The Sheepdogs

Everybody could use a trip away from 2020 and 2021. Maybe just a weekend on the lake…even if it’s just a trip of the mind. The Sheepdogs’ No Simple Thing has the wattage to take you to that mental cottage with six new songs so summer-y you’ll only need to pack your jean shorts and flip flops. Recorded in Montreal at Mixart Studios (built by Mahogany Rush’s Frank Marino in the 70’s), this EP sees Saskatoon’s fave furry sons returning with their classic rock influenced sound. The rich harmonies and rounded guitar tones they’re known for are further refined, and “Like an experienced chef, the band keeps honing their recipes, constantly creating more complex yet subtle flavours,” lead singer and main songwriter Ewan Currie explains. Recorded in late summer 2020, all tracks were laid down live with every member on-site in a sprawling studio with old-school monitors on mammoth 2” analog tape. Unlike a lot of other remotely tracked pandemic rock, the Sheepdogs’ bubble of comradery enabled them to focus completely, with little else to do in Covid-restricted Montreal than kick out the jams.

Their lead-off mission statement track of “Rock and Roll (Ain’t No Simple Thing)” boogies strong out of the gate paying tribute to the mysterious healing powers of rock music, Friday nights and summer flings. To show and not just tell, the intoxicating guitar solo that kicks off with a big tempo lunge puts those title brackets where their mouth is. As with all the band’s material, it’s reverent of rock history, yet Currie’s distinctive lead vocal continues to sound richly honest and never imitative as he urges you levitate with the band as the music “soothes your soul”.

Switching gears into the stomp and sway glam T-Rex beat of the first single “Keep on Loving You” and it’s reassuring look at long-time love with a bit of sugar on top, we then get the good advice of “Talk It Over”, which just might be the Sheepdogs’ own “Share the Land” (by The Guess Who). Born out of seeing the sometimes-hideous side of human nature, it’s a gentle call to “try to listen to one another”, and was the last one written before recording. “We’re not overtly preachy, but this one was a reaction to seeing all the fighting on social media and everywhere else in the last year,” states Currie.

Not just the “Rolling Stone Cover Guys” anymore, the now-veteran band with 3 EP’s and 9 commercial releases under their belts (that all have cool big belt buckles on them) are far enough down the road to look back at how things were when they started on “Singing In The Band”. “It’s an ode to the working musician and that exciting first feeling of discovering the power of music, this new skill of relating through song.” Currie remembers. In this spirit, this six song EP is to be one of a number of shorter records to be released during these weird times to keep the lines of communication open with listeners.

A first for the Sheepdogs, No Simple Thing’s piano-driven “Are You A Good Man?” was penned solely by brother/fellow Sheepdog Shamus and not by Ewan. Originally earmarked for their solo project Bros, it got flagged as more Sheepdogs territory and brought over into these sessions which resulted in this pensive soul-searching Beatles-esque side trip.

Like always, the guitars are so big and woolly that they just might clog your drain, but none so pronounced as on the EP’s closer “Jesse Please” which starts out on the cottage dock and ends things at full Live at the Fillmore level intensity. “We always like to build songs into little cycles with distinct parts and this is one of them, but it started with me just writing it by the side of a lake,” Ewan recalls “and the guitar solo on ‘Jesse’ conveys the emotion as much or more than any of the lyrics in the song.”

Going with the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” creedo, No Simple Thing is the fourth release produced by sonic leader Ewan. In addition to all the modern platforms, the EP will be released on 45 RPM 12” vinyl for primo sound, so all that’s left to do is to throw those headphones in the bag with your tank tops and swim suit and get started on that rock and roll voyage.


Doors 7:00 Show 8:00 PM 
Spotify Presale: March 30 @ 10 AM PST MRG Presale: March 31 @ 10 AM PST Venue Presale: March 31 @ 10 AM PST On Sale: April 1 @ 10 AM PST

Royal Theatre

MRG Live Presents: The Sheepdogs - Live & Outta Sight Tour

Shane Koyczan

Doors 7:00 Show 8:00 PM 
Presale: March 9 @ 10 AM PST On Sale: March 11 @ 10 AM PST
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There seems no shortage of adjectives to describe a Shane Koyczan show. Moving, hilarious, challenging, provocative, or inspirational. Take your pick. Here is a writer that takes you on a tour of your own feelings in a way that leaves you grasping for your own heart just to make sure it&rsquo;s still in your chest. His work has become a staple in schools for both its impact and reach. Shane curates a kind of art gallery that displays sculptures of the human experience each time he speaks. Lauded for his sold out live performances Koyczan has carved out his own artistic path and taken his work beyond the conventional.

MRG Live Presents An Evening With: Shane Koyczan

Tash Sultana - Terra Firma 2022

W/ Special Guest: Josh Cashman
Doors 7:00 Show 8:00 PM
Artist Presale: February 10am PST Spotify Presale: February 2 10am PST MRG Presale: February 2 10am PST Venue Presale: February 2 10am PST On sale: February 4 10am PST 
<div>Signed VIP Merch Bundle:</div>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Event Ticket&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Signed, Limited Edition Tour Print (Personalized by Tash Sultana)&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Exclusive Tash Sultana Merch Gift&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Commemorative VIP Laminate&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>Venue First Entry (Where Applicable)</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div>VIP Merch Bundle</div>
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Event Ticket&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Limited Edition Tour Print</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Exclusive Tash Sultana Merch Gift&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>One (1) Commemorative VIP Laminate&nbsp;</div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
<div>Venue First Entry (Where Applicable)</div>
</li>
</ul>
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Global live sensation Tash Sultana has today announced a massive tour of North American in June and July 2022. After being grounded thanks to the global pandemic, this will be Tash&rsquo;s first North American tour in three years.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;Finally, after 3 years I get to come back to North America. Just wait to see what I have in store. I've been working on this new show since 2020 and I&rsquo;ve been patiently waiting to bring it to the world. Now it&rsquo;s my time,&rdquo; says Tash Sultana.
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Performing their sophomore album &lsquo;Terra Firma&rsquo; on stage for the first time as well as hits from &lsquo;Notion EP&rsquo; and &lsquo;Flow State&rsquo;, this run will also see Tash Sultana expand the groove into new territories of which we are yet to see. Sultana has remained tight-lipped about what the new show may include but has promised it&rsquo;s an extension of &lsquo;what already is&rsquo; and what we best know them for. The run includes a performance at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre which sold out in just 5 minutes.
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These North American dates join Tash&rsquo;s 2022 global &lsquo;Terra Firma&rsquo; tour which includes two runs in the United Kingdom and Europe this March/April and September.
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The tour kicks off on June 10 in Las Vegas at The Chelsea. Tickets go on sale 10am local time this Friday February 4.
 Tash Sultana, the gender fluid multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer and engineer, has been dubbed one of the hardest working music exports in Australia. Selling over 500&rsquo;000 tickets globally in 2019 alone they are back to make their mark on the world. Their #1 ARIA charting sophomore album Terra Firma arrives three years after ARIA-winning debut album Flow State &ndash; which spawned the 2x Platinum single &lsquo;Jungle&rsquo; and the Platinum-selling single &lsquo;Mystik&rsquo; as well as accumulating over 1billion worldwide streams.
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MRG Live Presents: TASH SULTANA - Terra Firma 2022

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

Doors 7:00 Show 8:00 PM
Presale: Nov 3 10 AM PST On Sale: Nov 5 10 AM PST
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Blackie, originally formed in 1996, when Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing, and Tom Wilson came together to record what was supposed to be a one-off tribute album to the great Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett. At the time, all three members were deeply committed to burgeoning solo careers that they had no intentions of putting on hold, and had no plans to turn Blackie into an ongoing concern. Now 25 years later, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have organically evolved into one of the finest roots-oriented band in North America. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings remains one of Canada&rsquo;s greatest musical treasures.
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MRG Live Presents: Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes

Doors 7:00 Show 8:00 PM
 
In 1994 in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics, thinking that one day he would run for mayor. Like other eager politicians-in-training, he went to every political fundraiser under the sun&amp;hellip; but was dismayed to find the music at these events underwhelming, lackluster, loud and un-neighborly. Drawing inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop – and hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education and parks.
 
One year later, Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write songs together. Their first song “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)” became an overnight sensation in France, was nominated for “Song of the Year” at France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards, and to this day remains a mantra (“Je ne veux pas travailler” or “I don’t want to work”) for striking French workers.  Says Lauderdale, “We’re very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America&amp;hellip; the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world&amp;hellip; composed of people of every country, every language, every religion.”
 
Featuring a dozen musicians, with songs in 25 languages, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages on six continents. After making it’s European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998, the band has gone on to play with more than 50 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2014, Pink Martini was inducted into both the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. 
 
Pink Martini has released 11 studio albums on its own independent label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog), selling over 3 million albums worldwide. In 2019, the band released two EPs featuring the vocals of Pink Martini’s newest members Jimmie Herrod and Edna Vazquez. Both vocalist have toured with the band for the past year and are officially part of the group with the release of Herrod’s EP Tomorrow and Vaquez’s Besame Mucho, both of which were co-produced by Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes.

All Ages

More Events at Royal Theatre

Shane Koyczan

Tash Sultana - Terra Firma 2022

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes