What Happened To The Big Bands?
We now know who will be playing the Virgin Festival in Calgary June 21st and 22nd. We were told we’d be blown away by the line-up for the two day music fest, but I find myself still standing. Toronto gets Oasis and the Foo Fighters. Baltimore has Nine Inch Nails, Jack Johnson and Kanye West. Here in Calgary we get the Tragically Hip. Yes, we do get The Stone Temple Pilots as well, but the Tragically Hip, Matthew Good and Corb Lund?? - what is this - the Juno’s all over again?
It’s not just me thinking this way either…..enter morning show editor, Radana Suk….
“Dear Sir Richard Branson,
Last year, when you stormed into our city on a chuckwagon, you promised us the musical world.
Instead, you were too busy balancing that 10-gallon hat on your head, and avoiding horse patties with your shiny new boots, to actually gauge the musical temperature of our fair city. Sure we love our Canadian “rock icons”, but now that we’re a city of more than a million people I think we’re ready to spread our wings, raise our devil horns and rock out to more than New Orleans is Sinking.
I’ll be staying tuned as “more stellar A-list stars” are announced.
But if I hear any combination of the the words 54 and 40, I’m tuning right out.
Sincerely,
Radana Suk”
Okay….so maybe I don’t feel quite as strongly about the lack of A-listers as Radana does, but I will say I am disappointed. I love the Tragically Hip, but when I think of the Virgin Music Festival, I tend to think of bands like Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2….not The Tragically Hip. I, like Radana, will also be waiting for more A-list stars to be announced.