Q with Tom Power

From playing bars in Saskatoon to arenas around the world, the Canadian rock band The Sheepdogs have come a long way in two decades. To mark their 20th anniversary as a band, lead singer Ewan Currie joins Tom Power to talk about what it means to have longevity in rock and roll — and why the band couldn’t resist making a holiday song.

This year, decades after re-establishing herself as a solo artist, Cher was finally recognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She’s also just released a new book, “Cher: The Memoir,” which is the first of a two-part autobiography that covers her start in music from 1946 to 1976. In this conversation with Tom Power, Cher tells us her story of growing up with a mother who wanted to be a star h...

The acclaimed tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain has died at age 73. Last year, he was in Toronto for his show “Masters of Percussion” at Massey Hall. Just before that concert, he spoke to Tom Power about his life in music, from his most notable collaborations to the life advice he got from the late George Harrison. In tribute, we revisit that conversation.

Michael Healey’s award-winning play “The Master Plan” is a biting satire about the Sidewalk Labs fiasco in Toronto, when the Google sister company attempted to build a smart city in an underdeveloped neighbourhood on the city’s waterfront. It’s based on the book “Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy” by tech reporter Josh O’Kane, and it’s now being remounted at the Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto....

The Canadian pianist D.D. Jackson got an unusual request during the pandemic: his old friend, Canada’s former poet laureate George Elliott Clarke, asked him to turn a poem he had written for his daughter into a song. That led to a whole project in which George sent D.D. different works by Canadian poets for D.D. to transform into music. The result of their collaboration is a new album called “Poet...

It’s been eight years since Gwen Stefani has released an album. Following a very public divorce, she needed some time to heal, pick up the pieces of her life and find her voice again. Now, after some time away from music, she’s back with her fifth studio album, “Bouquet.” Gwen joins Tom Power to talk about the record, her time in No Doubt, and finding real love for what she says might be the first...

Densil McFarlane, the lead singer of the Canadian punk rock band The OBGMs, felt like he was in a rut, so he decided to seek out therapy. That decision opened up a whole new world that he explores on his band’s new album, “Sorry, It’s Over.” Densil sits down with guest host Saroja Coelho to chat about the album and what he learned about being vulnerable in his art.

The hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids are back with their sixth studio album (and first on a major label), “Red Future.” Yung Trybez and Young D join Tom Power to talk about the concept of Indigenous Futurism, riding the line between serious subject matter and levity, and why they believe this record is their magnum opus.

The director Jane Schoenbrun first became known for their 2021 movie “We're All Going to the World's Fair,” which tapped into a teenaged fascination with the culture of viral memes. Jane’s latest film, “I Saw the TV Glow,” follows two suburban teens who get emotionally enmeshed in a fictional ‘90s TV show called “The Pink Opaque.” The result is a moody investigation of identity, growing up and mak...

It’s been more than 25 years since the Swedish hardcore punk band Refused released their seminal album, “The Shape of Punk to Come.” Their most famous song from that album, “New Noise,” has been called a political anthem and a protest song. It’s been used in the Palme d'Or'-winning film “Triangle of Sadness” as well as in the hit show “The Bear.” Frontman Dennis Lyxzén of Refused joins Tom Power t...

Nikki Giovanni carved out a revolutionary legacy during the civil rights era with poems that uplifted the experiences of Black Americans. On Monday, she died at age 81, following her third cancer diagnosis. We revisit Tom Power’s conversation with the iconic poet from earlier in the year when she discussed her involvement in the birth of hip-hop, why artists should go to space, and how she packed...

The British-Turkish writer Elif Shafak has written over a dozen novels, many of which have been translated to nearly 60 languages. She’s often credited as being the most-read female novelist in Turkey. Elif joins Tom to talk about the importance of water in her latest novel There are Rivers in the Sky, the transformational power of literature, and what being prosecuted for her work has taught her...

Toronto rapper Clairmont the Second talks to Tom about his experience of loss and paranoia on his brand new album “They Said it Would Rain,” and how despite the challenges he’s faced in recent years, his record ends in triumph. 

Canadian folk musician Valdy has been making music and criss-crossing the country for over 50 years. Valdy has 16 albums to his name, sold over half a million records and received the Order of Canada and two Junos. Valdy joins Tom in the Q studio to talk about his iconic 1972 hit “Rock and Roll Song,” what keeps him playing almost 200 shows per year at the age of 79 and his political and social ac...

Patrick Nichols has been photographing Toronto’s hip-hop artists for decades. His latest photo, “A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop,” features 103 key players from the scene captured all in one place. It’s just been put on display in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s new exhibit, “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.” Patrick sits down with Tom Power to talk about the photograph,...

Margo Martindale is no stranger to playing dangerous women, whether it be a KGB agent on “The Americans” or the matriarch of a crime family on “Justified.” She now turns her talents to another dangerous woman: Ruth Landry, a maple syrup farmer in rural Quebec who decides to pull an $18 million maple syrup heist in “The Sticky,” a new series based on a true story. She tells Tom Power about how she...

When Michael Ross Albert recently bought a condo in Toronto, he realized that the dream of homeownership is more like a nightmare. The Canadian playwright was inspired by his own and his friends’ experiences of homeownership to write his new play, “The Bidding War.” The dark comedy chronicles several Torontonians trying to purchase the “last nice home” in the city. He joins Tom Power in the Q stud...

When Scottish actor Alan Cumming read the script for the Canadian movie “Drive Back Home,” he really connected to the character of Perley, a New Brunswick-born ad man living in Toronto in the 1970s. Despite the obvious differences, the character, like Alan, was abused by his father when he showed early signs of his queerness. Alan joins Tom Power to chat about what it’s like to act out scenes so c...

Julian Taylor is back with a new album, “Pathways.” The Toronto singer-songwriter needed to go inward to make this new album, writing songs about the realities of being a musician and reflecting on his experiences of being dropped by a label when he was younger. Julian drops by the Q studio to tell Tom Power about his ups-and-downs in the music industry, what was on his mind when making the new al...

The comedian Taylor Tomlinson grew up in a religious household, so her very first stand-up performances were on the Christian comedy circuit. But after she got fired from a church gig because of a joke she told, she started branching out her comedy. Now, she’s one of the biggest comics in the world, the host of “After Midnight” on CBS, and she’s just released her latest comedy special, “Have it Al...

Ryan Ofei is a Canadian artist who grew up singing in the church, but due to feeling like an outsider, he abandoned his passion for Christian music in favour of R&B. After a near-death experience made him re-evaluate his life and values, Ryan found his way back to writing about his relationship with God, and since then has gone on to win a Grammy for his work. He joins Tom Power to talk about...

The comedian Fortune Feimster is back with a new Netflix comedy special, “Crushing It,” which debuts today. In this conversation with Tom Power, Fortune tells us how she discovered her passion for comedy, how Chelsea Handler gave her her first big break in Hollywood, and what she thinks about being described as a “joyful” comedian.

The Quebec singer-songwriter Klô Pelgag has gone through some big changes since being shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2021. She wrote her latest album, “Abracadabra,” after becoming a mother for the first time, which completely changed her relationship to music and the world. Klô joins Tom Power to discuss how she’s rediscovering herself as an artist. Plus, she sets up a song called “Le...

John Adams (Nixon In China, Doctor Atomic) is a Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer who’s one of the biggest living names in the world of opera and classical music. He’s helped give opera a more contemporary lens by steering his work toward big political events in modern history. His latest opera, “Girls of the Golden West,” looks at the California Gold Rush, and it was recently nominated for two...

The actor Allan Louis has stepped into the role of Henry Higgins in the beloved Broadway musical “My Fair Lady,” which is on now at the Shaw Festival in Ontario. Allan took over the role from another actor earlier this fall. He joins Tom Power to talk about his transition from understudy to leading man, and how the character of Henry Higgins changes when a Black actor takes on the role.