Toronto-based singer/songwriter Ladan Hussein, known on stage as Cold Specks, is touring her most personal and revelatory work yet, Fool's Paradise. The artist recognized for her twistedly, enthralling lyrics and distinctive soulful voice, has dug deep and returned to her roots. In this masterful body of work, Cold Specks intimately explores her identity as a Somali-Canadian woman. She’s unveiled and allowed herself to stretch her palette thematically.

Known on stage as Cold Specks, CBC Music claims that “Fool's Paradise is a family-influenced affair, but above all it's Ladan Hussein at her rawest, most individual form yet — and the result is stunning.” NOW Magazine says Fool’s Paradise is “the sound of an already-awe-inspiring singer fully coming out of her shell.”

Alternative-rock quartet, MOVEMENTS, have released a new video for their song, Daylily, a fan favorite off their new album, Feel Something. The video backs up the inspiring lyrics that singer Patrick Miranda wrote for his girlfriend as she was struggling with depression and mental illness.

The video centers around a real-life fan of MOVEMENTS named Hannah who is seen in a sprawling forest enjoying a “pink cloud summer." Beautiful and eye-catching, the video captures the power of the good days that occasionally occur in the midst of depression, with the goal being that they outnumber the bad days.

There are stars, superstars and even megastars. Then there is Robert Plant, a guy who is, or has been, all three of them together, and who remains at the very top of the universal musical tree. Refreshingly, speaking with a relaxed Plant, on the near-eve of the release of his latest album, ‘Carry Fire’ on Warner, the man himself is a genuine delight, a man with no axe to grind, no self-obsessed front to maintain, no precious barriers that all too often seem to come with the fame. Much to my relief, Mr. Plant is an instantly likable, friendly, chatty sort-of guy next door. Exactly the kind of guy you feel you’ve known most of your life. Which, if you’ve been listening to music for much of it, is pretty much the case.

Cashbox Canada is offering a place in Santa’s Christmas bag – with a winner every day for the twelve days of Christmas starting December 1st through December 12. On December 13 we will be donating to Q107 John Derringer’s campaign for Derringer’s Thirteen Days of Christmas to raise funds for AbuseHurts.ca.

How it works:

Each day we ask readers on the Cashbox Canada Facebook page to answer a Holiday Question to win the prize of the day.

Artists/Products will be donated to the campaign. The winner’s information will be sent to you and you can personalize/autograph the prize and develop a new fan.

Artwork for Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag will be created and provided by graphic designer Jain MacMillan (CASHBOX CANADA, ONES) and your ‘gift’ will be in Santa’s Bag for the 12 Day Campaign

A cover story with all 12 artists background and a personal quote will be posted on December 18, 2017, and will remain in our archives.

A song about love, dedication, and family sacrifice has been released for Remembrance Day by award-winning Canadian recording artist Loreena McKennitt.

The single, entitled “Breaking of the Sword”, was inspired during McKennitt’s participation in April at The Canadian National Vimy Memorial for the 100^th anniversary of the historic Battle of Vimy Ridge where she experienced a palpable sense of profound loss. During the ceremony, she performed “Dante’s Prayer” from her 1997 album The Book of Secrets.

“I feel the sentiment of this song is both timeless and universal,” says McKennitt, who, in this new, original piece evokes both her role as an artist, and as an Honorary Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Maggie Szabo is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has been winning over audiences worldwide with her stunningly soulful vocals and empowering pop anthems. Hailing from small-town Ontario, Szabo is now an accomplished musician living in Los Angeles and is using her music to conquer social injustice.

After quickly becoming one of the most sought-after songwriter/vocalists for DJs and notable film and TV placements, Szabo’s latest work has focused primarily on her solo project and was written in some of the most beautiful and exotic places on earth, including Greece, Amsterdam, London and Thailand.

Pre-eminent Canadian taiko group Nagata Shachu present rhythm and music as a force for unity and solidarity and bring together diverse elements of the world's multicultural mosaic in their 19^th annual concert season 'Beats Beyond Boundaries' at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.

The season kicks off featuring the group's visually stunning production 'Half Cycle, Full Moon' (directed by Nagata Shachu's Aki Takahashi). They balance tradition with innovation in this collection of 15 new works, which follows the waxing moon illuminating through its various phases in this celebration of night, light and life at Fleck Dance Theatre Saturday, November 18, 2017.

In a world where the sum of our lives is defined through another’s gaze, genuinely unchained artists like Winnipeg-bred Hamilton-based Iskwé (pronounced iss-kway) are a rare breed. Named one of the ‘Top 10 Artists to Watch’ by CBC Music, Iskwé (‘woman’ in Cree) is set to release her sophomore album, The Fight Within, on November 3rd (Independent). The album features the new single Soldier . Listen, buy and share here hyperurl.co/IskweSoldier . The lady's currently on a cross Canada tour in support of the forthcoming album.

Acclaimed Toronto-based guitarist Kevin Breit is set to release his new CD, Johnny Goldtooth and The Chevy Casanovas on Sunday, November 26 at Lula Lounge in Toronto. The new disc, available on Stony Plain Records, was written and produced by Kevin Breit. The evening will feature Kevin Breit along with Ian DeSouza, Gary Taylor and special guests.

All femme trio Joseph returns with a seven-track EP, Stay Awake, released digitally by ATO Records. The collection includes three new songs - "All," which opens the set, a demo of "50, 60, 80" and the closing track, "Stay Awake" plus re-imagined versions of two older songs and stunning covers of Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and the Rolling Stones' " Moonlight Mile."

Natalie Schepman, who founded Joseph with her two sisters, Allison Closner and Meegan Closner, says, "Stay Awake is a small collection of songs we put together to help ourselves deal with heaviness. It's a bit of telling it like it is. It's a bit of a 'keep going.'"

"When we were recently reminded of Tears for Fears' song 'Everybody Wants to Rule The World,' it hit us how pertinent it is today even though it was written in the 80's. Today, maybe more than ever," explains Natalie, who added a few lines after the bridge that especially speak to the times we live in:

'Make the most of freedom and pleasure.

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.