Skye Sweetnam’s journey from teen pop star to hard rock frontwoman

Christian McBride is a nine-time Grammy-winning bassist and composer who’s known for his prolific career across jazz and other genres. His new big band album, “Without Further Ado, Vol 1.,” nearly reunited the beloved U.K. rock band The Police. Christian joins Tom Power to share that story and more, including his time going to high school with The Roots and playing with Miles Davis as a teenager. Plus, ahead of an appearance at the Oscar Peterson centenary celebration in Toronto, Christian talks a little bit about why the Canadian pianist was so important to him.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input! 

As a teenager, Canadian singer Skye Sweetnam was on track to be a major pop star. She opened for Britney Spears before she'd even put out a record. But when people stopped buying music and started downloading MP3s her dream fell apart. Skye joins Tom Power to tell us how she picked up the pieces and built something better as the frontwoman of the hard rock band Sumo Cyco, which has just released a new album, “Neon Void.”Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input! 

You might know Steve Martin as a comedy legend, but he’s also a serious musician. If you know his early comedy albums, like “A Wild and Crazy Guy,” you might even be familiar with his banjo playing. In recent years, he’s gotten a lot more serious about the banjo, joining bluegrass bands and releasing music. Now, he’s teamed up with Alison Brown — one of the best banjo players alive — on a new album, “Safe, Sensible And Sane.” Steve and Alison join Tom Power to talk about the record, how they both found their way back to the banjo and what makes their musical collaboration so special.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

Greg Wells is a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and mix engineer who was recently made a Member of the Order of Canada. He sits down with Tom Power to talk about his early days playing in k.d. lang’s band, producing and writing hits for artists like Adele, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Celine Dion, and Taylor Swift, and why he’s spent the last few years converting an old church in rural Newfoundland into a community music hub.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

This year, Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for his extraordinary new film, “It Was Just an Accident,” which he shot secretly in Tehran under great risk of serious harm. Jafar has been in prison twice on charges of “anti-government propaganda” as well as for protesting the imprisonment of other filmmakers. At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, he joined Tom Power to tell us how “It Was Just an Accident” was shaped by his two experiences in Tehran’s Evin Prison.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

Tanveer Alam is a Toronto-based dancer and choreographer who specializes in Kathak, a style of Indian classical dance that traces back to the 18th century. Tanveer is one of the creative forces behind the “Kathak & Ballet” programme, which will be on stage as part of the Fall for Dance North Festival in Toronto this week. He sits down with Tom Power to talk about the history and hallmarks of Kathak dance, what Kathak has in common with ballet, and what’s needed to ensure that South Asian dance continues to thrive in Canada.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!

You don’t become one of the most successful pianists of our time without a lot of practice. That’s something Lang Lang knows all about. Six years after the release of his celebrated “Piano Book” record, the virtuoso Chinese pianist is back with a new album, “Piano Book 2.” It’s designed to inspire people of all ages, levels and backgrounds. Lang Lang sits down with Tom Power at the Glenn Gould piano in our studio to discuss the album and his life in music. He tells us about the teacher who didn’t believe in him, how he got past that early rejection, and how he found the right people to support him.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input! 

What happens when you start to feel anxiety and self-doubt in the middle of chasing your dreams? The Canadian folk trio The Pairs don’t necessarily have the answer, but they are working through these feelings on their new album, “Together on a Rock.” While their songs don’t come with perfect endings, the stories they tell are incredibly honest and vulnerable. Renée Coughlin and Hillary Watson of The Pairs join Tom Power to set up their devastating new track, “Past My Prime.”Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input! 

Vancouver's own Ryan Reynolds (Dead Pool, Free Guy) is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But these days, he's using his voice to talk about another great Canadian movie star: the late John Candy. Ryan is one of the producers behind the new documentary “John Candy: I Like Me,” which examines the life, work and legacy of the beloved actor and comedian. In a special interview backstage at Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Ryan sits down with Tom Power to talk about the film, and the parallels between John’s career and his own.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input! 

Back in 2023, Debby Friday won the prestigious Polaris Music Prize for her debut album, “Good Luck.” When she sat down to write her next record, it would’ve been easy to stick with what worked the first time, but instead, Debby made a conscious decision to do things differently. The result is her most ambitious album yet, “The Starrr Of The Queen Of Life,” which features everything from dance floor bangers to intimate ballads. This past summer, Debby joined Tom Power to take us inside the emotional and artistic journey behind her new record.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!