Entertainment

The Vat hosts guitar-based electric blues of Chicago’s Liz Mandeville on April 11, and Matt Anderson — energetic bluesman performing rock n ’roots on May 1.

It’s hard to figure out Peter Bjorn and John.The Swedish band set the music world aflame with their 2007 album Writer’s Block, a fantastic blend of poppy hooks and melodies with the dangerously addictive single Young People.

After a month filled with (perhaps) too many roots shows, things slow down for April. The Vat Pub again hosts the guitar-based electric blues of Chicago’s Liz Mandeville April 11.

Shhh! Don’t anyone tell the Canadian Country Music Association, but Johnny Reid came on stage in Red Deer without a cowboy hat on Wednesday night.

Acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg was awarded France’s Legion of Honour on Wednesday, a distinction he said left him “incoherent with joy and pride.”

The powerful and spirited Memeza Africa will bring its singers, drummers and dancers to Red Deer for two energetic shows next week.

The soap opera “Guiding Light” is switching off after a 72-year run that predates television.CBS says the show will have its final episode in September. Like most daytime dramas, “Guiding Light” has suffered from declining ratings and CBS is looking for a lower-cost alternative to the hour of programming.The Guinness Book of World Records has cited it as the longest-running television drama.

Bill Cosby will be awarded the top humour prize in the U.S. from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his groundbreaking career.

Canada’s colonial past will be explored through music by the Lily String Quartet.The Calgary-based chamber ensemble, often heard performing live on the CBC, will play music new and old on Sunday at The Matchbox in Red Deer.

Don’t write to be famous, write to tell stories — then create a believable world, says R.P. MacIntyre, the next writer-in-residence at Red Deer College.