NEXT June 2021

MADE IN CANADA• 06|2021

FREE

IDRIS ELBA GETS PERSONAL WITH R&B SENSATION

EMANUEL

+TWENTY

ONE PILOTS RUTH B SCHWEY LUCY DACUS PRADO CANADA'S BEST BBQ CANNABIS GUMMIES VINO IN A CAN AND MORE!

PEACHES

1

JUSTIN BIEBER ftg. DANIEL CAESAR & GIVEON

2

BEAUTIFUL MISTAKES

MAROON 5 ftg. MEGAN THEE STALLION

SILK SONIC

GOOSEBUMPS (REMIX)

JUST AS MUCH

WITHOUT YOU

THE BUSINESS

TRAVIS SCOTT & HVME

THE KID LAROI

MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) LIL NAS X

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LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN KISS ME MORE

THE WEEKND

5 6

11

JUSTIN BIEBER

SAVE YOUR TEARS

3 4

HOLD ON

DELANEY JANE ftg. VIRGINIA TO VEGAS

LIGHTS

ELIJAH WOODS

WE’RE GOOD

SLOWER

9 10

DUA LIPA

I’M NOT PRETTY JESSIA

LEVITATING

DUA LIPA ftg. DABABY

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REGARD ftg. TROYE SIVAN & TATE MCRAE

TATE MCRAE

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15

TIESTO

REGARD

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13

DOJA CAT ftg. SZA

ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN MASKED WOLF

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17

18

HAPPY HOUR

FELIX CARTAL ftg. KIIARA

DRIVERS LICENSE

19 20

OLIVIA RODRIGO

PODCASTS

Join Shannon Burns twice a week on iHeartRadioCA’s YouTube Channel as she breaks down the biggest stories in music.

2 JUNE 2021 NEXT

WIPPED C.R.E.A.M Radio Hosted By Bianca Harris & Chantel Chapman.

Expert hosts chat in depth while keeping it fun and light. Topics include: Spirituality + finances + Relationships + Love/sex Career +pop culture + addiction + day to day life and MORE. The Laverne Cox Show Each week, The Laverne Cox Show will feature intimate conversations with folks who help me to see and think differently so that maybe I can act differently.

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Contents

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THE SHORT LIST

The JUNO Awards celebrate Cancon, Indigenous Music Summit surges and Blue Rodeo re-boots.

21 MUSIC

Lost Boy lost girl Ruth B. is back, Lucy Ducas says lighten up on sadgirl talk and Vancouver’s Shwey wants to play.

24

FEATURE

Twenty-One Pilots have made hits and made a career using sadness as a muse. So, what happens when they get happy?

30

COVER STORY

With Idris Alba in his corner, rising R&B star Emanuel is determined to use his voice to help others heal.

37

ALBUM REVIEWS

The Tragically Hip, J. Cole, BTS, Half Moon Run, Czarface & MF Doom, Ferraro, Olivia Rodrigo, renforshort and more.

44

THE LOCAL PAGES

It’s Pride month in Toronto, Music Waste invades Vancouver and Van Gogh goes to Calgary.

55

THE FUNNIES

Join the hunt for hidden Tragically Hip clues in the NEXT Word Search and colour Alanis as ironically as you want.

+

08 FOOD Barbeque bliss in NEXT Three Cities 11 DRINKS Wine makers say, yes you can 12 CANNABIS Sweet choices in Cannabis-land 14 FASHION Summer love for Dad’s duds 16 GAMING Ratchet & Clank ratchet it up 18 TV/MOVIES Emma Stone and Emma Thompson COVER:

Emanuel photographed

by Norman Wong NEXT JUNE 2021 3

ShortList THE

NEXT’S PICKS FOR THE TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN CANADA THIS MONTH

1 CANADIAN MUSIC’S BIG NIGHT

JUNO AWARDS SUN., JUNE 6, 8 PM ET TV AND RADIO BROADCAST FREE junoawards.ca

Canadian music’s biggest night, the annual JUNO Awards, won’t be stopped

by COVID—especially not during its 50th anniversary year.

Canada’s best new and established musical talent will be celebrated with a truckload of awards, nominees include The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Crown Lands (pictured) and Lennon Stella.

Feist will perform alongside Canadian rock legends The Tragically Hip in their first televised performance since the loss of Gord Downie. The Hip are receiving the Humanitarian Award, presented by Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, for their support of several social and environmental causes. Viewers can catch the ceremony on all CBC platforms.

Crown Lands

4 JUNE 2021 NEXT

2

INDIGENOUS MUSIC SUMMIT OPENS DOORS FOR ARTISTS

Sarain Fox

INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS MUSIC SUMMIT TUES., JUNE 8 - SAT., JUNE 12 VIRTUAL EVENT PAY WHAT YOU CAN indigenousmusicsummit.com

The International Indigenous Music Summit brings together artists, community members and industry professionals through a series of virtual showcases and panels that honour tradition while creating awareness, sharing resources and building opportunities for the Indigenous music community.

A highlight will be Giiwewizh: 16 short docs filmed across Canada, directed by activist Sarain Fox and featuring Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Shawnee Kish, Julian Taylor and more.

5

4 Rebecca Reeds

3

COUNT ON SHEEP FOR LIVESTREAM LAUGHS

CAN’T CANCEL PRIDE POWER

BLACK SHEEP COMEDY ONLINE FRI., JUNE 11, 8 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT $10 blacksheepstandupcomedy.com Lil Nas X

CAN’T CANCEL PRIDE LIVESTREAM FRI., JUNE 4, 9 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT FREE cantcancelpride.com

iHeartMedia proudly present their second annual Can’t Cancel Pride event, a star-studded livestream to benefit the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Hosted by Elvis Duran and singer-songwriter BeBe Rexha, it kicks off a month-long initiative to raise funds for several non-profits, including GLAAD, The Trevor Project and the National Black Justice Coalition.

Performers and guests include Lil Nas X, P!nk, Demi Lovato and Tate McRae. The show will stream live on iHeartRadio’s social channels and be available on demand until June 30.

Toronto-based comedy crew Black Sheep add laughs to your lounging with a special showcase of Canadian talent. The evening will be headlined by Rebecca Reeds, co-host of The Villain Was Right, an award-winning podcast that dares to view films and TV shows from the villain’s perspective. Other standups include Lianne Mauladin, who has appeared on ABC and SiriusXM, and rocket scientist-turned-writer Amish Patel.

Bachelor

SHAUF, TEGAN AND SARA BOOST ALBUM LAUNCH DOOMIN’ SUN FEST THURS., JUNE 10, 6 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT FREE, DONATIONS ENCOURAGED doominsunfest.bachelor-band.com What better way to launch an album than with a virtual festival and over 50 special guests?! American indie band Bachelor—Jay Som and Palehound’s Ellen Kempner—just released their debut album Doomin’ Sun and, to celebrate, the duo have curated a special livestream that’s part concert, part telethon. Donations collected during the event will benefit Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective working to radicalize colonized spaces.

Viewers can catch a performance from the band, as well as guest appearances from Tegan and Sara, Japanese Breakfast, Jeff Rosenstock, Andy Shauf and many, many others. The festival also includes a virtual afterparty inside the 3D social game Hotel Hideaway.

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BLUE RODEO REBOOTS DANFORTH LIVESTREAM

BLUE RODEO LIVESTREAM FRI., JUNE 11, 8:30 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT $50 tour.bluerodeo.com No pandemic will stop Canada’s roots-rock legends Blue Rodeo from performing! Forced to postpone their April livestream, the beloved group have rescheduled their event to this month. Streaming from Toronto’s historic Danforth Music Hall, the show kicks off with a special pre-concert chat with the band, who share some of their favourite tour memories.

NEXT JUNE 2021

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9

The ShortList

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CIRCLING CUDDY,COX AND JULY TALK

July Talk

JUNO SONGWRITERS’ CIRCLE SAT., JUNE 5, 8 PM ET VIRTUAL EVENT FREE cbcmusic.ca/junos In preparation for the big JUNOs broadcast, JUNO Week offers artists and fans 11 days of virtual events, all free to stream on the CBC website. One must-see event is the Songwriters’ Circle, presented by SOCAN and Music Publishers Canada. Hosted by Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy and streamed from the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, artists will perform and share stories behind some of their favourite songs. Guests include July Talk’s Leah Fay and Peter Dreimanis, and Deborah Cox. Also on the JUNO Week schedule is Advance Music x JUNO Talks (June 3, 2 pm ET), discussing the impact of Black music in Canada, and the Opening Night Awards (June 4, 8 pm ET) with Crown Lands and Monowhales.

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CHARLI XCX DOC INSIDE OUT HIGHLIGHT

INSIDE OUT FESTIVAL NOW UNTIL SUN., JUNE 6 VIRTUAL EVENT $225 ALL-ACCESS PASS, $12 PER FILM insideout.ca/festival Founded in 1991, Inside Out Festival is dedicated to promoting films made by and about 2SLGBTQ+ people. With 11 days of exciting programming, available entirely online, the legendary fest offers a mix of narrative films, documentaries and shorts.

Highlights include: Drag Invasion, a doc following the controversial yet powerful visit by RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants to Lima, Peru; and Dawn, Her Dad & The Tractor, a Canadian production about a father’s reconnection with his transgender daughter in small-town Nova Scotia. Closing night (June 5, 8:30 pm ET) hosts a special screening of popstar Charli XCX’s documentary Alone Together.

6 JUNE 2021 NEXT

ITALIAN FILM FEST OFFERS FEAST OF FILMS

Okay! Madam

ITALIAN CONTEMPORARY FILM FESTIVAL SUN., JUNE 27 - SAT., JULY 17 LIVE AND VIRTUAL FESTIVAL $90 DRIVE-IN PASS, $30 VIRTUAL PASS, $8 PER FILM ONTARIO PLACE, 955 LAKE SHORE BLVD. W icff.ca ICFF, one of the largest Italian film festivals outside of Italy, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a unique hybrid event. This fun, three-week festival offers cross-country virtual screenings and drive-in viewing at Toronto’s Ontario Place.

Films will be available to stream on demand during the festival dates, including special Q&A content with filmmakers. Features include Made in Italy, the tale of a father and son who renovate a Tuscan villa, and Okay! Madam, a family vacation that turns into a hostage situation.

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QUEBEC THROWS A PARTY

Marie-Mai

FÊTE NATIONALE DU QUÉBEC THURS., JUNE 24, 8 PM ET TELEVISION BROADCAST FREE fetenationale.quebec Quebec celebrates Fete Nationale (St. Jean Baptiste Day to some) on June 24, and while the usual bonfires and mega-bashes are on hold, the province’s broadcasters are jointly presenting a night of celebration from the shores of the Saint Lawrence. Some of Quebec’s top performers will be featured, and singer-songwriter Marie-Mai hosts.

In addition to the broadcast, over 460 neighbourhoods across the province will take part in virtual and socially distanced celebrations.

The Magazine That Plays Music on Your Phone

NEXT Magazine Editor/Publisher Michael Hollett

MADE IN CANADA• 06|2021

Creative Director Troy Beyer

FREE

Associate Editors Laura Robinson (Calgary) Rayne Fisher-Quann (Vancouver)

IDRIS ELBA GETS PERSONAL WITH R&B SENSATION

EMANUEL

Contributors Kristen Chew, Katrin Emery, Amy Lloyd, Zack Kotzer, Khufu Najee, Zuleyyma Prado, Nicole Ritchie, Laura Stanley, Sarah Wade, Caely White, Sanjeev Wignarajah

+TWENTY

Advice Columnist Amy Millan askamy@nextmag.ca

ONE PILOTS RUTH B SCHWEY LUCY DACUS PRADO MONROE CANADA'S BEST BBQ CANNABIS GUMMIES VINO IN A CAN AND MORE!

Sales and Marketing Manager, Sales and Partnerships Barbara Hefler Advertising Inquiries: sales@nextmag.ca Administrative Coordinator Amy Lloyd Circulation Coordinator Eric Caldwell Circulation Harry Brewer, Ryan Braun, Simon Jakobsen, Adam Matthews, Olivia Matthews, Callum Miller, Conner Radcliffe, Ian Vidovich, Henry Voskuil

We encourage you to read NEXT Magazine with your phone handy. When you see a QR code, Apple Music QR Code or Spotify Code, your phone's camera will instantly deliver extra music, video and exclusive content from your favourite streaming services.

Published by NEXT Magazine Enterprises Inc.

How To

NEXT Magazine Enterprises Inc. Board of Directors Michael Cohl, Michael Hollett, Gary Slaight Distribution NEXT Magazine is distributed in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto For distributor info: distro@nextmag.ca Contact Us 115 Danforth, Suite 302 • Toronto • ON • M4K 1N2 T. 416.519.5004 email: info@nextmag.ca All content property of NEXT Magazine Enterprises Inc. ©2021

Issue #5

nextmag.ca

  

nextmagcanada

QR Code

Apple Music

Spotify

1. Open the camera app on your phone.

1. Launch Spotify app on your phone.

2. Hold your device so that the QR code is centred in the viewfinder.

2. Go to the search bar on Spotify search page.

3. Tap the notification that pos up to open the link associated with the code.

3. Tap camera icon on the right of the search bar and then hover camera over the code.

NEXT JUNE 2021

7

QUE IT UP!

FOOD

O

ur border to the US might be COVID-closed but the relentless Canadian craving for succulent, sometimes saucy, barbeque from the southern States cannot be contained.

Whether you’re a Texas, Tennessee or Kansas City style-stalwart we’ve got the low-down on the best barbecue across our NEXT Three Cities. These Southern-style joints are serving finger-licking grub, fresh out of the pit that will have you convinced they’re coming from Down South not down the street.

By NICOLE RICHIE

8 JUNE 2021 NEXT

WHERE TO SCORE GREAT BBQ IN YOUR TOWN CALGARY Big Sky BBQ

Smoking and selling around 400 briskets each week, Big Sky BBQ is hands down the biggest Texas BBQ operation in the country.

A pit master is judged by their ribs and brisket, which is exactly what Rob Bolton and the Big Sky team are focused on. Holed up on Highway 2A between Calgary and Okotoks, Big Sky serves the highest quality local meats and made-from-scratch sides, like their legendary and multi-generational smoked beans—which are, of course, studded with pulled pork and brisket.

306016 15th St. E, Okotoks, Alta., bigskybbq.ca

Palomino Smokehouse

With the largest smoker in Western Canada, Palomino Smokehouse pumps out pounds of firstvratebarbecue daily. Specializing in the classics but bringing their own Albertan flair, the Palomino cooks up a range of BBQ doused in their homemade rubs and sauces. The Carolina mustard sauce is a must try, especially when slathered all over a hefty piece of smoked chicken. It’s a great live music venue, too!

109 7 Ave. SW, Calgary, thepalomino.ca

Hog Shack Cook House Sitting along the Steveson Harbour, Hog Shack Cookhouse is serving up real Kansas City-style BBQ. The barbecue here is highly praised across B.C. and true to KC form, the sauces are no exception. Sticky, deep and rich, with tomato and molasses, the Hog Shack’s dishes will leave your fingers coated and your taste buds electrified.

160-3900 Bayview St., Richmond, hogshack.ca

Slim’s Barbecue

Formerly Dixie’s BBQ, this Vancouver spot is a re-energized and rejuvenated version of what it once was. Taken over by The Narrow Group, a project to help re-launch businesses forced out by gentrification, Slim’s is being embraced by the community and for good reason.

The barbecue Dixie’s was known for is still the star of the show. With brisket, pork butt, and pork and brisket hot links, Slim’s is serving up the smoked smorgasbord of our dreams.

2301 Main St., Vancouver, narrowgroup.ca/project/slims-bbq

TORONTO Greenwood Smokehouse BBQ

At Greenwood Smokehouse, good barbecue starts with the wood. Locally sourced oak and sugar maple infuse Greenwood’s heritage-bred pork, Angus beef and hormone-free chicken with perfect earthy flavours.

Using sustainably sourced products, this Greektown staple is a hidden gem of Toronto’s barbecue scene.

673 Danforth Ave., Toronto, greenwoodsmokehouse.com

MAKE IT AT HOME MEMPHIS BLUES BBQ ALL-PURPOSE DRY RUB This all-purpose rub from Memphis Blues BBQ in Vancouver is amazing on pretty much anything. Throw it on some ribs, chicken or shrimp—hell, throw it on a portobello mushroom or French fries and you’ve got a tasty vegetarian meal. You really can’t go wrong with this rub. Plus, it keeps well in a sealed jar so you can use it again and again.

Makes: 2 cups INGREDIENTS: ½ cup sugar ½ cup dried parsley ½ cup seasoning salt (Memphis uses Lawry’s but any kind will do) 1½ tbsp ground black pepper 1½ tbsp of garlic powder 1½ tbsp onion powder 1½ tbsp dried oregano 1½ tbsp sweet paprika ½ tbsp mild mustard powder ½ tbsp celery salt A pinch of cayenne MAKE THE RUB Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and make sure there are no clumps. Store leftover rub in an airtight container in a dark cupboard for up to six months.

↑Paddy's Barbecue & Brewery

Need some “brewbecue”? Well, Paddy Sorrenti wants to introduce you to the perfect pairing that has made his restaurant a staple in Calgary. Paddy’s is mixing the essentials—home-smoked pork and beef—with thirst-quenching beers, all made under one roof. Slow roasting some of the finest Alberta AAA beef, Paddy’s 12-hour brisket is where it’s at, and don’t even get me started on the brisket poutine.

3610 Burnsland Rd. SE, Calgary, paddysbrewbecue.com

↑Cherry Street Bar-B-Que

Tucked away in Toronto’s Port Lands sits a counter-service barbecue house known for its ridiculously tender and flavourful brisket.

Cooked low and slow over white oak and inspired by a mix of different regional Southern methods, Cherry Street’s pit supplies guests with what they’re calling “Toronto” barbecue.

Hot tip: grab your household and splurge on the Treat ‘Yo Self Sampler to get a taste of all the goods fresh out Cherry Street’s smoker.

VANCOUVER

275 Cherry St., Toronto, cherrystbbq.com

Memphis Blues on Robson

After a layover in Memphis that included a life-changing pulled pork sandwich, George Sui and Park Heffelfinger decided they needed to bring Vancouverites a taste of authentic Southern barbecue.

After studying the pit masters at the World Barbecue Championships in Memphis. the pair opened up Memphis Blues, which now has four locations. The award-winning barbecue here is tough to beat.

For over 20 years, the team at Memphis BBQ in Woodbridge has been perfecting their Tennessee barbecue.

Inspired by their namesake’s regional recipes, Memphis BBQ’s dry rub ribs have won over 50 Ribfest competitions across Ontario.

Family-run, the team is also known for their wicked wings, which are marinated for two days before being slow cooked in the smoker and glazed with their signature BBQ sauce.

430 Robson St., Vancouver, memphisbluesbbq.com

8074 Islington Ave., Woodbridge, bigbonebbq.ca

Memphis BBQ & Wicked Wings

NEXT JUNE 2021

9

We’re back, and looking forward to hearing what you’ve been working on, so start preparing your songs and videos and get ready to take your shot!

PREVIOUS WINNERS

Liz Coyles

Liteyears

Jillea

Submissions accepted at

10 JUNE 2021 NEXT

Sam Drysdale

Kayla Diamond

Notifi

ITSYOURSHOT.CA

Moscow Apartment

Johnny Shay

until July 31ST, 2021

D RI N KS

BABE GRIGIO WITH BUBBLES Babe Wines

Made in California, available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto drinkbabe.net This is the champagne of canned wines: we’re talking a mouthful of a million sparkling little bubbles, with a sweet melon flavour. Babe Wines counts Emily Ratajkowski as Official Chief of Taste and Instagram meme king The Fat Jew (Josh Ostrovsky) as one of its founders, pretty much making this bubbly internet-famous.

FLASH IN THE CAN PINT-SIZE POTABLES ARE HAVING A MOMENT: REACH FOR THESE TOP PICKS POV: you’re going to meet your friends at the park. You want to have a couple of cheeky bevvies but don’t want to haul an entire wine bottle you can’t finish, since sharing with pals is out of the question in COVID times.

Haloed by beams of sunlight lies the answer: canned wine.

Shedding the pretension and pomp of its bottled big brother, this tiny yet mighty vessel retains nearly all of the flavour of a regular bottle but slips right into a tote bag. Because wine can’t age in a can like it does in a corked bottle, most varieties are of a younger, fruitier variety—making it the ultimate juicy refreshment on a sweaty summer’s day.

By LAURA ROBINSON

LOLA BLUSH SPARKLING ROSÉ Pelee Island Winery Made in Ontario, available in Calgary, Toronto, ships to Vancouver peleeisland.com

Easily crushable, this sultry watermelon and spice-hued frizzante slips down smoother than silk.

Pop a few of these in a cooler, head to the backwoods and call it glamping—just don’t get too carried away.

The alcohol content in canned wine makes beer drinkers look like lightweights.

2019 CHARLES BAKER RIESLING Charles Baker Wines

PINOT GRIGIO Bodacious

Made in Ontario, available in Calgary, Toronto, ships to Vancouver charlesbaker.ca

Made in B.C., available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto arterracanada.com/ brands

Fans of fruity libations should reach for this classy can. This riesling is on the sweeter side because of its highly ripened grapes, making for a sumptuous nectar-like taste.

Grown in Niagara, we’re picturing this sip on a sunny day at the lake, with charcuterie.

You won’t find this pinot grigio in a sommelier’s cellar, but let’s appreciate it for what it is: an affordable, sticky-sweet vino that’s co-hosted many a great college house party. This Bodacious goes down just as easily as the full bottle but comes with fewer regrets.

MERLOT Castoro de Oro Estate Winery

Made in B.C., available in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto castorodeorowinery. com Park rip at four, family dinner at seven? Bring a few of these. Teeny and cute enough to stealthily sip outdoors yet sophisticated enough to offer to Mom. This merlot sacrifices zero of its full-bodied red wine flavour to its compact size.

XOXO ROSÉ XOXO Wines

Made in Ontario, available in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto xoxowines.com This alcoholic juice box carries notes of strawberry and white cranberry—essentially the liquid form of rosé candy gummies. We recommend freezing it until it becomes a slush, then squeezing it out as a refreshing frozé.

NEXT JUNE 2021

11

C AN N AB I S

WANA QUICK PEACH BELLINI SATIVA

BRAIN CANDY

Potency: 5 mg THC

Potency: 5:1 (25 mg CBD and 5 mg THC)

Wana Quick gummies imitate a smoker’s high, and are the fastest-acting gummy available — a buzz within 5 to15 minutes that lasts about two hours. With 5 mg of THC, this soft chew is the perfect edible for socializing, whether it’s on Zoom or IRL.

Juicy and super vibrant, these delicious hybrid gummies contain a mild dose of THC and a high dose of CBD. Handcrafted with all-natural ingredients, the terpene-infused distillate creates the perfect 5:1 ratio.

AURORA DRIFT PEACH SERENE CBD SOFT CHEWS

AFFIRMA WATERMELON SOFT CHEW Potency: 10 mg THC

With only one 10 mg gummy per packet, this watermelon-flavoured, higher-dose edible takes from 30 minutes to two hours to reach full potential, so wait it out before indulging in another.

VERSE BAKED APPLE SOFT CHEWS Potency: 2:1 (2 mg THC and 1 mg CBD)

These low-dose chews taste like a warm, baked apple fresh out of the oven. With only 2 mg of THC and five pieces per pack, it’s easy as pie.

WANA POMEGRANATE BLUEBERRY ACAI 5:1 SOUR SOFT CHEWS

Potency: 10 mg CBD

The NEXT Cannabis Test Kitchen looked like Candy Land as we explored the best buzzy bites from an exploding selection of cannabis gummies.

With a leisurely high that won’t send you to the moon, or deep into the couch, these low-dose soft chews will still leave you feeling elevated.

Never dosing above 10 mg of THC per packet, choose your own adventure. Want a buzz but still get things done?

Grab a two mg chew. Want something hazier? Down the whole packet. No psychedelic effects whatsoever? Grab a CBD gummy. Whatever your mood, these colourful and tasty chews have got you covered.

A hybrid of Aurora’s best-selling CBD strains, these gummies leave you as promised—serene. With zero psychedelic effects, these tiny treats provide total body relaxation, perfect for just about any laid-back scenario.

FORAY PEACH MANGO SOFT CHEWS Potency: 1:1 (5 mg CBD and 5 mg THC)

Foray’s best-selling soft chew—for good reason. The 1:1 gummy is a super balanced edible that gives a mellow, yet uplifting high. One of our favourite daytime chews.

Note: all potency amounts are per gummy, not per package

By NICOLE RICHIE

OLLI STRAWBERRY FRUIT SOFT CHEWS Potency: 5:1 (5 mg CBD and 1 mg THC)

CBD-dominant, vegan gummies, great for beginners looking to ease into a relationship with THC. With a higher CBD content, they provide whole-body relaxation, awesome for releasing stress.

12 JUNE 2021 NEXT

CHOWIE WOWIE PINEAPPLE MANGO BALANCED SOFT CHEWS Potency: 1:1 (2.5 mg CBD and 2.5 mg THC)

With barely any weed taste, these balanced chews are great for those looking for a low-dose experience or who want to build out their high.

ALT THERAPY

By Juno Award 2021 NOMINEE Emanuel Out Everywhere June 19th 2021 NEXT JUNE 2021

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ST YL E

WORKING THE RAD DAD LOOK DAD HAT No self-respecting dad would be caught dead camping without a baseball cap. This Camp Brand Goods snapback is a perfect double hit of nostalgia and sun safety.

Camp ‘88 Hat, Camp Brand Goods, $40. bit.ly/2S9alP6

G

et ready to crack open the old family photo albums, because dad-fashion is certifiably “in” this summer. Call it stress-induced nostalgia or just a communal case of the quarantine crazies, but this is the summer of socks and sandals, kneelength shorts and trucker hats—and if you’re looking for fashion inspo, you should look no further than your 1998 family road trip. But if you can’t convince your dad to relinquish his old Hawaiian shirts, don’t worry! We’ve broken down the perfect fatherly fit from head to toe.

Beige-lovers, rejoice.

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

14 JUNE 2021 NEXT

SUNNIES Forget 2018’s tiny sunglasses trend—in 2021, the bigger the better. Montreal brand Bonlook serves grandpacore with these 70s-inspired shades.

Scene Glasses, Bonlook, $180. bit.ly/3hAlOSh

SANDALS Finally, top off your combo with these Native hiking sandals in a wide array of vintage-inspired colourways.

T-SHIRT This camper tee looks straight out of 1985, and it’s ethically produced, too—granola dads everywhere will approve.

Zurich shoe, Native, $65. bit.ly/3fyNPXY

Otiefalia Relaxed T-Shirt, Camp Brand Goods, $40. bit.ly/3eVNTSg

HAWAIIAN SHIRT

BERMUDA SHORTS

The Hawaiian shirt is perhaps the most versatile summer piece of all. For true Canadian Dad authenticity, try walking into an Old Navy to pick up this number.

Bermuda shorts can be controversial, but we think they're a staple piece that'll last you a lifetime if you get a high-quality pair, like these ones from Aritzia.

Hawaiian shirt, Old Navy, $35. oldnvy.me/3osrm2x

High Loose Bermuda Short.

Levis/Aritzia. $88. bit.ly/3ykjXHa

SOCKS BACKPACK The best part about dad-core fashion is that it’s as practical as it is fashionable. Hike in style with this Ram Canyon backpack.

Fleece Mudge Daypack, Ram Canyon, $160. bit.ly/3tXOKpO

Would it really be a dad fit without socks and sandals? Try these tie-dye ankle socks for maximum summer-camp vibes.

Tie-Dye Socks. Old Navy, $14. oldnvy.me/3eUOELk

NEXT JUNE 2021

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GAMING

RATCHET IT UP A NOTCH

MAKE SOME NOISE FOR : RIFT APART, A PS5 EXCLUSIVE THAT PROMISES TO BE THE BIGGEST ADVENTURE YET By ZACK KOTZER

T

he PlayStation 5 has had a peculiar first year. On top of the, y’know, pandemic thing, manufacturing shortages have given the PlayStation 4 a longer coattail. Most new games are still launching on both platforms, while most PS5 exclusives are remasters of older faves. A blockbuster for the PS5 breaks through this June, however, with the return of Ratchet and Clank in a new

16 JUNE 2021 NEXT

game featuring the Lombax space mechanic, his boxy droid friend and their giant arsenal of weird space weaponry. With all of the PlayStation 5’s new tricks, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart promises to be the tagteam duo’s biggest adventure yet. Even if the two spend it in separate dimensions.

Since 2002, Ratchet and Clank have battled against mad scientists, rampaging robots and superheroes with questionable scruples. In Rift Apart, a mysterious device

called the Dimensionator has fallen into the hands of the robot supremacist Doctor Nefarious, who uses it to find a timeline where he has succeeded in conquering the galaxy. As they attempt to stop Nefarious, Ratchet and Clank find themselves separated across dimensions. Clank ends up joining forces with another Lombax, Rivet, who only knows a world where Nefarious reigns. The three ultimately have to team up to stop Nefarious and repair the

fabric of time and space.

Even back on the PlayStation 2, the Ratchet & Clank games have been an impressive showcase for the hardware. Each planet is brimming with activity, featuring freeways of floating cars, towering retro-futurist cities and lush alien biomes.

The weapon selections are always broad and zany, such as beams that turn foes into chickens or a disco ball launcher that starts a dance party. Rift Apart introduces

a topiary sprinkler which can turn enemies into a hedge sculpture and a “Mr. Fungi” sentry that targets enemies with spores.

The PlayStation 5 is also taking the series quantum.

Hopping between realities will be an advantage during play, and leaping between dimensions happens instantaneously without any load time. Rifts can be used to manipulate the environment or seek out vantage points in the blink of an eye.

Sony is also excited to boast

GAMES AT A GLANCE: JUNE

A new chapter for Final Fantasy

Cloud Strife, Sephiroth and all the other himbos of Midgar come to the PlayStation 5 on June 10 with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. This improved version of last year’s remake features refurbished graphics and frame rates, optional old-school turn-based combat and a photo mode. It will also include a new chapter starring teen ninja Yuffie Kisaragi, who has just made her way into the city in time for all hell to break loose.

Mario Golf finally comes to Switch

Alert your uncles and aunts: the Nintendo Switch is finally getting Mario Golf! Mario Golf: Super Rush arrives on June 25 with an all-new, real-time golf race mode where players swing simultaneously and dash across the green to pick up their game. Because video games are mere bread and circuses, most of the hype is around Wario’s and Waluigi’s obscene fairway fits.

about Rift Apart’s “ray tracing,” which is a fancy way of saying it will have reflective surfaces. If Sony’s not careful, we might catch a glimpse of the camera crew.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart lands for the PlayStation 5 on June 11.

Big anticipation for E3 2021

PS5 console

I might be speaking too soon, though: June is the month when we get the always overwhelmingly hyped E3 convention (and its product launches). For the

Famicom: Big in Japan For the first time, Nintendo’s Famicom Detective Club games are being released outside of Japan. Remade with new audio and illustrations, The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind are now available on the Nintendo Switch. Solve these two high school whodunnits, but leave behind the greatest Nintendo mystery of all: where the hell is Metroid Prime 4?

second year in a row the expo will be occurring online (again, the pandemic thing). The event serves as an opportunity for major publishers to thrill and disappoint in equal measure, and for a variety of wealthy studio executives to show that they’re still wearing a suit jacket with a t-shirt like a child guitarist. Will we see Zelda? Bayonetta? God of War? George R.R. Martin’s Elden Ring?

Doubt it! But we’ll probably see one or two neat things, so have an open heart. E3 runs from June 12 to June 15.

NEXT JUNE 2021

17

Watch TV / MOVIES / STREAMING

What To

DARK DISNEY DAZZLES WITH FASHION FLAIR

By LAURA ROBINSON

18 JUNE 2021 NEXT

INTERVIEW: Emma Stone and Emma Thompson

E

mma Stone is buttoned up in black, REVIEW Emma Thompson is buttoned up in red— The best fashion film since The Devil the colour palette is a direct reference Wears Prada, Cruella is a gluttonous to their hellish characters in the electrifeast for the 70s style-and sonics-obfying Disney-goes-dark film Cruella. Two sessed. Emma Stone’s cat eyes pop of film’s most delightful faces light up their against kohl liner in the titular role side-by-side Zoom windows, and despite the alongside the ever-merry, virtual press conference setting, these aunt-you-wish-you-had Emma powerhouse performers joke with each Cruella Where: Disney+ Thompson in an uncharacterisother as if it’s just the two of them.

What: Feature tically evil role as Baroness von “My underwear was a sort of ship’s film, 134 minutes Hellman. Sure, origin stories like rigging,” Thompson says, revealing When: Now these come with the inevitable the underbelly of her jaw-droppingly Genre: Drama concern about empathizing with exquisite costumes, “there were people Why you villains, but director Craig Gilleshauling on ropes. Stone is slender as a should watch: lily and didn’t need to wear a corset like The origin story pie, known for his ability to tell behind Cruella thrilling tales of female anti-hea frigging whalebone.”

De Vil of 101 roes (see: I, Tonya), makes being “That’s what I was just about to say Dalmatians bad feel like wickedly delicious about you,” retorts a chuckling Stone: is revealed to fun. “you took the words right out of my the glamorous The film plunges viewers into mouth.” tune of 1970s a Vivienne Westwood-inspired The 101 Dalmatians origin story is London. Dog punk London, rife with bell botset in 70s London, its streets stewing lovers: rest toms, platform Docs and Ziggy with punk rock anarchy. Stirring up assured none Stardust lovers—alongside a bevy wickedly stylish trouble to the tune of were harmed in of retro rock and funk classics all the big old school hits—we’re talking the making of that must be so expensive only The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Queen this film.

Disney could afford the licensing and friends—Cruella (Stone) crashes fees. As for the villain-in-waiting’s ostentatious balls, red carpets and master plan, perhaps it is best summed society galas in a succession of grandiose and up when she states this simple phrase: grunge counter culture ensembles, forcing out “I want to make art, and I want to make the old-guard fashion designer Baroness von trouble.”

Hellman (Thompson) and cementing herself as the future of fashion.

Both Emma’s are clearly dazzled by the plot revolves around two (literally) madly larger-than-life ensembles designed for their talented women competing to be the best characters. in their craft. There is no romantic subplot, “Every time Em and I would come on set, nothing to distract from the diabolical we’d just look at each other and walk around brilliance of which both the Baroness and each other, like we were sculptures or works of Cruella are capable. It’s about damn time a art,” enthuses Thompson. big-budget film features female competi“My very favourite outfit was that absolutely tion that isn’t over a man. ludicrous dress I wear on the garbage truck, Brushing her signature British humour because there was a 40-foot train. It was noth- to the side for a beat, Thompson slows her ing you’d ever be even remotely able to wear quippy cadence and states with weight: in real life,” Stone says with a sparkle in her “The Baroness says this wonderful thing: ‘if eye, clearly still enamoured by the whimsical I hadn’t been single-minded, I might have garment made of trash. Talk about sustainable had to put my genius at the back of the fashion. drawer like so many other women of genius Cruella’s artistic direction is an opulent who died without producing anything.’ And splendour, but the most impressive part? The it actually is a very good point.”

June Streaming

LAUNCHPAD

MOBY DOC

Where: Disney+ What: Six short films, 15-20 mins each When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: This handful of powerful shorts by budding filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds will restore your faith in humanity. Follow a young Muslim Pakistani immigrant as she tries to make Eid a public school holiday, a Mexican American teen forced to hide her half-vampire identity and a young Chinese boy who is judged for loving ballet. These films find feel-good common ground between people from all walks of life.

Where: VOD What: Documentary; 92 mins When: Now Genre: Documentary Why you should watch: a somewhat chilling exploration of celebrity as dance music maestro Moby takes us through the disappointment of his “so called” perfect life. Surreal, slightly twisted scrapbook-meets-collage approach to non-linear story telling. Dude had a rough childhood and while Moby, at times, flirts with Mope-y, there’s playfulness as he pushes the limits of probing self-awareness.

THE BACHELORETTE

1971: THE YEAR THAT MUSIC CHANGED EVERYTHING

Where: Citytv What: TV series (season 17) When: June 7, 8 pm ET Genre: Reality Why you should watch: Katie Thurston created quite a buzz when she stepped out of the limo holding a vibrator on the last season of The Bachelor.

Now the main character as the Bachelorette, hopefully she’ll find a man who doesn’t kiss her with his eyes open (*cough* Matt James). With Chris Harrison out of the picture for the first time in Bachelor history, previous Bachelorettes and fan favourites Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe are hosting this season. Let’s hear it for the girls!

Where: Apple TV+ What: TV series (8 episodes, 50 minutes) When: Now Genre: Docuseries Why you should watch: During a period of intense political and cultural upheaval, rock was the voice of the people as this series shows with incredible footage from the 70s vaults. With narration by rock stars and their associates, both dead and alive—like Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell and Tina Turner—the viewing experience feels like being dropped right into the streets of 1971.

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19

E

Pride Streams

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

ven while queer identities have slowly entered the cultural mainstream over the past 20 years, gay and trans representation has still been pretty difficult for TV studios to get right (for reference, see literally any episode of Sex and the City).

But while cringeworthy gay representation is far from a thing of the past, the past few years have produced some truly phenomenal LGBTQ TV. We’ve entered the Golden Age of queer media, baby!! For what is basically the first time in history, mainstream stories are being written by queer people, about queer people and for queer people; so to make sure you don’t miss any of it, here are some of our top picks for the best LGBTQ+ representation you can watch right now.

POSE

Where: FX What: TV series (3 seasons, 45 mins) When: Now Genre: Drama Why you should watch: This show set records and made headlines for featuring the highest number of trans actors in recurring roles in television history, and to phenomenal effect. Its storylines, which centre around NYC’s queer ballroom scene in the 1980s, are equal parts illuminating and captivating.

BOJACK HORSEMAN

Where: Netflix What: TV series (6 seasons, 40 mins) When: Now Genre: Adult animation Why you should watch: Netflix’s Bojack Horseman has built a reputation as one of the most unexpectedly tragic animated shows you’ll ever watch. Despite the whimsical animation and rapid-fire jokes, it packs an emotional punch you won’t forget; it also notably features one of the first major asexual characters in TV history.

20 JUNE 2021 NEXT

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE

Where: Netflix What: TV series (1 season, 8 episodes, 50 mins) When: Now Genre: Sitcom Why you should watch: Dear White People is masterfully shot, perfectly paced and enduringly relevant, offering some of the sharpest cultural criticism on television. Among many other hot-button issues, the show dives into the intersections of queerness and Black identity with nuance and compassion.

ATYPICAL

Where: Netflix What: TV series (3 seasons, 35 min) When: Now Genre: Dramedy Why you should watch: While Atypical is a show about the complexities of growing up with autism, the later seasons also include one of the most realistic and well-handled queer coming-of-age storylines ever. Keep tissues handy.

BROAD CITY

Where: Crave What: TV series (5 seasons, 30 mins) When: Now Genre: Sitcom Why you should watch: This absurdist Comedy Central sitcom about two New York City slackers (originally a web series by friends Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer) quickly established itself as one of the most unique projects on mainstream television, thanks to its off-the-wall comedic style and unabashedly female lens.

MITSKI’S NPR TINY DESK CONCERT Where: YouTube What: A short, strippeddown solo set by queer artist Mitski for NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series Genre: Music Why you should watch: NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series is far from a secret for any music lover. The DIY shows that artists put

together for their sets in Bob Boilen’s workspace often end up being some of their finest works. Even among great company, indie-rock artist Mitski’s turn on the NPR tiny stage has become the stuff of legend. The raw emotion boiling over into her set is indescribable.

FEEL GOOD

Where: Netflix What: TV series (6 episodes, 25 mins) When: June 4 Genre: Dramedy Why you should watch: Toronto comic Mae Martin plays themselves in this hilarious, heartfelt and at times brutally honest series about addiction—both to drugs and love itself. Season two opens as Mae attempts to escape rehab through the second-story window, fleeing back to charmingly British ex-girlfriend George. Briskly funny yet deeply vulnerable, it’s a feel-good show indeed.

FLORALOGIC Where: YouTube What: Mini docs on flora and fungi Genre: Ecological education Why you should watch: Toronto indie hip hop artist Tasha the Amazon linked up with Animalogic, a fascinating and wildly popular nature doc

channel. She’s in charge of all things flowers and fungus, like explaining why orchids are totally sus and what in tarnation Devil’s Fingers fungus is.

Filled with National Geographic-quality video and Tasha’s wisecracks, it’s the perfect entry point for amateur gardeners.

Music and grow until the pandemic drove her back to her Alberta family home.

She finished her powerful and personal new release, Moments in Between, in the same bedroom where it all began.

RUTH B Moments in Between Genre: singer-songwriter Sound: Intimate insights, beautifully shared If you like: Sade, Tate McRae, Julia Michaels Why you should listen: She stormed the world with her haunting song Lost Boys in 2015—and then got lost, for four years. She used the time for personal and musical growth and it shows.

Best track: Situation

F

ive years before Tate McRae did it, soulful singer Ruth B.— born Berhe—burst out from her Alberta bedroom and onto the world stage with a song recorded at home and promoted through a video-based social channel.

While McRae used TikTok to break out, Berhe captivated the world with her hauntingly beautiful Lost Boys, teasing out snippets of the song on the now seemingly ancient social platform (the defunct Vine) before pumping the entire track out on YouTube.

“Yup, the OG,” she laughs as she checks in from her family’s place in Edmonton, up the highway from McRae’s Calgary HQ whose success she describes as “so cool.”

Weeks away from her 26th birthday, Berhe’s hardly an OG but she’s packed a lot into a career that went from hobby to “Hell yeah” in a matter of minutes in 2017. The Lost Boys singer became a “lost girl,” decamping to New York City in 2019 to write

SOCIAL MEDIA UPSIDE Social media is so wild and amazing that a kid from Edmonton—or a kid from Calgary—can get heard. It’s amazing how it can make such a big world feel so small and get you connected with all the right people.

Growing up my biggest fear was how are people going to hear about me, I’m from Edmonton, no one’s going to know me or hear my songs so, in that sense it completely changed my life.

SOCIAL MEDIA DOWNSIDE It can be kind of hard because it speeds the process up so much and you sometimes aren’t as prepared for that life. I think that only happened to me a little bit WHY SO LONG BETWEEN RECORDS? That first experience was so rushed and intense and crazy that I really wanted to soak this one in. I was going to do the complete opposite and take all the time in the world, and that was a big part of moving to New York. Ultimately, I really did it on my own time.

MANHATTAN VERSUS BROOKLYN If you’re going to New York City from Edmonton, you shouldn’t go to Brooklyn; you should go straight to the heart of Manhattan. I was living on Park Avenue.

INFLUENCES THEN My parents are from Ethiopia and played a lot of Ethiopian music when I was a kid. I remember Teddy Afro.

INFLUENCES NOW Storytellers like Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, The Beatles.

WATCHING The Blacklist on Netflix. It’s really cool, kind of like Criminal Minds but there’s more of a storyline to it.

I honestly would recommend it to anyone.

By MICHAEL HOLLETT 21

NEXT JUNE 2021

22 JUNE 2021 NEXT

NEXT BIG THING

Prado

Prado Monroe Genre: Pop Sound: Innovative production and sweet, sophisticated vocals elevate infectiously catchy tracks If you like: Princess Nokia, Flo Milli, Iamdoechii Why you should listen: Phenomenal beats and coy, clever lyricism aside, listening to this record will just make you feel like that bitch.

Best track: Likeline

I

first met Vancouver-born Prado while assisting at the NEXT Manila Grey cover shoot (her sister and creative partner Zuleyyma is one of the city’s most hyped up-and-coming photographers). I was already familiar with the LA-based artist—everyone who’s anyone in the Vancouver scene has partied to Prado’s sugar-sweet voice and bad-bitch beats—but it was undeniably cool to meet her in the studio that birthed some of her most iconic tracks.

She’s royalty in the underground scene, and for good reason. Even at the cover shoot, in overalls and sweats, she exudes the energy of a pop star, radiating a kind of likeable confidence

that makes it clear she knows her shit. Simply put, she’s cool—and in her music, she radiates a kind of self-aware braggadocio that makes you want to see her win as much as she does.

She’s fresh off the release of her EP Elastic, but she’s nowhere close to slowing down. Her prodigious work ethic has produced a slew of singles over the past six months and a new solo EP, Prado Monroe, debuting in June.

She says her first inspirations were the rock and hip-hop her mom played to her growing up, and those diverse influences make sure no Prado record sounds quite like the last. Her upcoming, eponymous EP is a pop record on steroids, and when she played me a teaser over her studio’s bass-boosted speakers, I was immediately obsessed. On some tracks, ethereal vocals and celestial production make her sound like a cooler, more authentic Grimes. At other times, she’s an unbothered, quick-rapping pop princess.

The centerpiece of the EP is her latest single, Gucci Store, which uses coyly capitalist imagery to tell a story about resilience and success.

The track’s confidence is a manifestation as much as it is an act of rebellion: as a Black and Indigenous woman, the path she’s carved out for herself hasn’t been easy. Racism and sexism in the industry are rampant, and she’s often had to respond to not being offered a seat at the table by building completely new tables for her and her community.

“I genuinely just think that if I was a man I’d be way more ahead,” she says. “The only way you can make a name for yourself in the industry is by building out your own network, by building the community of people that you support, and who support you as well.”

She often performs with collectives and in spaces specifically for racialized femmes, like Vancouver’s NuZi Collective—but despite those pockets of community, her local scene still has a long way to go.

“The music scene needs a better community. Even online community is crucial to building an ecosystem here in Vancouver.”

Her ethos as an artist is built on this community mindset. To Prado, her wins are her community’s wins.

“We’re all growing and I can see it. I’m so proud when I see people doing better artistically. No more gatekeepers.”

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

NEXT JUNE 2021

23

TWENTY

ONE THE REBIRTH OF

PILOTS

ALT-POP DUO TWENTY ONE PILOTS BUILT A CAREER OFF OF SONGS ABOUT SADNESS. SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY GET HAPPY?

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

24 JUNE 2021 NEXT

“

Being truly happy is way better than being able to hang onto some form of unhappiness just so you can make a career out of it. I’ve learned that much.”

NEXT JUNE 2021

25

IN

2015,

you’d be hard-pressed to turn on the radio without hearing the thrumming reggae beats and cerebral rhymes of Twenty One Pilots’ breakout hit Stressed Out. The track’s lamentations on anxiety and maturity catapulted it to the top of the alternative and mainstream charts, and brought the young band from Ohio with it. Since then, TOP has become a bona-fide phenomenon, racking up billions of worldwide streams and securing themselves a place in the cultural zeitgeist as the new face of teen angst.

2015 also happened to be the year when I walked into high school for the first time, armed with nothing but a bevy of undiagnosed personality disorders and a My Chemical Romance t-shirt. I was achingly, crushingly sad in a way that I didn’t even really have the tools to understand—words like “depression” and “anxiety” had yet to enter my lexicon. At the time, the hormone soup marinating my brain like a flank steak had me absolutely convinced that nobody in the history of human civilization could even come close to comprehending the depths of my misery.

So, like many people, 2015 was the year I found Twenty One Pilots—but for me, just like many things are when you’re 14, the discovery was earth-shattering.

Lead singer Tyler Joseph’s anxious, frenetic allegories on depression, illness and suicide felt nothing short of religious. It was as if someone had reached into my pubescent brain, plucked out all the messy thoughts and disparate anxieties, and handed them back to me on a hand-me-down MP3 player with the promise that someone, somewhere, got it.

In the same vein as Nirvana or Green Day during their respective heydays, the Twenty One Pilots oeuvre found its niche in making sad, isolated kids feel utterly understood. For the band’s young audience, their music was validation, catharsis and therapy all in one—it wasn’t uncommon for members of the fanbase (dubbed the Skeleton Clique) to earnestly assert that the band’s music saved their lives.

T

wenty One Pilots is made up of Joseph and Josh Dun, who founded the band in their Columbus, Ohio, hometown.

Joseph still lives there, and wrote and recorded the entirety of their upcoming album Scaled and Icy in his home.

Joseph is a skilled conversationalist with a proclivity for figurative language and winding metaphor—his albums often weave elaborate storylines to externalize his inner turmoil—and I wonder if he’s enjoyed any symbolism in this new homebound writing process.

Much of TOP’s earlier work, from their song Hometown to their 2011 EP Regional at Best, is a love letter to Columbus; there’s a pleasant symmetry in the fact that Scaled and Icy is as closely tied to home as the works that got them to where they are today.

After all, Twenty One Pilots has built a mythos for themselves around the idea of never selling out. Their name comes from the Arthur Miller play All My Sons, in which a war contractor ships out faulty airplane parts to avoid losing money and subsequently causes the deaths of 21 fighter pilots. To the duo, it’s a reminder that their identity should always come before money or convenience.

“The band name comes up all the time in the decision-making for me and Josh,” Joseph says, calling in from his Columbus home.

“It’s a constant reminder to not cut that corner, that it’s worth it to take the longer road. Because that way you remain intact. When you make the effort to turn the corner instead, rather than having divided yourself up on the way, you remain whole.”

Joseph says this reminder was most needed after Blurryface’s prodigious success. It’s not uncommon for artists who built their cred on underground shows and hometown loyalty to lose their spark once they make it big, but the band was determined to stay self-aware.

After Blurryface came Trench, a concept album about suicide that expanded on themes of depression and illness while reacting to TOP’s meteoric ascent. As a rule, Joseph doesn’t listen to any other music when he’s writing. So when I ask him about the influences on upcoming album Scaled and Icy, which features a Dungeons and Dragons motif and pastel-hued 80s aesthetic, he pauses.

“My music is a reaction to itself,” he says. “Every song I write is aware of and influenced by the others.

And so while my last record really had something to prove, this new record is more about just honing the craft of songwriting inside of an endless world of creativity and just imagination.

“I just wanted to say, you know, don’t be afraid to be imaginative—don’t worry whether or not you’re checking any boxes when it comes to being cool or following a trend. I wanted to write something that felt a little more timeless and a little less fearful of how it fit into the landscape of other music right now.”

T

wenty One Pilots are far from the only artists to build careers off of their pain. Nothing sells albums quite like breakups, heartache, addiction and depression, and—whether it be out of catharsis or a twisted kind of masochism— we as consumers are obsessed with the idea of the tortured artist.

In the world where songs about suicide build million-dollar empires, suffering is a commodity. And for

Twenty One Pilots, their sadness was their siren song that amassed an audience that latched onto Joseph’s hot-blooded verses like a life preserver.

Some of Joseph’s rawest, most intimate lyrics were written and recorded when he was just a teenager screaming pleas for mercy into a DIY setup, caught in the crossfire of the battles being waged in his head.

But in the years since Twenty One Pilots’ candid emotional intensity and mercurial lyricism catapulted them to fame, they’ve grown up. Dun got married in 2019, and Joseph recently celebrated the birth of his daughter. So now, they’re faced with a new question: what does the saddest band in the world do when, suddenly, they’re not sad anymore?

“That’s a good question,” Joseph laughs, then grows introspective. “I’m not sure if I’ll have a satisfying answer. But here’s what I do know: being truly happy is way better than being able to hang onto some form of unhappiness just so you can make a career out of it.

I’ve learned that much.”

When Joseph’s daughter, Rosie, was born in February of last year, he says everything changed.

“Everything in my life that I’ve ever had, whether it’s a new item, anything material, and even most relationships as well—the most exciting part of that thing is when you receive it. And then inevitably, there’s a decline in the excitement, in the happiness it brings you.

“But my daughter is the first thing in my life that I’ve ever had where the excitement has only gone up from when I first met her. Every day, I’m more excited than the last.”

When it comes to his music, he tries not to be attached to the person he used to be.

“I’ve always seen songs as a means to an end, a way to get from point A to point B. We can use songs as a foothold to thrust ourselves into that next season in your life. And at this point in my career, I look back and realize that I’ve made progress. I’ve climbed over a lot of those things that I was working through when I wrote those songs.

“But with each new question that I answer, there’s another question that shows up that I don’t have the answer to. I just had a daughter—talk about the beginning to a bunch of new questions!

“So I’m answering questions through music, but I’m also discovering new ones every day. And even if there were no tours, no albums, even if it were just me, alone, I’d still be turning to music as a way to move forward.”

I

wish that my 14-year-old self could have read what I’m writing now. There’s something intoxicating about being in love with your pain, especially when you’re young—it makes you feel sort of special, to suffer so constantly.

And for someone who brought himself from a garage in Ohio to Madison Square Garden by writing songs about despair, it’s a remarkably brave thing for Joseph to let himself be happy. But to him, those past songs are just a part of his story: not just a document of the things he struggled with, but a tool he used to get better.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without those songs,” Joseph says. “They helped me work through it all. And they’re a snapshot in time that perfectly represents who I was. But I’ve grown so much as a producer, and a lyricist, and most importantly, as a person.”

Twenty One Pilots have spent years documenting their flight from death. Now, they’re ready for their rebirth. 

“

I just wanted to say, you know, don’t be afraid to be imaginative—don’t worry whether or not you’re checking any boxes when it comes to being cool or following a trend.”

4?s SCHWEY FOUR QUESTIONS

S

chwey is a band with a mission: as an impossibly smooth soul-funk outfit that cut their teeth in Vancouver’s DIY punk scene, its members built their reputation on their inimitable talent for getting people to fucking dance.

Their awesome debut EP, Schwey, featured songs the band had started performing as high-schoolers at all-ages house shows, and its infectious, effortlessly summery sound catapulted Schwey into the league of local legends.

Even through a computer screen, their energy is infectious; they break into song several times throughout our interview, riffing off each other both figuratively and literally. I understand immediately how and why they’ve been crowned the de-facto kings of Vancouver’s indie underground. So here are four questions with Schwey, but trust me, they’re right—you can’t quite get it until you see it live.

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN

1

You are known for your live shows. Has it been tough, the idea of releasing music in the pandemic?

Schwey 2: Cyber Soul Genre: Funk Sound: Bouncy riffs, soulful vocals and feel-good tunez If you like: Vulfpeck, Otis Junior, Winona Forever Why you should listen: Cyber Soul just sounds like summer: laid-back beats, techno twists and an effortlessly cool sound make it funk, redefined.

Best track: Who Says

28 JUNE 2021 NEXT

Yeah, totally. We were looking through our entire Instagram recently, right from the start, and it was interesting to watch our story build. Every one of our posts is just like, “show, this weekend!,” “show, next weekend!”, “show tomorrow!”

Every post was either about a show or a video of us jamming.

And now it’s, like, oh, quarantine time. That was our entire identity,you just don’t get it unless you see it live.

The thing that’s really different about this album is that we never performed any of these songs live. It was conceived in the studio. For our last album, we’d been playing those songs live for five-plus years. They’d been peer-reviewed. But none of these songs have been tested like that.

2

Describe one of your shows.

Four boys walk on stage. They set up—wait, there’s smoke in the air. The lights are dark and blue. Nobody says a word.

Someone might try to tell a joke, and doesn’t finish it, and then the SONG STARTS. And then next thing you know, we’re playing music for 50 minutes straight. We just sing. Schwey!

(They briefly break into impromptu song and for a fleeting second, it’s like I’m at one of their shows—I get the hype).

And then everyone’s dancing by the first 30 seconds. We call it a good show if everybody’s dancing. We consider ourselves acoustic EDM.

3

What are your inspirations, vibe-wise? You know how to curate a vibe.

We’re so inspired by nature. It’s a perfect representation of art.

Every time I see something that

sticks out as being one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed, it’s always something to do with nature. Like, looking at a viewpoint, super high up on a mountain. Instantly, when I make a song and try to think of the feeling the song brings me, it usually comes back to something that happens in nature.

And our upcoming album is about nature-world and the cyber-world coming together. It’s a solar-punk album. Or solar-soul.

Cyber-solar-soul.

4

Anything else you desperately want to put in print?

Any revolutionary messages?

Go solar! Keep your eyes on your peripherals! Focus on nature! We can build a better future together! Don’t lose your empathy. Hmm … it’s hard for people to fight a decentralized organism. Grow your own food.

Localize! Grow mustard! It’s delicious. Seriously, grow mustard.

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M E

30 JUNE 2021 NEXT

N A

E U

L

CANADA'S NEXT R&B SUPERSTAR SERVES UP HEALING SOUNDS FOR TROUBLED TIMES

By LAURA ROBINSON

Photos By NORMAN WONG

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31

EMANUEL

a really down-to-earth “ He’s dude. He was telling me how special the music is, I was telling him how amazing his impact on my life has been.

We were kind of just showing love to each other.”

32 JUNE 2021 NEXT

WHEN IDRIS ELBA —YES, THAT ONE—LOVES YOUR MUSIC enough to ask his millions of social media followers to participate in a collaborative music video for your new song and signs on as executive producer of your debut album, you better be ready for a stratospheric rise.

“It was like being strapped to a rocket ship,” Emanuel, 27, says about Elba boosting his nascent R&B career.

The London, Ont. native’s tear-triggering tracks possess healing powers. When Elba tested positive for COVID at the beginning of the pandemic, he became quite self-reflective—Need You, Emanuel’s first-ever Spotify upload, was the raw and honest soundtrack to Elba’s musings.

The music also moved Elba to take to social media and ask his nine million Facebook followers to send him images of what they needed to cope during lockdown. The resulting collage became Emanuel’s Need You music video.

“It’s crazy. Since I was young, I’ve seen him in movies, I’ve seen him in TV shows. He’s a giant, a huge inspiration,” says Emanuel.

They say to never meet your heroes. What happens when you actually do?

“I was at home, on lockdown in London. Our mutual friend said we’re going to get on a FaceTime with Idris Elba and discuss his proposal for a video. He’s a really down-to-earth dude. He was telling me how special the music is, I was telling him how amazing his impact on my life has been.

We were kind of just showing love to each other,” says Emanuel, traces of excitement and disbelief still in his voice.

In the finished Need You video, Emanuel sits in a cold, empty living room, watching lo-fi fuzzy images on TV with longing: fathers hugging sons, musicians playing their instruments, lovers holding each another, a grandma smiling at the camera. The pure beauty of this therapeutic piano ballad hit not only one of film’s highest-grossing actors in the feels, but people from all walks of life around the world.

Including me. While doing research in preparation for this interview, I had a chill playlist on shuffle in the background. Out of nowhere the hairs on my arms began to rise as a string chorus swirled and rich vocals hit a note that filled the room. I perked up and paid attention. Who is that?

It was Emanuel, obviously.

Later that night, by then exclusively listening to his discography and impatiently awaiting the June 16 release of his debut full-length album Alt Therapy, the purity of the music moved me to tears. I wasn’t sad—his songs just tend to have that effect.

And I’m not the only one: just read the YouTube comments on any of his music videos. They’re full of people so touched by the confessional tracks they just have to let him know.

“I just heard this on the radio, made me cry, so beautiful,” says one user. “I’m literally in tears, your voice, your energy … ” types another.

The alchemy in the wandering guitar tones, the supple strings and the strength of that vulnerable voice works like medicine injected straight to the heart. Emanuel’s balmy R&B compositions run with the likes of Daniel Caesar, but he can belt like John Legend. One sip of this magic brew and all bottled-up emotions will flow freely.

T

he honesty of the music is reflected in Emanuel’s warm demeanour. “I really appreciate you asking that question,” he says more than once during this interview, dressed in a black turtleneck and matching hoodie—a surprisingly cozy ensemble for a bright spring day in London. He makes sure I know this conversation means a lot to him.

Distilling something as intangible, complex and personal as emotions into stirring tracks that feel universally relatable isn’t easy. How does he do it?

“Being able to add simplicity to complexity is something that people search for. They search for understanding. And I think there’s a wisdom in being able to translate that into something as beautiful, as simple as music.”

If he were an ancient prophet, his title would be The Great Translator. He’s like the Alchemist from Paulo Coelho’s seminal novel—a wise man in touch with the Soul of the World. His pure tracks are the Elixir of Life, which according to legend, can cure all ills.

Need proof to back up this assertion? Emanuel, typically, doesn’t even prep lyrics. Choosing one of the melodies that

co-composers and fellow Londoners John Fellner and Ryan Bakalarcyzk (who goes by "Bedroom") have created, he rocks up to the mic and confesses whatever comes to him.

“Most of the time, it’s the music that really inspires me. Something about the chord progressions telling me a story. It makes me want to cry—I have to say something,” he says. “I throw away convention, and just approach it through feeling. We go in there and freestyle, we make music live off the floor. Approaching it like that allows me the opportunity to just be a channel in the moment.”

Though his first Alt Therapy songs were released at the beginning of the pandemic and offer exactly the type of comfort people need in isolating times, the bulk of the album was written in the Before Times.

In 2018, Universal set him up, along with his team, at a house in the quaint town of Kleinberg, Ont., just outside Toronto. For a year, they were free to create. After that came an 11-day trip to the Cayman Islands with nine collaborators, including Toronto hip hop legend and Universal Music Canada executive Kardinal Offishall.

Emanuel calls his time in the Cayman dreamscape “spiritual.”

“We worked on and added to some of my favourite music from the album. And I really got to have some great, deep conversations with people, and really get down to some questions.”

Questions like: what is his purpose in music?

What is his purpose on this earth? These are the types of existential questions he’s referencing.

But don’t get it twisted: it wasn’t a 24/7 meditative retreat. Despite his soaring emotional intelligence and wise-beyond-his-years nature, he’s not holier than thou. He knows how to sin. There’s a mini-documentary about the Cayman sessions on his YouTube channel, in which he sits poolside with a wine glass as he speaks to the camera.

“We’re gonna eat good-ass food. We’re gonna drink. We’re gonna go look at the raw beauty of this place. Then we’re gonna come back, get fucked up and record,” he says, finishing the itinerary with a playful cackle.

throw away “Iconvention, and just approach it through feeling.

We go in there and freestyle.”

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EMANUEL

His frisky side manifests in tracks like Medicine, a bouncing disco dance number that Starboy would definitely bop to, and Addiction, a hedonistic track with a swaggering beat in which he rhapsodizes about drug trips that fling him farther than the mile-high club.

But perhaps the most standout track recorded in the Cayman Islands is Black Woman.

It’s a love note to Black women worldwide, acknowledging and empathizing with the unique struggles they face.

How do you smile when you’ve got nothing to smile about? How do you love when you’ve got no one coming back to the house? he croons, with vocals like honey pouring from the jar. The gravity, pain and hope in his delivery is reminiscent of the way Sam Cooke sings A Change Is Gonna Come.

When he played it for his mom, she cried.

“She had a deep moment of silence. And then she looked up at me and she told me how appreciative and how proud she was that I would make a song like that.”

Black women from all over the world reached out to him about the aching song.

“It was really special. Being able to hear from my sisters in the United States and in England, letting me know that they felt seen, heard and appreciated. They felt like their story was told in an authentic way. That meant a lot, because that’s a really rare thing. It’s a sad truth—but it’s a really rare thing in this world.”

Emanuel considers himself just one piece in a larger movement that he calls a “Renaissance of beautiful Black art.” In this era of major civil unrest, which has shed light on racial injustices being committed in North America and all over the world, there has also been a wealth of artistic production by Black creators.

He draws inspiration from these artists. “It really adds richness to people’s lives,” he explains. “A lot of people in Atlanta, like Mereba, a lot of artists on Dreamville, J.I.D., J. Cole … young Black artists who are really unapologetic in their message. They live directed at truth.

I feel like their whole message is sort of like The Great Awakening.”

E

manuel was awakened to the power of music by his Ethiopian family. “Music is the air they breathe,” he says of his father’s side. On his mother’s side, his grandfather was a priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

“He would be singing scripture,” Emanuel recalls. “The audible repetition is their form of meditation, really enriching themselves through the word.” Silently mulling over that memory in his head for a moment, he starts to subtly smile when he continues: “I think that definitely does play a large part in my subconscious inspiration, the way that I’m drawn to music how I am.”

Clearly satisfied with this realization, he confirms, “Yeah. I would imagine that that plays a huge part in it.”

Although his face lit up initially when talking about Ethiopia (he has visited three times), Emanuel’s expression begins to change into something more solemn. “There’s

a silent genocide happening right now, that not many people are speaking on.” It’s a weighty subject, but he’s keen to talk about it.

To shed light on it.

“It’s something that’s really hard to reconcile. The tribes in Ethiopia are Tigray, Oromo and Amhara. Within recent history, there’s been so much bad blood between those three tribes. I’m not even sure how safe I would be if I went back to Ethiopia right now. And that being my homeland is really sad.

“There’s so many people that are losing their voice within all of this, all of these atrocities that are happening. It’s really sad.”

A common thread begins to emerge in what he’s saying: Emanuel is a born storyteller.

Whether it’s his homeland in crisis, throbbing heartache or honouring Black women, he’s a conduit for those who are struggling. If the human race has a collective pulse, he can read it.

Consider that, before he was a professional musician, he was an in-patient cleaner at a London hospital. I’m half expecting him to say it was a means to affording recording studio fees, but I’m caught off guard when he says: “it was a really rewarding job for me. I was working with patients and I was cleaning.

It was something I had real pride in.”

But Emanuel still felt a deep yearning to pursue music. In 2018, he followed his gut and began recording.

“I think my role is to empower people. Allowing music to be a great medium for love, for retelling stories to really empower listeners in all walks of life.”

Fitting that he’d click with Idris Elba. An actor and a musician? Both storytellers.

As a producer on Alt Therapy, the high-profile British actor isn’t just slapping his name on Emanuel’s record, shining some star power and walking away. He’s really there for Emanuel. Elba told him to call if he ever needed anything, any time of day—and actually meant it.

“He gave me his number. He sat with me and talked with me for a couple of hours.

There was no shame involved. I’m not afraid to say that I was emotional, I was crying.

Something was hurting me and I didn’t have clarity. He really did offer me wisdom that was helpful.”

And even though Elba’s very public endorsement of Emanuel went out to millions of his global followers, the singer doesn’t feel extra pressure.

“There is definitely a lot of pressure that I feel to perform well—I’m a human being. But no, I don’t really feel some sort of pressure to ride that wave, because I believe the music really does speak loudly. And I take Idris Elba’s interest as a testament to that.”

So, ditch Elon Musk and Mars—too cold, barren and devoid of human life. Board Emanuel’s rocket ship instead—it’s destined for the stars. Plus, Idris is already on board. 

my role is “ Itothink empower people.

Allowing music to be a great medium for love, for retelling stories to really empower listeners in all walks of life.”

NEXT JUNE 2021

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LUCY DACUS IS NOT YOUR SADGIRL

E

ven for an artist who’s built her reputation on lyrical intimacy, Lucy Dacus’ forthcoming album Home Video feels uniquely personal. It follows a series of vignettes from Dacus’ early life growing up in Richmond, Virginia, and her signature frank, allegorical lyrical style often makes it seem as though she’s telling these stories directly to you — as if you’re sharing some small, intimate secret.

Perhaps you’re looking through a photo album together, watching her stumble across photos of her younger self at Bible camp or with an old friend, listening rapturously as she paints the scenes of her life in vicious, unflinching detail.

It’s Dacus’s talent for eliciting emotion in the mundane that has likely contributed to her categorization as a “sadgirl”: a genre of female artist defined almost entirely as a product of, and vessel for, her pain.

The indie sadgirl is not a new archetype—think Angel Olson, Lana Del Rey, or even classic iterations, like the Velvet Underground’s Nico—but it’s certainly come to prominence in recent years. The term is constantly used to define Dacus’s contemporaries and frequent collaborators Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, as well as most other major players in women’s indie.

And whether it’s because of her haunting, maudlin voice or her penetrating subject matter, Dacus has been hit with the label more aggressively than most.

If you google the phrase “indie sadgirl,” Dacus’s name is in the very first result.

“I don’t write just sad music. I think most of my music isn’t sad,” Dacus says, calling in from her Philadelphia home.

She’s soft-spoken but deftly articulate; her words seem carefully chosen, as though she’s thought about them for hours.

“Just because something is emotionally evocative—just because you’re feeling something—that doesn’t mean that you’re crying, or that you’re sad. And so many women, white women particularly, get lumped into this category, when we all have different music and different goals.”

“And when people prioritize their career over their own happiness and joy?

That’s a sickness.”

LUCY DACUS Home Video

Genre: Indie-pop Sound: Ethereal, melancholy vocals define Dacus’s somber-indie sound If you like: Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy, Julien Baker Why you should listen: Dacus’s claim to fame is her songwriting; her painfully elegant allegories on childhood, queer love and heartbreak make this essential listening for the young and weary.

Best track: Brando Dacus has spoken about this on Twitter, calling out the “commodification and perpetual expectation of women’s pain.”

And despite preconceptions about Dacus’ ethos, Home Video is, in many ways, a joyful album. Even when discussing old relationships, broken friendships and teenage confusion, the album is overlaid with a sense of acceptance. Implicit in all of these stories, of course, is the knowledge that they all brought Dacus to where she is today.

“I try not to think about how things could have gone differently because, what’s the point? It can’t have gone differently,” Dacus muses.

“I’ve been doing Tarot for myself recently. All my readings have been saying, ‘you’re doing exactly what you should be doing’ or ‘all your hard work is paying off.’ That’s always been a big wish for me; I wanted everything that happened to be something that I feel ready for. And I do feel ready for everything, now.”

By RAYNE FISHER-QUANN NEXT JUNE 2021

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REVIEWS

30¯SECOND ALBUM THE TRAGICALLY HIP Saskadelphia

Genre: Rock Sound: Raw, rocking, ready for summer If you like: Hip, Hip, Hip Why you should listen: It’s a Canadian music fan’s dream come true, as previously unreleased “new” music from The Tragically Hip has been found—and it’s awesome, not filler. Rough, raw and raging, it’s more blues-rock glory from the band’s breakthrough Road Apples sessions.

Best track: Ouch

POLO & PAN Cyclorama

Genre: Electronic Sound: Fantastical, otherworldly sound effects mix with lustful French vocals and bop-worthy beats If you like: Jungle, NEIL FRANCES, Tourist Why you should listen: If electro-quirk is a thing, this is it. Infectious basslines puncture kaleidoscopic melodies in this ethereal, sun-drenched summer record.

Best track: Tunnel (feat. Channel Tres)

BTS

GARBAGE

BLUE LAB BEATS

Genre: K-pop Sound: Vocally perfect Japanese-inspired pop with an electronic twist If you like: Blackpink, Seventeen, Exo Why you should listen: BTS is one of the most popular bands in the world for good reason.

Their catchiness is unmatched, and this foray into J-pop shouldn’t be missed.

Best track: Film out

Genre: Grunge Sound: Classic Garbage: thrumming bass, hard-rock guitar and growling, angst-ridden vocals If you like: PJ Harvey, Hole, The Breeders Why you should listen: Grunge gods Garbage are back with another album that’s unapologetically angry, rife with political commentary and perfect for the next generation of angry teens.

Best track: Girls Talk

Genre: Jazztronica, Afro beats, hip hop Sound: Jazz with luscious instruments that sets off a vibe If you like: D’Angelo, Kaytranada, The Internet Why you should listen: Summer is fast approaching and if you’re thinking which artist pairs well with good times and unique, chilling sounds that feels like you’re in the moment.

Best track: Blow You Away (Delilah) (feat. Ghetto Boy)

BTS, The Best

No Gods No Masters

We Will Rise EP

THE NEXT PLAYLIST

1

Miss Summer Odie

An airy, head-in-theclouds ode to summer love.

38 JUNE 2021 NEXT

2

Who’s Got The Bag (21st June) The Streets

Mike Skinner’s latest banger is an ode to the potential lifting of pandemic restrictions in the U.K. on June 21.

3

Royal Flush

LOONY (ft. Mick Jenkins)

Scarborough’s LOONY and rapper Mick Jenkins team up for this sumptuous R&B number about playing love with a poker face.

4

Little More Love AJ Tracey

AJ Tracey’s British cadence imbues this car-windows-down rap track with the right kind of secret sauce.

5

Let’s Do This Again Robert Adam

A sparkling rhinestone in the country genre, Calgary’s Robert Adam is the queer cowboy songwriter the new frontier needs.

REVIEWS

PARIS PICK

J. COLE

IMUR

HALF MOON RUN

VISSIA

Genre: Soul-pop Sound: Old-school brass, funkadelic bass and upbeat, pure-hearted hooks If you like: Bahamas, Beach Bunny, Kimya Dawson Why you should listen: Hailing from the Yukon, feel-good indie artist Paris Pick charms with her upbeat, hunky-dory tracks fit for falling in love over a shared milkshake at a retro soda shop.

It’s perfectly quirky.

Best track: Beautiful Day

Genre: Rap Sound: Self-probing lyrics ride BPM-raising chords in arrangements made for sports highlight reels If you like: Aminé, Bas Why you should listen: In sports, the off-season is a time to reflect on your game. J. Cole makes it personal reflecting on his massive success, inviting top-of-their game rappers like Lil Baby, 21 Savage and Cam’ron to jump in on tracks, making The Off-Season his first-ever album with guest features.

Best track: Pride.is.the.devil

Genre: R&B alt-pop Sound: Sexy, swaggering hi hats and electro beats layer with cool, cascading vocals that taunt lovers and grapple with demons If you like: Allan Rayman, Banks, Drama Why you should listen: This Vancouver trio engineers seductive tracks with head-nodding hooks so irresistible that TV series Wynonna Earp and Good Trouble both featured their tunes in hookup scenes.

Best track: Sad Girls Club

Genre: Indie folk rock Sound: Simple acoustics back harmonious howls and layered percussion If you like: Leif Vollebekk, Mt. Joy, Radiohead Why you should listen: Each member of the JUNO-winning trio is known to play two to three instruments at a time, forming their beautifully humble backwoods sound.

Best track: Fxgiving

Genre: Alt-pop Sound: Crisp and clear belting vocals backed by dramatic deep snare booms and groovy bass lines If you like: Maren Morris, Alessia Cara, Halsey Why you should listen: Ranging from the heart-worn to the flirtatious, with hues of soul, country and blues, Edmonton artist VISSIA does it all with a burning fire inside.

Best track: Doorway

Hope For The Best

The Off-Season

My Molecules

Inwards & Onwards

With Pleasure

10 TRACKS THE NEXT STAFF CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH

6

The Feeling (Hate 2 Love) Theo Tams

Exuberant, smooth pop with a rich R&B vibe, driven by sweet vocals from Alberta-born Theo Tams.

7

Stop Making This Hurt Bleachers

Hitmaking songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff (Lorde, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and more) writes one for his own band.

8

No Gods No Masters Garbage

Grunge gods Garbage are back with this politically charged banger.

9

waterfall

Catdog (ft. Funké & Jyu)

This summery tune from indie Toronto act Catdog will get you in the post-vaccination spirit.

10

Trailer Trash

carolesdaughter

The cheeriest song about homelessness, drug use and addiction that you’ll ever listen to!

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30¯SECOND ALBUM REVIEWS 40 JUNE 2021 NEXT

GOWE

THE BLACK KEYS

Genre: Jazz-rap Sound: A fusion of jazz and hip hop with deep lyrics If you like: Kid Abstrakt, A Tribe Called Quest, Robert Glasper Why you should listen: Although you’ll get hooked by the old-school beats with jazzy elements, Gowe’s Jazznight is a deep dive on Gowe’s life as an Asian-American artist from the come up to America’s racial problems.

Best track: Hourglass

Genre: Rock Sound: Bluesy, old-fashioned road-trip rock If you like: The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, The Cold War Kids Why you should listen: Wailing guitar riffs, along with soulful singin’ from lead singer Dan Auerbach, make this an album to jam to.

Best track: Crawling Kingsnake

Jazznight

Delta Kream

CZARFACE & MF DOOM

FERRARO

Genre: Hip hop Sound: Old-school hip hop with references ranging from comic-book heroes and villains to historical figures If you like: Madvillain, Aesop Rock, Gang Starr Why you should listen: Iconic and mysterious rapper MF Doom passed in October 2020 and left a huge impact in hip hop. In this collaboration with Czarface, fans will love the music MF Doom imprinted onto the scene with wordplay, unique samples and comic-book references.

Best track: Break in the Action

Genre: Pop rock Sound: Hooky, fresh and fun If you like: Arkells, Harry Styles, Matthew Sweet Why you should listen: With more hooks than a tackle box and packed with powerful choruses and sibling harmonies, the three adorable Ferraro brothers—Cosmo, Gianni and Tally—crank out winning pop that makes for a perfect summer soundtrack.

Best track: Lonely

Super What?

Sweet Fever

WOLF ALICE

Genre: Indie pop Sound: Dreamy orchestrals, fuzzy guitars and beautiful vocal harmonies If you like: Maggie Rogers, Soccer Mommy, Overcoats Why you should listen: Dizzy reworks their The Sun and Her Scorch album with some of their favourite musicians to make a delightful collection of artistic collaborations. They delicately strip back certain tracks and toughen up others.

Best track: The Bird Behind the Drapes (ft. Luna Li)

Genre: Indie rock Sound: Distorted, wailing guitars and hypnotic vocals that ride a rollercoaster of emotions If you like: Courtney Barnett, Snail Mail, Foals Why you should listen: Partially written in a converted church, Wolf Alice have pushed themselves to get lyrically vulnerable and sonically bolder than ever.

Best track: Smile

Separate Places EP

Blue Weekend

OLIVIA RODRIGO

RENFORSHORT

Genre: Pop Sound: Angry, angsty heartbreak anthems for the TikTok generation If you like: Lorde, St Vincent, Taylor Swift Why you should listen: With sophisticated lyricism and a variety of 90s grunge and riot-grrl influences, Rodrigo’s debut sets her far apart from the rest of the Disney star oeuvre.

Best track: Brutal

Genre: Indie Sound: Diverse influences, grunge-y guitar riffs, and raw, authentic teen-angst lyrics If you like: Olivia O’Brien, Billie Eilish, bülow Why you should listen: Renforshort draws clear inspiration from the pop-punk and grunge stars of the early 2000s, but adds an addictively catchy Gen Z twist.

Best track: virtual reality

SOUR

off saint dominique

30 SECOND ALBUM REVIEWS ¯

DIZZY

CELEBRATE 20 YEARS of the iconic debut album by songs in A minor

F E AT U R I N G

“Fallin’”, “A Woman’s Worth” and “How Come You Don’t Call Me”

NEXT JUNE 2021

41

THE MERCH TABLE SUPPORT THE ARTISTS YOU LOVE AND BUY THEIR STUFF

BILLIE EILISH PRETTY BOY T-SHIRT $62. shop.umusic.ca

DOJA CAT KISS ME MORE T-SHIRT $42. shop.dojacat.com LIGHTS LOGO DUFFLE BAG $48. store.iamlights.com

THE SHEEPDOGS KEEP ON LOVING YOU T-SHIRT $35 store.warnermusic.ca

SCHWEY GRAPHIC LONG SLEEVE $30 604shop.com/collections/ schwey

RUTH B DIRTY NIKES HOODIE $40 ruthb.shop.musictoday.com NIGHT LOVELL YOU ON A TEE BACKPACK $50. nightlovell.store

42 JUNE 2021 NEXT

MILEY CYRUS SKETCH ART SWEATPANTS $102. shop.mileycyrus.com

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Music Math!

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NEXT JUNE 2021

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DOWNTOWN KITCHENER

THE LOCAL PAGES

Y Y Z TORONTO ARTS & EVENTS JUNE

PRIDE 2021 PACKED WITH PERFORMANCES, VIRTUAL PARADE Toronto Pride Now until June 27 Virtual event Free pridetoronto.com

Toronto Pride is one of the largest in the world and celebrates its 40th edition with a full month of programming, including not one but two festival weekends.

The weekday schedule includes educational panels, wellness classes and cocktail-making workshops.

The festival weekends host several virtual parades, including 2Spirit Pride, Sober Pride and Trans Pride.

All events will culminate in the Pride Parade (June 27, 2 pm), an hour-long production highlighting Toronto pride history and showcasing local talent, all hosted by Canada’s Drag Race winner Priyanka. Performances by several 2SLGBTQ+ artists are highlighted throughout the month, including Allie X, iskwē, James Baley and Shi Wisdom.

James Baley

44 JUNE 2021 NEXT

JUNE YYZ PREMIERES POWER JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

Toronto Jewish Film Festival

Thurs., June 3 - Sun., June 13 Virtual event $200 all-access, $12 per film tjff.com

Lune

The 29th annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF) is coming to living rooms across Canada with over 60 features to choose from. In a celebration of Jewish culture, TJFF delivers a jam-packed streaming schedule and virtual Q&As with writers, directors and actors. All films are available to view for 48 hours after their initial screening. Top picks include Lune, a dynamic Canadian drama that covers politics, mental health and parenting, and Alone Together, a documentary that follows a remarkable woman devoted to humanitarianism.

PREMIERES JUNE 7 EXCLUSIVELY ON NEXT JUNE 2021

45

YYZ MAY

LULAWORLD TAKES OVER HIGH PARK

LIPxLIP

Lulaworld in the Park

Tues., June 29 - Wed., June 30 Live event High Park Amphitheatre, 1873 Bloor St. W canadianstage.com

Canadian Stage switches up their dynamic in-person summer programming, Dream in High Park, by inviting other producers to use their remarkable space this summer with the hope of revitalizing Toronto’s performing arts scene. Designed using COVID-19 safety measures, up to 100 patrons will be welcomed to sit—socially distanced—at High Park Amphitheatre to watch events drawn from a diverse selection of music, film and theatre. First “guest producers” are the folks at Lula Lounge, who launch the season with lively performances by local Latinx, Brazilian, Caribbean and Indigenous artists.

Tickets will be available closer to the performance dates.

Mio’s Cookbook

COOKING, CONSPIRACIES FUEL JAPANESE FILM FEST Toronto Japanese Film Festival Sat., June 5 - Sun., June 27 Virtual event $100 all-access, $10 per film torontojff.com

Heralded by the Japanese film industry as a vital platform for Japanese culture, the Toronto Japanese Film Festival (TJFF) celebrates its 10th anniversary with three weeks of exciting programming. This year’s lineup includes an impressive selection from women directors, several international and domestic premieres and a hybrid anime that’s part movie, part concert for the virtual duo LIPxLIP. Top picks include Wife of a Spy, from acclaimed director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Mio’s Cookbook, a tale of friendship and food. Viewers can watch any film during the festival period.

46 JUNE 2021 NEXT

TM

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ONTARIO

ALBERTA

QUEBEC

MANITOBA

NOVA SCOTIA

VISIT INDIES.CA TO WATCH AND VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE

YYZ JUNE

DRAG QUEENS TO DAZZLE AT DRIVE IN

Tynomi Banks

CityView Drive ’N Queens Sat., June 12 / 8 pm ET Live event $230 and up 20 Polson Ave. cityviewdrivein.com

Last summer, CityView Drive-In was created for local music and movie lovers who craved live entertainment. The CityView crew is launching their 2021 season this June, including an impressive drag queen showcase. Drive ‘N Queens is a summer-long series at the venue, kicking off with Canada’s Drag Race stars Tynomi Banks, Lemon and Jimbo, as well as local talent Jada Hudson and Aurora Matrix. Guests can pick their preferred parking spot through Ticketmaster and enjoy the show from the safety and comfort of their vehicle. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are welcomed, and food trucks are on site. Other CityView shows include Classic Albums Live - Led Zeppelin II (June 11) and Big Wreck (July 3).

48 JUNE 2021 NEXT

THE LOCAL PAGES

Y V R VANCOUVER ARTS & EVENTS JUNE

MUSIC WASTE WANTS NOT FOR TOP LOCAL TALENT

Music Waste

Thurs. June 17 - Sun. June 20 Virtual music festival Free musicwaste.ca

Music Waste, one of Vancouver’s finest counter-cultural art and music festival, is on again this June.

The iconic fest started in 1994 as a protest against the Music West festival, and still runs today as a beating heart for Vancouver’s cultural underground. They've built a diehard community of fans and artists who reliably put on one of the year’s coolest events, and while they’ve gone virtual this year, they're still bringing you DIY music workshops, community events, and a lineup of Vancouver’s sickest up-and-coming artists via livestream.

From Tonk's true blue country to Transistor Riot's glitchtastic post-punk dancecore, this year’s compact 27 artist bill packs a punch.

The diverse lineup features brand new pandemic projects like the summery bedroom bops of Rainbows End, the introspective cinematic menagerie of Max Boonch, west coast faves like the interdimensional pop of Devours, and the soft punk of Emma Lee Toyoda, all streaming over the fest’s four-day run.

Max Boonch NEXT JUNE 2021

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YVR JUNE

Snotty Nose Rez Kids

Amanda Sum

Jerry Cook

VAN JAZZ FEST OFFERS AWESOME IN-PERSON SHOWS TD Jazz Festival

Fri. June 25 – Sun. July 4 Music Festival Prices vary; starting from free Various locations and streaming coastaljazz.ca/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory=2

Vancouver’s Jazz Festival is one of the only large-scale festivals that’s soldiered on through the pandemic, and it’s poised to provide a much-needed dose of arts and culture to the city’s music lovers. The festival is operating through a combination of livestreamed performances from national and international artists and real-life performances in public spaces, restaurants and concert halls. Highlights include Indigenous hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids (June 25), a series of improvisational up-and-comers streaming live from Amsterdam (June 26), indie pop princess Amanda Sum (June 26), avant-jazz quintet Human Kind [Iteration] (June 25), and iconic jazz performers the Jerry Cook Quartet (June 26), among a crowd of others.

Many of the events in the series are free to the public; check site for details.

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NO GUESSING WHO AT THIS LIVE SHOW Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings—Together Again Tues., June 15 / 7:30 pm PST Concert $66 and up Rogers Arena, 800 Griffiths Way tourismvancouver.com/event/randy-bachman-and-burton-cummings-together-again/22143/

The Guess Who’s Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings are Canadian rock royalty and their previously postponed national reunion tour is a must-see for classic rock fans. The show is in-person, so vax up first—but once you’re good to go, you’ll likely be one of the first people in the country to see a real-life COVID-era concert!

JUNE YVR

Tonye Aganaba

DOLLY DISCO STREAM DREAMS WILL DELIGHT

ARTS ORGANIZERS SAY DON’T DERIDE THE EAST SIDE

Dolly Disco Streams

DTES Artist Showcase

Pre-COVID, there was no sicker place to party in Vancouver than the perennially cool Dolly Disco. Their in-person operations have been on pause for over a year but they’ve just announced a weekly livestreaming series, bringing the spirit of Dolly to a computer screen near you. Tune in for DJ sets, live performances and potentially much more—with Dolly, you never quite know what you’re going to get.

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is a hub for world-class music, art and culture, whose residents are far too often overlooked by the mainstream. Community group Everybody DTES hopes to change that with the DTES Artists’ Showcase: an expertly curated and produced variety show featuring some of the best art and artists the neighborhood has to offer. Performances have been pre-recorded and will be available to stream throughout the month of June.

Fridays and Saturdays / 10 pm PST Livestream Free twitch.tv/dollyvancouver

Throughout June Virtual stream Free everybodyisin.org/events

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THE LOCAL PAGES

Y Y C CALGARY ARTS & EVENTS JUNE

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DISCOVER THE NIGHT SKY Discover the Night Sky at Leighton Art Centre

Fri. June 25, 9 – 11 pm MT Outdoor constellation viewing $10 per ticket Leighton Art Centre, 282027 144 St. West, Foothills, Alta. leightoncentre.org/event/discover-the-night-sky-2

For all you Pisces princesses, Capricorn kings and Gemini goddesses obsessed with zodiac memes and living your life according to your horoscope, it’s time to actually learn about the physical stars themselves. Drive just beyond the southern city limits to the Leighton Art Centre to meet biologist and naturalist Jim Critchley, who will guide you in building your own star map before venturing outside under the sparkling night sky to identify your constellations. It’ll be a full moon too—don’t forget to make your moon water. IYKYK.

JUNE YYC GOGH AND SEE Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Thurs. June 3 – Sun. August 29 Immersive art exhibition $53 Starry Night Pavilion at McMahon Stadium 1817 Crowchild Trail NW calgaryvangogh.com Watch the Starry Night swirl all around in this totally immersive, totally jaw-dropping exhibition of the great works from troubled yet super-talented 19th-century artist Vincent Van Gogh. Stepping inside feels like walking through a dream world, as gobs and sweeps of colours from his world-famous paintings, like the twinkling Café Terrace at Night and Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, cloak the walls and ground. Art galleries will never be the same again.

COVID BRIBERY

Cans For Community Immunity Free beer While supplies last Cold Garden Beverage Company 1100 11 St. SE coldgarden.ca

As if hot girl summer wasn’t reason enough to get vaxxed, YYC’s favourite backyard brewery is throwing in some free beer! While supplies last, their takeout taproom is giving one can of their easy-drinking Neighbourhood Ale to anyone who brings their vaccination card.

As COVID forces more shutdowns, sitting on Cold Garden’s massive kitsch-core patio enjoying a cold bevvy seems but a dream. But it won’t be such a distant one as vaccination rates go up—plus, Cold Garden is providing a pretty sweet incentive to get the jab.

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YYC JUNE

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS ARE BACK Calgary Underground Film Festival Drive-in

Thurs. June 3 – Sat. June 5, 10 pm MT Drive-in movie screenings $35 per car; must pre-purchase tickets and concession snacks online Crossroads Market, 1235 26 Ave. SE calgaryundergroundfilm/.org/2021-drive-in

Though our favourite film festivals have been pulling through with a wealth of amazing virtual content in these COVID times, a dirty laptop just doesn’t compare to the big screen. Enter the Calgary Underground Film Festival Drive-In. Some of the most exciting summer flicks will be beamed onto a massive outdoor screen, including chilling horror film Spiral: From the Book of Saw starring Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock, and Recovery, a wisecracking indie film about two sisters on a mission to save their grandmother from a COVID outbreak in her nursing home.

Recovery

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Marda Loop Justice Film Festival: justREEL Tues. June 8, stream anytime between 5:30 – 11:55 pm MT Film Screening Free justicefilmfestival.ca/events/june2021-justreel

PRIDE MONTH ON FILM Sex, Sin & 1969

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June is Pride month, and Marda Loop Justice Film Festival is celebrating with two impressive documentary features. A vivid historic feature, Sex, Sin & 1969, taps queer academics, historians, artists and more to dive into the 1969 legislation to “decriminalize” sexuality in Canada. Short film Key of T follows Ari Agha, a trans singer forced to choose between their love and who they are when testosterone therapy threatens to compromise their singing voice. Don’t switch off after the screenings—stick around for an exclusive interview with community activist, author and founder of the Calgary Gay History Project, Kevin Allen.

FUNNIES THE NEXT

TIME-WASTING PUZZLES, GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

COLOURING IS FUN!

ISN’ T IT IRONIC– ALANIS MORISSETTE IS STILL AWESOME Singing of soggy wedding days and lousy lotteries, with a broad definition of “irony”, Alanis Morrissette conquered the world 27 years ago when Jagged Little Pill changed everything.

And she still makes great music, up for an Adult Contemporary Album of the Year JUNO for her, Such Pretty Forks in The Road, as well as a Songwriter of the Year nomination.

ILLUSTRATION: KATRIN EMERY

Ironic? Maybe not, but cool? Hell yeah!

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FUNNIES

TRAGICALLY HIP WORD SEARCH

IN SEARCH OF THE TRAGICALLY HIP 'S UNDISCOVERED ALBUM

It’s a dream come true for Canadian music fans with the release of The Tragically Hip’s Saskadelphia, a new album filled with unreleased songs from their 1990 Road Apples sessions.

The band’s pleas to release a double album were refused and the

songs disappeared—until now. In the spirit of the Hip discovery, we present The Tragically Hip Word Search.

Remember to watch The Hip pick up their Humanitarian award — and perform a song with Feist — at the JUNOs, Sun. June 6 on CBC at 8 pm ET.

p II S U F

F A R Z A

H P

L

E D A K S A S S

O G N A

I

D

N M S N

I

U R B N O T S O B E Y T W P N

U H V

I

T

T

A F U L

L

Y C O M P

T H A T N

I

G H T

I

N T O R O N T O C O

O W O F

F

T Y M

I

S S

J

L

I

I

I

R E M H T E R D N U H E W L

E B O N E S

O Q K W G C M Y M U S T N P O Z O K

I

L

I

L

E T E I

Y S U X K L

Y S O C

O N C A P V U

C A T W O R K R

N G S T O N F U R P O A

E C R R E W O P M O T N A H P H

J

B Z G

C D V M B O B C A Y G E O N U H E M Y E A P U P A U L

P V K U P T O H E R E U R

R K V Q N Z P

I

W U R S Q C N B E W G E

G Y R U T N E C A Y B D A E H A F

T

J

F

G H G U O D H G

I

H T A W O L

C R O A D A P P

L

E S T K U E Y Y M B C

I

I

Z

J O M G S G N

G N

I

K N

I

S S

I

I

K T A E H W O F R

S N A E

L R O W E N D

E U S X Q C A G Z R F E U E X C Y N N H O J

B U L O Z

L

T E Q Z

L G E S U O H N E H P E O

WORD LIST AHEAD BY A CENTURY BLOW AT HIGH DOUGH BOBCAYGEON BOSTON BRUINS COURAGE FIFTY MISSION CAP FULLY COMPLETELY GORD GRACE TOO HENHOUSE HUNDRETH MERIDIAN JOHNNY JUNOS KINGSTON LITTLE BONES MY MUSIC AT WORK NEW ORLEANS IS SINKING PAUL PHANTOM POWER ROAD APPLES ROB SASKADELPHIA THAT NIGHT IN TORONTO UP TO HERE WHEAT KINGS NEXT JUNE 2021

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DOES DOOM SCROLLING DOOM ME TO DEPRESSION?

Dear Amy: I’ve noticed I’m on social media A LOT more since the pandemic started and I’ve gotten into the habit of “doomscrolling” (endlessly scrolling through depressing news stories). Any advice on how to balance screen time so I stay informed on current issues without growing to completely hate social media?

Doom Scroller Dear Doom Scroller: This is something I have also battled with intensely the past year. No generation before us has gone through a global pandemic with the globe at their fingertips.

After being disconnected from everyone, here in our hands, with a swipe, we are connecting with a plethora of people with all their thoughts, feelings, jokes, news, rage, hot takes and cold takedowns, but is it actually connecting?

I am not sure coming to hate social media is such a bad outcome! I had to acknowledge there was something that actually disconnects me from my life when I go in for the scroll, and that break from my IRL is weirdly soothing. So where I used to think I was connecting, I realized I am actually doing the opposite.

I have tried to curb my social media enthusiasm by giving myself time limits.

When my phone alerts me that my phone use is down, it gives me a rush of pride. I have turned this into a kind of challenge, to keep the phone times decreasing every week as much as possible. On the occasional jaunt out, I leave the phone at home so I don’t find myself mindlessly scrolling while having a coffee when I could be doing actual people watching! Way better. Looking up can be so much more satisfying than 58 JUNE 2021 NEXT

the down curve of the neck screen. Actual birds! Not rolling through human tweets.

Make a promise you will wait when you wake up and open your eyes not to launch right into the scroll. Set an alarm when you go in to remind yourself how long you have been feeding your mind with endless nattering and memes. If you do spend hours scrolling because you are maybe struggling during the weirdest time ever, don’t beat yourself up—chalk it up to a bad day.

COVID SCARE SHOWS VACCINE VALUE

Dear Amy: I heard you had COVID, so sorry. Glad you’re okay. Not to be too clinical, but what did you learn from the experience?

(PS: Really glad you are okay!)

Covid Curious

ASK AMY

DOES STARS STAR GET STAGE FRIGHT?

Dear Amy: I see you are going to play again, lucky you. I assume you want to play again but, does the thought still give you anxiety? Can you look forward to playing a show and be nervous about it? I want to be a performer, love how my songs sound in my bedroom but the idea of playing in front of people makes me a little sick. Should I think of a different dream with no possibility of stage fright?

Stage Frightened Dear Stage Frightened: I have terrible stage fright! I haven’t put out a solo record in over 10 years because of it! The only thing that really helped me was having a band. When I feel all the pressure is under “Amy Millan,” I go COLD! Maybe get some really great friends and musicians together and make a band, then a name, and then you are more like a gang! When you are in it with others and everyone has a stake, it can really help with the fright.

Another tip: once when I had a panic attack on stage, a reviewer of the show wrote “I have never seen Amy Millan more relaxed.” So you never know how much you can fake the shake!

If you do get up the courage to go at it alone, I do have a trick that sometimes helped and I actually got to pass on to Steve Drodz of Flaming Lips fame, who also suffers from some stage fright. There is the old saying “picture everyone naked,” but I always thought that was kind of silly. It did occur to me once when I started feeling self-conscious, looking out on the crowd: “Everyone in this room will one day be dead, so why not live now without fear?”

You go, dreamer.

Any advice on how to balance screen time so I stay informed on current issues without growing to completely hate social media?

Dear Covid Curious: Thanks for asking! We were so lucky and I think, because we got it from my four-year-old who had no symptoms, the viral load was low. I had the worst of the symptoms and got a steroid for my lungs.

It lasted about 10 days for me, my daughter had a few symptoms over a couple days and my sweetheart Evan Cranley got better in about a week. I had just been vaccinated, so now that I have had COVID and the vaccine I am in the clear—which feels like such a blessing.

The vaccine rollout is so exciting and really feels like it is helping this whole thing come to an end. Having had both COVID and the vaccine, I would really advise getting the vaccine for any hesitants out there. Like the measles and polio, we can end this with a vaccinated population, so go get that liquid gold! The vaccine is a GIFT!

NEED ADVICE ON LOVE, SEX, RELATIONSHIPS, THE MUSIC BIZ OR HAVE A CONFESSION TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST?

ASK AMY MILLAN.

PRIDE PAIN FEELS HOPELESS

Dear Amy: I’m a queer teen who should be happy during Pride but it depresses me because it reminds me I have two lives: my out life in my community, and my closeted life with my family. I’ve learned to live with it but wish it would change someday and have no idea how—so, how?

Two Lifer Hi, Two Lifer! When I read your letter, I thought my dear friend Caely White, who has more experience in such matters, could answer your question beautifully. My plan with “Ask Amy” is to also gather diverse voices of wisdom, and not just my straight, white, cis woman perspective. Here’s Caely with some sage advice.

Dear Two Lifer: Thank you for being so vulnerable. I think, in knowing your truth and living it, you will be able to understand that those who are able to fully support you are the ones that deserve you. It might sound clichéd, but the idea of chosen family is a huge aspect of adult life, and not just in the queer community. I truly believe you will be able to find a sense of family, no matter the outcome.

And most importantly—enjoy Pride as a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community!! Have some fun.

Amy Millan is a Canadian indie rock singer and guitarist. She records and performs with Stars and Broken Social Scene and has a successful solo career.

Have a question for Amy? askamy@nextmag.ca

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