elton john – Elizabeth Rosalyn

On September 13th and 14th, Vancouver embraced music royalty as Sir Elton John brought his Follow The Yellow Brick Road Tour (in honour of the 40th anniversary of his iconic record) to the Canadian west coast. I went to the second of his two sold-out shows at Rogers Arena. The legendary singer/songwriter/piano man played all of his greatest hits from across the four decades of his career, including favourites like “Bennie and the Jets“, “Candle in the Wind”, “Tiny Dancer“, “Philadelphia Freedom”, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “Rocket Man”, “Your Song”, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”, “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, and “Crocodile Rock” and “Circle Of Life / Can You Feel The Love Tonight” (and that’s just half of the hits!). It was a spectacular night of song led by a sparkling supernova of a performer.

Photography and videos by yours truly.

2012 was a strong year for music. Promising newcomers (Ed Sheeran, Hunter Hayes) emerged on the scene as alternative artists (fun., Gotye) and fabulous females (Rihanna, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson) ruled the airwaves. The 55th annual Grammy Awards recognized and rewarded the musicians whose albums and singles resonated with fans in an impactful way. Unlike Adele’s remarkable six trophies sweep during last year‘s ceremony, there was no clear frontrunner in terms of 2013′s award recipients. This year’s Grammys honoured artists and bands from a variety of genres, which was also evident from the line-up of the evening’s live performances.

Here are five of my favourite award recipients and/or moments from this phenomenal celebration of music: