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While any artist can perform live, not every single one can create a presence; at least, not the kind that, though the word doesn’t actually permit it, feels as tangible as you can get. That…
There are only a handful of times where I have found myself in actual awe of rappers (specifically of the charting, superstar, record-breaking calibre) when they perform a verse or song a cappella. The cadences,…
Photos by Neil Van Hometown hero Shawn Mendes dominated the 2018 iHeart Radio MMVAs this past weekend, walking away with four trophies and opening and closing the annual award show with two performances that raised…
Photos by Randall Vasquez Taylor Swift co-opting snakes – the name and emoji used by trolls and a certain celebrity family to describe the singer amidst a handful of controversies two years ago – from…
Photos by Neil Van. Remember pop music? Or at least, do you remember one of its successful iterations? You might be tempted to think of it at the peak of its hay-day, when pitting female…
Moments after Lauryn Hill closed out her very late, fairly short, and somewhat odd performance at Budweiser Stage in Toronto, there was a general disgruntled feeling that settled across the audience, followed by boos, confusion,…
Photos by Dakota Arsenault If there’s one thing that you need to understand about alt-J, it’s this: they are storytellers. Lyrically, of course; just look to songs like “Taro” and “Matilda” to see how the…
The last time Jessie Ware performed at The Danforth Music Hall, Meghan Markle was an actress on a popular network television show. She interviewed Ware for her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, and as I…
Photos by Neil Van. A few months ago, I was on my way to Havana, Cuba, listening to local artists on a few burnt CDs that our tour guide Cristina found in the car. She…
