It was on February 21st, 2012 that I saw Deep Purple play Rexall Place in Edmonton. This show was awesome but played to only about 4000 people.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Big Sugar Live in Edmonton February 12th 2026
Last Thursday my buddy A-Bomb, Buzzard and I went to see Big Sugar at what used to be Union Hall but has now been re-branded as the Pawn Shop Live. The band is on the road doing an evening with Big Sugar where they play the Hemi-Vision album in it's entirety for the first set and then a bunch of other songs for the second set. I guess you would call it a 30th anniversary tour for the Hemi album. Hard to believe it's been thirty years since that album came out.
No opening act, just an evening with. So nice to see Big Sugar back as a three piece rock n' roll band. Gordie Johnson on guitar, Anders Derup on bass and holding down the beat is Root Valach. The band opened with "Diggin' a Hole" the opener of the Hemi-Vision album, and of course a rockin' fucking tune. the into "Opem Up Baby", cool, they aren't doing the album from start to finish in order of the album. I liked that. After playing all of that album. There was a short intermission, then another set in which they mixed it up good.
I was very happy to hear four or five songs from their 2001 album Brothers & Sisters, Are You Ready?. I've always loved that album, it came out at a time where I was going through some shit in my life and it really resonated with me. Would love to see them tour for that album and play it in it's entirety. Anyways, it was awesome to hear "All Hell For A Basement", "Red Rover", "So Not Over" and "Nicotina (She's All That)". I was surprised though that they only played one song from their album Five Hundred Pounds, that song being "Ride Like Hell".
A great evening of loud rock n' roll. It had been a while since I have paid to see Big Sugar, they've done lots of free shows in the city over the years, but with them back to a three piece and rocking like they are. I'd certainly pay to see them again.
And the show being at the newly branded Pawn Shop Live bar formerly Union Hall, nothing has changed there, same old set up. A decent crowd for this show, not sold out by any means, the upper deck of the bar was closed off. But the main floor was quite full. All and all a great show. Good times!!!
Having seen Big Sugar 17 times, it got me to thinking of all the different venues I have seen them play at. And these are just the Big Sugar shows, not including Gordie's solo shows and with his band Grady. all shows in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.
Edit: I've decided to add the Gordie and Grady shows too.
March 15th 1994 at People's Pub
July 15th 1994 at People's Pub
July 16th 1994 at People's Pub
October 12th 1996 at The Rev
February 14th 1997 at Edmonton Convention Centre
June 26th 1998 at Northgate Industries Hangar
July 29th 1998 at Shaw Conference Centre
November 14th 1998 at Shaw Conference Centre
December 31st 1999 at Shaw Conference Centre
July 13th 2001 at the Camrose Regional Exhibition Grounds (part of the Stage 13 Music Fest)
October 6th 2001 at Shaw Conference Centre
April 11th 2002 at The Joint
December 31st 2003 at Shaw Conference Centre
November 27th 2010 at Sir Winston Churchill Park ( part of the Grey Cup Festivities)
July 24th 2011 at the Telus Stage at K-Days
September 2nd 2012 at the Legislature Grounds
July 17th 2025 at Sir Winston Churchill Park (part of the Taste Of Edmonton fest)
February 12th at Pawn Shop Live
December 14th 2000 Gordie Johnson and Kelly Hoppe acoustic show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre
November 24th 2010 at the Varscona Hotel Conference Room a guitar clinic put on by Avenue Guitar
March 9th 2005 at Cook County Saloon
July 15th 2005 at Cowboys
October 28th 2005 at Red's
December 5th 2007 at Jet Nightclub
October 21st 2009 at the Pawn Shop
April 17th 2010 at Starlite Room
Friday, February 20, 2026
February 20th
It was on February 20th, 2016 that I saw the all 80's metal female triple bill of Lita Ford headlining with openers Vixen and Femme Fatale at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton. A very good show, and after the show I got my ticket autographed by all the members of Vixen. Super cool!
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Cedric Burnside Live in Edmonton February 6th 2026
Last Friday my buddies A-Bomb, Buzzard and I saw blues-man Cedric Burnside from Memphis, Tennessee play the Temple here in Edmonton. The ticket and poster said the show was at the Starlite Room which is the bigger room in the same building, but was moved to the smaller room the Temple.
Cedric Burnside is the grandson of Mississippi blues legend R.L. Burnside. I never got to see R.L. in concert, having passed away in 2005, so this was going to be the next best thing.
Opening the show was a local band called You Me & Zach a five piece rock band. It was about three songs into their set that someone in the audience yelled "what's the name of the band?". That was when they finally told us who the hell they were. The ticket and poster didn't say who the opener was. They were alright, nothing special.
By the time Cedric hit the stage the small room was packed, my guess would be around a 125 people. I had never seen Cedric before and was really looking forward to seeing him live. Burnside won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2022 for his album I Be Trying.
I didn't know what to expect other than a great blues show. Cedric Burnside came out on stage and sat on a stool with an acoustic guitar opening with the song "The World Can Be So Cold" from his Grammy Award winning album. The crowd was hanging on every note and word he sang. His guitar picking was amazing as was his voice. In the words of Cedric, you are in for a night of Hill Country Blues music. he also did a few R.L. Burnside songs one of which was "Mellow Peaches" and "He Ain't Your Daddy", he told a great joke that R.L. used to tell before this song that got a big laugh from the crowd.
After about four or five songs on the acoustic he brought out a drummer and bass player for an electric set. Now things were going to get really interesting, I'd been happy with just an all acoustic set, so this was a nice surprise. He played for about an hour with the band, rocking it up, and still picking on the guitar, no guitar pick for Burnside, a few of the songs had him playing slide which sounded amazing. he seemed very laid back and looked to be having fun on stage. The only problem during the show was when the stage lights went wonky and then losing the front stage lights which left him and the band playing on a darker stage for the last four songs.
All and all a great blues show, it had been a long time since I have been at a blues show, and to be at this venue was a surprise. Great show and good times!!!
Sunday, February 1, 2026
January 31st
It was on January 31st, 2020 that I saw Amy Helm (the daughter of Levon Helm) play the St. Basil's Cultural Centre here in Edmonton. Opening the show was local artist Leo Martinez.
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