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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame broadcaster Red Robinson will be remembered during a special tribute Thursday, Aug. 31, at the PNE fair, where he once rubbed shoulders with Elvis Presley and The Beatles.
It’s Red Robinson Day on the grounds in East Van, where a noon bench dedication at Festival Park will be followed at 6 p.m. by a Friends of Red event and “Elvis” performance on the Tim Hortons Stage. Later, Robinson will be saluted during a video presentation prior to the Summer Night Concert featuring Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo.
Robinson died April 1 at age 86, after a rock ‘n’ roll life as a trailblazing Vancouver radio DJ and broadcaster.
Thursday’s tribute is held on the 66th anniversary of the Presley concert at the old Empire Stadium in 1957. The day’s PNE promo is a free White Spot Triple O’s burger combo for those dressed as Elvis. Details on pne.ca.
Photo: Pexels.com
FESTIVAL FOR THE DOGS
By now you’ve heard of Barnside Harvest Festival’s three days of music, food and beer at Ladner’s Paterson Park, Sept. 15-17. Headliners include The Sheepdogs (great live!), local legends 54-40 and many other bands on the former horse track site off Highway 17A.
This new festival will include a Paw Pals Electric Picnic on Sunday, Sept. 17 — a big daytime “pooch party” for families and their dogs with music by Jaxon Hawks of JR-Country (morning) and JACK-FM’s Larry Hennessey (afternoon), followed by rock bands All the Kings Men and Take It To the Limit (an Eagles tribute).
For dogs and handlers, there’ll be a Pet Parade with 21 stations (selfies, hay maze, temporary tattoos and more), a contest for Best Dressed Dog, a Puppy Stampede with a 20-foot racecourse and Musical Mats (musical chairs for dogs on a leash). If you have a rockin’ dog, or dogs, look for details on barnsideharvestfestival.com.
NEW ‘LEAVES’
Friday (Sept. 1) is the release date for “The Radiant Believers,” a 13-song debut LP from synth-pop duo Breathe Of My Leaves (Stephano Barberis, Jordan Gant).
Barberis, who lives in the Cloverdale area, has won dozens of awards for his music-video direction, mostly in the country genre. Breathe Of My Leaves is much more in line with Erasure, for whom he did tour visuals in 2021. If you love that U.K. band’s light, bright, melodic pop, check out Breathe Of My Leaves on the usual platforms.
ENJOY THE SHOW
Strangely, given the band’s mid-1990s roots, I’d never seen Weezer until Ambleside Music Festival on Aug. 19. It was great to see the American foursome bring their touring stage, with the giant car dashboard (steering wheel, radio and dials), to the West Van waterfront for a night of fun power-pop. For the most part I put my phone away that Saturday night, save for one photo of the stage. It got me thinking that more people should do the same. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the music.
COST OF CONCERT$$$
How much would you spend on a dream concert ticket, and how far would you travel to get there?
Such questions were asked in a poll of Canadian and Americans, with results on casino.org. Surveyed Canadians are willing to spend $738.21 to attend a dream concert or music festival (including gas, tickets, seats and accommodations), and travel 808 kilometres. More than half of respondents (60.4 per cent) say they’d splurge on better concert seats, and are willing to spend $281.46 to see a favourite artist.
In comparison, Americans are willing to spend $728.49 (USD) to attend their dream concert or music festival, and Montana residents are the country’s biggest concert-going spenders.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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