Free Stevie Wonder concert to launch Montreal jazz festival
Last Updated: Monday, May 11, 2009 | 3:28 PM ET
CBC News
Legendary musician Stevie Wonder, seen here at the Library of Congress in February 2009 in Washington, will perform at a free concert in Montreal on June 30. (Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press)Stevie Wonder has signed on to dispense a little sunshine at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
The American soul-pop musician will be giving a free outdoor concert to open the festival on June 30.
It is his first visit to the festival, organizers said Monday in announcing the special event.
Wonder will give the inaugural concert at La Place des festivals, the Montreal festival site that is being revamped by architects Daoust Lestage and the town planner Clément Demers. The official opening of the venue is not scheduled until September.
Wonder had his first success in 1962 as Little Stevie Wonder and has remained prominent in popular music ever since as both a performer and a producer.
His hits include My Cherie Amour, Superstition, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, Isn't She Lovely, Living For The City, Master Blaster and Part Time Lover.
A multi-instrumentalist as well as a singer, Wonder has won more than 25 Grammy Awards.
The cost of the concert is being covered in part by a grant from Industry Canada, as well as funding from other levels of government and private sponsors.
The Montreal festival got $3 million from the federal government under this year's tourism marketing support program.
Tony Bennett, Ornette Coleman, Dave Brubeck, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne, Al Jarreau, Molly Johnson and the Newport All Stars are among the acts scheduled for the festival, which runs until July 12.
Share Tools
FILM REVIEW: Men in Black 3 by Eli Glasner May. 25, 2012 11:30 AM Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the action sequel Men in Black 3, a third instalment of a series now 15 years old. Though new addition Josh Brolin manages some amazing mimicry as a younger version of Jones, the story doesn't measure up to the weird and wonderful charms of the original, says film reviewer Eli Glasner.
Top News Headlines
- Quebec students to challenge Bill 78 in court
- A collective of student associations, unions and environmental groups is holding a news conference Friday morning to announce their plans to mount a legal challenge against Bill 78. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
- Foreign investment review threshold rising to $1 billion
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Shakespeare's Winter's Tale gets African reboot
- A Nigerian theatre company is performing an African reboot of The Winter's Tale, one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard, in London as part of the London Cultural Olympiad. more »
- Elton John cancels Las Vegas concerts over illness
- Elton John is suffering from a serious respiratory infection and has cancelled three Las Vegas performances on doctors' orders. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
- Vancouver Bieber fans in disbelief over tour snub
- Justin Bieber announced yesterday morning the dates of his world tour in support his latest album Believe, but fans in Vancouver were disappointed to see that their city didn't make the list. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 25, 2012 11:32 AM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
Talking about war May. 25, 2012 11:32 AM The public conversation around war has always been complex and thorny. How does Canada's military approach differ from that of other countries? Are we a society of peacekeepers or warriors? These are some of the questions that Noah Richler explores in his new book What We Talk About When We Talk About War.
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- New mom among dead in Aylmer triple stabbing
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Gatineau police to question man in multiple homicides
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- SpaceX capsule captured by Canadarm2
