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Alan Gerber, Founding Member of Rhinoceros, Releases New Single « Put Back My Heart » From New Album ‘The Well’
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Alan Gerber, the Chicago-born, Val-David, Quebec-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of late-1960s Elektra Records supergroup Rhinoceros, releases his irresistible new single « Put Back My Heart » today, the opening track from his deeply personal new album ‘The Well,’ out now. A swaggering, blues-drenched soul romp co-written with his son Eli Gerber and produced by the two of them together, « Put Back My Heart » announces the album with exactly the kind of high-energy, good-humoured, emotionally honest songwriting that has made Alan Gerber one of the most beloved live performers in Canada and beyond for more than five decades.
The song moves with the effortless confidence of a man who has spent a lifetime inside the blues. « Fell for you like a baby grand from a tower, » Gerber sings with a grin you can hear, before the chorus lands its perfectly timed demand: « Put back, put back my heart, you stole it / Put back, put back my heart, steam rolled it. » It is a song that wears its heartbreak lightly and its joy loudly, a signature Gerber combination that has earned him a devoted following from Miramichi to Montreal and far beyond. Steven Van Zandt, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and host of Little Steven’s Underground Garage, previously selected Gerber’s « Four Riders » as the Coolest Song in the World, a distinction that will surprise no one who has heard what Gerber does with a room.
‘The Well’ is a record that distills a lifetime of blues, soul, folk, and rock into a journey from gritty R&B grooves to poetic ballads and adventurous, genre-bending instrumentals. The album carries particular emotional weight as the last project Gerber was able to complete with his writing collaborator of nearly 50 years, Rolf Kempf, who passed away before its release. Kempf was celebrated beyond their partnership for writing « Hello Hurray, » which became a major hit for Alice Cooper, and his presence runs deep through the record. The album also reunited Gerber with his old Rhinoceros bandmate, the extraordinary guitarist Danny Weis, whose playing appears on eight of the album’s tracks, alongside Gaston Gagnon of Quebec legends Garolou, harmonica player James Tyrone Zeller, and a full ensemble of longtime collaborators mixed at Groove Paradise Studio with mixing engineer Nicolas Maranda and mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering.
Family is at the heart of ‘The Well’ in every sense. Gerber’s son Eli plays guitars and co-produces throughout, while his daughter Hannah contributes lead and background vocals, and his wife Robin, a ceramic artist, created the bowl photographed for the album cover. He also wrote the song, Time Is My Treasure, from a poem written by his sister, Barbara Ford.
That circle of creativity reflects the life Gerber has built across more than three decades in the Laurentians, far from the Laurel Canyon living rooms and Elektra Records pressures of his early career, but every bit as rich with music, community, and meaning. Before any of that, there was Chicago, a family that had fled the pogroms of Eastern Europe, a mother’s crimson fingernails on a Wurlitzer baby grand, and blues piano sessions with his uncles that set the course for everything that followed.
Over the years Gerber has shared the stage with Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Van Morrison, Lou Reed, Janis Joplin, John Lee Hooker, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, among many others, and has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, and the Carcassonne Music Festival in France. Terry Whalen, Artistic Director of Whalen’s Barn Concert Series in Miramichi, has written that within the first 30 seconds of a live Alan Gerber show the audience is hooked, completely, calling him a seasoned pro and a master-class of how to take years of honing your craft and a million plus miles of live performances to reach this level. ‘The Well’ is the fullest expression yet of what those miles have made him.
TOUR DATES
Aug 5 — Val-David, QC — 1001 Pots
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a Punk-Pop Pride Anthem About the Shirt You’d Be Buried In and the Love You’d Never Want Back
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Toronto-based singer, songwriter, and storyteller Elina Filice releases her joyful, life-affirming new single « Bury Me » today, a Canadiana-soaked punk-pop anthem that announces itself immediately as one of the most infectious and emotionally generous songs of her career. Co-produced by Filice and Kevin Brennan and released on her own Red Vine Records, the track is a love song built around a Molson Canadian t-shirt, a running joke, and the quietly astonishing realisation that you have built a life with someone you never want to give back. It is the kind of song that sneaks up on you, arriving as a laugh and staying as something much deeper and more lasting.
The song began, as Filice tells it, with a very real dispute. An old t-shirt, stolen from a past love, became a years-long argument about who it truly belonged to, until one night her partner settled it with a line that stopped everything: if I die tonight, they’ll have to bury me in this shirt, and then you’re never gonna get it back. That line, and the whole ordinary extraordinary universe it opened up, became « Bury Me. » As Filice has described it, the song is about the seemingly ordinary artefacts that narrate our lives, the almost accidental life you build with someone you love, sharing your hopes, dreams, and fears. The chorus captures it with the kind of plainspoken clarity that great pop songs make look easy: « Bury me in this / Shirt that you got from The Beer Store / If I die tonight, you’re never gonna get it back. »
By the song’s second chorus the whole emotional architecture has shifted, the joke becoming a vow, the borrowed shirt becoming something sacred. « I never thought I’d love with my eyes so open wide, » Filice sings, before landing on the line that gives the whole song its true weight: « ‘Cuz I gotta see what she looks like at 65. » It is the kind of lyric that earns its place by being entirely, unmistakably true. Produced alongside Brennan with drums by Erik Thorkildsen and bass by Michael Myszkowski, the track moves with the energy of a Pride anthem and the tenderness of something far more private, a song that is equal parts Canadiana singalong and queer love letter, and a strong contender for the gay song of the summer.
Filice has been building toward this moment across a body of work that has earned consistent critical acclaim on multiple continents. Growing up in Singapore before relocating to Canada for university and then to Dublin, where she founded Red Vine Records and performed professionally across Ireland and Europe, she developed a singular artistic voice rooted in blues and spoken word but restless enough to range across folk, hip-hop, pop, rock, and back again. Her 2020 singles ‘Thinking of You’ and ‘Lying’ earned widespread critical praise and landed on official Spotify Editorial playlists, with Hot Press declaring her one of the most thrilling talents on the Irish scene and Nialler9 praising her bright spoken-word style that heightens the jazz-blues pop song’s charm. Her cover of Chance the Rapper’s ‘First World Problems,’ which she rewrote entirely in her own voice, demonstrated a lyrical confidence and range that few artists at any stage of a career can match, and her sophomore E P, released in May 2021, deepened that reputation considerably further.
Now back in Toronto and operating at the full breadth of her considerable abilities, Filice is also the founder of Drop Rocket, a music marketing startup that has built genuine momentum as innovative project management software empowering independent artists to release music smarter and more effectively. That entrepreneurial drive is entirely of a piece with the artistic independence that has defined her career from the beginning, and « Bury Me » is its most fully realised musical expression yet. A fierce advocate for queer visibility who regards music as a powerful tool for the queer community, Filice arrives this Pride season with a song that earns its place in that tradition not through statement but through pure, irresistible feeling. Her single release show takes place June 2 alongside Maiasha as part of a Queer Music Pride kick-off event, tickets available at eventbrite.ca.
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Contemporary Classical: Award-Winning Game Composer Dren McDonald Releases « Fading » Featuring Sophia James From Upcoming ‘Vox Pterous’ Album
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San Francisco Bay Area composer, producer, and musician Dren McDonald announces Vox Pterous (Appearing Records), a stunning new album due July 31, 2026 on which he takes the instrumental architecture of his celebrated 2023 record Pterous and opens it up entirely, inviting a remarkable ensemble of vocalists into those layered, sonic worlds to create something wholly new. The result is one of the most emotionally resonant records of his career that sits at a unique intersection of contemporary classical composition, songwriting, and the warmth of the human voice.
Pterous, (latin for ‘with wings’) the record from which Vox Pterous grows, was itself an act of devotion, built into structures McDonald described as guitar orchestras: layers upon layers of single-note phrases recorded over and over on different instruments from different distances. Each song was dedicated to a different person he had lost within a three-year span. As he wrote at the time of those sessions, “sometimes the only way to work through grief like that is to make something.” WVIA heard in those pieces “a pleasing journey into the kind of minimalist musical world pioneered by people like Steve Reich, with the kind of obsessive layering of instrumental sounds that lends a distinctive texture to the work.” With Vox Pterous, McDonald returned to those same pieces and discovered there was still more to say, beginning with an experiment that would unlock the entire project.
That experiment was « Fading, » the album’s sixth track, recorded with vocalist Sophia James, whose song « Somebody New » has earned over 25 million streams on Spotify and whose recent TikTok trend « Group 7 » brought her to a vast new audience. McDonald knew James through her grandfather, Chuck Wackerman, his high school jazz band teacher, and understood that she possessed both the musicality and the emotional depth to carry a vocal performance capable of elevating the piece beyond its instrumental origins. The strength of her performance gave McDonald the confidence to arrange the remaining songs and set out in search of the remarkable group of collaborators who would complete the album.
That search became its own essential part of the creative process, a series of loose connections, and cold calls into the void, combined with the slow process of composing each lyric and melody before anything was sent to a vocalist. The ensemble McDonald assembled is a wide assortment of musicians hailing from their own unique musical corners: Amelie Anna (Death Stranding 2 Soundtrack) appears on three tracks, Carla Kihlstedt, whose work with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Tin Hat Trio and Tom Waits has long placed her among the most distinctive voices in contemporary experimental music, is featured on « Resting of Light. » Paula Frazer (Tarnation) lends her unmistakable presence to « Aviation Eyes » alongside artist, Girl Swallows Nightingale, and Lily Bloom and Daria Novo share the luminous « She’s The Sky. » The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by McDonald himself, with additi onal mixing from Bryan Jerden on two tracks, stereo mastering by Piper Payne, and artwork by Christine MacTernan. The album is also available in Atmos on platforms that support immersive music.
McDonald’s credentials as one of the most versatile and widely heard composers working in immersive and interactive media today. His game credits include Counter-Strike: Global Offensive/2 for Valve, Ghost Recon Commander for Ubisoft, and the award-winning indie title Gathering Sky for Pontoco, which earned him three Game Audio Network Guild Awards in 2016 including Best Indie Game Audio. His music has been heard in Stranger Things VR for Netflix/Tender Claws, VR animated films such as Mescaform Hill: The Missing Five (Tribeca 2022), and Perennials (Venice Film Festival in 2023).
His solo catalogue is equally distinguished, encompassing The String Arcade (2014), which won a GANG Award for Best Cover/Remix, his collaboration project, polyheDren, (Psychic, 2022), which featured collaborations with Josh Freese (Foo Fighters/NIN), Nels Cline (Wilco), The Residents, and Iva Bittová (Nonesuch), and Oceanic (2024) on Appearing Records, which The Answer Is In The Beat likened to “an underwater equivalent of Daniel Lanois’ spacious Americana.”
The LA Times has written that “McDonald offers symbolic and metaphoric dreamscapes”, and Electronica UK noted “his approach to creating immersive auditory experiences offers listeners a rich, three-dimensional sound journey.”
With Vox Pterous, McDonald has created something that honours its origins in loss while reaching toward something generous, and alive. The lyrics of « Anchors Up, » the album’s opening track, set the tone with quiet, circling precision: « Drawing little circles, drawing little circles rise and fall / Pulling in the anchor, pulling up and anchors away. » It is music made for listening deeply, from a composer who has spent a career proving that the most immersive sonic experiences are built not from spectacle but from patience, accumulation, and care.
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Singer-Songwriter Mercedes Brown ReleasesDebut Single « Playing With Fire »
Red Deer Artist Channels Freedom, Resilience, and Raw Honesty Into Her Most Visceral Song Yet, Ahead of Debut Album ‘Light The Fire’
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Red Deer, Alberta — Mercedes Brown, the Wet’suwet’en Tsimshian singer-songwriter whose sound reaches back to a time when rock music was built on grit and truth, releases her debut single “Playing With Fire” out now on all major platforms. The track arrives ahead of her debut album ‘Light The Fire,’ due June 19, 2026, on Ukee Sound Records, and it announces an artist of rare instinct and intention: a young writer who arrived at this song not through calculation, but through the kind of unguarded honesty that makes rock music matter.
“Playing With Fire” is the kind of debut that leaves no ambiguity about who Mercedes Brown is or what she is here to say. Built on a churning alt-rock foundation and driven by a vocal performance that is at once restrained and explosive, the song traces the edge between control and collapse with unsettling clarity. Brown wrote it as a poem first, free verse by design, a form with no rules, and that spirit carries into the song itself. The result is something that feels both structurally tight and emotionally boundless. When she sings “I walk down the line / Stare death right in the eye / They push me right down / I’m holding on by just a thread,” there is nothing performative about it. And in the chorus, the image crystallises with the precision of the best rock writing: “The flame is taking and it’s breaking all I have / The flame is taking and it’s breaking all I am.”
The song’s origin is as genuine as its execution. Brown was playing with matches and a lighter with her cousins when she made an offhand joke that it would make a “lit” song. The idea sat with her for months. When a school poetry assignment turned into an exercise in writing about wanting control over her own life and a way through depression, the two threads came together. “I wrote a poem at school and thought it needed to be more me,” she says. “Music has always been a way of self-expression to me.” What began in her bedroom as a rough recording became, with the guidance of her uncle and producer Brent Halfyard, a fully realised studio track that holds every bit of the raw energy it started with. The song is, in her words, about freedom, testing limits, and pushing boundaries while battling depression. It carries that weight without ever becoming heavy-handed, which is the mark of a songwriter who trusts the material.
Recorded at Ukee Sound in Ucluelet, BC, “Playing With Fire” is produced by Halfyard, who also plays bass and guitars on the track alongside guitarists Peter Esquivel and Jon Roper, with Timmy Proznickon drums. Mixing and mastering were handled by Chris Potter. The production is deliberate and assured, leaning into the analogue warmth and textural grit that Brown’s songwriting demands, and giving her vocals the space to move between vulnerability and defiance without losing either. It is a sound that references the alt-rock era Brown grew up loving without being beholden to it: music that means something, made by people who understand tha t distinction.
Mercedes Brown is Tsayu (beaver clan), from the Wet’suwet’en and Tsimshian Nation, and her identity as an Indigenous artist from Red Deer, Alberta, informs not just who she is but how she writes. Her father’s family is from Witset, and her family connection to Wet’suwet’en language and culture runs through her music as both a grounding and a source of creative energy. She counts the Smashing Pumpkins among her deepest influences; a band her father introduced her to and whose commitment to grit and thoughtful lyricism she carries forward in her own voice. The “Mercedes Brown Sound,” as she describes it, is a throwback to a time when music mattered more than image. On the evidence of “Playing With Fire,” that description lands with complete accuracy.
With ‘Light The Fire’ arriving June 19, 2026, “Playing With Fire” is the opening declaration of an artist ready to be heard. Mercedes Brown performs as a solo artist, in duo configurations, and with her full band featuring Ezra Beaton on guitar and vocals, Brent Halfyard on bass and vocals, and Jim Ljungh on drums.
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writing Competition Honouree Henry Lees Launches a Joyous Indie Pop Rocket with « Into Your Orbit »
Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter explores new frontiers with Icelandic Producer/Composer Frosti Jónsson for first time collaboration honoured by the International Songwriting Competition
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TORONTO – (Date) The recent Artemis II lunar fly-by captured global fascination and reignited the spirit of exploration in many of us. Watching the intrepid crew – including Col. Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian to travel to the vicinity of the moon – carry out their mission and land safely back home was an awe-inspiring adventure with the most satisfying ending. Fueled by that spirit of exploration, award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Henry Lees has since been counting down to launch day for his cinematic, hook-powered new single, “Into Your Orbit”.
“Into Your Orbit” is an uplifting, driving pop anthem that celebrates the undeniable attraction of first love and how good it felt, and still feels, to be near that special person.
“Love has its own gravitational pull,” notes Lees, “especially that world-changing first time you fall in love with someone. For a lot of us, that first love carries on for a lifetime because it feels that strong and right – like being the first person to discover something, or someone, uniquely precious and beautiful.”
But now I float above your surface
And I still feel that sweet, familiar pull
Into your orbit
“Into Your Orbit” has already received pre-release industry accolades as a semi-finalist in the AAA category in 2025 for the prestigious annual International Songwriting Competition, Lees’ fifth ISC honour since 2021. The song is also a selected addition to the exclusive library of L.A.-based Imaginary Friends Music Partners, an agency that has placed music in popular programs such as The Young and The Restless, Shameless and America’s Funniest Home Videos.
“Into Your Orbit” is the magical result of a first time collaboration between Lees and notable Icelandic producer/composer, Frosti Jónsson. With waves of synths, piano and electric guitar gliding over a driving beat with percussion accents like starbursts supporting Lees’ alternatively reflective and soaring vocals, the track is an exciting journey into new sonic realms for the Toronto-based singer-songwriter.
“Co-writing with Henry was a really smooth and fun creative process,” recalls Jónsson. “I also love challenging my collaborators and pushing them out of their comfort zone; Henry can verify this. But I’m really happy with the outcome.”
“I hadn’t ventured very far in the direction of electronic music before,” offers Lees, “but from the initial co-writing session to the final mix, I marveled at Frosti’s amazing creativity and storytelling ability using elements from both the electronic and organic music worlds.”
Jónsson, now based in Tampa, Florida, has placed his solo music and other collaborations in many productions including Netflix’s Temptation Island, a variety of HGTV home renovation series, and true crime series featured on Peacock, Amazon Prime, Tubi and elsewhere. Jónsson also releases his own electronic instrumental music as Bistro Boy and performs live internationally.
“Frosti’s music is deliciously atmospheric and evocative. He can expertly set a scene and mood before anyone would sing a word,” says Lees. “I am very intrigued and excited about what we’ve created and continue to create together.”
“When I write and produce I let emotions lead the way, trusting the process and approaching it with an open mind,” explains Jónsson. “When Henry shared his initial ideas and the lyrical theme with me everything started to come together rather quickly. The outcome is this uplifting, almost anthemic song that hopefully captures the exhilarating feeling of Henry’s lyrics about first love and the nostalgic memories of it.”
“Into Your Orbit” is Lees’ fifth single and follows “Smoke”, a collaboration with Canadian artist and producer-on-the-rise, Sean Thomas (Joey McIntyre, Debbie Gibson, New Edition). “Smoke” was a semi-finalist in the 2025 Unsigned Only music competition and has enjoyed airplay on college and community radio across Canada and internationally in Europe and the UK, Mexico and South America. Prior to “Smoke”, “Free This Love”, another collaboration with Thomas, gathered five song competition honours including a Top 10 Finalist award from the 27th USA Songwriting Competition.
In 2022, Lees celebrated his first number ones as a songwriter when triple Maple Blues Award nominee Chris Antonik’s album « Morningstar » hit #1 for two weeks on Roots Music Report’s Top 50 Canada Albums Chart, with « Back to the Good » — one of six songs Lees co-wrote with Antonik — also hitting #1 on the RMR. He also released « Walking With Fear », a personal song supporting those dealing with anxiety disorders, co-written with multi-award-winning singer-songwriter David Leask and produced by Leask with JUNO winner Steve Dawson and The Henhouse Express. The single was released in partnership with Anxiety Canada in support of Action Anxiety Day.
More music is always on the way from Lees, with three more singles and a full EP in the works for 2026 – 27.
In the meantime, “Into Your Orbit” is rocketing into the digi-verse with the hope its reach will be out of this world.
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Dahlia Wakefield Ignites Her Boldest Chapter Yet With Anthemic New Single « Light of the Phoenix »
Powerhouse Edmonton Singer-Songwriter Delivers Her Most Personal and Triumphant Work to Date
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Edmonton, Alberta — Dahlia Wakefield, one of Western Canada’s most dynamic and versatile singer-songwriters, releases her soaring new single “Light of the Phoenix” on all major streaming platforms worldwide. The track is the fourth and most anticipated single from her forthcoming rock album ‘Phoenix Rising,’ scheduled for a full release in October 2026 via Skyrocket Records, and it arrives as a defining statement of resilience, self-reclamation, and creative momentum from an artist who has been building toward this moment for two decades.
From its first electrifying chord to its final sustained cry of freedom, “Light of the Phoenix” is a powerhouse rock anthem built for anyone who has ever chosen themselves over the weight of a toxic situation. Dahlia’s vocals ride the song’s surging dynamics with the precision of a seasoned performer and the raw authenticity of someone who has lived every word. The chorus lands with the force of a rallying cry: “By the light of the phoenix / I will find my way / I will rise above / And I will be okay.” And in a standout moment mid-song, she delivers one of the album’s most vivid lines with fearless conviction: “All the pain you caused just fueled the fire / You tried to ruin me but burning bright’s my best attire.” It is writing that radiates earned wisdom, and Wakefield delivers it with every ounce of her remarkable range.
The story behind “Light of the Phoenix” is as compelling as the song itself. Written in July 2023 in a single inspired burst of honesty between Wakefield and co-writer and musical partner Kevin Frey, the song grew out of a deeply personal conversation and a chord progression that instantly clicked. “Writing it was incredibly cathartic — it felt like shedding weight and stepping into clarity,” says Wakefield. “It was one of those rare writing experiences that felt like a huge release — raw, emotional and deeply healing. The song poured out of us.” Frey contributed the music while Wakefield penned the lyrics, a collaboration that also yielded “Still Waters,” which earned a 2024 Josie Award nomination from Nashville. That creative partnership is woven through nearly every track on ‘Phoenix Rising,’ making the album one of the most cohesive and personally resonant works of Wakefield’s career.
Produced, mixed, and mastered by Sandro Dominelli at Dominelli Studios in St. Albert, Alberta, “Light of the Phoenix” showcases a recording process as layered and intentional as the song’s message. The track features lead guitarist Alan Tymofichuk, a musical collaborator of Wakefield’s since 2000; rhythm guitarist Kevin Frey; bassist Jeff Godley; and drummer Dennis Boisvert, with Wakefield herself on keyboards in addition to lead and background vocals. The song went through a rich evolution from its initial phone-demo recording in July 2023, through a first studio session in Edmonton, to its final incarnation at Dominelli Studios, where Wakefield previously recorded her acclaimed singles “Still Waters” and “Dreams of Yesterday.” Wakefield is also quick to note with a laugh that the record was made entirely without the use of artificial intelligence, a testament to t he irreplaceable value of genuine human artistry and real-room chemistry between musicians.
Beyond its musical impact, “Light of the Phoenix” carries a broader cultural significance that Wakefield is channelling into meaningful action. The song’s unflinching themes of reclaiming identity and walking away from narcissistic abuse have led her to partner with WIN House in Edmonton, a society dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence. “Like the phoenix, the song is about rising from the ashes of pain and confusion into finding strength, clarity and self-worth again — reclaiming your voice and choosing yourself,” Wakefield explains. “I hope it empowers anyone in a toxic situation to find the strength to walk away and take back their power.” In an era when music that speaks truthfully about emotional survival resonates deeply with audiences worldwide, “Light of the Phoenix” arrives as both a personal triumph and a communal anthem.
The single is accompanied by a music video shot in the striking desert landscape of Ashcroft, British Columbia in August 2025, with video footage captured by Robin Matkea. The visuals bring an expansive, sun-scorched grandeur to the song’s themes of emergence and transformation, pairing the soaring vocal performance with imagery that feels both intimate and cinematic. Photography for the release is by Amanda Clark, with cover artwork by Andrew Bacoto, completing a creative package that speaks to every dimension of Wakefield’s vision for this chapter of her artistry.
Dahlia Wakefield is one of Alberta’s most accomplished and multidimensional musical forces. A graduate with Distinction from Grant MacEwan University’s Music Program in Vocal Performance, she has performed professionally for over 20 years across stages of every scale, from intimate retirement home performances to New Year’s Eve sets for more than 10,000 people in Edmonton’s Churchill Square. A sought-after session and backup vocalist, she has sung alongside the band Toronto on multiple occasions and leads or participates in several active projects, including the Dahlia and Alan Duo, the hard rock band Kerosene, casino act Dahlia and The Villains, and country/rock band Dirt Road Angels, among others. Her previous single “Well Dressed Lies” has earned multiple ISSA nominations, including International Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Female Single of the Year, with coverage appearing in Canadian Beats, Cashbox, Tinnitist, and Record World International, among others.
Upcoming Tour Dates
June 12 & 13 @ Caffreys, Sherwood Park, AB with Kerosene 9:30pm
Fri. June 19 @ Blowers & Grafton with Dahlia & Alan Duo
Sat. July 4 @ Ottewell No Frills with Dahlia & Alan Duo
Sat. July 25 @ Main Stage at Cornstock ‘26 with Brigade (Heart Tribute Band) (opening for Nick Gilder of Sweeney Todd, Headpins, Honeymoon Suite, and Colin James), Taber, AB – Time TBA
October 16 & 17 @ Caffreys, Sherwood Park, AB with Kerosene at 9:30pm
Sat. October 24 @ Ryley Community Centre, Ryley, AB with Dahlia & The Villains at 8pm
**More gigs to come (pending)
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Eric Alper
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Feura Unleashes « Lose Your Head, » a Bold Debut from a Queer BIPOC Rock Artist Done Asking Permission
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Feura takes a stand. The Toronto-based queer, BIPOC, East Asian rock artist releases her debut single « Lose Your Head » today, a sharp, unrelenting rock anthem that calls out every system, every person, and every institution that has ever had a problem with her existing. Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council, written by Korol Pikulik, Alexandra Jelilyan, and Marc Koecher, and produced by Illegal Audio (Marc Koecher and Lexie Jay), « Lose Your Head » is the opening statement of an album that has been a lifetime in the making.
Feura grew up as one of the only people of colour in a small rural Ontario town, excluded early and excluded often. For years she tried to shrink herself to fit in, and it was never enough. At some point, she stopped trying. « Lose Your Head » is what came out of that decision: not a grievance, but a verdict.
« ‘Lose Your Head’ came from this feeling that no matter what I do, people will find a reason to react to me just existing, » Feura says. « I’m queer, BIPOC, East Asian, and a type 1 diabetic, and whether I want to define myself by those labels or not, they’ve always shaped how people treat me. So, at a certain point it became: Screw it. If people are going to lose their minds over me anyway, I’m going to be fully myself. This record comes from that switch. »
The song is funny, furious, and precise. « You get mad that I got tattoos, chipped nail polish, studded shoulders » lands in the first verse with the kind of specificity that makes satire sting. The chorus, « You can’t help but lose your head every time I take a breath, » is not a complaint. It is a diagnosis. And the bridge delivers the thesis without apology: « All you want is my freedom. » Three words that say everything about power, control, and why certain people cannot stand watching someone refuse to be diminished.
Feura is clear-eyed about what she represents and what she is up against. « Even existing as a queer East Asian artist in rock music feels radical, and it shouldn’t, » she says. « There’s so much pressure now to assimilate, to be digestible, and this record pushes back against that. At its core, it’s for anyone who’s ever felt like they had to ‘edit’ themselves to be accepted. It’s about being unapologetically yourself, even if it makes people uncomfortable, because that discomfort usually says more about them than it does about you. » That is not a press release talking point. That is someone who has lived it.
Produced by Illegal Audio and mastered by Kristian Montano, « Lose Your Head » hits with the full weight of a rock record that knows exactly what it wants to say and refuses to turn it down. The production gives Feura’s voice room to be both biting and anthemic, and the result is a song built for arenas and for anyone who has ever needed to hear someone say the quiet part loud.
Feura’s album release show takes place May 22nd at Geary Warehouse in Toronto, followed by a summer run that includes London Pride, Kempenfest at the OLG Main Stage in Barrie, a featured performance at Honey Jam at TD Music Hall in Toronto, and more dates through September. Every show is all ages. « Lose Your Head » is available now on all major platforms. The album follows.
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SINGLE CREDITS:
Written by: Korol Pikulik / Alexandra Jelilyan / Marc Koecher (all SOCAN)
Produced by: Illegal Audio (Marc Koecher and Lexie Jay)
Mastered by: Kristian Montano
Funded by: Canada Council for the Arts / Toronto Arts Council
UPCOMING DATES (ALL AGES):
June 13, 2026: Rainbow Bistro, Ottawa ON (The Space Between Album Release Show)
July 17/18/19, 2026: Main Stage, London ON (London Pride – date TBC)
August 1, 2026: OLG Main Stage, Barrie ON (Kempenfest)
August 20, 2026: TD Music Hall, Toronto ON (Honey Jam featured performance)
August 23, 2026: Georgian Bay Steam Show Grounds, Cookstown ON (Gussapolooza)
September 25, 2026: Zion Memorial Church, Ottawa Valley ON (Stage Piot Productions)
For more information, please contact:
Eric Alper
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Bruce Cockburn Announces Extensive 2026 North American Tour
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Bruce Cockburn, one of Canada’s most celebrated and enduring singer-songwriters, today announces a sweeping North American tour spanning 2026, bringing his extraordinary catalogue of songs to stages from coast to coast across Canada and the United States. The run of dates represents one of the most anticipated live events of the concert season, uniting longtime devotees, and new listeners around a body of work that has shaped the very soul of Canadian music for more than five decades.
Bruce Cockburn upcoming new album, as-yet-untitled and to be released in Fall, 2026 – continues the legendary songwriter’s decades-long journey through folk, rock, jazz, and spiritual reflection with the wisdom and craftsmanship that have defined his career.
Ottawa-born and now based in San Francisco, Cockburn has spent more than 40 years documenting the full breadth of human experience across folk, rock, jazz, and worldbeat, travelling to Guatemala, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, and beyond in the service of both his music and his activism. His guitar playing, both acoustic and electric, has placed him in the company of the world’s top instrumentalists, and his songs of romance, protest, and spiritual discovery are among the finest to have emerged from any country over the last half century. Music journalist Nicholas Jennings has written that Cockburn has deftly captured the joy, pain, fear, and faith of human experience in song, whether retreating to the country or going up against chaos, tackling imperialist lies or embracing ecclesiastical truths, always expressing what Cockburn himself has called a tough yet hopeful stance: to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight.
His remarkable journey has seen him embrace an extraordinary range of sounds and subject matter while working on behalf of organisations including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Friends of the Earth, lending his voice to causes from native rights and land mines to the environment and Third World debt. For his many achievements, the artist has been honoured with 13 Juno Awards, induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, and has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada. His 38th album, ‘O Sun O Moon,’ continues one of the most remarkable bodies of work in the history of popular music.
Joining Cockburn for a significant run of dates on the tour are Jeff Pevar and Inger Nova, the Oregon-based duo whose original music blends soul, rock, R&B, jazz, folk, and blues into a sound that feels both deeply rooted and distinctly their own. Jeff Pevar is a guitarist, bassist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer whose career spans decades of collaborations with legendary artists. A founding member of CPR alongside David Crosby, he has toured extensively with Crosby Nash, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Crosby’s Sky Trails Band, and his expansive career includes work with Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Phil Lesh, Marc Cohn, Rickie Lee Jones, Bette Midler, Jennifer Warnes, and Jefferson Starship, among many others. A New York Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Pevar brings multi-instrumental production depth and a lifetime of world-class musicianship to every stage he inhabits.
Inger Nova Jorgensen is a vocalist, songwriter, sculptor, and painter whose multidisciplinary career deeply informs her musical voice. Together, Pevar and Nova have spent more than two decades writing, recording, and performing original music throughout the United States and Europe, including multiple tours across Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.
Cockburn has always insisted on continuing to grow, citing his models for graceful aging as John Lee Hooker and Mississippi John Hurt, musicians who never stopped working or deepening their craft. That spirit of perpetual creative renewal has carried him from the Riverboat in Toronto in 1969 through to the present day, and this tour is a vivid reminder of just how rare and precious the relationship between an artist and his listeners truly is. The tour includes a particularly meaningful Canadian homecoming, with Cockburn visiting some of the country’s most storied rooms, among them the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Massey Hall in Toronto, Centre in the Square in Kitchener, and Gesù Salle in Montréal. A highlight of the broader run was his appearance at Legacy: A Celebration of David Suzuki at 90 in Vancouver on May 22, an event that sits squarely at the intersection of art, activism, and the natural world that has always animated Co ckburn’s finest work. Several dates also feature performances alongside the legendary Judy Collins on her « Sweet Judy Blue Eyes » Farewell Tour, and Cockburn appeared at Jefferson Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen’s 85th Birthday celebration.
Several dates on the tour will feature performances alongside legendary singer-songwriter Judy Collins on her « Sweet Judy Blue Eyes » Farewell Tour for from July 22 to October 3. Livingston Taylor will join Cockburn for dates beginning October 20 through November 8.
Tickets and full details are available at brucecockburn.com.
TOUR DATES
Jul 10 — Saskatoon, SK — SaskJazz Festival, Victoria Park
Jul 22 — Denver, CO — Botanical Gardens **
Aug 7 — Los Angeles, CA — Ford Theatre **
Aug 26 — Iowa City, IA — Englert Theatre **
Aug 27 — Des Moines, IA — Hoyt Sherman Place **
Sep 8 — Omaha, NE — Astro Theater **
Sep 9 — Lawrence, KS — Liberty Hall **
Oct 3 — Eugene, OR — McDonald Theatre **
Oct 15 — Kitchener, ON — Centre in the Square
Oct 16 — Ottawa, ON — National Arts Centre
Oct 17 — Toronto, ON — Massey Hall
Oct 18 — Montréal, QC — Gesù Salle
Oct 20 — Plymouth, NH — Flying Monkey&
Oct 21 — Portland, ME — State Theatre&
Oct 23 — Boston, MA — Chevalier Theatre&
Oct 24 — New York, NY — Town Hall&
Oct 25 — Philadelphia, PA — Keswick Theatre&
Oct 27 — Washington, DC — Warner Theatre&
Oct 29 — Durham, NC — Fletcher Hall&
Oct 30 — Charlotte, NC — Carolina Theatre&
Nov 1 — Nashville, TN — CMA Theatre&
Nov 2 — Knoxville, TN — Bijou Theatre&
Nov 4 — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse&
Nov 6 — Ponte Vedra, FL — Ponte Vedra Concert Hall&
Nov 7 — Fort Lauderdale, FL — Amaturo Theatre&
Nov 8 — Key West, FL — Key West Theatre&
** With Judy Collins
& With Livingston Taylor
For more information, please contact:
Eric Alper
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Eric Alper
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THE ‘INDIGENOUS ADELE’ : OTTAWA’S ALICIA KAYLEY MAKES HER DEBUT WITH TWO SINGLES
“NEW BEGINNINGS” AND “DON’T BREAK MY HEART” OUT NOW VIA NEW SUN MUSIC
Algonquin and Tahltan Nation Singer-Songwriter Partners with Crystal Shawanda’s Label for a Landmark Double Debut
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Ottawa, ON – New Sun Music is proud to announce the simultaneous release of “New Beginnings” and “Don’t Break My Heart,” the debut double single from Alicia Kayley, dubbed the “Indigenous Adele” by the Ottawa Citizen, out now. A rising voice in Pop/R&B and Blues/Soul, Kayley arrives fully formed on these first two offerings – together painting a vivid portrait of an artist fluent in both tender vulnerability and hard-won clarity. Produced in partnership with Crystal Shawanda’s celebrated Nashville-based label, the double release signals the arrival of a songwriter whose range, depth, and emotional intelligence are extraordinary from the very first note.
Alicia Kayley is a Pop/R&B singer-songwriter from the Algonquin and Tahltan Nation, raised and currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Carleton University, where she specialised in classical voice and popular style songwriting – a foundation that gives her artistry both technical precision and genuine emotional immediacy. Her powerful, warm vocals have graced some of Canada’s most prestigious stages, including the Harbourfront Luminato Festival, Canada Day’s 150th Anniversary main stage event on Parliament Hill, and the Site Selection Ceremony for the Residential Schools National Monument. In 2024, she brought that same commanding presence to the Indigenous Day Festival in Whitehorse, Yukon, and Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week.
“New Beginnings” is a deeply personal conversation with herself – a reckoning, and ultimately a resolution. Kayley conceived the song while standing at a crossroads, weighing the value of a relationship against her own sense of worth and the wisdom of those closest to her. Rather than framing the experience as something to undo or leave behind, she recast it as the foundation for something entirely new. “I hated the idea of starting over,” she has shared. “So I chose new beginnings instead – not erasing the past but carrying forward everything it taught me.” That distinction – subtle but transformative – gives the song its emotional weight and its universal resonance.
Where “New Beginnings” arrives at peace, “Don’t Break My Heart” captures the tender, hopeful tension of a heart still open and still willing to trust. Together, the two singles showcase the full emotional spectrum Kayley brings to her songwriting – the courage it takes to love, and the strength it takes to know one’s own worth. Releasing both tracks simultaneously is a deliberate artistic statement: this is an artist who holds complexity with ease, and who understands that the most honest storytelling lives in the full arc of an experience, not just its conclusion.
Both tracks bear the hallmarks of Kayley’s classical training and her instinct for popular songcraft. Her voice – rich, warm, and precisely controlled – moves through each song with a naturalness that only comes from years of dedicated study and an innate emotional intelligence that no conservatory can teach. The productions, shaped within the New Sun Music family in Nashville, provide a sonic home that is at once intimate and expansive, giving Kayley’s storytelling the space it deserves to breathe and resonate.
As a young Indigenous artist, Kayley brings a perspective to mainstream Pop/R&B that is both timely and essential. Her partnership with New Sun Music – founded by Grammy-nominated country and blues artist Crystal Shawanda, herself a proud Odawa First Nation member – reflects a shared commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices across the broader musical landscape. Kayley has spoken openly about her intention to provide Anishinabe people with a visible, joyful presence in mainstream music, and today’s double release stands as the opening statement of that mission. The songs’ themes of self-worth, hope, and forward motion carry cultural dimensions that extend far beyond any single personal story.
The double single release arrives alongside a robust season of live performances that underscore Kayley’s growing momentum, including an appearance at Hard Rock Ottawa’s Council Oak Stage on May 23rd and a landmark slot at Ottawa Bluesfest on July 10th – one of Canada’s most celebrated summer music festivals. Both singles are the first taste of her debut album, set for release this summer via New Sun Music. With each new chapter, Kayley is building a body of work as musically ambitious as it is culturally meaningful – and the journey is already extraordinary.
Tour Dates:
May 23, 2026 Hard Rock Cafe Ottawa – Council Oak Stage Ottawa ON
May 30, 2026 Hard Rock Cafe Ottawa Ottawa ON
July 10, 2026 Bluesfest Ottawa ON
For more information, please contact:
Eric Alper
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XOXO Entertainment Corp. Signs Producer JASON “JHOT” SCOTT, Expanding Its Global Multi-Genre Production Powerhouse
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New York, NY + Vancouver, BC — XOXO Entertainment Corp. continues its aggressive expansion in the global music space with the signing of producer, songwriter, and engineer Jason “JHOT” Scott to its management division.
A proven force behind a wide range of records across R&B, hip-hop, pop, and Afrobeats, JHOT brings a deep and versatile catalog shaped alongside industry leaders including Akon, Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat, Blackstreet, Dru Hill, and Eric Bellinger. Known for his signature talkbox sound and advanced musicality, he has established himself as a high-level creative capable of delivering across genres without compromising authenticity.
JHOT’s early breakthrough came through his work with Akon and Interscope Records on the Billboard Hot 100 record “Girl Got a Girlfriend,” setting the tone for a career built on both commercial impact and creative consistency. His long-standing partnership with Keith Sweat includes multiple key contributions, including the #1 adult R&B hit “Good Love,” as well as extensive work across full-length projects.
Continuing to expand his global reach, JHOT recently contributed production to Keith Sweat’s Afrobeats-influenced single “Working” featuring Lil Wayne, further highlighting his ability to operate fluidly across evolving musical landscapes.
As part of the partnership, JHOT will be co-managed by XOXO Entertainment Corp. alongside Blackstreet’s Chauncey Black, aligning him directly within one of R&B’s most influential creative ecosystems. He is already a key producer on Blackstreet’s upcoming 2026 album, a project generating strong global anticipation.
“JHOT is the real deal,” said Adam H. Hurstfield, CEO of XOXO Entertainment Corp. “He’s actively creating at a high level across multiple genres, and that combination of musical instinct, technical ability, and real relationships is extremely rare. This is a meaningful addition to what we’re building.”
“JHOT understands the foundation of the music, but more importantly, he knows how to evolve it,” said Chauncey Black of Blackstreet. “That balance is what separates good producers from the ones who actually move the culture.”
JHOT added, “I’ve always approached music without limits. R&B, hip-hop, pop, Afrobeats — it’s all about the feel and the record. Partnering with XOXO is about growth, vision, and being part of something that’s building at a high level.”
Under XOXO’s management, JHOT will focus on expanding his production footprint across major releases, developing emerging talent, and contributing to high-impact projects spanning both legacy and contemporary artists.
With multiple projects already underway, the partnership underscores XOXO’s continued evolution into a vertically integrated creative powerhouse operating at the center of global music culture.
For more information, please contact:
Eric Alper
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Montréal Pop Artist Jordyn Sugar Drops « Oops, » a Playful Throwback-Inspired Anthem Packed with Confidence and Hooks
The Creator of Empowered Pop Channels Early 2000s Energy and No-Regrets Confidence Into Her Catchiest Track Yet
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MONTRÉAL, QC. Jordyn Sugar, the 22-year-old Montreal-based singer, songwriter, drummer, and creator of Empowered Pop, today releases “Oops,” her bold and irresistibly fun new single, out now on all major platforms. A guitar-driven, hook-laden pop anthem about a spontaneous one-night connection told entirely from a place of confidence and zero regret, the track arrives on the back of over 500,000 views across pre-release teaser content and 55 million total social media views in the past three weeks alone. Early listeners have one consistent note: it is stuck in their heads.
The song began with a single word. Jordyn and her collaborators, songwriter Bayla and producer Lucas Liberatore, were working through a list of potential song titles when Jordyn offered “oops,” and it clicked immediately for everyone in the room. “I realised that no artist has really revisited the word in a modern pop context,” she says, “so it felt like the right time to bring it back.” The title carries a deliberate nod to Britney Spears’ iconic “Oops!… I Did It Again,” a gesture that signals from the outset that “Oops” knows exactly where it comes from and precisely where it is going. From that spark, the song came together across three four-hour sessions, quickly and naturally, with a flow that is fully audible in the finished recording.
Sonically, the track is rooted in early 2000s pop: bright, guitar-forward, and built around melodies that embed themselves after a single listen. The lyrics capture the night with vivid, scene-setting economy: “No lights your body was my focus / making me lose control / Felt right caught up in the moment / We just went with the flow.” And when the chorus lands, it lands with the kind of shameless, anthemic confidence that defines the whole song: “Oops, I woke up in your bed / I don’t know your name / But you’re stuck in my head.” Rather than reaching for apology or regret, Jordyn plants her flag squarely on the side of self-awareness and fun. “I know I’m insane, but I got no regrets” is not a confession. It is a declaration.
That emotional confidence is the hallmark of what Jordyn calls Empowered Pop, the genre she has been building since her debut single “Leaves Me” in 2021. Where much contemporary pop about one-night connections reaches for complexity or shame, “Oops” flips the narrative entirely, choosing humour and self-possession over hand-wringing. It sits squarely in the lane of Sabrina Carpenter, cheeky pop attitude wrapped in production clean enough for radio and irresistible enough for playlists. Recorded at Planet Studio in Montreal and 100% CanCon, the single was co-written by Jordyn, Bayla, and Lucas Liberatore, with Liberatore also producing.
The momentum surrounding the release speaks for itself. Since her debut, Jordyn has opened for Gloria Gaynor, performed for CeeLo Green at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, and shared stages with Kardinal Offishall. She now commands 315,000 TikTok followers, 132,000 on Instagram, and more than 5 million Spotify streams, with over 110 million total social media views to her name and 30,000 new followers gained in the past 21 days alone. With collaborations with Canadian artists including Tyler Shaw in the pipeline and new music scheduled throughout 2026, “Oops” is the clearest, most confident introduction yet to an artist who has been quietly building toward exactly this moment.
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Eric Alper
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Hey everyone,
If you’re planning to cover one of the best music festivals in North America this summer, this one’s for you.
Osheaga Music & Arts Festival has officially opened media accreditation requests for its 19th edition, taking place July 31 to August 2, 2026 at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. This year’s lineup includes Twenty One Pilots, Tate McRae, and Lorde, and if past years are any indication, it’s going to be an incredible weekend.
The deadline to apply is Monday, June 1 at 5:00 p.m. ET. A few important things to keep in mind before you submit:
Even if you’ve covered Osheaga before, accreditation is not automatically guaranteed. The festival will not accept late or incomplete requests, so make sure you answer every single question on the form before you hit submit.
Also, if you want to make sure you’re on the list to receive press releases and accreditation forms from evenko going forward, sign up at www.evenko.ca/media and select Festivals so nothing slips through the cracks.
Eric Alper
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Asthma Kids Release Abbey Road-Mixed « The People United and Strong, » The Punk Rallying Cry To Tax Billionaires
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KAWARTHA LAKES, ON. Asthma Kids are angry. They have always been angry. But on their ferocious new single “The People United and Strong,” that anger has been alchemised into something even more dangerous: hope. This is not a soft pivot. This is a band that has looked at billionaires hoarding the planet’s resources, looked at the boot on the neck of the working class, looked at a world on fire, and decided that the most radical thing they can do right now is demand that we stand together. “The union united and strong / the people united and strong / all the genders united and strong / the poor united and strong.” Go ahead and try to get that out of your head.
The song was born in the studio on the day Trevor Hutchinson became a grandfather. His twenty-year-old daughter gave birth while the band were mid-session, and that eruption of new life cracked something open in the writing. “We had a musical structure and I was working on lyrics that matched the anger of our recent releases,” Hutchinson says. “But that life news got me to frame our message in a positive light that promotes unity.” Make no mistake, the fury is still there and fully intact. “I’m still beyond angry,” he adds. “It’s time for us to tax billionaires out of existence and end the psychopathic distribution of wealth. But that is going to take unity, harmony and love.” A grandchild entered the world. A punk anthem came out with him.
The lyrics do not flinch. “The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer / Now I know what I’m fighting for” sits alongside “I believe in welfare, but I prefer taxes / Or any other measure that evens out the classes.” This is not protest music that hedges. Asthma Kids, composed of Trevor Hutchinson and JP Gill, have never heard a genre they won’t gleefully subvert, repurpose, and rebuild from the wreckage, and “The People United and Strong” is a punk earworm that refuses to stay inside any lines at all. They are famously genre-agnostic, stating plainly that they leave labels for soup cans. Adjacent to punk, freak folk, country, and power pop, they are ultimately something else altogether: seemingly nice neighbours living next door to musical convention, until they burn down every house on the street.
The production matches the ambition. Hutchinson produced the track himself at Jack Cade Studios in Lindsay, Ontario. Adam Haggart mixed it at the Reverie Recording Studio in Peterborough. Then it went to Abbey Road in London, where mastering engineer Alex Wharton put the finishing edge on it. A punk song about taxing billionaires out of existence, mastered at the most storied studio on the planet. That is exactly the kind of move Asthma Kids make.
The single arrives on the heels of their 2025 EP ‘The Meek Are Getting Ready,’ named one of the best EPs of 2025 by PunkNews.org and distributed via Dammit Distro across the EU and UK, and 2 Bar Town Records across North America. The track has already been added to both WARM and Earshot. A summer tour launches in Toronto in late August and pushes westward from there. Asthma Kids are not waiting for permission to be heard, and they are not asking nicely. The people are united. The people are strong. The song says so.
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Eric Alper
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TORONTO TRIO PHANTASIA RELEASE “KING OF ALL MY DREAMS,” THE DEBUT SINGLE FROM THEIR BRAND-NEW ALBUM ‘I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE’
A Song Nine Years in the Making, Recorded Live Off the Floor in Two Days
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TORONTO, ON. There is a particular kind of song that a band carries with them for years, one that survives set-list cuts and line-up changes and the ordinary pressures of making music, and keeps insisting on being heard. For Phantasia, the Toronto indie rock trio of Ethan Flynn (vocals/guitar), Mario Prifti (bass), and Michael Colangelo (drums), that song is “King Of All My Dreams.” Written by Flynn nearly nine years ago, it is the debut single from their brand-new album ‘I’ve Been Here Before,’ out now on all major platforms, and the opening statement of a band that has spent the better part of two years earning every note.
The song carries the weight of its subject with a kind of clear-eyed grace. It is about waiting for someone who may never come back. “There’s a kind of stubborn hope in it,” Flynn says, “even though it might not be healthy.” That tension lives in the lyric itself: “I just don’t know what to do / when my dreams, they all come true / but I’m nothing without you.” The arrangement makes space for that recognition through verses built on an unsettled 7/8 time signature that opens, at the chorus, into an emotionally direct 4/4. The music and the lyric resolve together into something both honest and hard to shake.
To understand what makes the recording sound the way it does, you have to understand how Phantasia prepared for it. Before a single note was committed to tape, the band spent a full year performing, auditioning over 40 songs in front of live audiences, rewriting and retitling tracks through dozens of shows around Toronto and the GTA, letting the chemistry between three musicians develop in the one place it actually counts: on a stage, in real time, in front of people. By the time they walked into RHC Music with engineer Jon Savard, they were not a band trying to find their sound. They already had it.
That preparation made possible the way the album was recorded: instrumentally, live off the floor, across just two days, with no click tracks, no metronome, and no locked tempo. Three musicians in a room, listening to each other and reacting, the interplay between Flynn, Prifti, and Colangelo captured exactly as it sounds when the band is firing. “It lets the song breathe in a more human way,” Flynn explains. The result is a recording that carries the energy of a live performance without sacrificing clarity. Guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, nothing more, mixed and mastered by Taraz Yazdani with the same commitment to directness that shaped every other decision the band made.
Phantasia came together in March 2024 when Prifti reached out to Flynn with the idea of turning his solo work into something collaborative. Colangelo came on board, and the three of them simply never stopped, writing, performing, refining, and eventually funding the album entirely themselves, with no label and no outside budget. “After lord knows how many gigs, rehearsals, and a chunk of studio time, I’m proud of what we’ve done,” Prifti says. “This is the first ever album that I was part of writing, conceptualising, and releasing. First of many more, I should hope, but it may always be the most memorable.” ‘I’ve Been Here Before’ is the sound of a band that has done the work. “King Of All My Dreams” is where it begins.
Eric Alper
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Howdytoons, The Toronto Band With 1.5 Billion YouTube Streams, Releases Ferocious New Single « Smilodon » And Debut Album ‘Megafauna Metal’
The World’s Most Popular Dinosaur Rock Band Recruits Metal Royalty – Including Marco Minnemann, Billy Sheehan, and Rody Walker – For Its Most Ambitious Record Yet
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TORONTO, ON – Howdytoons – the Toronto-based band behind the most-streamed dinosaur music on the planet, with over 1.5 billion YouTube streams and more than 50 million Spotify plays to their name – today release “Smilodon,” the lead single from their debut full-length album ‘Megafauna Metal,’ out now. Written by Mike Whitla and his son Jake, the track is a prowling, snarling portrait of the prehistoric sabre-toothed predator – delivered with the kind of riffing intensity that has earned Howdytoons a place on Spotify’s editorial Hard Rock playlist and the respect of some of the biggest names in metal.
“Smilodon” arrives as the culmination of a creative evolution that began with a one-man recording project and has grown into something far larger. “My eyes are burning bright / I’m the prowler in the night / Listen and you’ll hear my song / Sabertooth tiger, is the Smilodon,” the track opens – before the song builds through a chase sequence of escalating ferocity, each verse tightening the coil until the kill is complete. It is a master class in narrative heavy metal, and a showcase for Jake Whitla’s emergence as a formidable songwriting force in his own right. “Smilodon is Jake’s fantastic contribution to this album,” says Mike. “He’s a jazz prodigy now turning his talents to metal – and he relishes this chance to live out his boyhood dream of making rockin’ dinosaur music with his dad.”
‘Megafauna Metal’ is the first full-length album from the Prehistorica series, the Howdytoons project co-written since 2017 with guitar virtuoso James Reid. The album is a genuine all-star achievement: Marco Minnemann – the drummer of choice for Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Nuno Bettencourt – plays on every track from 2020 on, having first joined Howdytoons for the recording of “Megalodon.” Billy Sheehan, the legendary bassist from Mr. Big and David Lee Roth’s band, adds his unmistakable authority to “Mastodon.” And Rody Walker of Protest the Hero – who discovered Howdytoons while listening with his young son and reached out to collaborate – delivers a performance on “Quetzalcoatlus” that Sleeping Village Reviews describes as possessing “a certain pedigree,” noting that “the kinetic songwriting itself sucks you in.”
The album also functions as a tribute. “Mastodon” is an explicit homage to the metal band of the same name – a gesture of respect toward a group that has inspired Howdytoons deeply and that speaks to the seriousness with which this band approaches its craft. That seriousness is everywhere on ‘Megafauna Metal:’ in the scientific accuracy woven through every lyric, in the animation created in close collaboration with Kolkata-based artist Soujoy Kumar Bhowmick, and in the album’s ambition to deliver prehistoric natural history through the most electrifying vehicle available – heavy metal.
The Howdytoons story began in 2011 when Mike Whitla released Dinostory: The Ultimate Dinosaur Rock Opera, a song-cycle following Terri the Triceratops that would eventually spawn billions of streams and millions of subscribers across multiple YouTube channels. What started as a solo project has grown into a three-person songwriting ensemble – Mike Whitla, James Reid, and Jake Whitla – with a live debut planned for 2027 that will bring the full energy of these recordings to the stage for the first time. ‘Megafauna Metal’ is their most powerful statement yet: proof that kids’ music and genuine metal credibility are not opposites – and that the prehistoric world has never sounded this alive.
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Eric Alper
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Carla Muller Shares Two Personal New Songs « That Tree » and « Everything’s Gonna Be Alright » Honouring Her Sisters
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WOOLWICH, ON – Carla Muller has always written from the heart, and with the release of two deeply personal new songs – « That Tree » and « Everything’s Gonna Be Alright » – the Woolwich, Ontario singer-songwriter invites listeners into the most sacred corners of her life: her relationships with her sisters. Both tracks are available now via Canterbury Music Company, and together they form an extraordinary emotional diptych – a celebration of resilience, devotion, and the fierce, unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
« That Tree, » co-written with the late Sean Cunnington, is a song born from a true story that has lived rent-free in Muller’s memory for decades. Her older sister Erika once climbed a towering oak tree as a young girl, fell thirty feet, and – in a feat of sheer, breathtaking grit – got up and walked home. Then, just four months later, when her bicycle was stolen, she jumped onto Carla’s bike – flat tires and all – and chased the adult thief down the street until she returned with both bicycles in tow. « I still remember how proud Erika looked, walking our two bikes back to where I sat waiting, stunned, » Muller recalls. The song distils that lifelong awe into something luminous and universal, transforming one girl’s extraordinary stubbornness into a roadmap for anyone who has ever stared up at an impossibly high branch: « I know that branch / Seems out of reach / But you’ve gotta try / If you’re gonna climb that tree. »
« Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, » co-written with Scott Metcalfe, carries a weight that is both joyful and heartbreaking in equal measure. Muller wrote it in 2008, when her younger sister lay in a coma for nineteen days, and Carla sat beside her, singing it again and again into the silence. The doctors suggested that Francine likely couldn’t hear her. She woke up and immediately asked what that beautiful song was. « So, I’ll stay and watch you while you sleep / Here in the darkness of this night / But I know this must be true / God is watching over you / And everything’s gonna be alright » – these words, first sung in a hospital room, ultimately became her own, a song she knew by heart and carried with her always. Francine passed away suddenly in October 2024 from a heart condition, and Muller played the song at her funeral, singing her baby sister to sleep one final time. The story behind this recording – completed while Francine was still alive and thrilled it had made the album – is the kind of profound, human detail that transcends music journalism and speaks to anyone who has ever loved someone fiercely and imperfectly.
Produced at Canterbury Music Company by Muller and Scott Metcalfe, in collaboration with veteran engineers Jeremy Darby and Julian Decorte, both songs carry the warmth and craftsmanship that have defined Muller’s creative home for the past five years. Working alongside an extraordinary roster of Canadian musical talent – including Jason Fowler, Rob Piltch, Burke Carroll, Drew Jurecka, Sam Clarke, Ross MacIntyre and many others – Muller has developed a singular sound rooted in acoustic intimacy and cinematic storytelling. The co-writing relationship with Sean Cunnington, whose memory also inspired « Beautiful Day » on ‘Paper Stars,’ lends « That Tree » an especially poignant dimension, honouring both the sister who inspired it and the collaborator who helped bring it to life.
For Muller, these songs represent the fullest expression of her artistic philosophy: she writes for the people she loves, drawing on the specific and the lived-in to illuminate something far larger. Where many artists reach for the universal by stripping away detail, Muller doubles down – a ten-speed Schwinn bicycle, a rose-coloured velvet rocking chair, a girl who didn’t know her name after a fall but walked home anyway. These are the textures of real life, and in Muller’s hands they become something extraordinarily moving. Both tracks sit within her landmark dual album release – ‘In Between’ and ‘Paper Stars’ – available now via M.I.C. Music Productios, a body of work that announces her as one of Canada’s most compelling and authentic voices in the singer-songwriter tradition.
Carla Muller lives in Woolwich, Ontario with her husband Tom and their three children, and writes with the conviction of someone who knows exactly what – and who – matters most. « I write from my heart, for the people I love, and for myself – past and present, » she says. « It’s a good place to be. » « That Tree » and « Everything’s Gonna Be Alright » are out now. Both songs are destined to find the people who need them most.
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Rising Pop Star Supertrendt Soundtracks America’s Most Dreaded Day With « Tax Day » Out April 10
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Every year on April 15, millions of Americans file their taxes. Some dread it. Some dodge it. Nobody has ever celebrated it. Until now.
Tax Day just got a soundtrack. “Tax Day,” out April 10, is a chic, danceable retro-swing pop track by Dutch independent artist Supertrendt that turns April 15 into something worth putting on the calendar. Think Caro Emerald meets Dua Lipa: sophisticated, ironic, and impossible not to move to. It acknowledges the dread, celebrates what taxes pay for — “Streetlights still shining / Bridges that hold / Classrooms and clinics / Heat in the cold” — and makes the whole thing feel like a party rather than a punishment.
“Every country has its version of Tax Day,” says Richard van den Boogaard, the Dutch artist and composer behind Supertrendt. “But America made it a cultural moment. It deserved a soundtrack. Nobody had written one yet, so I did.”
The song arrives at a moment when the conversation about who pays taxes and who doesn’t have never been louder. “Tax Day” doesn’t take sides. It takes the floor. The chorus — “Call it a celebration / Circle it and pay / Do the math, sign your name / Yay, it’s Tax Day” — carries the whole irony of the song in a single word. “The ‘yay’ was deliberate,” says van den Boogaard. “That one word carries the whole irony.”
Supertrendt is a Netherlands-based studio project crafting narrative pop without a fixed identity. Each release reshapes genre to serve the story, moving fluidly between deep house, alternative electronic textures, reggae warmth, noir minimalism, and introspective pop. The catalogue unfolds across four evolving series — Transformations, Observations, Reimaginations, and Celebrations — exploring reinvention, perception, and cultural reflection through emotionally precise writing. “Tax Day” lands in the Celebrations series. Van den Boogaard produces all music independently, treating the studio as a instrument in the tradition of Quincy Jones, Jean-Michel Jarre, and the producers who built entire sonic worlds.
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THE CELTIC TENORS RELEASE ‘LIVE AT THE EMPIRE THEATRE’- IRELAND’S CELEBRATED VOCAL TRIO DELIVERS THEIR FINEST HOUR
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Ireland’s internationally acclaimed vocal trio The Celtic Tenors — founding member Matthew Gilsenan, Daryl Simpson BEM, and dynamic new tenor George Hutton — have released their highly anticipated live album, The Celtic Tenors: Live at The Empire Theatre, out now through Slammin’ Media and Believe Distribution. Captured in a single electrifying evening at The Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ontario, the 16-track record documents a trio at the very peak of their powers, delivering a breathtaking blend of Irish folk, opera, classical, and pop in their signature, harmony-rich style.
The album arrives on the heels of an extraordinary period of momentum for the trio. Their PBS television special — showcasing Matthew Gilsenan, George Hutton, and Daryl Simpson performing opera, classical, Irish traditional, and pop music in their signature harmony-rich style — is available to stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App across multiple platforms. The special has significantly expanded their American audience, airing on stations from WNET in New York to KVCR in Los Angeles.
Critical reception to the album’s lead singles has been enthusiastic. Reviewing the trio’s bilingual rendition of Ed Sheeran’s « Perfect Symphony, » ATV Today called it « less a cover than a re-framing: a contemporary pop ballad recast as something intimate, almost devotional, » adding that the performance « carries the faint electricity of a room holding its breath. » The review concluded that the recording demonstrates not commercial endurance but artistic patience — proof that crossover need not mean compromise, but simply means conversation between genres, languages, and past and present.
The Celtic Tenors: Live at The Empire Theatre is a dynamic crossover concert that redefines the traditional Irish music experience, featuring a diverse repertoire blending iconic Irish folk songs with operatic and melodic reinterpretations of global hits by Guns N’ Roses, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran. The full 16-track album spans the heartfelt intimacy of « Grace » and the rousing energy of « Galway Girl » to stunning interpretations of « Sweet Child O’ Mine » and « Viva La Vida, » alongside timeless Irish staples « Danny Boy, » « Whiskey In The Jar, » and « The Impossible Dream. »
Supporting the trio throughout are music director Colm O’Regan at grand piano, Darren Bell on guitars and mandolin, John O’Brien on pipes, whistles, and bouzouki, and Cecilia Leahy on violin. Together they create what ATV Today described as a performance where the supporting ensemble resists flourish in favour of texture — leaving space for breath, for phrasing, and for the kind of dynamic shading that studio polish often smooths away.
Matthew Gilsenan, the Kells, County Meath native whose emotive tenor has captivated audiences from New York to Shanghai, brings his characteristic storytelling warmth throughout. Daryl Simpson BEM — whose British Empire Medal recognises his dedication to peace and reconciliation through music — adds operatically trained power and nuanced artistry. George Hutton, the Derry-born tenor whose collaborations have ranged from Hozier to legendary Irish composer Phil Coulter, infuses the trio with fresh energy and contemporary sensibility. Together, they have earned their place among Ireland’s most successful classical-crossover acts while maintaining a rare balance of skill and personality — and over two decades and more than one million albums sold worldwide, their appeal, as the critics confirm, remains gloriously undimmed. A tour of Ireland is planned for later this fall, with the trio returning to North America for their celebrated Celtic Christmas 2026 tour.
The Celtic Tenors: Live at The Empire Theatre is out now on all major streaming platforms and available for purchase through Slammin’ Media and Believe Distribution.
2026 TOUR DATES:
June 26, 2026 — Ceili at the Castle, Hillsborough, UK
Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul’ Puts Jay Douglas and Reggae History Where They Belong
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CBC Radio: “Jay Douglas finally gets his flowers!”
Exclaim:« An entertaining celebration of one of the key architects of the Toronto sound”
JAZZ FM: « Beloved Toronto music legend Jay Douglas is finally getting his flowers! Proud to see his story come to life through this film!”
Reggae North: “A landmark event in Canadian music history!”
Sly Dunbar: “The Lou Rawls of Jamaican music”
Play It Loud! — How Toronto Got Soul, the feature documentary documentary, directed by Graeme Mathieson, produced by Andrew Munger (Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band), and Executive Produced by Clement Virgo (Brother, The Wire) has been nominated for 2026 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series.
For much of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Caribbean, Jamaican and reggae music scene in Toronto was almost unrivaled in North America in terms of quality and performers. Jay Douglas, lead singer of The Cougars and one of the biggest and brightest talents of that time, is the subject of this fantastic TVO Original documentary from Toronto’s Ultramagnetic Productions. Play It Loud! – How Toronto Got Soul enjoyed its World premiere at Toronto’s The Royal Theatre in October 2024, drawing a lineup around the block, before opening the Hot Docs Doc Soup season in December. Play it Loud! has gone on to play theatrically and in festivals across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., winning laurels at the Yorkton Television Fest, New Orleans Black Film Festival, the U.K.’s Windrush Film Festival in Liverpool and the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival.
Play It Loud! – How Toronto Got Soul traces Douglas’ life from his childhood in Jamaica to immigrating to Canada in his teenage years and residing in Toronto with a host of other Jamaica-born artists such as Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Wayne McGhie among others. With Toronto becoming a hotbed of Jamaican music, Douglas established himself as the lead singer of The Cougars, a fabulous group who performed a collage of genres (reggae/Caribbean/soul/ska/
Featuring appearances by Sly Dunbar, vocalist Jackie Richardson, Cadence Weapon (Rollie Pemberton), Lillian Allen, Adrian Miller, former MuchMusic host Michael Williams and many others, and the music of Bob Marley, Bo Diddley, James Brown, The Cougars and Wayne McGhie, Play It Loud was financed by TVO, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, Ontario Creates, Rogers Documentary Fund, Knowledge Network BC and the Hot Docs–Slaight Family Fund.
Canada’s High Commission in Kingston, Jamaica is sponsoring the film’s Jamaican premiere on April 15, Canadian Film Day.
Ultramagnetic is in development on multiple projects including The Correspondent: Getting the Story is Half the Battle which examines the contemporary threat facing journalism through the life and career of legendary British/Canadian foreign correspondent Michael Maclear. The Correspondent is being developed with Ontario Creates and NHK Japan, with Takahiro Hamano, ex NHK exec as co-producer. Other projects include the series Sound Check: Tales From the Musical Underground. Equal parts Netflix’s Song Exploder and Parts Unknown, co-creator, Polaris Prize winning rapper Rollie Pemberton (Cadence Weapon) in the Anthony takes us on an immersive, intimate journey into the world of Canadian independent music. Also on the slate are Decrypted: Cybercrime, in development with true crime veteran Barbara Shearer, the “Untitled Science Project”, a top secret follow up to 2018’s successful Toxic Beauty, and Michael’s Wars, a scripted feature film.
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Canadian Blues Music Awards Crown First-Ever Winners at Landmark Toronto Gala
TORONTO, ON — The Canadian Blues Music Awards made history Monday night at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, crowning the first-ever winners of Canada’s new national blues recognition programme across 16 competitive categories. The inaugural gala brought together the finest performers in Canadian blues for a landmark celebration that was more than an awards show. It was a statement about the depth, diversity, and resilience of blues music in this country.
The evening’s biggest winner was Brandon Isaak, who took home Electric Blues Recording of the Year, Blues Song of the Year for « Walkin’ With The Blues, » and Blues Guitarist of the Year, all for his album ‘Walkin’ With The Blues.’ Steve Marriner claimed Blues Producer of the Year for his work on three recordings: ‘Hear My Heart,’ Big Dave McLean’s ‘This Old Life,’ and David Gogo’s ‘YEAH!’ Sue Foley won Acoustic Blues Recording of the Year for ‘One Guitar Woman, A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar.’ Crystal Shawanda took Female Blues Vocalist of the Year for ‘Sing Pretty Blues,’ while Marcus Trummer claimed Male Blues Vocalist of the Year for ‘From The Start.’ Kenny « Blues Boss » Wayne won Blues Keyboard Player of the Year for ‘Ooh, Yeah!’, and Ollee Owens was named Emerging Blues Artist or Group of the Year for ‘Nowhere to Hide.’
The Canadian Blues Music Awards is a fully independent, incorporated national not-for-profit organization built from the ground up with a mandate to govern, develop, and operate Canada’s premier blues recognition programme. Initially formed in spring 2024 by Brant Zwicker and Cindy McLeod, the CBMA Governing Committee spent more than a year in extensive research, national consultation, and programme development before incorporating as an independent organization. All artist category awards are decided exclusively by a jury panel of industry professionals drawn from a national pool spanning radio, print, labels, engineering, production, promotion, academia, associations, festivals, and venues. « The Canadian Blues Music Awards represents a complete overhaul, » said Quisha Wint, Chair of the Toronto Blues Society. « A whole new programme created to serve the Canadian blues community with greater transparency, fairness, and unity from coast to coast to coast. »
Lifetime Achievement honours were presented to five foundational contributors to Canadian blues: Amos Garrett, Bobby Dean Blackburn, Kenny « Blues Boss » Wayne, Russell Jackson, and Tim Williams. The gala also featured live performances from Steve Marriner, Crystal Shawanda, Kenny « Blues Boss » Wayne, Brandon Isaak, and Dana Wylie of Secondhand Dreamcar, with host Danny Marks opening the evening. The after-party featured sets from emerging artist nominees Glenn Marais and The Mojo Train, Ollee Owens, JP LeBlanc, and Secondhand Dreamcar.
The Canadian Blues Music Awards are now established as the gold standard of blues recognition in Canada, a programme built on transparency, coast-to-coast representation, and a genuine commitment to the music and the people who make it.
2025 Canadian Blues Music Awards Winners:
Emerging Blues Artist or Group of the Year
Ollee Owens (Ollee Owens: Nowhere to Hide)
Blues Song of the Year
Brandon Isaak: Walkin’ With The Blues (Walkin’ With The Blues)
Acoustic Blues Recording of the Year
Sue Foley: One Guitar Woman, A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar
Electric Blues Recording of the Year Brandon Isaak: Walkin’ With The Blues
Blues Producer of the Year
Steve Marriner (Steve Marriner: Hear My Heart; Big Dave McLean: This Old Life; David Gogo: YEAH!)
Female Blues Vocalist of the Year
Crystal Shawanda (Crystal Shawanda: Sing Pretty Blues)
Male Blues Vocalist of the Year
Marcus Trummer (Marcus Trummer: From The Start)
Blues Guitarist of the Year
Brandon Isaak (Brandon Isaak: Walkin’ With The Blues)
Blues Keyboard Player of the Year
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne (Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne: Ooh, Yeah!)
Blues Harmonica Player of the Year TIE
Guy Bélanger (Guy Bélanger: Postcards from London)
Steve Marriner (Steve Marriner: Hear My Heart; Big Dave McLean: This Old Life; David Gogo: YEAH!)
Blues Horn Player of the Year
Jerry Cook (Wailin’ Walker: All Fired Up)
Blues Drummer of the Year TIE:
Jim Casson (Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns: Canboro Canborough)
Sylvain “Sly” Coulombe (Chambers DesLauriers: Our Time To Ride)
Blues Bassist of the Year
Jasmine Colette (Blue Moon Marquee: New Orleans Sessions)
Blues Video of the Year
The Harpoonist: Show Me The Green (Did We Come Here To Dance)
Blues Industry Person of the Year TIE:
Bruce Morel (Morel Music International)
Ken Simms (Think Tank Music Network)
Lifetime Achievement Recipient
Tim Williams
Fan Favourite Award for Blues Artist or Group of the Year
Blue Moon Marquee
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Tom Wilson (Tehoháhake) Releases New Video « We Live In Dreams, » Co-Written With Tanya Talaga, Featured in Documentary Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising
« We’re all gonna shine one day / we’ll stand our ground and never stray / rising tall with love and pride / while we live in dreams »
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TORONTO, ON — Celebrated Canadian musician, author, and visual artist Tom Wilson (Tehoháhake) today releases his luminous new video for « We Live In Dreams, » co-written with award-winning Anishinaabe journalist, storyteller, and filmmaker Tanya Talaga. Produced by Tom Wilson and mixed by Gary Furniss at The Stonehouse, the song is a stirring and deeply felt anthem of Indigenous resilience, cultural pride, and the unshakeable power of community, and arrives as one of the most meaningful recordings of Wilson’s remarkable career.
« We Live In Dreams » serves as the emotional centrepiece of the powerful new documentary Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising, directed by Shane Belcourt and produced by Talaga’s production company Makwa Creative. The film resurrects and restores the buried history of a pivotal 1974 land-back occupation led by Louis Cameron, an Indian Residential School Survivor and founder of the Ojibway Warriors Society, an act of extraordinary courage that drew members of the American Indian Movement and ultimately brought the Native Caravan to Parliament Hill. Belcourt, who also directed and shot the song’s music video, brings the same unflinching visual storytelling to the single’s release.
The song was born from the creative partnership between two of Canada’s most essential Indigenous voices. Wilson and Talaga, whose groundbreaking books Seven Fallen Feathers and All Our Relations and Canadian Screen Award-winning docuseries The Knowing have reshaped conversations around Indigenous truth-telling, channelled the documentary’s spirit directly into the music. « We are here to give everything we’ve got to honour the warrior hearts who have dodged bullets, cut through razor wire and thrown their lives on the line to free the spirit of our people, » Wilson has said. « We are here to create art to fight the hate and the violence towards our people. We are here to tell the truth. We are here to stand for love and we are here to win with love. »
A multi-JUNO Award-winning artist known for his work with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Lee Harvey Osmond, and Junkhouse, as well as his bestselling memoir Beautiful Scars, Tom Wilson has spent decades building a body of work that honours his Mohawk heritage and insists on the truth. « We Live In Dreams » marks a new chapter in that legacy, a song written with intention, recorded with love, and offered to the world as both art and advocacy.
Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising premieres on CBC’s Channel 1 on Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 9pm ET, with both versions available on CBC Gem beginning June 1, 2026. « We Live In Dreams » is available now on all streaming platforms. The single is released with funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
ABOUT TOM WILSON (Tehoháhake): Tom Wilson is a multi-JUNO Award-winning musician, bestselling author, and acclaimed visual artist whose work reflects his Mohawk heritage and lifelong dedication to truth-telling through art, music, and story. He is known for his work with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Lee Harvey Osmond, and Junkhouse, and as the author of the bestselling memoir Beautiful Scars.
ABOUT TANYA TALAGA: Tanya Talaga is an Anishinaabe journalist, author, filmmaker, and storyteller and the founder of Makwa Creative. She is best known for Seven Fallen Feathers, All Our Relations, and the Canadian Screen Award-winning docuseries The Knowing.
Steve Holt received his first JUNO nomination back in 1984 for The Lion’s Eyes in the Jazz Album of the Year category, and launched an international career performing with artists such as Archie Shepp, Eddie Henderson, Larry Coryell and James Moody.
But like many jazz musicians, Holt’s recording career eventually slipped out of the spotlight. His last album appeared in 2002, and for more than two decades he released nothing new. To many listeners, he had simply faded from view.
Now, at age 71, Holt has come roaring back with a new album of original music titled Impact — and it has brought him full circle with a 2026 JUNO nomination.
The record features a powerhouse quintet of some of Canada’s top jazz players and a set of fresh compositions that reflect the long arc of a life spent in jazz. One moment that has already drawn attention is Holt’s improvised solo piano interpretation of O Canada. Writing in The Aquarian, critic Mike Greenblatt said that « …what Holt does with the anthem is akin to what Hendrix did to the Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock.”
It’s an unusual story in Canadian music — a musician still creating vital work after half a century in the art form and receiving a JUNO nomination more than forty years after his first.
Let me know if you’d like to do an interview with Steve, and I’ll be happy to set it up here, and thank you – as always – for your time and consideration!
Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet Nominated for 2026 JUNO Award – Jazz Album of the Year
The nomination for Jazz Album of the Year marks a major milestone for the acclaimed Canadian pianist, composer, and bandleader Steve Holt.
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IMPACT was made with intention, honesty, and letting great musicians bring the music fully to life. Being nominated for a JUNO is an honour I truly didn’t expect.”
— Steve Holt
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA – The Steve Holt Jazz Impact Quintet has received a 2026 JUNO Award nomination for Jazz Album of the Year for their latest release, IMPACT — marking a major milestone for the acclaimed Canadian pianist, composer, and bandleader Steve Holt.
The nomination recognizes IMPACT as one of Canada’s most compelling jazz recordings of the year. The album showcases Holt’s return as a leader and composer, supported by a powerhouse quintet featuring Perry White (saxophone), Kevin Turcotte (trumpet), Duncan Hopkins (bass), and Terry Clarke (drums) — five of the country’s most respected jazz musicians.
Released in 2025, IMPACT has drawn positive critical attention from around the world for its musical depth, high-level ensemble interplay, and Holt’s distinctive compositional voice. Jack Kenny, at All About Jazz (USA) described IMPACT as “An intense album bursting with creativity. FOUR STARS”. Gordon J ack, at Jazz Journal (UK) said “This is Canadian jazz at its finest.” And Thierry De Clemensat, from Paris Move (France) concluded “Impact stands as a vibrant new chapter in Steve Holt’s storied career, rooted in tradition, yet resonating firmly in the now.”
Steve Holt is a two-time JUNO-nominated pianist whose career spans more than four decades. He was McGill University’s first-ever Bachelor of Music program majoring in Jazz Performance and later studied in New York City with legendary pianist Kenny Barron. Holt released his JUNO-nominated debut album The Lion’s Eyes in 1983 and has since performed with jazz greats including Archie Shepp, Larry Coryell, James Moody, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Bob Mover, and Michel Urbaniak.
The JUNO nomination for IMPACT marks Holt’s return to national recognition as a leader and composer and further establishes Steve Holt as a leading force on today’s Canadian jazz sta ge.
< br>The 2026 JUNO Awards will be presented March 27th in Hamilton Ontario, celebrating excellence in Canadian music across all genres.
MARIO PUGLIA EARNS JUNO NOMINATION FOR LATIN MUSIC RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Bilingual Artist Recognised for Debut Album ‘‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’’ – A Layered, Soulful Exploration of Healing, Identity, and Growth
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TORONTO, ON – Bilingual indie-pop and Latin Urban artist Mario Puglia has received a JUNO Award nomination for Latin Music Recording of the Year for his debut album ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’, released via ABC Music. The recognition marks a landmark moment for the Toronto-raised multi-instrumentalist, whose warm, genre-defying sound – built at the intersection of Indie-Pop, R&B, and Latin Urban – has quietly been winning hearts across both English and Spanish-speaking audiences. The JUNO Awards Gala Presented by Music Canada takes place on Saturday, March 28th in Hamilton, Ontario, with The JUNO Awards Broadcast airing live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem, and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel, on Sunday, March 29th at TD Coliseum.
Self-taught on guitar, keys, and drums, Puglia brings a rare totality to his artistry: he writes, produces, and performs with the same fluid ease with which he navigates between Spanish and English. Born in Caracas and raised in Toronto, he carries both worlds in his music without choosing between them, building what he describes as a “refuge” for anyone who has ever felt like a citizen of nowhere and everywhere at once. His sound is warm and golden, impossible to pin to a single shelf – and ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’ is its fullest expression yet.
The title of the album translates to “I’ve Healed Several Things” – and the deliberate incompleteness of that phrase is the point. ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’ does not claim total healing. It acknowledges progress. Written across different cities and emotional seasons, the record documents a process rather than a conclusion, moving through anxiety, self-worth, presence, nostalgia, forgiveness, identity, and joy with the kind of honesty that requires both courage and humour. Sonically, the album blends organic textures with contemporary pop production, grounded yet expansive – reflective of a life lived between coastal calm and global cities. It is, as Puglia frames it, not a destination but a checkpoint: music for people who are growing in real time.
Two singles from the album offer a vivid window into the album’s emotional world. “Paz y Felicidad” was born at a writing retreat on a farm just outside Medellín – in a space owned by a manager who also worked with J Balvin – where Puglia gathered with producers Juan Cerro, Geogy Mills, and Pablo Melov. The song’s spark came from two Golden Retrievers on the property named Paz and Felicidad, who spent their days cheerfully chasing everyone with a tennis ball. “Peace and happiness are always chasing us, inviting us to play,” Puglia reflects. “Yet we often push them away, distracted or overwhelmed.” The song – and its video, filmed at Centro Ítalo, the Caracas soccer club where Puglia spent his childhood – became a joyful reminder to turn around and say yes.
The album’s second single, “vision board,” charts a quieter but equally resonant territory. Written in Ciudad de México during a period of relentless travel and emotional expansion, it captures what Puglia calls the duality of growth: “Nostalgia for where you come from and gratitude for where you are becoming.” Its lyrics carry that feeling with characteristic lightness: “Olvidar lo que me preocupa / me da chance para respirar / aunque esté lejos de casa / ¡qué bien se siente estar acá!” The video was shot in La Guaira, Venezuela – the oceanside neighbourhood where Puglia grew up – featuring archival footage of his parents and his younger self, surfing, yoga, and the intimate details of a life fully inhabited. It is, like the album itself, a love letter to presence.
With his JUNO nomination, Mario Puglia steps into a wider national spotlight as one of Canada’s most compelling emerging bilingual voices – an artist whose music speaks fluently to the complexity of the diaspora experience, and whose debut album stands as one of the year’s most emotionally generous records. ‘He Sanado Varias Cosas’ is available now on all streaming platforms. The winners will be revealed on stage in Hamilton, Ontario at The JUNO Awards Gala Presented by Music Canada on Saturday, March 28th, and The JUNO Awards Broadcast at TD Coliseum on Sunday, March 29th, live nationwide on CBC and CBC Gem and globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel.
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