Author: Richard Burnett

Dubbed “Mr. Montreal” by CBC Arts, Richard “Bugs” Burnett is an arts and culture journalist and columnist. He is also a pop culture pundit on radio and television. His pioneering column Three Dollar Bill is the only syndicated LGBTQ column in Canadian publishing history, and is now conserved in The ArQuives, the largest independent LGBTQ archive in the world, and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chambre de Commerce LGBT du Québec at their 2019 Prix Phénicia Gala. Bugs has interviewed everybody from Cher to Justin Trudeau, got the last-ever sit-down interview with the late James Brown, and knows his hometown like a drag queen knows a cosmetics counter. Tourisme Montréal says, “As Michael Musto is to New York City, Richard Burnett is to Montreal.”
Arts and Entertainment featured

An audience with British rock royalty Rick Wakeman

If there is anybody who lived Spinal Tap, it is trailblazing keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman. I mean, the onetime hardliving rock star had already had a couple heart attacks by the time he was 25. He was not only an on-and-off member of progressive rock band YES but Wakeman – who actually turned down David […]
Arts and Entertainment featured

Must-See Montreal Events in August 2019

Here are my choice Montreal arts and culture highlights for the second half of August 2019: MUSIC Many top touring acts headline various Montreal concert venues this month. At the Bell Centre, top acts include Rock and Roll Hall of Famers KISS headlining their last-ever Montreal concert (August 16), Canadian boy done good Shawn Mendes (August […]
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Must-See Montreal Events in July 2019

Here are my choice Montreal arts and culture highlights for the second half of July 2019: MUSIC Top acts at the Bell Centre include 1990s teen pin-ups Backstreet Boys (July 15), classic rockers Heart (July 16), British hard-rock legends Def Leppard (July 17) and South African stand-up comic Trevor Noah (July 26), host of The Daily […]
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An audience with rock legend Steven Van Zandt

By Richard Burnett The last time rock legend Steven Van Zandt performed in Montreal solo, with his band Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, was in October 1987 when he opened for U2 on their Joshua Tree Tour at Olympic Stadium for more than 66,000 screaming fans. Los Lobos was also on that bill. “Really? […]
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Must-see Montreal Events in June 2019

Here are my choice Montreal arts and culture highlights for June 2019: MUSIC Many top touring acts headline various Montreal concert venues this month. American a cappella group Pentatonix (June 11) and Montreal’s very own Corey Hart (June 15) headline the Bell Centre, while Cincinnati rock band The National (June 21) play at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des […]
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An audience with Engelbert Humperdinck

A candid Q&A with pop icon Engelbert Humperdinck When I first interviewed Engelbert Humperdinck a decade ago, he was riding another wave of popularity after recording the song Lesbian Seagull for MTV’s 1996 adult cartoon film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. The filmmakers liked that Engelbert – or ‘Enge, as in Stonehenge’ – has a sense of […]
Arts and Entertainment featured Film/TV

Must-See Montreal Events in March 2019

Here are my choice Montreal arts and culture highlights for March 2019: MUSIC Many top touring acts headline various Montreal concert venues this month. Highlights include Mumford & Sons (March 4), American rapper Travis Scott: Astroworld (March 5),  Weezer & Pixies (March 13), KISS (March 19) and Muse (March 30), all at the Bell Centre. Over […]