Jeans ‘n Classics is back, and this time with a double-headliner: David Bowie and Prince! Ziggy Stardust, Station to Station, Low, Heroes, Scary Monsters… 1999, Purple Rain, Parade, Sign, The Gold Experience… David Bowie blazed the trail, and whether by design or osmosis Prince soon followed, becoming a maverick himself.

Last month, we gave away a pair of tickets to family show Peppa Pig. This month, you could win a pair of tickets to a rebel’s night out with the Jeans ‘n Classics orchestra to hear songs by two of rock’s greatest artists on Thursday, May 24 @ 8PM. All you have to do is email us by Monday, April 30 @ 11.59PM and tell us your favourite Prince or Bowie song. It’s that easy!

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If you love to hear your favourite rock, pop, and even video game music alongside a lush orchestra we have some great shows that you might be interested in April, and beyond!

Video Games Live – April 16 @ 8PM

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The Shopkins took the world of kids faster than a blow-out sale at a grocery store. Created by Paul Solomon and Moose Toys in Australia, the first collectible characters hit toy store shopping carts in June 2014. The franchise refers to this as Season 1 and the small collectibles were various grocery items.

Season 2 arrived six months later, and included baby, homewares, cleaning & laundry, and shoes items.
Season 9, called Wild Style, was just released in January of this year and includes Shoppies, the first-ever dolls in the franchise.

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After several years of garnering some – but not a lot – of attention, Canadian prog rock band Rush finally made it big with the album 2112 in 1976. Not wanting to stick to the traditional album style, and definitely not wanting to follow their label’s request to do so, Rush released a record with a 20-minute epic suite on side 1, and five individual titles on side 2. Perhaps you knew all that. But did you know this:

1. Hugh Syme, Rush’s art director for over 40 years, also designed album covers for Aerosmith, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, and Def Leppard.
2. Rush received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at the 44th Juno Awards in 2015 for their charity work. The trio have supported Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, the United Way, and the Toronto Food Bank. They also donated $100,000 to help New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, $575,000 for flood victims in Southern Alberta, and $100,000 to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
3. Rush toured from February to August 1976 for 2112. Their Ontario stops included Chatham, Welland, Oshawa, Ottawa, Hamilton, Brantford, and three nights at Massey Hall in Toronto. If the Centre In The Square had been built back then, would they have performed here, too? We’ll never know.
4. The album was recorded in February 1976 in Toronto, with producer Terry Brown. This means they recorded the album and then headed right out on tour.
5. 2112 hit #5 on Canadian Album Charts and #61 on US Billboard Top LPs & Tape.
6. It took the trio about six months to write the album.

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“What would happen if we chose to illuminate the things that unite us as human beings rather than just the things that divide us?” asks National Geographic photojournalist Ami Vitale.

Vitale had always dreamed of becoming a foreign correspondent, and without intending to, became a war photographer. She covered the war in Kosovo and had also been to Gaza.

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Peppa Pig, the #1 family show of 2016, is back with an action-packed, live show featuring your favourite characters as life-size puppets and costume characters in Peppa Pig’s Surprise! Come join Peppa, George, Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig and more in an all singing, all-dancing adventure full of songs, games and surprises!

Last month, we gave away a pair of tickets to see Jeans ‘n Classics played The Beatles’ Abbey Road on Thursday, March 22. This month, you could win a pair of tickets to see Peppa, her family, and her friends live, with your little one, on Wednesday, May 2 @ 6PM. Email us your favourite Peppa line for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show!

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Jim Cuddy has been in the news a lot lately. After his single “Pull Me Through” was used for a montage of the history between figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, it crashed the iTunes servers because of the surge in downloads. Also last month, he released his latest album, Constellation. And in the fall, he was in the news, too, but for something perhaps less well-known about him: his charity work.

In November, Cuddy, along with Alan Doyle and numerous other Canadian musicians got together to record a cover of Spirit of the West’s “Home for a Rest,” arguably the most popular Canadian drinking song there is. The cause, though, is less celebratory: Spirit of the West’s front-man, John Mann, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and the event was to raise funds for his care, which, as of the end of February, has raised $41,001 of $50,000.

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Multiple Hall of Famer, songwriter, singer, and guitarist Randy Bachman just released his latest album, By George – By Bachman, a respectful and personal testimonial to George Harrison’s finest work.

Make no mistake; this is not your typical tribute album. This truly is a “Harrison by Bachman” concept with Bachman’s distinctively personal stamp and style placed on The Quiet Beatle’s music.

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Waves lapping up on the beach, a creek babbling through a forest, or a river rushing into a lake: these are perhaps some of the most calming sounds for us. You’ll likely hear water in some sonic form on relaxation soundtracks, or you may even seek it out with a trip to the ocean. Florida, perhaps? Or the Bahamas?

But add an oxygen tank, diving mask, and wet suit, and, well, we don’t know about you, but we’d suddenly feel a little claustrophobic. And once you read up on National Geographic’s Kenny Broad, you’ll suddenly realize just how dangerous water can be.

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