Last week the Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada came to life for Live At Heart Newfoundland- an international music conference in its inaugural year, drawing heavy-hitting music industry delegates such as award-winning producers, managers, strategists, record labels, bookers and writers and connecting them with artistic talent from all around the world. The magic that this incredible showcase festival embodied was as much a product of the landscape, community and culture of its "islanders", as it was in the artists that brought their passion and dreams to Newfoundland, charged with the hope of impressing the industry and furthering their careers.

Jaimie Vernon makes things happen, plain and the simple. The singer/songwriter/bass player author and music junkie is at it again, this time with a “super group” called Mr! Mouray.

When I asked about the curious band name Mr! Mouray Jaimie explained. “We were watching a “B” movie, I don’t even remember the name, about a club and a lounge singer. He was asked to sing ‘That’s Amore’ and although he didn’t know the words he plowed ahead and at one time belted out “Mr! Mouray” to the tune tune of ‘That’s Amore’. It struck me funny and voila, the band had a name.”

Mr! Mouray is the musical embodiment of a 1950’s French bachelor who has style, taste, and an affinity for adventures of the heart and mind. Making that vision a reality are three old friends who have reconnected after a 30-year absence.

Simon Bedford-James and Jaimie Vernon became songwriting partners in 1983 and founded the band Moving Targetz. They released their first 5-song EP, The Wonderful World Of… in 1985 on their own imprint – Bullseye Records.

Targetz splintered with Vernon carrying on and Bedford-James forming Swedish Fish. Now there were two bands on Bullseye.

Hugh’s Room Live is Toronto’s cozy nest for singer/songwriters, especially of the rootsy/folkie bent. Its new Songwriter Sessions series explores songcraft in a round robin format with players peeling back the stories behind their work. Crossing genres and tapping into the natural Canadian gift of open, honest lyrics and tunes, the artists get to delve deeper as they share their songs and bond with each other. This week’s Songwriter Session features Tony Quarrington, Andrea Ramolo, David Leask and Melanie Peterson, and happens Tues. Oct. 9, 8.30 start.

Veteran musician Quarrington has been a formidable and thriving presence on the Toronto music scene for more than 40 years. He first appeared at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1966, and played at many renowned Yorkville nightclubs and coffee houses in the late ‘60s, performing ballads, blues and his own original tunes. Quarrington’s relentless career as a sideman and studio musician has seen him appear on literally hundreds of other artists’ recordings, playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano and dobro, and lending his voice as a singer.

Canadian singer-songwriter Jadea Kelly has announced Canada Covers Tom Petty - a collection of covers in honour of the late American singer-songwriter. The official playlist, curated by Jadea, will be released on October 20th - what would have been his 67th birthday, a year following his untimely death. The collection of covers includes Learning to Fly by Matt Mays & Terra Lightfoot, Crawling Back To You by Sweet Alibi, Don't Come Around Here No More by Royal Wood, and many others (full list of songs and artists below). To mark the anniversary of Petty’s passing Jadea releases her heartbreaking cover of Wildflowers.

Listen and share here

https://youtu.be/F24qtyIRq1A.

Here’s an act with that cozy fall sound just right for the season. Guelph-based award-winning duo Tragedy Ann, (Braden Phelan and Liv Cazzola), release a new video on August 17th, for their first single “The Last Thing,” from their upcoming debut full-length album Matches. The beloved alt/folk duo will support the new album with a tour in Canada (ON, QC, BC, NS, NB), and with stops in Toronto (release concert at Burdock Oct 13), Hamilton, London, Oakville, Montreal, Vancouver and others.

The video for “The Last Thing,” (audio and video by Sam Boer), is a simple but totally effective idea: Two people, two voices, two instruments, and one continuous shot to capture their heartfelt performance of an excellent song they wrote about the push and pull of a romantic relationship that may or may not be imminently ending. These days, that’s practically revolutionary.

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Toronto's Greasemarks

Toronto’s rockabilly punks GREASEMARKS have had a hell of a year for a bunch of supposed ner' do wells- signing to L.A. Rockin’ label WILD Records, putting out a hot self-titled album to both controversy & critical acclaim, and stepping up from burnin’ local barns to the biggest international stages - Vegas, Nashville, L.A., Brockville, they've hit them all this year... Like Spicoli hiring Van Halen for his birthday party, Greasemarks aren’t going to do anything sensible with the spoils of moderate rockabilly success - like paying off debt - they’re throwing the biggest ROCKIN’ HALLOWEEN Party this town has seen! Bringing one of the absolute WILDEST bands on the international rockabilly the scene up from Santa Ana, California - THE DESPERADOS - & gettin’ the biggest local dogs to make sure the party goes all night!

Fresh off their blistering set of performances at LiveAtHeart Festival, the rapid-rising Swedish arena-rock sensation, Royal Prospect, have everything aligning for them to close the year out with a bang. Their fresh new single "Soldier" injects upbeat electro-pop into an energetic piano-driven hand clapper, with quick & catchy transitions fronted by the smooth vocals of lead singer Oscar Reingsdahl; it's no wonder Royal Prospect are making waves at industry spotlights around the globe. I caught up with Oscar who had this to say about their new single:

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Sharing her personal journey with an enchanting voice, soul-touching lyrics and a range of musical styles, Abby Zotz weaves tendrils of hope together with strands of humour, resilience and, ultimately, joy.

A gifted musician and vocal artist, Abby’s message is an uplifting and often poignant expression of the human experience. She explores tiny fragments of life, both the lighter side and the struggle of finding hope in a troubled world. Her songs are at once intimate and relatable.

From classical and world music to country and traditional folk, Abby’s exposure to a medley of styles in her childhood set the tone for a life-long thirst to explore new musical avenues and expand her range. Her multi-faceted career has taken her from the Royal Conservatory of Music Concert Hall to tavern stages to trios and (almost) everywhere in between.

So, Winnipeg based Begonia (aka Alexa Dirks) reveals the charmingly haunting video for “The Light”. Directed by Emma Higgins, Dirks says “she felt the emotion and saw my vision for the song right away.” The visual of Begonia singing in a store window surrounded by little dolls wearing white frilly dresses is one that Dirks says “encompassed the pure, ultra-feminine ideals that women are told to take on from a very young age, juxtaposed with me, a woman that does not fit into those stereotypes, sticking out and singing amongst them.” Dirks and Higgins then took that idea a step further, making, sez Begonia “the ‘creepy mother of the dolls’ going out for a night on the town with my pure, frilly, little, babies in tow.”

WATCH AND SHARE “THE LIGHT” HERE

Sometimes, bad times help us remember better times. It's a circuitous path to happiness, to be sure. But it's the one taken by Toronto pop-folk duo In the City on their new single and video “Best Time” — available now.

Although it was inspired by the untimely and unexpected death of singer Ashley Jane's mother last year, the song — a preview of the pair's forthcoming concept EP MaryAnn — chooses to celebrate life rather than mourn a loss. "It's really a song that she's singing to my dad," explains Jane, who splits musical duties with multi-instrumentalist and studio whiz Timon Wientzek. "I was really grappling with the idea of grieving for someone you've lost and how you can get really swept up in the tragedy of it. It's really easy for that to become how you remember someone.

“But the storyteller in me was saying, 'No if your mom was still here, I think she'd tell all her friends and loved ones that she had the best time while she was here.’

Here's a rising crew of rockers hailing from Edmonton you might want to hear. Altameda returns today with a brand new track "Rolling Back To You" - Listen and watch the video here.

This is the first track off their upcoming sophomore full-length Time Hasn't Changed You due early 2019 via Pheromone Recordings.

Paying homage to what came before while remaining very much of the moment, Altameda's "Rolling Back To You" is a blend of classic rock and folk traditions. Reflecting on the writing process, Altameda says, "It was one of the last additions to the batch of songs we had going into the recording sessions. It seemed to form out of an attempt to juxtapose a hopeful beacon of light against some of the more heavy-hearted songs on the album. Though, it may be light-hearted in 'feel', I think the lyrical content reflects the love-laden themes carried throughout the rest of the album."

Amateur Hour is the new album from genre-hopping songwriter Chris Velan and it started out as songs about a relationship and all the emotional baggage that comes with it; desire, love, resentment, pain. But soon he realized that the relationship he was exploring was the one with himself.

Due out September 14, Amateur Hour unfolds like a series of monologues in a one-act play where the characters are locked in a room and forced to respond and react to unexpected news, discovering that what they thought to be true of themselves was in fact not.

First single, “All Time Record”, is a bit of mystery for Velan. “It came in the form of an urgent stream of babble that I had to quickly record into my phone and then later transcribe and translate,” he says. “It wasn’t as much about the meaning of the words as it was their sound. I think that’s why it retains this elusive, joyful quality. It doesn’t want to be pinned down.”

LISTEN AND SHARE “ALL TIME RECORD” HERE

Winnipeg singer-songwriter Madeleine Roger is pleased to announce the independent release of her debut solo album Cottonwood on October 26th and today marks the official release of the first single 'Take My Time' which premiered yesterday at Aesthetic Magazine. 'Take My Time' is available today on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes and all other digital retailers/streaming services. Madeleine will embark on an extensive Canadian tour in support of Cottonwood this fall, starting with an early album release show in Winnipeg on September 21st at The West End Cultural Centre. See below for full tour details.

Country/Roots singer Juliet Simmons Dinallo will release her new CD, Dream Girl, on November 16, with distribution via BFD/Orchard. A digital release of the new CD will be available digitally everywhere online on October 5, 2018. Originally from Boston and now based in East Nashville, Juliet recorded her new disc at Ice Station Zebra in Medford, Mass., with production by Michael Dinallo and Ducky Carlisle. Call it Boston roots and cowgirl boots, if you will. 

Juliet will support Dream Girl with a number of album release shows in the Nashville area, as well as throughout the southeast, with Midwest gigs on tap in the future.

Alt folkie Kalle Mattson is coming round with a new album, Youth .a coming-of-age record about innocence lost, promises denied, and the purgatory of one’s mid-20s. When Mattson began writing the album, his motto was “folk is dead”, but he still demoed all the songs, “just me and an acoustic guitar in my bedroom ...unique, I know,” he says. While the songs may begin on the ol’ six-string, the final tracks on Youth. see Mattson shifting the focus to keyboards and drum machines with help from producer Colin Munroe (Drake, Sky Ferreira).

WATCH AND SHARE THE ALBUM TEASER VIDEO HERE