An overview of the latest and greatest news in music
November was a busy month for music lovers, especially for those in the GTA. Many artists performed in and around Toronto, and many record stores participated in Record Store Day, Canada’s Black Friday releases, and other Black Friday fun.
On the first of the month, Sia released her Christmas EP Gimme Christmas, featuring six tracks and totalling just over 18 minutes long. That same day, the Beaches played the first of their two Toronto shows at Massey Hall.
Several artists released albums on November 3, including Jason Aldean’s 11th studio album, Highway Desperado. Also released that day was The Show: The Encore by Niall Horan, the deluxe edition of The Show.
Kesha hit the stage on November 6 at History in Toronto. Opening for her was performer Jake Wesley Rogers, who gave an electric performance with showstopping vocals. Kesha’s performance was just as magnetic, with its dynamic choreography and a lineup of old Kesha classics and new favourites.
The next day, GAYLE released hello this is the setlist for my tour. This compilation album contains 18 tracks—many from her first four EPs—and is 50 minutes long.
On November 9, Taylor Swift released yet another single—an exclusive digital track for US fans only. The track, “‘Slut!’ Acoustic,” is an acoustic rendition of the first of the five 1989 (Taylor’s Version) vault tracks, featuring just the guitar and Taylor’s voice, which a fan on X (formerly Twitter) described as having been “recorded in heaven.”
Taylor took the stage that same day, launching the South American leg of the tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her show the next day had to be moved to the 12th due to lightning, leaving some fans scrambling to extend hotel stays and switch flights.
Aside from bad weather and disappointed Swifties, the 10th also saw the 2024 Grammy nominations announcement for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, which will be in February 2024. The nominees were not unexpected; however, one name was notably missing—Morgan Wallen, despite dominating the country charts, still has not received a single Grammy nomination, with many speculating that it is due to a video of him using a racial slur that resurfaced in 2021.
The following weekend, Dolly Parton released her long-awaited Rockstar, a 30-track album featuring 21 covers of rock anthems and nine original tracks. Features on the album include Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Miley Cyrus, Sting, Steven Tyler, and Chris Stapleton, among many others.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Christmas EP, Fruitcake, also came out on the 17th. The record opens with “A Nonsense Christmas,” a holiday remix of the singer’s famous song “Nonsense.” Following that are four original tracks, then finally a unique twist on Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.”
That week, Toronto saw performances by Akon (November 15th), The 1975 (November 18th), and Tool (November 20th). Jon Pardi’s concert in Oshawa on November 17th also deserves an honourable mention.
To wrap up the month, Friday the 24th was Black Friday, also known to music lovers as RSD Black Friday. This year, there were exclusive pressings of records by Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan, Motley Crue, Joni Mitchell, Post Malone, and more. Local record stores Dead Dog Records on Bloor and Sonic Boom participated, and Kops Records had their Annual Taylor Swift Celebration sale.
