times, and crossed Canada five times, in the past decade or so.

And, for all the dire post-pandemic reports about the costs and state of music touring, hopes are high for Woodhawk this time round, hitting the road for the first time in a few years.

They’re promoting their third album, Love Finds A Way, a more optimistic title after Beyond the Sun (2017) and Violent Nature (2019).

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Friday, Aug. 29, 2025

Supplied

Woodhawk is touring in support of its new album, Love Finds a Way.
Supplied Woodhawk is touring in support of its new album, Love Finds a Way.

Metamorphosis of a drama

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Preview

Metamorphosis of a drama

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

Lara Rae’s autobiographical Dragonfly begins much where the author did — as a boy in 1960s Glasgow with the uncanny sense of not being a boy in the narrow way expected.

“If there’s one cliché I guess I lean into, I’ve loved opera since I was a youth,” says the trans playwright and comedian.

“I mean, it’s the joke in Philadelphia. (The gay character played by) Tom Hanks says that he’s listening to La Mamma Morta and it’s such a cliché that he’s crying over Callas.”

Now Rae is expressing her early love by developing Dragonfly into a 75-minute chamber piece with Manitoba Opera, making it the first Canadian opera centring on a trans person.

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Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

(From left) Composer Maria Thompson Corley will give musical life to Lara Rae’s autobiographical opera Dragonfly.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS (From left) Composer Maria Thompson Corley will give musical life to Lara Rae’s autobiographical opera Dragonfly.

Making the music seen

Ben Waldman 6 minute read Preview

Making the music seen

Ben Waldman 6 minute read Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

Sam Thompson didn’t know what a podcast was until just about the moment he recorded his first.

Nearly 13 years later, the music-obsessed journalist from Winnipeg is one week away from posting the 1,000th episode of Witchpolice Radio, a weekly local music interview program that’s outlived the iPod itself.

Since the show’s pilot in 2012, “doing Witchpolice” has become a rite of passage for hundreds of recording artists spanning musical eras and genres. Whether the artist makes Portage la Prairie queercore punk like Ticked Off (Ep. 997), cathartic metalcore such as Hopscotchbattlescars (No. 782), or danceable hip-hop fusion such as JayWood (No. 589), Thompson has maintained an open and receptive ear.

“I never thought the show would make it 100 episodes, let alone 500, let alone 1,000, so it’s kind of cool,” says Thompson, who will be on the receiving end of listener-submitted questions for the milestone episode.

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Friday, Aug. 22, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

Witchpolice Radio’s Sam Thompson records his weekly podcast in his bedroom studio.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Witchpolice Radio’s Sam Thompson records his weekly podcast in his bedroom studio.

New music

7 minute read Preview

New music

7 minute read Friday, Aug. 8, 2025

ROCK

The Black Keys

No Rain, No Flowers (Warner Records)

The Ohio alt-rock band the Black Keys are finding their way home on their 13th full-length LP, No Rain, No Flowers.

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Friday, Aug. 8, 2025
New music

Snow in August

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Preview

Snow in August

Conrad Sweatman 6 minute read Friday, Aug. 8, 2025

Don’t feel bad if you didn’t see your name on Frozen’s cast list.

Rainbow Stage auditioned more 1,000 people in the open call for its summer production of Disney’s most famous musical of the gen Z and alpha childhood eras, which opened Thursday.

“We wanted to find some diamonds in the rough [and] we wanted to feel accessible to every kid who loves Frozen… And our worst nightmares came true. Everyone could sing!” says Rainbow Stage artistic director and Frozen’s director Carson Nattress.

“It’s been overwhelming in every sense — and then we went on sale and our system crashed, because people are so moved by this story.”

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Friday, Aug. 8, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

From left: Frozen music director Andrew St. Hilaire, choreographer Jaz Sealey and director (and Rainbow Stage artistic director) Carson Nattrass auditioned more than 1,000 actors for this production.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS From left: Frozen music director Andrew St. Hilaire, choreographer Jaz Sealey and director (and Rainbow Stage artistic director) Carson Nattrass auditioned more than 1,000 actors for this production.

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