Q with Tom Power

Rotterdam-born Naomi Sharon is part of a generation of European female artists attempting to break through to global audiences. She’s also the first female artist signed to Drake's OVO Sound, blending neo soul with an electronic influence rooted in her Dutch and Caribbean heritage. Naomi sits down with Q guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about stepping into her own on her second studio album, No Sl...

Megan Park (Sterling Point, My Old Ass, The Fallout) is a Canadian writer and director who got her start in front of the camera, starring in teen dramas like Life with Derek and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. But something about those early jobs never felt quite right. The roles often lacked authenticity, and there was little room for collaboration on set. Now, Megan has made it her mis...

The indie rock band Kiwi Jr. has been rocking, rolling and riffing for more than a decade. In Q’s recurring New Music segment, lead singer Jeremy Gaudet joins guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about their latest single, Photos Of The Reenactment, which was inspired by true crime podcasts. The band’s new album, Blowin’ Up, comes out on Aug. 14.

Candi Staton has been a gospel prodigy, a Southern soul powerhouse and a disco icon. Now in her 80s, she’s back in the spotlight with her Grammy-nominated album Back to My Roots, which marks her return to the gospel music where it all began. From segregated Alabama churches to ’90s dance floors, her career includes timeless hits like Young Hearts Run Free and You Got the Love. But it’s also a jour...

Samar Hejazi is a Palestinian Canadian artist whose multidisciplinary work spans sculpture, textiles and printmaking, challenging traditional perceptions of reality. After spending years in Toronto, she now lives and works in Dubai. She’s one of the primary contributors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s latest exhibit, Costume Art, which debuted at the Met Gala in New York. Sam...

In her new memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry, Montreal-born musician Melissa Auf der Maur pulls back the curtain on the alternative rock and grunge scene of the ’90s. Earlier this year, she joined Tom Power to talk about the chaotic, often destructive dynamics within Hole — and how, through it all, frontwoman Courtney Love emerged as one of rock’s most powerful feminist voices.

Les Louanges (a.k.a. Vincent Roberge) is one of the defining francophone artists of his generation in Québec, and yet he’s almost entirely unknown to anglophone Canada. He’s got two Juno Awards for francophone album of the year, and now his latest album, Alouette!, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize. Les Louanges joins Q guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about the stories...

Grammy-nominated neo soul singer Glenn Lewis is considered one of the forefathers of R&B in Canada. Born in Kitchener and raised in Toronto, he broke through in the early 2000s with his debut album, World Outside My Window. Now he's back with his first new album in more than a decade, Overture. Glenn joins Q guest host Garvia Bailey to look back on the early days of his career, reflect on his...

From an early age, violinist Vijay Gupta seemed destined for classical music greatness. He performed at Carnegie Hall at just eight years old, studied at Juilliard and Yale, and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at 19. But behind his success, he was struggling with anxiety, addiction and burnout. In his new memoir, Restrung, Vijay reflects on how an experience on Skid Row in Los Angeles changed...

DerRic Starlight is best known for his puppetry, taking his “Nuppets” (Native puppets) across Canada, mostly to Indigenous communities. But about a decade ago, he set his puppets aside to embark on a different kind of storytelling project: writing a book about homeless communities in Alberta in an effort to explore the root causes of Indigenous homelessness. DerRic tells Q guest host Gill Deacon w...

Maddy Kelly is a Canadian-born stand-up comedian, writer, actor and producer based in New York City. Named a “Rising Star” by Toronto’s Future of Film Showcase, she’s built a successful career performing in comedy clubs across North America and recently made her late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She’s also written for the political satire series This Hour Has 22 Minutes....

If you don’t know Dawoud Bey’s name, chances are you’ve seen his work. One of the most influential photographers working today, Dawoud rose to prominence through his powerful portraits of Black Americans and young people. In 2017, he shifted his focus from portraiture to landscape photography, exploring the history and legacy of African Americans in the Southern United States. Ahead of his new sol...

When Meegwun Fairbrother first got wind of Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie reboot, the Ojibwe Scottish actor initially wasn’t hopeful. In his experience, historical dramas didn’t have room for mixed-heritage Indigenous characters who looked like him. Plus, the original series erased the Indigenous perspective entirely. But Meegwun quickly realized this production was doing something differen...

Canadian actor, writer and musician Rebecca Auerbach has turned her acclaimed one-woman show into a new CBC podcast called Discount Dave (and the Fix). Based on a true-ish story, it starts with a chance encounter with a man claiming to be Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, before spiraling into a deeper story about addiction, trauma and recovery. Rebecca sits down with Q guest host Gill Deacon to...

Reneltta Arluk grew up on a trapline in the Northwest Territories, living off the land with her grandmother and the legendary Arctic dog team guide Archie Larocque. Those nomadic early years shaped a career that took her from founding the first professional theatre company in the Northwest Territories to becoming the first Indigenous woman to direct at the Stratford Festival. Now a leader at the N...

When Sarah Leavitt’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she began documenting everything she could through drawings and writing. Those records became Tangles, her acclaimed 2010 graphic memoir, which was the first graphic narrative to be named a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. Now, more than 15 years later, Tangles has been adapted into a film starring Julia Louis...

Common is an award-winning rapper, actor and activist known for his socially conscious lyrics and roles in films like Selma and the TV show Silo. Common joins Tom Power to talk about season three of Silo, growing up in Chicago, and what it was like to be a ball boy for the Chicago Bulls as a kid and witness Michael Jordan’s first season in the NBA. 

Winnipeg’s sundayclub introduces their song, Blue Wave, in Q’s recurring New Music segment. Their self-titled debut album is out now.

Constance Wu stars in a new sci-fi thriller, The Outer Threat, filmed right here in Canada. Constance is most recognizable for her role in Crazy Rich Asians, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She’s also the bestselling author of her memoir, Making a Scene. She joins guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about the new film, her craft, and her memoir. 

Halifax-based duo Moira & Claire introduce their song, no hesitation, in Q’s recurring New Music segment. Their new album, it’s all a mess!, is out now.

What’s in the perfect party lunch? What movie was bad enough to make you walk out of a theatre? And would you DJ your own afterparty? Filmmaker D.W. Waterson answers these very important questions — and more — in a rapid-fire round of Getting to Know Q with Tom Power.

Carisa Hendrix a magician, comedian, fire eater, and the creative force behind the character Lucy Darling, a glamorous socialite who’s become an internet sensation. Guest host Gill Deacon speaks with the multi-talented Carisa as she prepares for a performance at Just for Laughs Montreal. She talks about finding a community of magicians in Calgary, breaking into the male-dominated field of magic, a...

Oliver Jones died this week at the age of 91. In 2024, Tom Power visited the Canadian jazz legend at his home in Montreal to talk about his legacy in Canadian music, his relationship with his hero and role model Oscar Peterson, the time he played for Nelson Mandela, and the secret to playing music into your 90s. 

Weird Al Yankovic is a pop culture icon known around the world for his parodies of mega-hits by artists like Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Michael Jackson. His most memorable hits include Amish Paradise, Eat It, and the platinum-selling White & Nerdy. With five Grammy awards and seventeen nominations, he's one of only three artists to chart in the Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 in four consecutive deca...

For his latest film, Canadian director Clement Virgo adapted the true story of a teenage girl who escapes the Antebellum South into an Afrofuturist fairytale. The film is called Steal Away and focuses on the relationship between a sheltered teenage girl named Fanny and a Black refugee named Cécile, who’s taken in by Fanny’s family. As their relationship deepens, obsession and jealousy arises, and...