What’s coming up in concerts and albums

Autumn is typically a wind-down time for the music business, with summer festivals and major album releases usually in the rear-view mirror. Speaking of things in the past, a survey of coming shows and anticipated albums reveals a slew of farewell tours, posthumous releases and even a “concert” starring a deceased singer.

But while we wave goodbye to two of the greatest pop songwriters of their generation (Paul Simon and Elton John, both on final tours) or listen to previously unreleased music from late icons Prince and Tom Petty, let’s loosen the black shawls a little. The coming music calendar includes the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera, a salute to Canada’s country music queen Shania Twain and highly anticipated books from a pair of acclaimed Indigenous musicians.


Paul Simon finishes off what he has announced to be his final tour with two shows at Madison Square Garden (Sept. 20 and 21) and a finale at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in his hometown of Queens, N.Y., on Sept. 22. Simon, 76, will release his latest album, In the Blue Light, on Sept. 7.

Fellow septuagenarian Elton John will don sequins and sunglasses for the last time for a Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour that hits Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in late September.

Also quitting the road is Ozzy Osbourne (who plays Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on Sept. 4). Mind you, the Black Sabbath madman’s supposed farewell jaunt is called No More Tours 2, so don’t be surprised if he rises again.

Noticeably missing from the eclectic short list of 10 nominated albums for this year’s Polaris Prize are records by Neil Young, Gord Downie and the Grammy-winning Nova Scotia soprano Barbara Hannigan. Instead, those in contention for the $50,000 award are Alvvays, Jean-Michel Blais, Daniel Caesar, Jeremy Dutcher, Pierre Kwenders, Hubert Lenoir, Partner, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, U.S. Girls and Weaves. Despite the relative anonymity of some of the nominated artists, the gala ceremony (which happens in Toronto on Sept. 17) routinely features dynamite live performances by the musicians vying for the annual honour.


Kicking off the Canadian Country Music Association’s yearly award-giving bash will be a tribute to Shania Twain, the Grammy-decorated singer from Timmins, Ont. The salute, broadcast live from Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre (Sept. 9 on CBC), will feature Jess Moskaluke, Kira Isabella and Madeline Merlo.