This program begins with an advisory. No, no, not that kind. There’s nothing dirty, obscene, or controversially political coming up. It’s just that, well—what you’re about to hear is different. Very different. And I mean really different.

There are thousands of music genres out there, but on this program, we’re going to look at something special. It’s a genre known as “outsider music.”

You know the kid at school who seemed to live a little beyond the status quo? He or she wasn’t quite normal—and I do not mean that in any judgmental or pejorative way. They just marched to their own beat. Whatever was going on inside their head may have been a little hard to grasp.

Some of these people may have felt a need to express themselves artistically, and the art that came out didn’t exactly fit anywhere. If it was music, it wasn’t the sort of music other people were making.

Outsider musicians are often self-taught. They’re perhaps a little naïve when it comes to the conventions of music and how it is performed. Traditions, music theory, and experience mean nothing to them. They don’t care what other people think because they believe in themselves so much. For them, it’s all about the sheer joy of music.

No two outsider musicians sound alike. Some have intellectual disabilities or suffer from some kind of mental illness (like schizophrenia, for example), while others are just a little left of centre when it comes to their outlook on reality—something that comes through in their music.

But all outsider musicians have something in common. There’s often a childlike quality to what they create, and they are motivated by the sheer joy of making music—damn what other people may think.

If we look at them through that lens, their spirit is to be admired—even if the music is a little, uh, challenging.

Now that you’ve been warned and I’ve explained myself, let’s take another dive into the fascinating world of outsider music. Prepare yourself.

Songs heard on this show:

• • The Space Lady, Major Tom
  • Hasil Adkins, Chicken Walk
  • Wild Man Fisher, Merry-Go-Round
  • Amazing Delores, Rats in my Trailer
  • Jan Terrie, Get Down Goblin
  • Jimmy Mitchell, I’m from Big D
  • BJ Snowden, Newfoundland (Oh Nuffy)
  • Edward Khil, Trololo
  • Ya Ho Wah, Superman
  • Compete, Dreaming
  • Nihilist Spasm Band, When in London Sleep at the York Hotel.

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The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on these stations. Don’t forget that there’s a podcast version, too, in case you miss any episodes. Get them for free wherever you get your podcasts.

• • 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
  • Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
  • Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm.
  • 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
  • FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
  • Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
  • 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
  • Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
  • The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 8am and 9pm
  • The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10anm and 10pm
  • The Goat Network/Interior BC
  • Surge 105/Halifax – Sunday at 7pm
  • WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm

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© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

True or false: Canada’s Three Days Grace once appeared in a Disney movie. This is 100% true. It was a 2004 Hilary Duff movie called Raise Your Voice, which follows a young singer whose brother is killed by a drunk driver. The plot specifies that he was on his way home from a Three Days Grace gig.

This called for a band cameo in the movie where they played two songs: “Home” and “Are You Ready.” There was even a bit speaking part for singer Adam Gontier. How did they get the job? The band doesn’t remember, but it was probably a move by their manager to get some exposure. After all, they were a new band in the early 2000s, so they could use the publicity.

It worked, too. Following the release of the movie, they started getting more offers to perform on TV.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Imagine being David, a 15-year-old kid growing up in Southern California. You’re already typically confused because, well, you’re 15. You’re an only child. Mom and Dad have divorced, resulting in a joint custody situation, adding to your confusion. Mom is dating again, and her current boyfriend doesn’t seem to be a good dude. Your only solace is music. Then one morning in late February 1983, you’re sick in bed and home from school. Mom is out for a morning jog. That’s when you hear someone breaking into the house. When you get up to look, you’re confronted by someone pointing a gun at you—someone you know. You’re handcuffed and locked in the bathroom. When Mom got home, she had an argument with the gunman. Before he took off, the guy let Dave out of the bathroom and said, “Don’t say anything. Keep your mouth shut—or else.” And then he left. Young Dave was terrified, so he kept his mouth shut. But that wasn’t the end of it. A week later, this same guy returned to the house and shot David’s mom and her best friend dead. He then went on the lam for nearly a decade. The trauma that David experienced was unimaginable. Even though he grew up to be the guitarist for Jane’s Addiction, one of the iconic alt-rock bands of the late ’80s and ’90s, processing what happened on that day in February 1983 sticks with him to this day. This is episode 49 of Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. And this time, it’s all about Dave Navarro and his witness to murder. n addition to the podcasts, you can hear Uncharted on these Corus radio stations (all times local):

• • Toronto: AM 640 (4-5am)
  • London: 980 CFPL (4-5am)
  • Vancouver: 980 CKNW (1-2am)
  • Edmonton: 630 CHED (1-2am)
  • Calgary: QR77 (770 AM) (1-2am)
  • Winnipeg: 680 CJOB (1-2am)

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Last time, we started on the story of the Dancing Plague of 1518 when dozens and dozens of German peasants suddenly took to the streets and silently dancing for days on end. No music. Just dancing.

At the height of the crisis, fifteen people died every day from exhaustion, strokes, and heart attacks. Local government people were panicked. Doctors had no answers. In a blind attempt to stop things, authorities thought if they played music for the dancers, they’d receive what they were looking for and just dance themselves out. But that didn’t work.

Within a month, 400 people had died from what was called the Dancing Plague. And then one day, it just stopped. No more dancing. Everyone went home, and it was all over.

What caused this? We have no idea. It could have been a fungal infection of some sort that sent people into spasms that resembled dancing. Maybe it was some sort of mass hysteria. But we still don’t know what happened in the summer of 1518.

© 2025 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Eleven people are out of their homes after a fire broke out in the basement of a detached home early Monday morning.

Firefighters were called to the 2900 block of East Georgia Street around 5:45 a.m.

Matthew Trudeau with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said an e-bike battery charging in the basement caused the fire.

Everyone was able to get out of the house safely, but two people were injured and taken to the hospital in stable condition, Trudeau said.

“Fire investigators went there, observed multiple e-bikes on the property and multiple batteries being charged inside,” Trudeau said.

“At least one of them failing and causing fire to rapidly to grow and expand inside this area, causing other material to catch fire.”

Chanel Carson, a neighbour, heard a loud rumbling and the sound of breaking glass around 5:40 a.m.

“There was just … so much smoke everywhere,” she said.

“Everybody had just called the fire department and they were on their way.”

Carson said it was terrifying to see the flames and smoke.

“Many of the residents who live there are delivery drivers and they use e-bikes to make deliveries, so that’s really unfortunate,” she said.

Trudeau said when e-bike batteries are maintained and handled correctly, they are safe.

However, when someone modifies a battery or buys an aftermarket one, that is when they can fail and catch fire.

“The risk of danger is there when they do fail and they do fail sometimes quite spectacularly,” Trudeau added.

He stressed that people should only replace the batteries with the correct unit from the manufacturer and should not modify the battery in any way. If it is damaged, it should be replaced by a model from the manufacturer.

Last year, Trudeau said they responded to about one fire a week caused by an e-bike and so far, they are on track to match that number this year.

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Summer may be coming to an end in the Okanagan, but the drought that came with it is still going strong — and according to local experts, it’s not going away anytime soon.

“We’re in Drought Level 3 because we’re experiencing warm waters and lower-than-normal stream flows,” said Sandra Shira, a water scientist for the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB).

And this year’s conditions are far from unusual.

“The Okanagan is naturally a dry area — it’s prone to high temperatures and low precipitation,” she said. “But right now, we’re in a state of prolonged drought. We’ve been in drought for a few years now.”

British Columbia’s drought rating system includes five levels, with Level 5 being the most severe. But critics say the system doesn’t fully reflect the reality on the ground — especially in Indigenous territories like the Syilx Okanagan Nation.

The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) recently sent a formal letter to the Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship, raising concerns after the Syilx Okanagan territory was classified at Level 0 — the lowest drought level — despite ongoing dry conditions.

“The position of ONA is that drought and water management are explicitly connected, and that the separation of drought levels and management actions by the Province is disingenuous,” the letter stated.

Schira says the OBWB has publicly supported the ONA’s position and is preparing a formal response of its own.

“Conditions vary across the valley,” she said. “The ONA’s letter critiques the new drought level process the province implemented this year — and we’re actively working on a response.”

In response, the province says it met with the ONA last week to discuss shared concerns over watershed protection and long-term drought planning.

“We agreed to closer communication on how watershed management and drought are being experienced on the ground as decisions are made by the Province,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Even with cooler temperatures on the way, drought-level water restrictions remain in place across much of the Okanagan — and residents are urged to stay mindful of their water use.

“There’s many benefits to conserving,” Schira said. “It helps the landscape — especially in a dry region like the Okanagan — and it helps your pocketbook. You don’t want to be spending on water you don’t need.”

As the drought deepens, the risks grow — for farmers, fish habitats, and future water supplies.

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association says the province is delaying and sabotaging the bargaining process after the government announced it has filed a complaint with the Labour Relations Board against the union representing the province’s 51,000 teachers.

Finance Minister Nate Horner said Monday the complaint is connected with a document that was distributed by the union after it set a strike date of Oct. 6. last week.

The government says the document consisted of false claims, including that Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) does not have the mandate to negotiate class complexity, class size, and supports for students.

“The information in the ATA document is inaccurate,” Horner said in a statement.

“TEBA has been left with no choice but to launch a legal challenge. The Alberta Labour Relations Board received our complaint today, asking the ATA and its president Jason Schilling to immediately retract their false claims and to stop using Alberta’s students and families for leverage in a bargaining dispute.”

Schilling called the province’s complaint frivolous.

“The fact is that government negotiators have consistently stated in bargaining that they lack the mandate, the money and political authority to address both teachers’ concerns about classroom learning conditions and expectations for adequate compensation,” he said.

“To accuse teachers of misleading families is not only false, it is a lie that is deeply insulting to every single one of my colleagues across this province.”

The ATA’s Oct. 6 strike announcement last week came after talks between the union and the government broke down over wages and working conditions.

The government last offered a salary increase of at least 12 per cent over four years as well as a promise to hire 3,000 teachers over three years. It has also promised to invest $8.6 billion over seven years to accelerate new school builds.

Premier Danielle Smith has said the ATA has to make a stark choice between heftier pay hikes and more teachers.

Schilling said the ATA presented a counteroffer last week but the government has not responded to it.

Schilling added Smith is presenting a false choice and it is possible for teachers to have a good salary and good working conditions.

He said teachers have only seen a 5.75-per-cent salary increase over the last decade and the last government wage offer didn’t keep up with inflation.

“Teachers are looking for salary increases that keep up with current inflation and reflect the increase in workload that they have, as well as being able to have a salary that will attract and retain teachers within this province.”

He said the union last met with the province last Friday and there were no new meetings planned.

He said the complaint the province announced on Monday reflects that it is not serious about reaching an agreement.

“The government sort of indicated that they don’t want to negotiate further until the complaint has been resolved,” he said.

© 2025 The Canadian Press

Repeated construction along 1 Avenue N.E. in Bridgeland has a business in the area calling on the city to implement better coordination.

Lukes Drug Mart, a fixture of the northeast Calgary community for more than 75 years, said business took a hit during construction along the street earlier this year.

“People thought we were closed, so we had really bad sales impacts,” said Garreth Lukes, who owns Lukes Drug Mart.

“For all the new businesses in the area, we were really scared that they might not be able to get through another massive road closure and construction season.”

According to Lukes, the road outside the business will be torn up and repaved three separate times in a matter of a year.

Enmax completed utility upgrades on 1 Avenue N.E. between 4 Street and 6 Street in the spring.

Telus is now scheduled to begin work along the strip between Edmonton Trail and 6 Street N.E. from Sept. 15-19, and between 4 Street and Edmonton Trail from Sept. 22-26.

That will be followed by City of Calgary crews digging up the road and adjacent sidewalk as part of its Main Streets project in Bridgeland.

“It just seems like a waste of money for everyone,” Lukes said. “If they coordinated, maybe they could split the cost of paving.”

According to the city, the project includes burying overhead power and utility lines in order to provide for widened public realm along the street.

“Each utility provider owns and works on their own particular piece of infrastructure. The city and utility providers make every attempt to minimize impact by coordinating work in the project area wherever possible,” said a statement from a city spokesperson.

“Sometimes, however, there are construction sequencing steps (utility shutdowns for the move, specific location for utilities underground, whether or not shared duct banks are being used, etc.) that mean we cannot always do all of the moves at the same time.”

When asked about the issue, Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra, who represents the area, said he shared in the “outrage” of the businesses.

Carra said he hopes firming up a dig-once policy is something the next city council can add to its agenda once elected in October.

“It’s something the next council should look at and tackle,” Carra said. “We have to make sure that we support our local businesses and we (have to) make sure that we efficiently disrupt neighbourhood life and the business life of the communities that serve those neighbourhoods.”

Last week, Lukes took its frustrations to social media in a post calling for the city to coordinate projects to minimize disruptions to area businesses.

“Basic coordination would save taxpayers millions and protect local businesses,” the post said.

Lukes ‘ social media post also included a city response, which asked the business to “refrain” from posting about construction frustrations on social media due to “unintended negative impacts” to area businesses.

In a statement, city officials said a team member advised Lukes that a post may “discourage people from visiting businesses in the area to avoid construction impacts,” which is a concern officials have heard from some businesses on other projects.

The city took a different tone when asked about it.

“While the intention of the email was to acknowledge the construction challenges and provide support, we recognize that the language used in the correspondence was unclear,” a city statement to Global News said.

“The city does not dictate how and with whom those impacted by construction can share their concerns and we sincerely apologize for the miscommunication.

“We respect and appreciate the voices of all our local businesses, and we take these concerns seriously.”

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Since the summer of 2024, off-duty first responders in Lethbridge, Alta., have been working with youth in a fun new way.

“After we did a youth needs assessment and saw that youth needed more access to pro-social, free activities and there was a lack of connection with the police based on their capacity, we’ve (been) running (Off the Record) for one year now,” said Allison Sherry, community safety specialist with the City of Lethbridge.

In total, 404 youth under 18 years old have joined police and firefighters through Off the Record in a variety of sports during 15 separate sessions.

The initiative is a part of Lethbridge’s Building Safer Communities program.

“It gives them a space where they don’t have to sign up. It’s really barrier free for them. They can come and just play. I think the simplicity of it is what’s really incredible about this program.”

In addition to the youth, 30 police officers and several firefighters have also joined the action.

“Hopefully, in the future, if they do have interactions with the police, maybe they could see past the uniform and see that we’re all just people, too,” said Nolan McElroy, a constable with LPS.

He says they hope the initiative could even help kids understand what a career in policing could mean.

“Pretty much at every event we have different youth coming up to us, asking questions, how to become an officer, what we had to do to become an officer. So, hopefully we could inspire some kids to become police in the future.”

The program is looking ahead to the future, with sessions planned throughout the fall and winter.

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A queer advocacy group is calling on Calgary’s mayor and city council to declare the city a queer rights sanctuary city, which would limit compliance with the province’s new policies and controversial legislation.

In a letter obtained by Global News to City Hall, Queer Citizens United has asked the municipal government to restrict all cooperation with recent actions taken Premier Danielle Smith and the Alberta Legislature, pertaining to several new provincial policies and legislation.

Those policies and legislation include, but not limited to, recent amendments to health, education and social practices the LGBTQ2 community calls discriminatory.

Victoria Bucholtz with local group Queer Momentum says the call for action an unprecedented but necessary step.

“Especially because the current climate in which queer and trans people’s rights are being trampled by government officials and very discriminatory policies as well as the social climate that is noticing a huge uptick in hate crime incidences specifically targeting the queer and trans communities,” said Bucholtz.

In recent months, the province has limited access to hormone therapies, mandated parental consent for pronoun changes in schools, and restricted trans athletes from playing female sports.

Amelia Newbert, co-executive director with the Skipping Stone Foundation, said this is an essential step for the city to take — calling the support from the province for queer and trans people “non-existent.”

“One of the biggest things we’re hearing from our community, from the trans folks that we serve, is a sense of hopelessness — a sense that nobody has their back,” Newbert said.

“This sends a really strong message that, ‘Yes, somebody does have your back and governments do care about you and that you are an essential part to the fabric of these cities.'”

Despite initial support, it is unclear how far the city could go in limiting compliance with provincial mandates.

When asked about making Calgary a sanctuary city, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the most important thing is to understand that “human rights need to be protected and preserved.”

“Once the human rights of one group of people start getting compromised, a lot of people are next,” Gondek said.

“I would encourage this provincial government to understand that they have a very big role to play in preservation of human rights, particularly when it comes to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”

“So any call for a sanctuary city also needs to look at the broader call for a nation and province that is accepting and welcoming of everyone.”

In a statement to Global News, Alberta’s minister of municipalities, Dan Williams called the notion of sanctuary cities “a fabricated import of American politics and has zero legal force of law in Alberta.”

“Municipalities in Alberta are required to adhere to provincial laws, and I expect the City of Calgary will do so,” said Williams.

“These pieces of legislation and policies are designed to protect and preserve children and youth from potentially irreversible decisions, keep young women in sports safe, strengthen parental rights, and ensure books with graphic pornographic images do not end up in the hands of children.”

Queer Citizens United is a Calgary-based group of drag producers and people connected to the queer community.

© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.