For those of you not familiar with "Sacred Steel", it is one of the most exciting musical forms on the planet and Chuck is one of its greatest exponents. Ken first met the award winning pedal steel guitarist Chuck Campbell on a Memphis elevator. Even before Ken heard the African-American Sacred Steel superstar group The Campbell Brothers perform, Ken sensed that here were musicians he'd love to make music with.The next day after he heard them play, the deal was sealed. Chuck Campbell played on two of Ken's cds – ‘Listening’ and ‘Another Day's Journey’. With The Campbell Brothers, Chuck has been featured at Luminato, the Hummingbird Centre, The Kennedy Centre, TheHollywood Bowl and has toured extensively across North America and Europe.The last time Chuck appeared on Ken’s Sunday Gospel series it was standing room only so we suggest you get your tickets early.

The world is peppered with musical magpies, musicians who are ever searching, listening out for new, refreshingly interesting rhythms and tones, the next nugget of aural treasure lurking just around the next corner.  For most, there might, if lucky, be a sudden awakening, a new discovery that torches the flame once again and pushes them into a challenging new area or zone. But when you’re Robert Plant your pickings tend to produce pearls.

With Plant’s latest offering, ‘Carry Fire’ on Warner/Nonesuch Records, we have an album that ricochets from area to area, never sitting lazily in any one softly sagging musical zone. From the opening track, with its sparkling, up-beat, up-tempo shades of modern blues and Americana, through the scorching passion of the title track to others that are mesmerising at times and haul indefinably intriguing eastern scales and instrumentation into the forefront, this is an album that is instantly disarming and delicious. Plant includes a take on one of his own personal, life-long favourites, the mid-fifties number, ‘Bluebirds Over the Mountain,’ where he shares the vocals with New Yorker and ex-Pretender, Chrissie Hynde.

Winnipeg band The Treble has announced their fifth installment of 24 Shows in 24 Hours will take place on October 20 and 21. This year the band has chosen to partner with and raise funds for The National Canadian Mental Health Association.

The Treble will play acoustic sets each hour at a variety of businesses, venues, and historical and recognizable landmarks across Winnipeg, in exchange for donations that will go to support the CMHA. Since its inception, the event has grown significantly, and for its fifth anniversary, this year's iteration promises to be a truly special experience. Since it's inception in 2011, 24 Shows in 24 Hours has raised nearly $20,000 for charity partners including the Canadian Red Cross, Winnipeg Harvest, Free The Children, and Cancer Care Manitoba.

Terra Lightfoot's multi talents are on show in a new video for the lead single off her forthcoming studio album. "Paradise" premiered on CBC's q and is now available for streaming and download stores. Lightfoot's upcoming full-length, New Mistakes, is set for release on October 13 via Sonic Unyon Records. The "Paradise" video, directed by Dustin Rabin (photographer for Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and director of performance-based videos for Billy Talent), sees its premiere via American Songwriter.

Stony Plain Records proudly announces the November 17 release of the latest CD from multi Blues Music Award-winning guitarist Ronnie Earl and his band, the Broadcasters, The Luckiest Man. Ronnie Earl calls the album, "A traditional blues album of remembrance, love, and unwavering resolve to live with faith and gratitude." The new disc was recorded at Woolly Mammoth Studios, Waltham, Mass.; Keep the Edge Studio, Quincy, Mass.; and in Groton, Mass.

Edmonton-based singer/songwriter VISSIA's new full-length album Place Holder will be released Nov. 10, coinciding with tour dates in eastern Canada (see full schedule below), and the launch of her own label, Hurray Hard Records.

Place Holder follows hot on the heels of VISSIA's three-song EP You Should Be Sleeping, which ARTISTDirect praised as "good ole rock 'n' roll from a powerful female songwriter. VISSIA might be a new name, but she is an old soul who bleeds blues."

Souleye has earned his spot among the most talented performers in hip hop today thanks to talent, hard work, and discipline coming together in one package. Another key and seldom discussed element driving such career is willingness to grow and Souleye, at every turn of his development as both a performer and writer, has shown an eagerness to widen his musical and thematic scope so long as it remains true to the essential core of his artistic and personal vision. He’s joined by visiting artists on a number of cuts and the guest shots that punctuate this album all serve a greater end. They also fully understand their role as guests and do a great deal to take otherwise fantastic tracks and make them even better. Wildman, taken as a whole, strikes you as the sound of an artist at the top of his game and it’s monumentally impressive that Souleye, this far along, hasn’t lost any of his appetite for communicating with his audience.

Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers released The Long-Awaited Album on Rounder Records on September 22. The Long-Awaited Album, Martin's newest collaboration with the Grammy-winning North Carolina-based band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, is full of stories that mix humour and melancholy, whimsy and realism, rich characters and concrete details. And lots of banjos.

That instrument, dexterously, even acrobatically picked and strummed, is just as crucial to relating these new tales as the lyrics themselves, each chord and riff revealing new depths to Martin’s narrators and to his musical talent. Produced by Peter Asher, the new album is a collection of 14 stunning new songs including the boisterous and humorous new track Caroline, the deeply romantic tune All Night Long, and the fantastical song Santa Fe, which showcases the lively dynamic between Martin and the Rangers.

The Five Man Electrical Band (originally known as The Staccatos from 1963–68) is a Canadian rock group from Ottawa. They had many hits in Canada, including the top 10 entries "Half Past Midnight" (1967) (as The Staccatos), "Absolutely Right" (1971) and "I'm a Stranger Here" (1972). Internationally, they are best known for their 1971 hit single "Signs”.

The band The Staccatos was formed in Ottawain 1963. It initially included singer Dean Hagopian, guitarist Vern Craig, bass player Brian Rading and singer/drummer Rick Bell (born Rick Belanger). Hagopian left after about a year, and was replaced by vocalist and guitarist Les Emmerson , who would become the band's prime songwriter, while Bell and Emmerson split lead vocal duties.

So it's September and new releases are falling like leaves in my inbox. Love it. In no particular order, this week's sampling.

The final testament from an artist who shaped rock'n'roll, Southern Blood is Gregg Allman’s newest release since the 2011 Grammy Award-nominated solo landmark, Low Country Blues. It serves as a uniquely personal piece, featuring songs written by his friends and admirers (Jackson Browne, Willie Dixon, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Lowell George and Spooner Oldham & Dan Penn) and is a mix of classic rock & roll, blues, and funk, with emotional texture and powerful subject matter. Produced by Don Was, and recorded at the renowned FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, Southern Blood highlights Allman’s legacy as an iconic singer/songwriter and exceptional practitioner of the American blues tradition. Harley Davidson will be honouring Gregg, a longtime motorcycle enthusiast, with special events across North America on release day.

Multi-platinum, JUNO Award-winning vocal supergroup, The Tenors are gearing up for the international release of their fifth studio album CHRISTMAS TOGETHER, out on October 13 through Universal Music Canada (UMC), the country’s leading music company, and Decca Records/Verve Label Group in the United States. Bringing the spirit of Christmas to their fans and to complement this release, The Tenors will embark on a 16-city North American tour beginning November 18 in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, September 15 at 10 A.M.

Singer-songstress Sarah Slean has announced her upcoming Canadian fall tour in support of 9th studio album, Metaphysics. Metaphysics was released on April 7th via Cadence Music/Fontana North and features two CBC Radio 2 - Top 20 songs Sarah and Perfect Sky. This summer will see Sarah perform on Canada Day as part of the celebrations in Hamilton, as well as a performance at the Interstellar Rodeo in Winnipeg. On October 6th she will kick off her fall tour in Vancouver, followed by dates in Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Ottawa to name a few (full details below). In conjunction with the tour announcement - Sarah has released a beautiful new video, filmed on the streets of Toronto and featuring clips from PledgeMusic supporters from 5 different countries, for her song, Every Rhythm Is The Beat. "This song was inspired by my chance encounter with an extraordinary 31-year-old man on a GO Train several years ago. It ignited a two-year long correspondence," says Sarah.

New York City post-hardcore band Quicksand are pleased to announce the upcoming release of Interiors, their first album in 22 years. Interiors features the band’s original (and only) lineup of drummer Alan Cage, frontman/guitarist Walter Schreifels, bassist Sergio Vega, and guitarist Tom Capone. The album will be released on November 10, 2017 on Epitaph.

Quicksand have also shared a new video for the first song shared off the album titled “Illuminant,” the lead single and opening track from Interiors.With its heavy but melodic guitar lines, intense rhythms, and emotionally charged lyrics, “Illuminant” shows the scope of Quicksand’s influence on post-hardcore and indie-rock bands over the last two decades.

Recorded at Studio 4 Recording in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Interiors was produced and engineered by Will Yip (The Menzingers, Title Fight, Pianos Become the Teeth). While the album finds Quicksand embracing the cathartic, guitar-driven dynamic of their earlier work, Interiors also takes on a wider spectrum of sound.

Anti-Flag's new studio album, American Fall, follows 2015's well-received, American Spring. With Good Charlotte's Benji Madden on board as co-producer, the band has intensified their signature anthemic style with bigger melodies, tighter songcraft, and thicker guitars.

American Fall is bold – both musically and politically – and Anti-Flag's time is now. With Anti-Flag, a new album is always a call to arms and a call to action that reminds listeners to question everyone and everything, including the current administration. American Fall arrives on November 3 via Spinefarm Records and as expected, it addresses issues facing America today like only Anti-Flag can.

Carrying her masterful political pop album Future Politics , Austra return to Canada Aug.18 for a run of tour dates including Pop Montreal, Ponderosa Music Festival , and stops throughout the prairies. Full tour dates can be found below.

Austra's third LP, Future Politics, is the Montreal band's most ambitious record to date and calls for radical hope: "a commitment to replace the approaching dystopia," says Katie Stelmanis , who leads Austra with the support of Maya Postepski (Princess Century, TR/ST), Dorian Wolf, and Ryan Wonsiak.

Betray and Degrade, Seether’s newest music video from their seventh full-length studio album, Poison the Parish, premiered on Vevo August 10, 2017. This is the second music video the band released from their latest album.

Poison the Parish (Canine Riot / Fantasy), which hit on May 12, 2017, debuted at #1 on Billboard's Hard Rock albums chart, #14 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart, and #8 on Billboard's Current albums chart selling more than 31,000 copies in its first week.

Most recently the band shared lead single, Let You Down, which sat at #1 across the U.S. at rock radio for four consecutive weeks.

Poison the Parish, recorded at Blackbird Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, marks the first album produced entirely by front man Shaun Morgan. Perhaps the heaviest and most expressive collection they've ever released, the album is earning their best notices in years.

Seether is currently on the last leg of their North American tour, and come September 10, they will embark on their European tour. The European tour includes stops in countries such as Russia, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, among others.

Moon King (Daniel Benjamin) returns with an animated visual for lead-single "In & Out" taken from his forthcoming tape Hamtramck '16 - out August 4 on Arbutus Records . Video animation is by Jordan Minkoff . On "In & Out" Benjamin says, "I made this in Detroit last September, very quick & dirty, mostly inspired by the music I was hearing DJs play around town ... it's a good tape to leave in your car I think." The new single also premiered on air courtesy of CBC q.

‘Break the Chain’ is the latest, twelve-track offering from leading US steel-guitar and slide master, Doug MacLeod. Recorded once again with Reference Recordings and Prof Johnson’s crystal-clear 24-bit set-up, this is an album that is bound to create enormous interest as is often the case with this guy’s music.

MacLeod is a regular award-winner; indeed, it seems that everything he delivers is destined to pick up national and international awards. Success is pretty much assured with this guy. As usual the tracks feature MacLeod picking and sliding with a remarkable ease and enormous talent and confidence. Accompanied by his usual, preferred sidemen of Jimi Bott and Denny Croy on drums and bass respectively, this outing also sees Macleod’s son, Jesse, and percussionist Oliver Brown step up to the plate. The result is a fuller sound than we have come to expect from MacLeod, who normally delivers stripped-back, pared-down acoustic blues with his signature sound and hints of wit and humour at the heart of his story-telling song-writing.

Side projects are great evolvers of music and White Hot Guilt is on that from the get go. Change is good, and for Josh Warburton (July Talk) and Toronto producer Thomas D'Arcy (Small Sins/BROS./Tommy Hawkins) change was exactly what these two needed to fully discover their new side project White Hot Guilt. Out making the rounds is first new track, Little Things , off self-titled debut EP (TDM Inc.). All proceeds from sales will be donated to ' SKETCH ' - a Toronto-based community-arts-development initiative that creates equitable opportunities for young people homeless and on the margins from across Canada to experience the transformative power of the arts. Check out more info about White Hot Guilt at www.whitehotguilt.com.

Sons of Texas Forged By FortitudeFollowing two years of touring behind their debut album, Baptized in the Rio Grande, Sons of Texas returned to the studio earlier this year with producer Josh Wilbur to record their follow up. The result is the 10-song CD,Forged By Fortitude, set for a September 22nd release with Razor & Tie. The album will be available in Europe through Spinefarm Records and with Sony in Japan, where the band was named the #1 New Band of the Year by Burrn Magazine, following their performance at the 2016 Loud Park Festival.

The album is available in advance visit sonsoftexasmusic.com.