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Concerts Reviews

Myles Smith Brings Intimate Energy to Montreal Stop

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On Saturday, the English folk-country songwriter Myles Smith came back to Montreal for the second time in 6 months as part of his We Were Never Strangers Tour. Smith rose to stardom with the release of his single Stargazing, which gathered more than 300 million streams, and in the last 16 months has gone from playing 80 people shows in his hometown of Luton, England, to selling out the main venues all over Europe and America, quickly becoming one of the main faces of his genre. But even with his swift rise to superstardom, you can tell Myles is savoring every moment and is extremely grateful for every single person that connects with his music.

To start off the night, Tors opened up the stage. It was the English trio’s first time in Montreal and it was the perfect way to warm up for Myles Smith. Their harmonic folk sat great with the crowd, as they played some of their biggest hits like Miracle and I Don’t Wanna Know.

During their set, the brothers constantly joked around. Talking about how Myles Smith had this great production, beautiful lights and amazing musicians, “And here, we spend all of our budget on this giant printed QR code”, Matt Weedon laughed as he pointed to left side of the stage and asked the crowd to scan the code to hear all about their upcoming shows. 

Before ending their set, they thanked the 514 crowd and mentioned how much fun Montreal had been that day. With him eating 3 servings of poutine, and his brother Theo’s constant failed attempts to flirt in French right before the show.

At 9PM, the background music stopped and the lights went down. Instead of Myles Smith jumping on stage though, we got a member of his team getting on the mic. “I don’t know if any of you saw his instagram, but Myles has been battling a very nasty food poisoning since yesterday.”. You could feel the tension immediately flooding the room as our first thoughts were “Oh no… he’s gonna cancel the show.”. But the guy on the mic felt that energy and immediately said “Guys, don’t worry! Show’s not cancelled guys!”. Then he told the Montreal crowd how Myles was powering through it and he needed the crowd’s energy more than he ever did on this tour. And if I know anything about the people of Montreal at the end of April, weather warming up after an absolute brutal winter, is: yeah… we got energy.

Around 9:05 Myles Smith jumped onstage and following his tradition of wearing a local team’s jersey, was rocking a Montreal Canadiens jersey. 

That was the perfect way to immediately win the sold out crowd over. Considering the Habs had just secured a spot in the NHL playoffs literally the night before. 

The set started with Wait For You. The anthem-like melodies got the crowd immediately jumping and stomping the ground. Smith couldn’t stop smiling (even considering his illness) hearing the entire venue sing every single word of the song, a pattern that would continue throughout the night. 

After the first song, we got a very nice interaction with him and a fan. They brought a beautiful pencil drawing of Myles, framed in black to give to him. He got down the stage and grabbed it, thanking them and shouting to the crowd: “How incredible is this?!”

The set was followed by Behind and Whisper, with him switching between the mic and an acoustic guitar in between. 

Throughout the night, the show felt like a party between friends, with Smith sharing stories and intimate conversations that he had with his mother right before leaving on tour. “My mom said: – I remember when you were just this tiny little bundle just pissing and soiling yourself everywhere, and now you’re a 26 year old man about to go on a world tour. I couldn’t be more proud of you son.” Again, it seems like all the little things about growing up and how crazy his life is now, are absolutely not lost on him.

On paper, the 14 song set wasn’t a long one, but it didn’t really feel that way. You could definitely tell he left it all out there on the stage. Especially during his last song: Stargazing. The song that changed his career and life forever. Myles jumped off the stage and fully into the middle of the crowd, where he danced and sang with the Montreal crowd. 

The ending felt like a high school house party in the best way. Myles Smith fully pulled out the veil between artist and fan, as he became just one more person on the dance floor. A man, away from home, dancing with a bunch of his friends. The only difference between him and the other 2,300 souls at the venue: He just just happened to write the song everyone was vibing to.  

Check out our favourites photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!

MYLES SMITH
TORS

All Photo Credit: Andres Amaya

Concerts Reviews

LIVE REVIEW: LP Brings ‘All Is Not Lost’ Tour to Vancouver

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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

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Concerts Reviews

LIVE REVIEW: Icons Deep Purple & Kansas Bring A Legendary Celebratory Night of Surprises To Abbotsford’s Rogers Forum

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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

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