"Mr! Mouray: A man of impeccable 1950s style and taste, Mr! Mouray has been reborn a half-century later through modern words and music"

Bankers Of Yonge is one of three blast-from-the-past masters on the John Critchley-produced Lady Rock And Roll EP, which celebrates Mr! Mouray’s sixth anniversary. The video for the T.Rex-fueled title track and first single has racked up nearly 3,000 views and found a home on multiple playlists, while the brooding, Cramps-inspired Then & Now displays the breadth of the quartet’s sound and influences. Lady Rock And Roll also marked the debut of new drummer Craig Adams, who replaced the late David Otanez in 2022, minutes before the release of the band’s second album What’s The Stouray…

Check out Bankers Of Yonge on YouTube here - MR! MOURAY

Toronto based folk/roots veteran Johann Lowenberg has just released a new album, his 5th, and it’s arguably his best to date. “The Pirate in Me” is a 10 song collection of original tunes that are well crafted, tastefully produced and performed with a warm and personal authenticity. 

Johann didn’t parachute into the folk genre but rather was there when the boom was booming which is where the honesty and authenticity comes from. Johann was born in Yorkville Village, which would become the folk music mecca of Canada mirroring New York City’s Greenwich Village, in the spring of 1950. 

Within her newest musical effort, JUNO award-winning singer, songwriter and motivational speaker Kellylee Evans expresses a newfound level of self-reflection. Through addicting jazz compositions and her powerful expression of soul, Evans’ new six-track EP Show Love exemplifies her signature sound while taking her artistry to new heights.

Over the course of 18 months, Evans worked with producer and collaborator Michael Shand. According to Evans, Show Love displays a lesson in patience and taking life as it comes. Regarding the EP’s recording process with Shand, Evans says, “Different things would arise for each of us, requiring us to put aside the project and tend to what was most important in our lives. But we would each keep coming back to the project with a renewed sense of passion and wonder for what we were working on.”

Photo Credits Marlen James

Singer/ Songwriter Rick Marshall was born in Newfoundland, Canada, lived in Libertyville, Illinois and now hangs his cowboy hat in Neuvo Vallarta, México a good part of his time.

He has found his true love south of two borders. We caught up with Rick at his home n México, “How I got here and what led to me writing the song, Viva México, is an interesting story. I moved to Hollywood, California in 1988 for a few years and worked in the film industry. During this period, my friends and I traveled many times down into México. Each time I did, I felt a familiarity, a kinship, a wanting. Over the following decades, this would continue. Every time I would visit, part of me longed to stay, to the point, I would joke with my friends and say: “If you ever find yourself down in México one day, take a good look at the guy napping under the sombrero, because it might just be me. And here I am, although I don’t do much napping! I love it here.”

Marshall Potts is a singer/songwriter from Kamloops B.C. where he lives on 160 acres. His crossover writing style has found acceptance in the Americana, Country Rock and Rock formats. Marshall not only writes inspiring music and lyrics, he mixes in ringing, interwoven guitar lines and buoyant arena-rock beats. Combine Potts’ powerful, yet tender insistent vocals that share the experience of saving himself deliver a universal message of positivity and optimism. His music is about moving beyond your past, taking back your power, embracing the moment and living in the here and now.

Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum-selling artist John Ford Coley (best known for his early career work as one-half of the ‘70s duo England Dan & John Ford Coley whose hits included “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” “We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again” and “Love is the Answer”) announces his album, Sketches Vol. 1, will be available for streaming today for the first time ever. Hand-selected by Coley from his personal archives, the songs on Sketches Vol. 1 were recorded throughout his storied career but never released until 2021 and includes “Falling,” which he wrote with former bandmate Dan Seals before his death in 2009.

For nearly six decades, multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter Coley has thrilled audiences around the globe with his timeless and compelling music. Best known for his early work as half of the Grammy-nominated duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, Coley has topped the charts in Japan and Israel and generated six Top-20s in the United States (four of them charting in the Top 10). He was recently named one of the “Top-10 Artists of All Time” (Rock Justice Award, 2019).

In the ongoing race to predict the next teen craze, give yourself 10 points if you had … Celtic/Latin/jazz fusion fiddle?

Hey, in a world where Lindsey Stirling has made the violin commercial again, anything can happen. And just one listen to First Light, the debut album from 18-year-old Ontario wunderkind Mary Frances Leahy, will convince you that she’s next in line. Its nine original instrumentals are ironclad proof that composer/multi-instrumentalist Leahy has carved out a wholly unique and captivating musical identity that rings as natural to the ear as it might look peculiar on paper.

‘Shark Mission’ the first single, released on April 26, 2024, from the forthcoming Endangered Spirits Volume 2 from deejay Shawn Barry, features world-renowned shark expert and advocate Paul De Gelder, adding his ominous voice on a UK-styled Liquid/Electronic track.

Rock N Roll Legend Andy Kim is celebrating another milestone this year, the 50th  anniversary of the release of one of his best-known songs and biggest hits, ”Rock Me Gently”.

Check it out on YouTube here:

The Canadian singer, who charted hits from 1968 to 1971, starting with “How’d We Ever Get This Way” which went Top 20 on both sides of the border followed by “ So Good Together” and a cover of The Ronettes hit “ Baby, I Love You” had not had a top 100 single since September of 1971, and had been looking for a record label since early 1973.

Brantford, Ontario native and Canadian treasure Ray Materick is set to return to Ontario for a night of music and memories at Toronto’s legendary venue, Hugh’s Room Live on Saturday May 25th.

The show will be an incredible musical trip through Ray’s impressive catalogue of songs through the years as he and his band, The Midnight Matinees take the audience on a journey of his life through music.

RAY MATERICK & MIDNIGHT MATINEE / HUGH’S ROOM, 296 BROADVIEW

SATURDAY, MAY 25 • DOORS 7PM / CONCERT 8PM

“The show will feature songs from all my albums from Sidestreets that we released in 1972 on Kanata Records to my first album on Warner/Asylum Records, Neon Rain, in 1974, that include our first big hit, “Linda Put The Coffee On.”

Check out the hit song , “Linda Put The Coffee On” on YouTube here:

They say music can be the best therapy but leave it to community-minded Canadian legend Martha Johnson to make her music a form of group therapy. Her new single, “Slow Emotion,” is a fortifying hit of emotional oxygen for those living with Parkinson’s Disease. That’s a topic relevant not just to Johnson herself—who was diagnosed with the condition nearly a quarter-century ago—but to every fellow patient she’s met or just envisioned along the way. 

Check out “Slow Emotion” on YouTube here:

Acclaimed vocalist Lizz Wright embraces her newfound freedom with a classic recording that encapsulates an illustrious 20-year career since the release of her debut album, Salt (Verve, 2003). Wright’s studio debut on her label Blues & Greens Records (with licensing/distribution through Lightyear Entertainment/Virgin Music), Shadow, solidifies Wright as one of the great modern American singers. Wright celebrates intimacy, loss, community, and healing. 

On Shadow Wright pens five originals including “Root of Mercy,” “Circling,” “This Way,” “Sparrow” which features Angelique Kidjo and “Your Love” with Meshell Ndegeocello. She showcases along with her own works singular renditions of songs by Cole Porter, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Sandy Denny, Candi Staton, Toshi Reagon, and Caitlin Canty.

Black Creek Reign is a dynamic reggae-rock band based in the Greater Toronto Area. Comprised of Darren Armoogam, Lex Stultz, LOGUN, and Nathan Khan, the band draws inspiration from adverse range of musical influences to create a sound that is uniquely their own. With a string of successful releases and notable achievements, Black Creek Reign continues to captivate audiences with their infectious energy and socially conscious lyrics.

Now with the new release of a Reggae-Rock Anthem for social change "Wall Street" it is more than just a song - it's a call to action. Through impassioned lyrics and infectious rhythms, Black Creek Reign challenges listeners to stand up and make a difference in their communities.

Check it Out on YouTube here:

A great story of how an artist takes their career, talent and amazing voice to reinvent themselves in the current market and JC Sol has done just that.

Canadian-born JC Sol is a multi-talented singer/songwriter and performer, whose passion and love of R&B and the classic Philly sound has raised her profile in the world of independent artists. JC delivers a smooth and sensual vocal offering that has found a way of capturing the soulful grooves of that special retro sound while creating current and refreshing productions.

Not new to the music scene, JC Sol is a legacy artist who has toured for many years as a lead singer, providing entertainment on a global level. Today, JC’s special brand of song-writing and production has garnered a fan-based popularity from R & B and Adult Contemporary music enthusiasts all over the world. 

Tom Rush, is an American treasure credited by Rolling Stone as ushering in the era of the singer-songwriter.

Although he wrote his own songs he was the first to record songs by then unknown talents like Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor helping them gain name recognition. Tom was looking for material to make an album when he heard some songs by Joni, Jackson and James that spoke to him and that he found refreshing and different from the more traditional folksongs of the day , lyrically and musically. “. I wasn’t looking into usher in anything – I was just looking for some songs. “

Fast forward a bunch of decades and Tom Rush is still out there paving roads and entertaining as only he can, and has released a new album, his first in five years.

“I want to thank Matt Nakoa for prodding me into making this happen. I think he got tired of hearing me say that maybe someday I would make another album and went ahead and booked a studio, some brilliant players and here we are.”

Lisa Hartt has had quite a whirlwind year, launching her career back full steam ahead with single releases, an EP release, 2 tours to Sweden, the first being the amazing time she was greeted at Lilla By Festivalen as the Canadian legend she truly is. She deserves that recognition for a story long untold about her collaboration with Sweden’s hero, Ted Gardestad.

Award-Winning London, Ontario folk group Maggie’s Wake is set to release their long-awaited debut album on March 17, 2024.

Spotify pre-save link here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/maggieswake/maggies-wake?utm_campaign…

It took just over a year for Maggie’s Wake to write, record and release their first full studio album, which will finally be available on St. Patrick’s Day, following the success of their holiday single "Christmas is Coming (for You)" and the haunting fan favourite "Bridget O’Brien". The album showcases their vast talents both as storytellers and musicians and has been a labour of love for the women who front Maggie’s Wake, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tara Dunphy and Lindsay Schindler, fiddler and harmony vocalist.

How many paeans to the power of women are we going to have to hear? If you dared ask Montreal grunge-pop punkers Bad Skin that question, the answer you’d get would probably be “Until you get it through your thick skull.”

Waving their musical middle finger proudly in the tradition of musical forebears like L7, Bikini Kill and No Doubt, the Canadian quartet make their own contribution to the hear-us-roar tradition with “We Are the Girls,” an exhilarating anthem that proves it’s never a bad time to fly the flag for the sisterhood—especially when you do it with the style, smarts and sass of this perfectly turned single, which has “instant classic” graffiti-ed all over it.

Check it out on YouTube here:

Church of Trees is a Canadian synthpop band, whose debut Primitive Creatures (2017) charted in Japan, the UK, and across Canada. Since then, the band has released 7 albums that have spawned number 1 singles, such as World's a Bitch (ft Rough Trade’s Carole Pope), Like Gary Numan, and Believe It Or Not. Their albums have been played on 4 continents and have landed on Top Ten charts on college and independent radio in Canada, The UK, and France/Switzerland, as well as Best Of album charts from 2017 to 2023. They have performed with legendary Canadian band Rough Trade and Broadway’s Rob Preuss, and have played such iconic venues as Toronto’s El Mocambo, Ottawa’s Bronson Centre, and Wakefield’s Black Sheep Inn.

Their new album, Transience, takes a giant leap in a new sonic direction. Punching a hole in synthpop, the album artfully crosses genres, from art-pop to Indie rock, and from synth, to ambient. Think MGMT and Foster the People meets Gary Numan and Eno. Featuring stunning vocals by Stella Panacci, Heather Brazeau, and bandleader Bernard Frazer.

Laden with hooky vocal melodies and intricate harmonies, the album is a testament to great teamwork,

I have just finished reading “You Get Bigger as you Go”, Bruce Cockburn’s Influence and Evolution by author M.D. Dunn.

What a wonderful rabbit hole to fall into! I As the reader, I was immersed for weeks in Bruce’s music, playing the tracks from all the albums that Dunn delves into, as I read the book. I followed the timeline along with Mark Dunn’s research and exploration of all Cockburn’s albums. This book explores the profound influence and remarkable evolution of Cockburn’s music. A renowned Canadian singer songwriter and guitarist, Cockburn has entertained and educated listeners for over five decades.

Speaking with Mark recently about the book, we discussed the fact that Bruce is like a war correspondent, a journalist observing through his lens of music the times we live in, complimented by the poetry of his complex guitar phrasing. Cockburn digs deep into the pathos of the song.

Mark reflected that: “Bruce is almost always the narrator in these songs, and they are not always about him, but they are always a reflection of his point of view.”