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On Thursday August 6, Moncton and the Maritimes will bear witness to what will surely be a once-in-a-lifetime visit by legendary Australian rock band AC/DC at the Magnetic Hill Concert Site.

 

Rumours of AC/DC coming to the Hub City started circulating last summer, even prior to the Eagles show at the Hill having been wrapped up. The rumours were just that to start though "" to many, there was nothing substantiated until the official announcement was made earlier this year.

It is rare (though not completely unheard of) for any group just to head to any given city, let alone one on the other side of the world, to play a one-off show. Shows and tours usually coincide with a new record of some sort, whether it is an album of new material or a greatest hits collection.

So when it was announced that the group would be releasing their newest studio album Black Ice on October 20, 2008, it gave fans a shred of hope that the Aussies might eventually find their way to this part of the world before they wrapped up the touring cycle for the record.

Since forming in 1973, AC/DC has become a veritable force in the music industry that bands can only aspire to reach. Working on their own schedule as opposed to a record company's, the group sporadically releases new studio records (prior to Black Ice, their last studio record was 2000's Stiff Upper Lip) and yet their popularity never wanes.

To date, AC/DC have sold more than 71 million records in the United States alone. World-wide, their record sales top out at more than 150 million. Their 1980 album Back In Black is the fifth highest-selling record in US history, accounting for an astounding 22 million of the 71 million records sold in the US.

Only The Beatles, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Billy Joel and Pink Floyd have sold more records than AC/DC in the United States. AC/DC are truly a part of an elite club.

In Canada, AC/DC's sales numbers are nothing to sneeze at either. Within one month of Black Ice's October release, it had sold more than 300,000 copies. Their total CD catalogue sales tally in our country is well above 2.4 million units.

To be blunt, very few if any bands on the charts nowadays will attain this kind of longevity with their careers. And as they have always done, success has come on their own terms.

AC/DC are one of very few bands holding out from offering their music for legal sale online via iTunes, the popular online music service. In regards to why the band continues to hold off on offering their music via the service, guitarist Angus Young told Rolling Stone Magazine "We don't make singles, we make albums." And while their success with record sales cannot be contested, AC/DC have remained a touring powerhouse on the world stage.

In the first six months of 2009, AC/DC's Black Ice tour had the highest worldwide gross of any group, bringing in an amazing $150.6 million in ticket sales with concert tickets averaging $86.23 each. To help give perspective as to how popular the Black Ice tour is, Tina Turner ranked second on the worldwide scale of touring, grossing $83.5 million in the same period of time with a ticket average of $121.65.

It would be an understatement to say that AC/DC have become one of the highest in-demand bands throughout the world. While some might consider the Thursday show-day for Moncton's AC/DC show to be less than desirable, there would have been 10 cities lined up behind us for this very show on the very same day had the city decided to pass on the show due to the weekday slot.

The fact of the matter is, when you have a chance to snag a band like AC/DC for a show in your city, you take it. Day of the week be damned.

Moncton will be the 98th stop on AC/DC's Black Ice tour. After their show in Moncton, the band heads west through Canada including stops in Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Vancouver before heading into the United States for dates through September and October.

Hub City concertgoers have been admittedly spoiled in the past five years. After seeing very few shows coming our way through the late 90s, this decade has seen a flood of concert activity in Moncton: Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Avril Lavigne, The White Stripes, John Fogerty and Michael Buble are among the artists that have blown through the Moncton Coliseum while The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Bon Jovi, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have all performed at the Magnetic Hill concert site. The site hasn't always been a hub of activity though.

After the Papal visit of Pope John Paul II in 1984, the venue sat largely unused for 14 years until a classic rock festival featuring the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steppenwolf would grace the stage at the Magnetic Hill venue.

The Rolling Stones show of 2005 was the concert that truly got the ball rolling and the word out on what the city, region and this specific venue had to offer. The show attracted upwards of 85,000 people from all over Atlantic Canada, New England and beyond and showed promoters that if you bring the talent, the people will come out and support the show.

Attendance for past shows held at the Magnetic Hill Concert Site has ranged from a reported 33,000 for the recent Bon Jovi show to over 50,000 for The Eagles in 2008. The last reported ticket count for the AC/DC show stands over the 60,000 mark although many believe it will to be the show that stands the greatest chance of achieving comparable ticket sales to the Rolling Stones show.

The likelihood of AC/DC returning to the region is slim so if you are on the fence about taking in the AC/DC show, I can guarantee it is going to be a show that people are talking about for years to come.

Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see AC/DC in our region.

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Despite what economists are telling us, the 2009 summer concert season in the province of New Brunswick is gearing up for what could possibly be one of the busiest in the past decade.

Here is your guide to shows and festivals taking place throughout the province of New Brunswick this summer:

The fourth annual Maritime Countryfest gets underway in Fredericton, starting on June 11 and running through until June 14. Acts scheduled to appear include Moncton's The Divorcees, 1755, Neon Highway as well as comedian Jimmy Flynn. Details can be found online at www.maritimecountryfest.com.

The weekend of June 20 and 21 will be a busy one in the province's capital city with the Black Crowes and Live headlining the city's FredRock Festival. Also appearing through the course of the weekend are Matt Mays & El Torpedo, The Respectables and Die Mannequin. It is all going down at the Capital Exhibit Center and Raceway on Smythe Street. Tickets range in price from $45 for a single day pass to $69.99 to attend both days. Consult www.fredrockfestival.com for more information.

Moving to the Miramichi, Blue Rodeo will be making their inaugural visit here at the end of June. They will be playing at the Miramichi Exhibition Grounds on Friday June 26 with guests including Matt Minglewood, George Belliveau and McGinty. Doors for the show open at 2:00 pm and things get under way at 3:00. Tickets for the show can be bought for $73.45 each and are available online at www.ticketweb.ca

The very next day in Moncton, Bon Jovi are going to be holding court over the Magnetic Hill Music Festival Summer Kick Off. Tickets for the show are selling respectably well at $131.75 a piece and are available for purchase online at tickets.moncton.ca. Please note that all taxes and service charges are included in that ticket price. Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings of The Guess Who fame will be opening the show, as will Canuck rockers State of Shock.

Salty Jam is returning to rock, pop and roll its way through Saint John this summer, running July 9 through 11 at various venues through the city. Acts slated to appear include Newmarket's Tokyo Police Club, Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees as well as Montreal's Black Diamond Bay. Consult www.saltyjam.ca for complete details on what is certain to be a great festival.

Australian rockers AC/DC are bringing their Black Ice World Tour to Magnetic Hill in Moncton on Thursday August 6. Ticket sales have surpassed the 60,000 mark and by all estimates, this will probably be the first show since the Rolling Stones in 2005 to sell out the Hill. The Thursday show date is a bit of an oddity but when you can land a band of AC/DC's caliber, you take what you can get. By my estimates, there is going to be a lot of people calling in sick to work the day after the show.

John Prine is a legend in the folk-rock world and is headed to the province for shows in Fredericton (August 17) and Saint John (August 18). According to his website, the Fredericton date is already sold out so if you hope to catch him at the Imperial Theatre in Saint John, you'd best be advised to pick up your tickets soon!

It should go without saying that money doesn't grow on trees; at least not in my backyard. Picking and choosing which shows to attend while on a budget can be a tricky predicament so if your funds are limited, I would highly recommend prioritizing shows based on the likelihood of seeing the acts in question return.

After having seen them in concert ten times in the past 15 years, I can safely say that Blue Rodeo is a good bet and wise investment for fans and non-fans alike. The group has a deep selection of hits they run through in concert and are truly one of Canada's best live bands.

I have had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your point of view) of seeing Bon Jovi live on two occasions and have to admit that they put on a great live show. According to Billboard Magazine, Bon Jovi had the highest grossing tour of the year ending 2008, grossing a hefty $210 million, playing to over two million people over 99 shows.

Reports and reviews from the AC/DC Black Ice tour shows to date have been nothing less than stellar. I can almost guarantee that AC/DC won't be touring around these parts again any time soon. Given the fact that the band tours infrequently as is and that their show in Moncton is one of only seven in all of Canada, I truly think this is a once in a lifetime chance to see these Aussie rockers in Atlantic Canada.

However you choose to spend your entertainment dollars this summer, be sure that you are prepared as to what is accepted and not accepted at the various shows and venues, especially the outdoor festivals.

Most importantly, get out there and have a good time!

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California punk rockers Strung Out are headed to Moncton to play the only New Brunswick date on their current Canadian tour. The show is slated to go down at Moncton's on Tuesday, June 2 at the Manhattan Bar and Grill.

In a 2007 interview with website Skratch Magazine, Strung Out vocalist Jason Cruz had expressed doubt over the future of the punk band continuing in the face of "emo" music having "sucked what it could from the scene". But the group has indeed soldiered on and remains one of Fat Wreck Chords most popular groups to date.

Also appearing at the show is California's Death By Stereo, This Is A Standoff as well as Moncton band Bomarc.

Death By Stereo has a new record (Death Is My Only Friend) being released on July 7. The group's most recent effort was a 2007 live record (Death Alive) on New York's ReIgnition Records. Prior to making their live record, the group released three records on legendary punk label Epitaph.

Calgary's This Is A Standoff rose from the ashes of punk band Belvedere and have two records to their discography: 2007's Be Excited and this year's Be Disappointed.

Moncton punk/hardcore band Bomarc has put the finishing touches on their debut CD, recorded in Moncton with engineer Ross Cole. If all goes according to the band's plan, the disc should see the light of day this summer.

Tickets for the show are available at Read's Newsstand on Main Street as well as online at www.ticketpro.ca. Advance tickets are $19.99 each; on the day of the show, they will run you $25 each. The Strung Out show is restricted to those 19 years of age and older. Those attending will want to note that this is an early bar show, with the doors scheduled to open at 7:00 p.m. that evening.

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Hi all. Thanks for checking out my site.

I've contributed the articles and reviews posted on this site to [here] Magazine, published in Moncton, NB, Canada. I have been doing quite a bit of writing as of late and figured it was time to gather all my writings on one site.

I've got excellent interviews that will be posted / run in the next few weeks including Butch Walker, Matt Mays, Rhett Miller, Bif Naked and more.

Check back often for updates!

Send any questions, concerns or comments to ken.kelley [at] rogers.com.

MySpace Canada, together with Corus Entertainment's ExploreMusic website are giving Canadian musicians a chance to be discovered with their new Found On Myspace monthly contest.

We'll get into the contest itself in a moment but first, here's some perspective on the parties making it happen.

ExploreMusic (www.exploremusic.com) offers visitors to their website the opportunity to discover new music while also offering them a chance to catch up on the latest music news and opinions from around the world.

The site was founded a year ago by Alan Cross, best known to music enthusiasts as the man behind the syndicated radio program The Ongoing History of New Music.

That program has been wildly successful since its launch in 1993 on Toronto's CFNY radio station (now known as The Edge).

To date, the program has spawned four books and has seen more than 500 one-hour episodes of the program produced, making the feature one of the longest-running radio programs in North America.

ExploreMusic's parent company Corus is no stranger to the media business themselves. They are a veritable Canadian media giant and owner of TV channels such as YTV, Treehouse and CMT as well as owning radio stations from coast to coast.

Myspace is a social networking site that is among the most popular in the world. Users of the service can post personal profiles, create user groups and post blogs and photos while also allowing bands the opportunity to promote their music.

Under this newly launched joint venture between the two sites, musicians are invited to send submissions through Myspace Radio at www.myspace.com/radio.

After a submission window of two weeks, the field of submissions will be narrowed down to five finalists, which are then voted upon by Myspace Canada members.

Those bands lucky enough to reach this final stage of the contest then receive counsel and tips on how to engage their fans and build fan support.

Once the voting stage has wrapped up and Myspace has tallied the votes, the winner then receives a showcase on the ExploreMusic website on the first Thursday of every month.

While it used to be that record labels had the power to make and break artists, some of that power has now shifted to those making the music.

Former major label artists like Nine Inch Nails are opting to self-release their product, with physical distribution being handled through major independent channels.

This arrangement allows the group to release new product as often as they want, as opposed to having to schedule release within a larger umbrella of potential competition for record company promotional dollars.

Perhaps not surprisingly, personnel at record labels and publishing companies are using the Internet and Myspace specifically to discover new talent.

"Myspace is my primary source for checking out bands, whether I am just out 'looking' at bands or if a band wants to send me their demo," confirms Jodie Ferneyhough, managing director of Universal Music Publishing Canada.

Ferneyhough is a seasoned veteran of the Canadian Music business.

It was more than 15 years ago that he started his career in band management before moving on to a position with peerMusic that ultimately led him to his current role.

As recently as the early to mid 1990s, bands would have had no other choice but to communicate their band updates via a series of potentially harassing phone calls, faxes and (gasp!) snail mail.

Times have certainly changed in the past couple of decades, but all for the better of course:

"Myspace allows me to hear what your band is doing, see your videos, get an idea who your fan base is, get a bio on the group, and see what kind of touring you are doing," Ferneyhough says of the obvious benefit and importance of bands having an online presence.

So if you think your band has what it takes to rise to the top, register your group at www.myspace.com/radio today!

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The springtime tends to be one of the most fruitful times of year for new music arriving in stores.

Below are some of my choice picks that I'm looking forward to in the next few months; I hope you find something here that appeals to you as well! (Release dates are subject to change).

April

Tinted Windows - S/T - Having members of Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne, Smashing Pumpkins and Hanson join together into one group sounds like a marvelous idea to me. Their debut release stands to be the best piece of power pop unleashed on the world in recent times. www.tintedwindowsmusic.com (April 21)

Bob Dylan - "Together Through Life" - The latest studio offering from 'the man' is his 33rd studio record and is reportedly steeped in the sound of classic Sun and Chess Recordings. Dylan has had a pretty good streak of studio records in the past decade; here's hoping that streak continues. www.bobdylan.com (April 28)

The Disciplines - "Smoking Kills" - The latest band from Ken Stringfellow (The Posies/REM) is equal parts garage rock and pop and certain to satisfy the cravings of fans from both genres and everything in between. www.thedisciplines.com (April 28)

Heaven and Hell - "The Devil You Know" - Black Sabbath alumni Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ronnie James Dio team up with drummer Vinny Appice under a different moniker than the historic Sabbath one, but rest assured that the music stands to be as heavy as ever. www.heavenandhelllive.com (April 28)

May

Ben Harper and The Relentless 7 - "White Lies For Dark Times" - Ben Harper leaves The Innocent Criminals behind but judging by the video of Shimmer and Shine posted at www.relentless7.com, his new band The Relentless 7 can stand on their own quite capably. Rock music is clearly the order of the day here; fans of Harper's folksy moments might want to take heed before rushing out to buy this. (May 5)

The Divorcees - "Last Of The Free Men" - Expect another dose of good ol' fashion country music from one of Moncton's best outlaw country bands. The Skydiggers' Josh Finlayson was in the producer's chair for The Divorcees sophomore record, a pairing which has The Toronto Star buzzing about the record weeks before it is even in stores. www.thedivorcees.com (May 5)

Steve Earle - "Townes" - Earle once said "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that!" Townes is Earle's tribute to his friend and mentor. Van Zandt passed away on New Year's Day, 1997 but during the 52 years he was on this earth, he wrote the Merle Haggard/Willie Nelson hit Poncho and Lefty and had his songs covered by Emmylou Harris and Nanci Griffith. www.steveearle.com (May 12)

Iron & Wine - "Around The Well" - Sam Beam has been making gorgeous, soulful and simple songs for years now and on Around The Well he has assembled a double-disc set of out-of-print and previously unreleased material. www.ironandwine.com (May 19)

The Motorleague - "Black Noise" - With the legendary Ian Blurton behind the boards, expect some glorious, anthemic rawk songs from Moncton's The Motorleague. These songs will also be responsible for kicking your ass. You've been warned. www.themotorleague.ca (May 19)

June

Elvis Costello - "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane" - Recorded with T. Bone Burnett in a lightning-fast three days, the newest record from Costello is his first rooted in acoustic music since his 1986 masterpiece King Of America. www.elviscostello.com (June 2)

Rhett Miller - S/T - The singer/guitarist from the Old 97's unleashes his latest solo record which reportedly was made in some trying times, including the death of his grandmother, lend darker than usual tones to Miller's folk pop. www.rhettmiller.com (June 9)

The Dead Weather - "Horehound" - As if Jack White doesn't already have his plate full with The Raconteurs and The White Stripes, he adds a third group to his resume. White's fascination with sludgingly heavy guitar-rock continues, with few arguments from me. www.thedeadweather.com (June 9)

Pete Yorn - "Back and Forth" - The release of the Pete Yorn's latest sure-bet collection of rock and roll songs is timed to coincide with his opening slot on a handful of dates on Coldplay's North American tour. Hopefully the masses that will see him at these shows will catch on to one of the decade's best-kept secret talents and give him the fame he so sorely deserves. www.peteyorn.com (June 23)

Levon Helm - "Electric Dirt" - The drummer from legendary group The Band returns with his second record in the past three years. The follow-up to rootsy Dirt Farmer is noted on his site as "painting a broader musical canvas by incorporating gospel, blues and soul into a wide range of original songs and eclectic cover songs."(www.levonhelm.com) (June 30)