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.

Submitted to Cashbox Canada
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:

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

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

Veteran blues-soul man William Bell smiles when I suggest he’s been working the music business for half a century, before correcting me with a laugh: “Sixty years now, in fact,” he says. Bell was one of the earliest Stax musicians, signed to the label back in 1961 primarily as a songwriter, he always had the ambition to make his mark as both writer and performer. An ambition he readily achieved and three-score years later, he continues to deliver top-notch material with scarcely a trace of effort.

Currently working on a new album, Bell is studio-bound though he still loves life out on the road: “I never tire of the travel, meeting the fans, working hard,” he confirms. “Right now I’m working on a bunch of new songs, some for other artists, and some for a new release I’m working with.”

Here's another Canuck star in the making, this time in the field of electropop. Award-winning electropop artist Velvet Code has announced the August 22, 2018 release of his highly-anticipated first single “Break The Silence”, from his upcoming sophomore album. Collaborating with industry legend Wendy Starland (the woman responsible for developing and discovering Lady Gaga), “Break The Silence” is being billed as a confident follow-up to Code’s previously acclaimed work, which has been featured on hit television shows such as Jersey Shore and The Hills.

Deriving musical influences from the likes of Freddy Mercury, Depeche Mode and Imagine Dragons, Velvet’s new single aims to shine the light on the pressing issue of mental health. Throughout his career, the openly gay musician has dealt with varying degrees of depression and anxiety and is hoping that messages in his music will help listeners going through difficult times

2018 ALGMS Winner to be Announced Amongst  Performances from Previous Recipients, Tuesday, September 25, 2018 @ Grossman’s Tavern, 379 Spadina Avenue in Toronto.

The Amy Louie / Grossman’s Music Scholarship continues to accept submissions ahead of its annual ALGMS Fundraiser at Grossman’s Tavern this September 25th. The submission window closes September 14th.

The ALGMS is an artist development bursary created in honour of the late Amy Louie, whose family has been a mainstay in the local music community and owned Grossman’s Tavern since 1975.

Since the scholarship’s inception in 2013, it has grown to a disbursement of $2,000. The prize is awarded annually to a group or individual artist from the Greater Toronto Area whose winning project proposal demonstrates how the bursary would advance their music career.

LABEL: REHN MUSIC GROUP

Last single “Slide” was added to Spotify New Music Friday lists in Germany, Switzerland,Norway, Denmark & Iceland as well as native Spotify-playlisting on lists as "Hangover Friendly" and "New Talent" Slide was also featured in various blogs as museek.de - altitude - dansendeberen - popmuzik.se and more.

Simon Alexander is announced for Sweden’s biggest Showcase Festival LIVE AT HEART in September 2018. http://liveatheart.se. Then in October, it is on to the Oxjam Camden Festival - London UK - German Tour spring 2019.

With a sound influenced by greats like Jeff Buckley and Neil Young to more modern songwriters like Hozier and Matt Corby, Simon Alexander is taking on the Singer/Songwriter - Folk/Indie scene bringing his profound lyrics and heartfelt melodies.

Simon Alexander was born and raised on the west coast of Sweden. From early years the interest for music was immense, and Simon spends the majority of his time as a drummer in various constellations while writing on his own material behind closed doors.