I have been personally listening to and watching music and videos from Sultans of String for years now, and I consider myself to be one of their biggest fans. Always collaborating with artists that have a cause and especially artists who need a voice, the empathy that this group shows in their choices for their recordings not only has extremely talented participants but always presented with a moral compass.

 What do Crystal Shawanda, Leela Gilday, Northern Cree powwow group, a dozen other Indigenous artists, and Roots band Sultans of String have in common? They have all come together in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and Final Report which calls for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to work together to create Walking Through the Fire. This album and live show are a powerful collection of collaborations between the roots group and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island, with the CD releasing September 15, 2023, and a live concert tour launching on September 28, leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

They say good things come to those wait and great things come to those wait a little longer and for soulful singer/ songwriter JC Sol the wait is over. Her time to shine has arrived and her new single "Our Groove ( Re-Mix)" is her boarding pass.

Check out “Our Groove” on YouTube here:

Some people say that life is a party and part of the reason for that is a desire to live life to the fullest. In her newest single, "There Is No Rule", Los Angeles-based pop singer Whitney Lyman encourages listeners to have fun while doing whatever makes them happy.

"There is No Rule" is the first single off Lyman’s upcoming album Love Spell, slated for an early 2024 release.

Production wise and lyrically, the song has influences that are reminiscent of Pink's "God Is A DJ". The song opens with a funky bass groove as Lyman sings and urges the listener to stoke their inner fire and do whatever they want.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/artist/1MzNpVibtGcQre2vdJEpLs

In Conversation: Spike Festival’s Boyan Pinter with Janne Schaffer, one of Sweden’s most prominent and in-demand session musicians, talks solo career, ABBA, and finds his musical voice amidst a diverse range of influences and collaborations.

We caught up with the celebrated guitarist, songwriter, and composer on his day off from a long tour. Reclining in his garden, he shared with us the story of how he got started as a guitarist, his career in music: from a session player to an artist in his own right, and his friendship and collaboration with many of Sweden’s greatest artists, including ABBA, Björn J:son Lindh, and the famed Ted Gärdestad.

Long ago in a land far away, musical magic was being created. The long ago was the 1970s, the faraway was Sweden and the musical magic was created at Polar Studios in Stockholm.

Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004 and was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Andersson and housed, the band's Polar Music recording label.

The studio was used to record each of the last three ABBA albums, Voulez-Vous, Super Trouper, and The Visitors, as well as their two non-LP singles "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". Following the demise of ABBA, all members of the group continued using the studio to record their solo projects.

The festival is expanding into the Sanderson Center for the Performing Arts 1100 seat theatre in Brantford for their main event concerts. Buy tickets for Saturday Aug 12 on southcoastjazz.com or direct from the Sanderson Center.

The festival has multiple venues, a diverse line-up and is very accessible for everyone. This includes our affordable prices! Note: FRIDAY and SUNDAY are CASH ONLY EVENTS.

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Celebration where 13 of the Most Influential Rock Legends from the ‘70s and ‘80s will be in attendance for their induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame

April Wine
Chilliwack
Glass Tiger
Lee Aaron
Lighthouse
Loverboy
Max Webster
Michel Pagliaro
Platinum Blonde
PRISM
Rough Trade
The Parachute Club
Trooper

Thursday, September 28 at Toronto’s Massey Hall -- the first of two induction ceremonies in 2023 as part of Canada’s Walk of Fame’s 25^th anniversary celebrations

Presenters, Performers and Special Guests will be Announced in the Coming Weeks!

Tickets for “Canada’s Rock of Fame” On Sale Friday, July 14 at 10 a.m. ET.

Rarely Seen Footage of Sweden’s icon Ted Gärdestad and Canada’s Treasure Lisa Hartt Resurfaces

No stranger to success, and the challenges of mental health and wellness that come with being in the spotlight, Lisa Hartt was recently asked to perform in Rinkaby, Sweden for the Lilla By Festivalen, a small boutique festival nestled in a family friendly setting. As well, Lisa will appear on a panel as an Ambassador for the Drive Foundation Canada to discuss mental wellness in the music industry.

Kenny Rogers’ first posthumous album, Life Is Like A Song, out via UMe, is a heartfelt collection of songs that were near and dear to the late legend but in most cases never released. Curated and executive produced by the Country Music Hall of Famer’s widow, Wanda Rogers, the album features eight never-before-heard recordings, spanning 2008-2011, and showcases Rogers’ range through an array of original material and covers, including interpretations of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”and Lionel Richie’s “Goodbye,”as well as the artist’s long-sought-after lost duet with Dolly Parton, “Tell Me That You Love Me,” presented here in a never-before-released, newly remixed form.

Toronto-based music historian, multi-instrumentalist, and radio host Bob Wegner scours the archives over countless hours to bring audiences the definitive guide to one of Canada’s most prolific rock bands of all time, Max Webster, with the new book entitled, “Max Webster: High Class” — available now!

Wegner’s latest authorial pursuit sees him wearing many hats as he documents Canadian music history with an unprecedented look at infamous Toronto rockers Max Webster. “In the case of this book, you’re a journalist, fact-checker, designer, audio engineer, and archivist,” says Wegner.

“I relentlessly scoured the world for anything I could find on the subject. Interviewed most of the band members and various other people in the fold and on the periphery,” says Wegner, who would sometimes spend hours researching a single footnote. Wegner also oversaw the digitization of photos, audio, and video, including nearly 400 pages of photos and text.

Described by Billboard Magazine as "...one of our finer voices", David Pomeranz's recording and songwriting projects have earned him a total of 22 platinum and 18 gold albums - selling over 40 million records internationally. He has achieved success in virtually every entertainment medium and his concert performances have delighted and inspired audiences all over the world.

And now the latest release is actually a cover tune.

“I recorded a cool album containing some of my favorite Pop Radio Hits - mostly from the 80’s and 90’s. It consists of songs I didn’t write, but I thought it’d be fun to record them as if I HAD written them! I’ve just recently remixed and remastered the tracks, and they sound amazing!”, David explains.

A true songwriter at heart, David appreciates great songs written by others.

When 22-year-old accountant Harvey Lisberg heard the Beatles’ ‘Please Please Me’, he had an epiphany: he could be Manchester’s answer to Brian Epstein. He had a musical ear, a knack for numbers and a gambler’s instinct for taking a punt. Within a year he had taken local group, Herman’s Hermits, to number one with ‘I’m Into Something Good’.

Soon, Hermania was a global phenomenon. Harvey had found his vocation. In this uproarious, frank and moving autobiography, he reveals the excesses of life on the road with Herman’s Hermits; the frustration of championing unknowns Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber; the highs and lows of managing the brilliant 10cc; the utter madness of looking after snooker bad boys Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins and Jimmy ‘Whirlwind’ White and much, much more. Many other artists benefitted from Harvey’s guidance during this time, including Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Sad Café and the Chameleons.

A few book snippets from Harvey on how it all began:

Michelle Wright has a lot to celebrate. She was the first Canadian‐born artist to have a Top Ten hit in the U.S., a #1 video on CMT‐USA and the first Canadian to win a major U.S. music industry award winning the Academy of Country Music Top New Female Vocalist award in 1992.

Michelle's career skyrocketed with the success of “Take It Like a Man” as she garnered a total of twelve music industry awards, including the 1993 Canadian Country Music Association's Fans' Choice Entertainer Of The Year award and double platinum awards for Now & Then the same year. Her success opened the door and started a path for Canadian country music artists. And now with a new song, "Everything To Me" Michelle has a chance to share with the world what finding the love of her life has meant to her.

Michelle has always expressed her feelings through her songs and music.

Cashbox Canada and Record World International magazines are hosting a special performance showcase Thursday, May 25, 2023, at the Spike Bulgarian Music Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. As we believe music has no borders, we have chosen three special bands to perform from 8-11 pm as a kick-off party event.

What better way to start a global showcase than to kick it off with a local Bulgarian band!

Time Jugglers formed in 2016 and from day one were hitting audiences with the whole spectrum of rock, from alternative to heavy metal to blues. After their first album, “Stories in Time” (2019), they conducted a successful tour of the country, and their track “Hot Fire” caught the attention of Classic Rock Magazine. Their single “Spineless,” featuring Svetlana Bliznakova of SEVI, was on Z-Rock’s Top 30 for 13 weeks.

There's a Ribbon of Darkness over the music industry, Gordon Lightfoot is gone. Just typing that felt wrong, I thought Gordon would always be here, probably because he always was. He was a part of our lives for six decades, from the 1960s to the 2220s. So many songs from the early days of Ribbon of Darkness, Steel Rail Blues, The Way I Feel and I'm Not Saying to Black Day in July, Sundown, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald to his classic If You Could Read My Mind, Lightfoot continued to grow as a songwriter, cementing his place in musical history and becoming, as Robbie Robertson put it, " A Canadian treasure." And causing Bob Dylan to say "I can't think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don't like. Every time I hear a song of his, it's like I wish it would last forever."

Marc Jordan, from whose pen emerged the classic global top-5 pop hit for Rod Stewart 1991’s “Rhythm of My Heart”, today announces his new solo album will be released worldwide on April 21, 2023. An advance single “Tell Me Where It Hurts” has just been released and is an example of the kind of romantic ballad Marc is renowned for writing.

Watch and listen to “Tell Me Where It Hurts” on YouTube here:

Marc Jordan’s song craft is lauded by the likes of Diana Ross, Cher and Joe Cocker, all of whom have covered his songs, but Marc is an artist in his own right since his first album was released on Warner Records in 1978 generating the hit “Marina Del Rey.”

Having chalked up over fifty years at the peak of the music and entertainment industry, Justin Hayward’s voice has been heard the world over. Known principally as the vocalist, lead guitarist and composer for the Moody Blues, his is an enduring talent that has helped to define the times in which he worked. Over the years the band has sold more than fifty five million albums and received numerous awards. Commercial success has gone hand in hand with critical acclaim and The Moody Blues are renowned the world over as innovators and trail blazers who have influenced any number of fellow artists. In 2018, along with the other members of The Moody Blues, Justin was inducted into the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

These are troubled times in so many ways. Wars are still being fought, political unrest and division is high and uncomfortable and gun violence and mass shootings are occurring in epidemic proportions. Fifty plus years ago the folksingers in the United States wrote songs of protest about the war and political unrest and hoped that their words would create a change. Folksingers like Phil Ochs, ‘I Ain't Marching Anymore’, Bob Dylan, ‘Blowing In The Wind’ and Eric Andersen, ‘Thirsty Boots’, all were part of the youth for change movement. So in the new millennium who among the young artists would write about the current situation? Who would address the division and the gun violence? I couldn't find any . Why not? I'm not sure. Maybe they lack the blind optimism that they could make a difference?

Watch and Listen to “Dangerland” on YouTube here:

The Weeknd scored four awards at the 2023 Juno Opening Night Awards, which was livestreamed from the Edmonton Convention Centre on Saturday (March 11). The Canadian superstar took artist of the year for a record fourth time; songwriter of the year for a record fourth time; single of the year for a record-tying third time for “Sacrifice”; and pop album of the year for the first time for Dawn FM.

This brings The Weeknd’s total of Juno Awards to 21, which puts him in a tie with Bryan Adams for second place on the all-time Juno leaderboard. Anne Murray continues to lead all artists with 25 Junos.