Peter Halsten Thorkelson better known as Peter Tork, was an American musician, composer and actor, best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of the Monkees. Peter Tork was the loveable wise guy of the Monkees, the popular television rock group that rocketed to stardom in the 1960s. But Peter Tork was a serious musician who pushed for the Monkees to create their own music instead of the outside musicians and songwriters the producers used when the show started. Tork wrote the song “For Pete’s Sake,” which was used for the closing credits during the Monkees second season. He continued to record and perform folk and blues music after the Monkees, releasing his latest album with his band Shoe Suede Blues in 2018.

Right now is a great and important time in history to do everything possible to help forge a more gender-balanced world. Women have come a long way, yet there’s still more to be achieved.

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. As the world heads toward International Women’s Day 2019, planning is underway by organizations across the globe to celebrate women’s achievements and tenaciously challenge bias.

This year, Hugh’s Room Live has invited five of our favourite female artists to showcase their outstanding contributions to the musical landscape of our country and the world at large. We’re inviting everyone to participate in an evening of exceptional music and join a larger conversation about how each of us can help to accelerate the pursuit of gender parity. Artists confirmed for the evening include~Laila Biali, Eliana Cuevas, Miss Emily, Joni Nehrita and Suzie Vinnick. Read on to hear their amazing stories below.

When the Rolling Stones began playing gigs around London in 1962, the notion that a rock & roll band would last five years, let alone fifty, was an absurdity. After all, what could possibly be more ephemeral than rock & roll, the latest teenage fad? Besides, other factors made it unlikely that such a momentous occasion would ever come to pass. “I didn’t expect to last until fifty myself, let alone with the Stones,” Keith Richards says with a laugh. “It’s incredible, really. In that sense, we’re still living on borrowed time.”

“You have to put yourself back into that time,” Mick Jagger says about those early days when he and Keith and guitarist Brian Jones roomed together and were hustling gigs wherever they could find one. “Popular music wasn’t talked about on any kind of intellectual level. There was no such term as ‘popular culture.’ None of those things existed.”

“But suddenly popular music became bigger than it had ever been before. It became important, perhaps the most important, art form of the period, after not at all being regarded as an art form before.”

America’s Night Where the Stars Shone. Here are the winners for 2019.

Album of the Year
H.E.R. — H.E.R.
Brandie Carlile — By the Way, I Forgive You
Drake — Scorpion
Various Artists — Black Panther: The Album
** WINNER: Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour
Post Malone — Beerbongs & Bentleys
Cardi B — Invasion of Privacy
Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer

Record of the Year
Cardi B — I Like It
Brandi Carlile — The Joke
** WINNER: Childish Gambino — This Is America
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper — Shallow
Drake — God’s Plan
Kendrick Lamar and SZA — All the Stars
Post Malone and 21 Savage — Rockstar
Zedd and Maren Morris — The Middle

Record World Magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but in 1964 it was changed to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin. It ceased publication on April 10, 1982.  Many music industry personalities, writers, and critics began their careers there in the early 1970s to 1980s.

Cashbox Magazine (Canada & USA) and Record World Magazine have announced the First Round of Artists for the Official MIDEM Showcase at Morrison’s in Cannes, France! June 4-7, 2019. We will officially be hosting global talent in the beautiful south of France.

Legendary former VJ Michael Williams will be hosting our stage along with country singer/songwriter Don Graham who will also be performing as well as kicking of an inaugural MIDEM Showcase of singer/songwriters who will be setting the stage for more of these performances at Morrisons.

Our adjudication process has delivered six top acts so far to grace the stage in Cannes, France.

BARA JONSON AND FREE (SWEDEN)

Shawn Mendes on Tuesday grabbed a field-leading six nominations for the 2019 Juno music awards, Canada's version of the Grammys, to be hosted by Sarah McLachlan.

The Weeknd nabbed five nods, while Dutch-Canadian artist Bulow earned four nominations. Nominations for the Junos were unveiled during a press conference Tuesday, January 29 in Toronto.

Mendes will compete for the fan choice award, best single, album, artist, songwriter and pop album of the year. And newcomer Bulow will vie in the fan choice, best single, breakthrough artist and pop album categories. 

Other multiple Juno nominees unveiled on Tuesday include Loud Luxury, Alessia Cara, Bahamas and Hubert Lenoir.

The album of the year competition will pit the latest work by Mendes, Jann Arden and The Weeknd against albums from Three Days Grace and Hubert Lenoir. And the international album of the year category will see Camila Cabello's Camila, Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy and Maroon 5's Red Pill Blues compete against Post Malone's Beerbongs & Bentleys and Travis Scott's Astroworld.

One of the most recorded session guitarists of a generation, Reggie Young, has passed away at age 82. Young died during the evening of January 17, 2019, at his home in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee from heart failure.

He got his start in Memphis with a band called Eddie Bond and the Stompers, a rockabilly group that toured with the likes of Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins in the late ‘50s and in 1958 joined Johnny Horton’s band and played the Louisiana Hayride several times.

Pex, a global video and music search engine, has announced the launch of its Attribution Engine, making it easier to track and identify audio and video content across major platforms. Used by all the Major labels, music publishers, movie studios, and MCNs, Pex improves how video is authenticated.

Pex stands out versus other offerings in that it can identify both audio and video, and works with segments as short as one second to identify derivative works that otherwise create ownership and claims confusion. Most importantly perhaps, the solution will be available for free to both rights holders and selected platforms.

The Pex Attribution Engine Allows Online Video and Music Platforms and Apps to Programmatically Authenticate Content Before Users Upload.

For WHO fans everywhere, the announcement of a brand new tour means only one thing: the world’s most untameable rock band is about to deliver the goods once again. Never ones for nostalgia, singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend will be unleashing the combustible force that is The Who, with symphonic accompaniment this summer and fall in 2019. Produced by Live Nation, The Who’s North American MOVING ON! TOUR will bring their indelible brand of powerhouse rock to 29 cities beginning in May (see tour itinerary below). The kickoff date is May 7 in Grand Rapids, MI with the band wrapping up the first leg of the tour June 1 in Toronto, ON. A much-anticipated series of fall dates will launch on September 6 in St. Paul, MN and conclude on October 23 in Edmonton, AB.

Photo Credit Dirk Leunis

One of Africa’s most popular and recognized musicians, Malian guitarist Habib Koité joins Bassekou Kouyaté, master of the traditional Malian lute known as the ngoni, for a night of African blues, March 5, 2019, 8PM at the George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased online at tocentre.com, by phone, or in person at select Civic Theatres Toronto box office.

Habib Koité and Bassekou Kouyaté are two eminences of African music and are performing together as part of an unprecedented international tour, performing songs from their repertoire, and accompanied by the powerful voice of the Malian singer Amy Sacko.

Recognized as “the biggest pop star of Mali” by Rolling Stone and called the “African Jimmy Hendrix” thanks to his unique guitar playing, Habib Koité’s artistry and magnetic personality have made him an international star, delighting audiences the world over, and placing him firmly among the leading figures in contemporary world music.

Photo: John McDermott, Jason Fowler and Mark Lalama

Join highly-regarded Canadian tenor John McDermott for an unforgettable 3-night performance with the John McDermott Trio, which consists of John McDermott on vocals with guitarist Jason Fowler https://www.jasonfowler.ca/ and Mark Lalama (keyboards) http://www.marklalama.com/ at Toronto’s Hugh’s Room Live on Thursday, February 7, Friday, February 8, and Saturday, February 9. Each show begins at 8:30pm and will be $40 in advance, $45 at the door. For more information, visit www.hughsroomlive.com.

As is John’s tradition, he will be giving a captivating and engaging performance filled with tasteful remembrance tributes, songs from his illustrious career, and many highlights from his own personal songbook.

MDM Recordings Inc. is thrilled to announce the newest addition to their award-winning roster – chart-topping three-time JUNO Awards nominee Don Amero. An award-winning storyteller, singer, songwriter and performer, Amero has been playing live and engaging audiences across Canada for more than a decade – connecting effortlessly with fans wherever he goes and sharing messages of encouragement, positivity, and beauty.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Don and his manager Laurie Brown to the MDM Recordings Family,” shares Mike Denney, President of MDM. “I’ve known Don for years and have seen him perform a few times, but his performance at the 2018 CCMA Awards industry luncheon in Hamilton was the ‘moment’ that sealed the deal for me in terms of wanting to partner and work with him. A true Gentleman, an exceptionally talented artist and a great performer, I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for Don."

Festival-goers will have a chance to get a sneak preview of what’s in store at the 17^th ANNUAL WINTERFOLK BLUES AND ROOTS FESTIVAL when some of the finest folk, roots and blues artists will take the stage at St. Paul's United Church, 200 McIntosh St. in Scarborough, ON, on Saturday, January 19. Doors open at 7:30 pm and music starts at 8:00 pm for this event to benefit Winterfolk. Presented by Winterfolk XVII Blues & Roots Festival along with Lillian Wauthier, Artistic Director of Acoustic Harvest, the event will include Cassie & Maggie, Donné Roberts, Ori Dagan, Shake the Bellows, Ken Yoshioka, Alana & Leigh Cline and Brian Gladstone & Tony Quarrington. Folks will also be able to purchase Festival weekend wristbands for half price at only $10, at the event.

It is that time of year again when Toronto prepares for their annual music festivals. One of the great ones that are truly supportive of the indie acts who are not signed to a major label is Indie Week.

This year the event is November 13-17, 2019, and has various locations for live shows, panels, mentoring and much more.  The folks at Indie Week are offering a discount until January 15, 2019, and you can apply here to perform: http://indieweek.com/iwcan/apply

Indie Week features:

• VIP Launch Party
• Indie Week Awards
• Indie101 Music + Tech conference
• Health & Wellness Day
• Industry mixers
• Demo Listening Sessions
• Industry Panels
• Mentorships + More!

The Opportunity
Indie Week Canada has become one of Canada’s premiere indie music festivals showcasing acts from all over the world in front of music industry professionals.

Many people know of Lisa though her amazing work supporting the music of others nationally and internationally. Lisa was also Hugh's Room’s first publicist from 2001-2008, and has worked on management/publicity for the much missed Taylor Mitchell, Mose Scarlett, the Andrew Collins Trio, April Verch, Kiran Ahluwalia, Anne Lindsay, Qristina & Quinn Bachand, Jon Brooks, Enoch Kent, Jaffa Road, Art Garfunkel, ArtsCan Circle, a fundraiser for the Mariposa Folk Fest and a host of other wonderful artists in our midst. Before working with musicians, she was communications coordinator at ARCH, a legal resource centre for persons with disabilities.

Lisa is dealing with a recent diagnosis of aggressive HER2-positive breast cancer. She has had to scale back on her work at a time when her expenses are much higher dealing with all this. Her supplements and medicine, plus transportation to and from all her treatments and scans have made navigating this difficult journey even harder.

Kelton Dean Herston, "Kelso", 87 of Nashville Tennessee passed away peacefully on December 4, 2018.

Mr. Herston was born on April 23, 1931, in Rogersville, Alabama. He grew up in Florence, Alabama, where he developed an early love for music and the guitar. Kelso graduated from Coffee High School in Florence and attended the University of Alabama before joining the United States Air Force. While in the service, he was stationed in West Germany. During his tour of duty, he formed a band in Frankfurt, which ended up performing for the troops in the 7th Army Special Services.

Upon his return home from the service in 1956, he formed Tune Records and Publishing in Florence, with his friend James Joiner. Three years later, Sam Phillips of Sun Records in Memphis hired Kelso to open an office in Nashville, Tennessee, to run his publishing companies, Hi-Low and Knox Music. Kelso also began playing guitar on recording sessions in Nashville and soon became one of Nashville's top session players, playing on hundreds of songs.

Richard Carpenter in Studio with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

History was made as The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame officially began honoring songs in addition to music artists at the 33rd annual induction ceremony in Cleveland's Public Auditorium, immortalizing six singles.

"Little Steven" Van Zandt, introduced the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Singles ‘song’ category stating "A recognition of the excellence of the singles that shaped rock 'n' roll, kind of a rock 'n' roll jukebox, records by artists not in the Rock Hall - which is not to say these artists will never be in the Rock Hall. They just are not in the Rock Hall at the moment." We say, “well said Little Steven!”

One of the most beloved concerts on the seasonal circuit, the Barra MacNeils East Coast Christmas features a highly entertaining mix of traditional seasonal fare along with entertaining stories and new musical twists; stamped with their lush harmonies and intricate instrumental stylings. Their show has been touring nationally, as well as in the U.S, for years to sold-out houses. Fans can look forward to classic favorites including O Holy Night, Ave Maria, Christmas in Killarney and Auld Lang Syne as well as some comedy, seasonal stories, music, singing, dance and memories that will extend beyond the season and last a lifetime.

The Barra MacNeils are widely regarded as one of the greatest live concert acts in the Celtic world. Their live performance offers a depth of talent that includes multiple lead vocalists, beautiful sibling harmonies, a top-drawer instrumental talent on a wide variety of acoustic, stringed, percussion and wind instruments blended with dancing, storytelling, humor and Gaelic songs. It is family entertainment at the highest level.