andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Montreal DJ Misstress Barbara knows how to use Sam Roberts.

The Canadian DJ, known for her hard edge house and techno style on the turn tables is going in a different musical direction and giving songwriting a try. Sam Roberts, Brazilian Girls and Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn And John are among those who appear on her upcoming album entitles “I’m No Human” with will be released in May, according to chartattack.com.

Barbara (real name Barbara Bonfiglio), began working on the album after her father passed away in 2006. The album developed from her personal poetry writings and snowballed from there.

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Here’s good news for some Sam Roberts fans, and bad news for others.

First, the good: The rocker has added a date in Regina (Jan. 21) and a second show in Ottawa (Jan. 31) to his upcoming cross-country tour.

Tickets for the latter will go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster.

The bad: Roberts and his band have also announced the cancellation of their Jan. 14 show in Prince George, B.C.

“Our sincerest apologies to those of you who have already purchased tickets, they will be 100% refunded at point of purchase,” states a message on their official website. “We will regroup and find another way to get ourselves up there, until then…. our sincerest thanks and apologies.”

The Sam Roberts Band will kick off their tour Dec. 13 in St. John’s, NL, accompanied by Matt Mays & El Torpedo and Hey Rosetta!

The band will then join up with the Stills to play the rest of Canada from Jan. 8 to the end of the month.

Sam Roberts’ revised tour schedule is as follows:

Dec. 13 – St. John’s, NL @ Mile One Centre
Jan. 8-9 – Victoria, BC @ McPherson Playhouse
Jan. 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
Jan. 12 – Kamloops, BC @ Interior Savings Centre
Jan. 16 – Red Deer, AB @ Red Deer Memorial Centre
Jan. 17 – Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Jan. 19 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Jan. 20 – Saskatoon, SK @ Lakeview Auditorium
Jan. 21 – Regina, SK @ Conexus Arts Centre
Jan. 22 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
Jan. 24 Thunder Bay, ON @ Thunder Bay Community Auditorium w/The Stills
Jan. 30-31 Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre w/The Stills

Sam Roberts, Bedouin Soundclash, Blue Rodeo and The Weakerthans are just a few of the Canadian talents who will perform at this year’s Calgary Folk Festival.

Organizers announced the lineup this week for the 29th annual event, which will showcase more than 65 acts from all over the world on seven stages.

Others artists slated to play are local acts The Consonant C and Woodpigeon, and American singer-songwriters Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes), Aimee Mann and Ani DiFranco.

The festival will take place at Prince’s Island Park from July 24 to 27.

Tickets are on sale now via the festival’s website, Ticketmaster.ca or by phone.

In the past, the festival has featured such diverse performers as Feist, Elvis Costello and Macy Gray.

After a three-month battle-of-the-bands style contest across Canada, Toronto indie band The Cunninghams have been crowned the winners of the first Mazda Muzik Tour competition and will open for Sam Roberts Band this Tuesday in Toronto at The Opera House.

The concert is free and fans can register for tickets at www.mazdamuziktour.ca. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., The Cunninghams take the stage at 9:15 p.m. and Sam Roberts will begin rocking at 10:30 p.m.

The Cunninghams also won a recording package with one of Canada’s top studios.

“We couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” Mazda Muzik Tour manager Anthony Craparotta said in a release. “What a fantastic opportunity this is for The Cunninghams. Aside from being great musicians, they’re overall just a great bunch of guys and the show on April 8 at the Opera House will be a night to remember!”

Moncton has emerged the winner in its battle with Halifax to bring veteran rock band The Eagles to their city.

The band is set to headline the 2008 Magnetic Hill Music Festival on August 2, at the Magnetic Hill Concert Centre.

The festival will also feature John Fogerty, KT Tunstall and the Sam Roberts Band.

The CBC reports that The Eagles agreed to play the festival “because of Moncton’s central location in the Maritimes.”

Tickets are available April 11 for $109.50.

People from all over the world have descended upon Whistler for the start of the Telus World Ski & Snowboard Festival.

Sam Roberts opened the 10-day festival with a concert on Friday. Stephen Marley and K’Naan have also performed and artists scheduled to take to the stage later this week include Finger Eleven (Thursday) and Toots and the Maytals (Friday).

The festival began on Friday with a Chocolate Flip air competition and Chocolate Temptation fashion show (pictured).

Similar shows featuring the Chocolate phones are scheduled for Montreal on May 3 and Toronto on May 16. The festival runs until April 22.

(Photo credit: David McColm and Jordan Junck, courtesy of the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival)