Concerts Reviews
Keith Urban Brings Connection, Hits, and Heart to Rogers Arena in Vancouver

Keith Urban’s High and Alive World Tour rolled into Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on Wednesday night, marking his first global trek since 2022 for The Speed of New World Tour. For fans, it was the first chance to hear songs like “Straight Line” and “Messed Up As Me” outside of his Las Vegas residency. The night blended old hits, fresh material, and a few unexpected curveballs, all anchored by Urban’s charm and guitar heroics.


Before Urban took the stage, three rising country artists warmed up the room. Karley Scott Collins opened with a brief but confident set, closing with her fiery single “Cowboy Sh!t.” At just 23, Collins showed why she’s one to watch, delivering her moody brand of country with grit and polish. Alana Springsteen followed, leaning into pop-country energy. Borrowing a hat from a fan, she worked the stage like she already belonged there. Her cover of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” drew one of the night’s loudest early singalongs.

The biggest surprise among the openers came from Chase Matthew. At 27, with only a handful of years in the industry, Matthew played like he’d been headlining arenas his whole life. His set moved from swaggering stomp (“Drives My Truck”) to glossy country-pop (“Pull Up”) to hooky, Nashville-polished cuts like “No Way Around It.” He’s hard to pin down stylistically: country, rock, and soul all peek through, but the songs hit instantly. More impressive was his stage presence: equal parts charismatic frontman and gracious newcomer. By the end, Rogers Arena was his. You could feel him gaining hundreds of new fans in real time.

Then came Urban. The house lights dimmed, a silhouette appeared on a white sheet that resisted its fall, forcing urban to come to the side to see the audience. Once the sheet removed, the arena roared as he launched into “Straight Line.” From there, it was a two-hour joyride through a career spanning three decades. Early hits like “Where the Blacktop Ends” sat neatly next to newer tracks like “Messed Up As Me,” and Urban made it all sound effortless. “Long Hot Summer” lived up to its title, and “Better Life” reminded fans why they fell in love with him in the first place.
Urban’s connection with the crowd was as much a highlight as his setlist. He wandered down side ramps to chat with fans and stopped for selfies mid-song.
Musically, the band was razor sharp. Fiddle player Gabi Louise, a recent addition, shined during “Days Go By/I Had Some Help.” Katie Ohh stepped into Carrie Underwood’s part on “The Fighter” and absolutely owned it. The rhythm section of Kevin MacIntyre (bass) and Jimmy Paxton (drums) kept everything grounded, while Urban swapped guitars like they were toys, ripping solos that were equal parts technical and joyful.
The surprises kept coming. A stripped-down stop at a smaller stage in the back of the arena brought fans closer than they ever expected. There, Urban performed “One Too Many,” Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” and his own “You’ll Think of Me” with just an acoustic guitar. It was intimate, and maybe the most special part of the night.

Back on the main stage, the hits rolled on: “Somebody Like You,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and “Wasted Time” all landed perfectly. Covers dotted the setlist, from Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” to a rousing closer of New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give.” The latter turned Rogers Arena into a massive singalong, proof that Urban knows exactly how to send fans home buzzing.
Keith Urban may be 35 years into his solo career, but on Wednesday night, he felt as present and energized as ever. And in the end, that’s Urban’s greatest gift: making an arena of thousands feel like a personal conversation.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
9/12 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
9/13- Regina, SK – Brandt Centre
9/15 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre
9/16 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
9/19 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
9/20 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
More information here.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
KEITH URBAN






CHASE MATTHEW




ALANA SPRINGSTEEN




KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS



All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: LP Brings ‘All Is Not Lost’ Tour to Vancouver
On September 5, multi platinum singer-songwriter LP brought the All Is Not Lost Tour to Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, delivering a performance that moved effortlessly between vulnerability, power, and pure rock-and-roll energy. The night also carried a special significance: the tour celebrates the 10th anniversary of Lost on You, the record that helped transform LP from a respected songwriter into a global phenomenon.
Known professionally as LP, Laura Pergolizzi has spent years carving out a space that is uniquely their own. Before becoming internationally recognized as a recording artist, LP established themselves as a songwriter for major artists including Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, and Celine Dion. Their own breakthrough came with “Lost on You,” which went to No. 1 in 18 countries and eventually surpassed one billion Spotify streams.
Inside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, LP’s music felt much more immediate. Their unmistakable voice moved from restrained and intimate to explosive within moments, giving songs such as “Muddy Waters,” “The One That You Love,” and “Lost on You” a sense of urgency that is difficult to recreate outside of a live setting.
The evening’s setlist reflected both sides of LP’s career. The first part moved through newer material and familiar favourites, including “Shelly,” “Tokyo Sunrise,” “Love Is All I Have,” and “Chasing & Waiting.” Later, the performance shifted toward the Lost on You celebration, bringing some of LP’s most recognizable songs into the spotlight.
It was the kind of moment that makes a concert feel bigger than the room. The song that introduced LP’s voice to millions became a shared experience between artist and audience, with the theatre singing along to every familiar line. After nearly a decade of the song living its own life around the world, hearing it performed in a packed Vancouver theatre gave it a renewed sense of intimacy.
From behind the camera, there was another layer to the experience. Photographing LP meant constantly watching for the moments between the obvious ones. The dramatic poses and powerful vocals naturally create striking frames, but some of the strongest images came from the quieter details, the concentration before a verse, a hand wrapped around the microphone, a fleeting expression beneath the stage lights.
LP is an artist who gives a photographer plenty to work with. Their movement across the stage feels instinctive rather than choreographed, and their performance style carries the same unpredictability as their voice. One moment can feel completely still; the next can explode into movement.
That contrast became one of the defining visual elements of the Vancouver show. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre also suited the performance. Rather than feeling distant or oversized, the venue allowed the audience to remain close to the emotional centre of the show. LP could command the room without having to overwhelm it.
There was also a sense of celebration throughout the night. Ten years after Lost on You, LP is still performing the songs that changed the trajectory of their career while continuing to introduce audiences to what’s next. The tour combines material from the upcoming album with a special presentation of Lost on You in its entirety, making the show feel like both a look backward and a step forward.
That balance is what made the Vancouver performance so compelling. LP isn’t simply revisiting an old record. They are showing how those songs have evolved with them and how they continue to resonate with an audience that has grown alongside their music.
By the final moments of the night, the feeling in the theatre was less like watching an artist celebrate an anniversary and more like witnessing a career still in motion.
For me, photographing LP in Vancouver was an opportunity to capture that evolution in real time: the voice, the movement, the vulnerability, and the electricity that has made LP such a distinctive live performer.
Ten years after Lost on You, the LP still has something to say and judging by the way Vancouver listened, people are still more than willing to hear it.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
LP










All Photo Credit: Raphael Arthur
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Icons Deep Purple & Kansas Bring A Legendary Celebratory Night of Surprises To Abbotsford’s Rogers Forum
I don’t say this lightly, but both Deep Purple and Kansas absolutely put on a hell of a show. Since 1968, Deep Purple have basically been the godfathers of live rock performance. Don’t believe me? Go look up their Guinness World Record for “loudest concert,” which they snagged back in 1972. That same energy, that same wall of sound, made the trip across five decades and landed right here for the band’s headlining North American tour stop in Abbotsford. Original drummer Ian Paice is still holding it down, now joined by guitarist Simon McBride, bassist Roger Glover, keyboardist Don Airey, and vocalist Ian Gillan. Sure, only one original member remains, but somehow the whole group still nails the spirit of what made Deep Purple, well, Deep Purple.
They tore through 16 tracks that night. “Smoke on the Water” got the loudest reaction of the evening, no surprise there. “Diablo” and “Perfect Strangers” also landed big, and “Highway Star” kicked the whole thing off on an absolute high. And when I say the crowd was into it, I mean it. Fans who’ve followed this band for almost fifty years were pressed right up against the barrier trying to get as close as possible. That closeness paid off too, with an incredible light show and Simon McBride ripping through solo after solo. Honestly, McBride was the highlight more than once, stepping up so Gillan could catch his breath between songs. Given how much those vocals demand, that rest was more than earned.
Like I said, “Smoke on the Water” was the main event for Abbotsford. It’s one thing to describe it, but actually watching the buildup, seeing the bandmates grinning at each other because they knew exactly what was coming, that was priceless. Then those notes kicked in. You know the ones. Every Guitar Center employee’s nightmare. The whole arena became one voice, singing along to a guitar riff like it was a chorus. It was the moment of the night, the kind of thing every rock fan dreams about experiencing live. That wave of energy carried all the way through to the final song, “Hush.” If you were a millennial who spent way too much time on Guitar Hero 2, hearing this one live gave you full goosebumps. This was the band’s first big hit back in 1968, and in 2026 it still hits just as hard. The crowd treated it like more than an encore. It felt like everyone in that room knew they might not get another chance to see Deep Purple live, and they soaked in every second of it. When the house lights finally came up, Abbotsford just stood there in awe. Deep Purple‘s legendary status was on full display, and nobody in that crowd wanted the night to end.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
DEEP PURPLE








KANSAS





All Photo Credit: Marquise Monno
