Q with Tom Power

Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi is a powerhouse in classical music. As one of the most streamed classical artists of all time, his atmospheric, meditative piano sound has captured the imaginations of acclaimed filmmakers and famous fans, such as Iggy Pop, Nicki Minaj and Ricky Gervais. Ludovico’s new album, “The Summer Portraits,” was inspired by paintings he saw on a summer vacation...

Today we’re remembering the Grammy-winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo. The musician’s family confirmed in a statement today that he died following a prolonged battle with cancer at age 51. Back in 2017, we did a deep dive on D’Angelo’s 1995 debut album “Brown Sugar,” which some say marked the birth of the term "neo-soul." In tribute to D’Angelo, we dug deep into the “Q” archives to bring you...

You probably didn’t expect the bestselling author of “The Notebook” and the acclaimed director of “The Sixth Sense” to start working together, but you’ll be glad that they did. Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan have collaborated on a supernatural love story that’s being released as a novel first, followed by a movie next year. It’s called “Remain” and it follows a grieving architect who moves...

Leith Ross is a Juno-nominated singer-songwriter whose music blew up on TikTok during the pandemic. Now, they’ve released their sophomore album, “I Can See The Future,” which sees them embracing radical optimism to envision a better world. Leith sits down with Tom Power to talk about building community even when it’s hard, and why they opted for a quieter life in Winnipeg after getting their big b...

On the 30th anniversary of Blue Rodeo’s best selling album “Five Days in July,” bandmates Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor join Tom to recall how they found refuge in Greg’s Ontario farmhouse to create a Canadian masterpiece.

Natalie MacMaster is a virtuoso Canadian fiddle player from Cape Breton who’s brought traditional East Coast music to the rest of the world. She was nine when she got her first fiddle, but she felt like she already had nine years of experience at that point because she had been surrounded by fiddle music from the time she was born. Now, Natalie has released a new memoir, “I Have a Love Story,” whi...

For nearly three decades, Boston’s Dropkick Murphys have been the loud, proud voice of working class punk. They’re the kind of band that’s stood for something since day one. But these days, even their crowds aren’t immune to the polarizing divides running through America. Knowing full well it might turn some fans away, frontman Ken Casey has been speaking out from the stage. Following the release...

What do you do after you’ve released three albums that have all been nominated for or won the biggest music prize in your home country? Well, for the English rock band Wolf Alice, they decided to wander down a path leading to Laurel Canyon. On their beautiful and expansive new album, “The Clearing,” Wolf Alice drop (some of) the guitars and venture into a multi-harmonic landscape alongside Greg Ku...

What does it mean to be a descendant and a future ancestor at the same time? In her latest book of poetry, “procession,” katherena vermette aims to answer that question for herself — and she just might inspire you to think about it, too. katherena is an award-winning, critically acclaimed Michif (Red River Métis) writer from Winnipeg, whose work spans poetry and fiction, but almost always takes on...

Two years ago, Rush frontman and bassist Geddy Lee joined Tom Power to talk about his memoir, “My Effin’ Life.” He discussed his experience as the son of Holocaust survivors, dropping out of high school, and what he remembers about the late Neil Peart’s audition to be the band’s drummer. Fill out our listener survey here . We appreciate your input! 

Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted, American Dad!) is a man of many voices. For more than 25 years, he’s voiced Peter and Stewie Griffin, Brian the dog, and their neighbour Quagmire on “Family Guy,” the adult animated sitcom he created back in 1999. But when Seth’s not recording a character for TV and film, he’s recording music. Now, the five-time Grammy-nominated vocalist is back with his ninth alb...

Canadian film mogul Robert Lantos has spent his career bringing Canadian movies and TV shows to the screen. In fact, some say he kick-started the whole industry. Producing films for the likes of Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley, Robert has truly shaped Canadian cinema over the last 50 years. He sits down with Tom Power to talk about his latest project, “Rise of the Raven,” which is a...

What if the bad guy in your nightmare didn’t chase you, but tried to tickle you to death? That’s just one of the Inuit legends reimagined by the throat singing duo PIQSIQ on their haunting new album, “Legends.” Back in the summer, sisters Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay of PIQSIQ joined Tom Power to talk about the record and why they’re embracing Inuit traditions in non-traditional ways. Plus, t...

Comedian Alex Edelman has had an exciting past couple of years. He won a Tony and an Emmy for his acclaimed Broadway show “Just For Us,” which then became an HBO comedy special. It recounts his experience as a Jewish man covertly attending a meeting of white nationalists in New York, and it earned him a spot on Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2024. Now, Alex stars and wr...

Maggie Andrew is one of the most exciting artists coming out of the East Coast right now. She drops by our studio to set up the title track off her new EP, “How To Sing For Money.” Plus, she talks about the tension between art and commerce, and how to keep the magic of making music alive.  Fill out our listener survey here . We appreciate your input! 

Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer, Peaky Blinders) doesn’t like to do a lot of interviews — that’s what people say. The Oscar-winning Irish actor now stars in the new Netflix movie, “Steve,” which follows a head teacher at a last-chance reform school. It’s set in the mid-1990s, over the course of one critical day in the life of a student named Shy. During this year’s Toronto International Film Festival,...

Alyson Stoner is one of the most recognizable former child actors of the mid-2000s. They got their big break dancing in the music video for Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” before eventually appearing in successful film franchises like “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “Camp Rock.” But in their new memoir, "Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything," Alyson exposes the dark realities of child stardom, fr...

Celebrated filmmaker and actor Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, Oppenheimer) did something outside his comfort zone when he made his latest film, “The Smashing Machine” — he directed it without his brother, Josh. Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt, the film tells the true story of former wrestler and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr. During this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, B...

Back in 1967, Igor Stravinsky, the legendary classical composer, ignored his doctors’ advice and conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in what would turn out to be his final public performance ever. Now, the TSO is honouring that concert and Stravinsky’s legacy with a new recording of his 1920 ballet, “Pulcinella.” Gustavo Gimeno, the orchestra’s music director, joins Tom Power to tell us about...

For more than five decades, Canadian acting legend Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves, Killers of the Flower Moon) has worked tirelessly to bring nuanced Indigenous stories to the stage and screen — and she says there’s no turning back now. Back in June, Tantoo joined Tom Power to reflect on her remarkable career, and why she’ll never stop advocating for authenticity and accuracy when it comes to...

As a kid growing up in Nipissing, Ont., Christian Allaire dreamed of being part of the glamorous world that he saw in his mother’s Vogue magazines. Now, he’s the senior fashion and style writer at Vogue in New York. Christian writes about that incredible journey in his new memoir, “From the Rez to the Runway.” Earlier this year, he sat down with Tom Power to talk about the book and how he learned...

What happens when you build a career being a singer-songwriter and then you permanently lose your voice? That’s what happened to acclaimed musician Patrick Watson, whose life was completely upended for months due to that traumatic surprise. Without being able to sing his own music, Patrick turned his attention to writing and composing music for other people to sing. He thought he’d never sing agai...

Sebastian Gaskin is a musician from Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Manitoba who fuses his culture with R&B, rock and pop music. Earlier this year, he joined Tom Power to talk about his debut album, “Lovechild,” how he came around to embrace his Indigenous identity in his art, and why writing joyful and hopeful songs is just as important to him as writing political songs.

What does the title of “highest-grossing actor of all time” actually mean for a Hollywood star? For Scarlett Johansson, who currently holds that position, it means directing her first feature film without any pressure of achieving box office success. In her directorial debut, “Eleanor The Great,” there’s not an explosion or sex scene in sight, and the lead role is played by 95-year-old actor June...

Hanorah is a singer-songwriter from Montreal who’s opened for Mavis Staples, and grew up listening to Etta James and Joss Stone. But on her latest EP, “Closer Than Hell,” Hanorah moves beyond her early soul influences and explores a new voice. Earlier this year, she joined Tom Power to tell us how she started songwriting, why she’s happy she didn’t win “La Voix” (the Quebec version of “The Voice”)...