Music News
Vancouver Rise FC Joins Northern Super League: A New Era For Women’s Soccer
Vancouver’s latest addition to the sports scene comes with a bold vision and a name that embodies ambition and empowerment. The city’s Northern Super League franchise has officially been unveiled as Vancouver Rise FC, signaling the dawn of a new chapter in professional women’s soccer.
“I think it has that sense of empowerment, that sense of feeling,” said sporting director Stephanie Labbe. “I get goosebumps, still, thinking about how much the word ‘rise’ and this team, Vancouver Rise, can embody and can be connected to.”
The announcement on Monday also introduced the team’s logo: a teal shield featuring three snow-capped mountains and a radiant golden sun. For Labbe, Canada’s former Olympic gold medal-winning goalkeeper, the logo holds personal significance.
“Personally, I really like having gold in there,” she shared. “It has a special place in my heart.”
Creating a name and logo that resonated wasn’t an easy task, according to Rise president Sinead King.
“You’ve got so many ideas and you want to get it perfect. You start to overthink absolutely everything,” King explained. The goal was to capture the essence of being a woman in professional sports—to elevate and celebrate the opportunities available to them.
“We feel like Rise really brings that to life,” she added.
The Northern Super League’s inaugural season is set to kick off in April, featuring six founding teams based in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax. Other franchises, including Ottawa Rapid FC, Halifax Tides FC, and Calgary Wild FC, have already revealed their identities.
Each team will play a 25-game schedule, but Vancouver Rise FC still faces significant logistical hurdles, including determining where they will play. While B.C. Place—home to Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps—is a possibility for select games, King emphasized the importance of establishing a unique home for the team.
“We want to have our own home and our own stadium,” she said.
Despite sharing ownership with the Whitecaps under Greg Kerfoot, Rise FC will operate as an independent entity.
Labbe, now tasked with constructing the team’s roster, sees the challenge as an exciting puzzle.
“One good thing is I love doing puzzles, and so I feel like every time I’m doing something, I’m adding another piece to the puzzle,” she said. “It doesn’t scare me. It’s really, really exciting. And every time I get a new piece, it just brings more excitement and makes it feel more real.”
The club is actively searching for a head coach and aims to make an announcement within the next month. News of their first player signing is also expected soon. According to Labbe, the roster will feature athletes with experience in the World Cup, Olympics, and youth national teams.
Labbe, who has competed in Europe and the NWSL, highlighted the depth of Canadian talent waiting to be tapped.
“The amount of talent that comes out of this country is unbelievable. And to me, it’s a lot of untapped talent right now,” she noted. “I think giving these players a place where they can actually pursue these opportunities … really dreaming of this and being a part of this.”
The Northern Super League has set its sights high, aiming to become one of the top five women’s soccer leagues globally, rivaling established leagues in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Spain.
Although updates may be slow, King reassured fans that progress is steady.
“The Northern Super League is incredibly organized. It’s really collaborative through all the clubs. We all want to make sure we’ve got a sustainable and successful league,” she said. “There might be some hiccups along the way because launching a league is a massive undertaking, but we’re not looking to push (the start date) back.”
As the countdown to April begins, Vancouver Rise FC stands ready to inspire, empower, and elevate the sport of women’s soccer in Canada.
Music News
Luke Combs Announces 12 New Stadium Shows for 2027 ‘My Kinda Saturday Night Tour’
Luke Combs is extending his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour into 2027, announcing 12 new stadium shows across the United States.
The new dates continue the tour that Combs launched in 2026, though fans can expect a different lineup of opening acts. Treaty Oak Revival, Avery Anna, Shenandoah and Wyatt McCubbin will join Combs at various stops throughout the 2027 run.
The tour takes its name from “My Kinda Saturday Night,” a song from Combs’ latest album, The Way I Am. The singer recently wrapped the 2026 leg with three sold-out performances at London’s Wembley Stadium.
For now, the 12 newly announced stadium concerts are the only dates listed on Combs’ official tour calendar. Tickets for all 12 shows go on sale August 21.
The announcement had been teased throughout the week, with several venues revealing details before Combs officially announced the dates on Thursday morning.
The limited schedule reflects a shift in how Combs is approaching life on the road. With three young children — ages four, nearly three and six months — the singer has spoken about putting more time aside for his family. The days of spending most of the week away from home may be becoming less common for the country star.
That does not mean Combs is stepping away from the stage. Every 2027 date announced so far is scheduled at a football stadium with a capacity of at least 60,000 people.
The strategy is similar to one adopted by several major country artists in recent years, including Morgan Wallen: fewer shows in much larger venues. Rather than spending months on the road playing arenas and smaller venues, Combs can reach a large audience with a limited number of performances.
For fans, that makes each stop a bigger event. For Combs, it offers a way to keep touring while spending more time at home with his family.
Tickets go on sale August 21.
Tour Dates for Luke Combs 2027 ‘My Kinda Saturday Night Tour’:
April 3 — Arlington, Texas @ AT&T Stadium
April 10 — Minneapolis, Minn. @ U.S. Bank Stadium
April 17 — Detroit, Mich. @ Ford Field
April 24 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ Lincoln Financial Field
May 1 — Foxborough, Mass. @ Gillette Stadium
May 8 — Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Acrisure Stadium
May 15 — Kansas City, Mo. @ Arrowhead Stadium
May 29 — Edmonton, Alb. Canada @ Commonwealth Stadium
June 5 — Vancouver, B.C. Canada @ BC Place
June 12 — Boise, Idaho @ Albertsons Stadium
June 19 — Denver, Colo. @ Empower Field at Mile High
June 26 — San Diego, Calif. @ Petco Park
Music News
Steve Lacy Announces 27-Date Fall Tour Behind Oh Yeah?
Steve Lacy is hitting the road this fall with a 27-date tour in support of his upcoming album, Oh Yeah?
The tour kicks off September 27 in Minneapolis and will take Lacy across North America, with stops planned in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and New York. The run will wrap up in Vancouver.
Oh Yeah? marks Lacy’s first album since 2022’s Gemini Rights, the record that helped further establish him as one of R&B and alternative music’s most distinctive voices. The new album features appearances from SZA, Erykah Badu and Cecile Believe.
The upcoming tour will be Lacy’s first major run since the 2022 Give You the World Tour, which supported Gemini Rights. Four years later, he is set to return to the stage with new material and a string of dates across North America.
Steve Lacy Oh Yeah? Tour Dates:
09-27 Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
09-30 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
10-03 Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
10-05 Toronto, Ontario – Coca-Cola Coliseum
10-06 Laval, Quebec – Place Bell
10-10 New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
10-13 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
10-15 Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
10-18 Washington, DC – The Anthem
10-20 Virginia Beach, VA – The Dome by Rutter Mills
10-22 Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
10-23 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
10-26 Miami, FL – FPL Solar Amphitheatre
10-28 Tampa, FL – Yuengling Center
10-30 Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
11-02 Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium
11-05 Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
11-07 Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
11-08 Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
11-11 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
11-13 Las Vegas, NV – The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
11-17 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
11-19 San Diego, CA – Gallagher Square at Petco Park
11-21 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
11-24 San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
11-28 Seattle, WA – WAMU Theater
11-30 Vancouver, British Columbia – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre