Concerts Reviews
From Liberia to Vancouver: Mon Rovîa’s Music Hits Home
Vancouver got a little quieter on July 7. Not because people stopped talking, but because they were listening. At the Commodore Ballroom, a full house showed up for Heal With Others Tour: Continued, and Mon Rovîa made sure every person in the room felt seen and heard.
Mon Rovîa isn’t your typical folk artist. Born in Monrovia, Liberia during a civil war and adopted by missionaries to the U.S. as a child, his story is one of survival and searching, for identity, for peace, for a home. Now based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Mon Rovîa has built a sound he calls Afro-Appalachian folk: grounded in West African rhythm and soul, layered with Appalachian strings and gospel spirit. It’s a mix that doesn’t just invite you to listen, it asks you to feel.
The night opened with local opener Ryan Harris. He set the tone with a soft, sincere solo set that felt like a warm journal entry. Based in Whistler, Harris makes music from his bedroom studio. His gentle guitar work and laid-back presence gave early arrivals a chance to settle in. With songs influenced by his childhood spent surfing between Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, Harris channels the mellow spirit of Ben Howard and Jack Johnson, but with a distinctly Pacific Northwest soul.
Then Mon Rovîa walked onstage. No big entrance. No flashy graphics. Just a quiet confidence and a deep breath, like he was preparing to tell us the truth.
His set opened with “outlaw,” and “cleopatra.” Midway through, he played “crooked the road,” his breakout hit that took off on TikTok. On the surface, it’s a breakup song. But live, it felt like more than that. The chorus “If you’re leaving, know I’ll stay beside that telephone line” spoke to anyone who’s ever waited for hope to call them back. People sang like they meant it.
Between songs, Mon Rovîa talked about mental health, loss and grief. He encouraged everyone to be who they are in this safe space, sharing this quote “I tried to fit into the world, and I starved.”
He played most of his Act 4: Atonement EP, including “Rust” and “winter wash,” a song that wrestles with the mental whiplash of modern life. The set was stripped down to the raw essentials: voice, guitar, and emotion.
What makes a Mon Rovîa show different is that it doesn’t feel like performance. It feels like church. Not the dogmatic kind, but the kind where strangers sit in pews and remind each other they’re not alone. He closed the night with “jester int he bowl.”
With nearly two million monthly listeners and a growing following, Mon Rovîa is clearly having a moment. But you don’t leave his concert thinking about numbers. You leave thinking about your own story , the pain you carry, the people you love, and the small, sacred chance to heal with others.
In a world that feels like it’s always breaking, Mon Rovîa is the reminder that music can help you put something back together. Quietly, honestly, one note at a time.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
MON ROVIA
RYAN HARRIS
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: AC/DC – Hell’s Still Bellin’
AC/DC. Christ. What’s left to say? Everything’s been said, screamed, tattooed on someone’s bicep already. Doesn’t matter. That’s the whole racket, they never changed, never blinked, and more than fifty years later they’re still the loudest gang in the room.
Growing up, they felt ancient already. I am a 2001 kid. Turns out the joke’s on me: they’re still out there, riffing like it’s ’79, refusing to retire into legend status.
Princess Auto Stadium was packed with about 35000 attendees. Everyone was wearing red twinkling devil’s horns. To warm up the night, The Pretty Reckless started with one of the hits “Death by Rock and Roll.” Some support acts play like they’re grateful for the slot. Taylor Momsen played like she owns the stadium. The hair falling forward, somehow the less you can see of her face the more magnetic she gets. Stage presence isn’t something you learn. She’s just got it.
The band didn’t sound like an opener. Every riff landed with the swagger “Going To Hell” and “Since You’re Gone” kept it burning, and “About You” brought it down to something rawer before the lights cut. By the time The Pretty Reckless walked off, the audience were already screaming AC/DC! AC/DC!
Winnipeggers stood stunned through AC/DC‘s whole set. Angus Young, 71 years old still in that signature blue schoolboy uniform and yellow-and-blue cap, ran wild across the stage, duck-walking like no time had passed at all, genuinely, a dream come true to watch in person.
Meanwhile, the rest of the band, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Matt Laug stayed largely in the background, keeping the engine running for Angus and Johnson to tear apart.
The production matched the legend, “Hells Bells” arrived with an actual giant bell hanging over the stage. The setlist ran deep: “Thunderstruck,” “Have a Drink on Me,” “Shot in the Dark,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “Highway to Hell,” “Jailbreak,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Almost every song sounded just as good as the album version. The crowd tore their vocal cords apart singing along to “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “TNT.” “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” closed things out with cannons blasting into the night sky.
The house lights came up and nobody moved right away. Smoke still hanging over the stage, ears ringing, horns still lit up red across the stands. Bands this old aren’t supposed to sound this dangerous. They aren’t supposed to still mean it. But AC/DC never got the memo about slowing down, and honestly, thank God for that. I walked out hoarse, deaf, and completely satisfied.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
AC/DC
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
All Photo Credit: Nischal Karki
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Party On, Vancouver: Dogstar Sells Out the Vogue Theatre
The Vogue Theatre was packed wall to wall on September 16 as Dogstar rolled into Vancouver, and the excitement was impossible to miss. New York rock band The Backfires kicked things off with a lively opening set, warming up the room before Bret Domrose, Robert Mailhouse and Keanu Reeves stepped onto the stage. Naturally, hundreds of phones immediately went up when Reeves appeared, because Vancouver was not about to let this extremely Keanu moment go undocumented.
Reeves held down the bass, Domrose took on guitar and vocals, and Mailhouse powered the night from behind the drums. While one member may come with a little more star power, Dogstar quickly felt like a proper three-piece instead of a celebrity side project. The chemistry between them was relaxed and natural, with plenty of smiles, glances and little interactions that made it clear they were genuinely happy to be playing together. Reeves frequently wandered across the stage to jam alongside his bandmates, occasionally making his way toward the front and sending another wave of phones into the air.
Dogstar’s story stretches back to Los Angeles in 1991, when Reeves and Mailhouse first started making music together. Domrose later joined the band, and the trio released two albums before going their separate ways in 2002. More than two decades later, they reunited, returned to the stage and released Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees in 2023. Now, with their latest album All In Now and another tour underway, Dogstar are giving this chapter of the band far more than a quick nostalgia lap.
The set began with “Siren,” immediately setting an easygoing alt-rock tone for the night. Their cover of The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” brought an extra burst of familiarity, while “Punch the Sky” landed with the kind of energy made for a full theatre. Rather than pausing for long speeches, the band kept things moving, letting the music and their chemistry do most of the talking. Domrose’s vocals stayed at the centre of the songs, Mailhouse gave them plenty of drive, and Reeves appeared completely locked into the groove on bass.
Yes, people cheered whenever Reeves moved closer to the edge of the stage. Yes, there was an undeniable thrill in seeing the internet’s favourite human casually rocking out a few feet away. But the attention did not stay on him alone. Domrose and Mailhouse were just as essential to the show, and together the trio delivered a performance that felt tight without becoming overly polished. There was still room for the songs to breathe, for the band to play off one another and for the night to feel a little spontaneous.
A fun surprise arrived during the encore with a roaring cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” The band shared that they had only performed it live once before, making it a particularly unexpected way to close the night. The Vogue responded accordingly, singing, cheering and soaking up every last second before the trio left the stage.
More than 30 years after forming, and over two decades after calling it quits, Dogstar are back on the road and clearly having a great time together. That sense of fun was infectious, turning the sold-out show into something warmer and more memorable than a simple celebrity sighting. Vancouver may have arrived ready to see Keanu Reeves play bass, but by the end of the night, Dogstar had given the crowd plenty of reasons to stay invested in the whole band.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
DOGSTAR
THE BACKFIRES
All Photo Credit: Heather Horncastle