Michael Wrycraft has truly been lovin' the music since….well…..always. He has been a stalwart supporter of Canadian musicians simply by being Wrycraft. Having produced almost 700 album and CD covers over the years, Wrycraft's distinctive designs stay true to the artist's music, his art paying homage to the musician's art. Every single cover is unique, even if he's produced multiple covers for the same artist. From Moe Kaufman and David Clayton Thomas to Jeff Healy and Bruce Cockburn, Wrycraft's art speaks to the music, not just what he hears but what he feels. You will never see the typical picture of a guitar-swinging musician on the front cover. In a 2017 interview with Jazz FM91 Wrycraft described his process, "I think the artists deserve much more on the outside of their album…..I talk with the artist but it's the music that speaks to me. So what I do is I immerse myself in the music and somehow, through a number of processes, visuals come out the other end."

Joshua Glass says he always loved watching his father, Arizona Blues Hall of Famer Jim Glass, play guitar.“I can honestly say those are the times that I could see the pure joy on his face,” he says. “When he was playing.”

Jim Glass died Feb. 26 after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 70.

“He had a heart attack a couple years ago,” his son recalls. “And that pretty much did a number on him. He never quite fully recovered. There were some issues in his lungs, and then he had another massive heart attack on his way to a doctor’s appointment and it was just too much.”

Michele Robins, a jazz announcer at KJZZ, met Glass in 1984.

"When I first heard Jim play,” she says, “I thought he sounded like a cross between Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers, such a pure, sweet tone. He always told me that the sign of a great blues guitarist was less notes, not more. His passion was playing the blues and I'm so happy he was able to share this love with Arizona for such a long time. He truly was the best blues guitarist to have ever graced the Arizona music scene."

Canadian born country singer/entertainer, comedian and musician Ronnie Prophet has passed away at age 80.

Ronald Lawrence Victor Prophet, who charted 23 singles from 30 albums in a career that spanned 60 years, died with loving family and friends at his side on Friday, March 2 at age 80, following cardiac and kidney failure. Survived by his wife of 32 years, Glory Anne Carriere Prophet, sons Tony (Kitty) Prophet, Vancouver, BC, Jimmy (Emily) Prophet, Nashville, TN, stepchildren Rhonda (Bill) Paisley, Nanaimo, BC, Warren (Lesa) Carriere, Regina, SK, Tamara Greer, Estevan, SK and 12 grandchildren - Justin, Joey, Jake and Patrick Prophet, Josh and Victoria Paisley, Meagan and Stephanie Carriere, and Brooklyn, Ryan and James Greer.

His longtime friend and Agent of 38 years, Paul Mascioli commented “Ronnie was an international star who transcended all boundaries with his big heart and superb showmanship. He was a working man’s entertainer and loved by people of all ages. We’ll truly miss him but will never forget him”.

On March 1, 2018, Toronto trio, Prime Boys, serve up the cinematic music video for their new single, Tinted —produced by Murda Beatz [Drake, Gucci Mane].

In the visual directed by Elliot Clancy Osberg [Roy Woods], the group — Jimmy Prime, Donnie, and Jay Whiss — take over an icy landscape. Cruising on four wheelers through this snowbound expanse, they drop autotuned hooks and rhymes that are as chilly as the climate is. For the uninitiated, it’s the perfect introduction to their ice-cold flows. Complex exclusively premiered the clip, fittingly describing it as “memorable.”

They’ve recently been making waves by dropping the music video and single for Come Wit It, starring in the Viceland documentary 6ix Rising, and garnering widespread support from Drake’s OVO Sound Radio.

Bill Burkette, the original lead singer of The Vogues passed away on March 1, 2018.

According to his wife of 54 years Elaine, Burke was 75 and had lymphoma, according to his wife of 54 years, Elaine. "He was always singing," his wife said. "The singing was a great part of his life. That's what he loved to do."

The Vogues, were known for the hit songs "Five O'Clock World," "You're the One" and "Turn Around, Look at Me."

"You're the One" reached No. 4 on Billboard's Top 100.

The original lineup comprised of Burkette, the lead singer, Don Miller, Hugh Geyer and Chuck Blasko. They were together as a musical act for about eight years, Elaine Burkette said.

"It was a lot of fun," she said. "We traveled and we saw quite a bit of the entire country. We took the kids with us. It certainly was interesting."

When the group formed in high school, it was known as the Val-Aires. Members briefly split up after high school as they joined the military or attended college. They reformed in 1965 as The Vogues.

"Things took off from there," Elaine Burkette said.

In the summer of 2016, Toronto folk quintet, Union Duke, released their infectious third album, Golden Days. They toured relentlessly around the release and are still showing no signs of slowing down – now announcing a run of Canadian tour dates this spring! Kicking off this Friday (March 2) in Kitchener, ON, the band will head across Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, through March and April (details listed below).

"We're really excited to hit up some of our favorite venues, see a bunch of familiar faces, and explore some new towns and theatres across the West," says Jim McDonald.

Golden Days was released on August 5th, 2016, and is the perfect fit for the heatwave of the dance hall or the cool breeze of the park. The album showcases the band’s signature soulful indie rock sound mixed with bluegrass and country, along with their soaring harmonies with three, four, and even five voices. Recorded live off the floor to capture the raw, joyful energy of their concerts, Golden Days was mixed with Grammy award-winning engineer, Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, Timbre Timber) to help bring the tracks to life.

Six piece punkers WE WERE SHARKS have released their new album Lost Touch on February 23, 2018. “We’re super excited that Lost Touch is finally out!” exclaims Randy Frobel, who has been handling lead vocals since the Canadian group’s inception.

Direct from the nation’s capital city of Ottawa, WE WERE SHARKS are set to continue wielding their full-force of punk and alternative music. In addition to Frobel, WE WERE SHARKS is rounded out by drummer Will Plummer, bassist Steve Creaturo, and the hat trick attack of guitarists Jason Mooney, Josh King and Colin Jacques.

Frobel expands on one of the bands favorite songs “Drop The Act.“ Walking the line between different generations of WE WERE SHARKS, “We wanted to include some of the old-style mixed in with some newer pop sensibilities. It definitely has some modern pop sass to it as well. Its heavy and groovy, it's really just mashup of everything we love about WE WERE SHARKS. Make sure to check that one out!“

Adding to his accolade of smash singles, British DJ, Producer and songwriter, Sigala teams up with Brit Award winner, Paloma Faith, to kick-start 2018 with their collaborative track, Lullaby, released on February 23, 2018, via Ministry of Sound.

2017 was an incredible year for both artists - DJ and Producer, Bruce Fielder, AKA Sigala, remains one of the UK’s most respected and influential electronic music producers, who isn’t shy of collaborating with a diverse range of both emerging and established talent to create worldwide, dance-floor smashes. Previous guest vocalists on singles such as Ain’t Giving Up, Give Me Your Love and Came Here For Love include Craig David, John Newman and Ella Eyre.

On Lullaby, Sigala explains: “This was a track I initially wrote a while ago and I loved it immediately but knew I needed to find the right person to collaborate on it with. I love to find unique voices, so it was a perfect match when Paloma got involved! I’m so excited to release this one, and it’s a great track to preview the sound of my upcoming album”.

Quebec’s Sule has reached this pivotal moment in a musical career after collaborating with some of the biggest names in pop music – among them, Celine Dion, Kool and the Gang, and Lionel Richie, among others. Sule pronounced Sou-Lay, has obvious talents from the first for any newcomers to his music and his single “Love Me” has immediate charm. The music’s effortless swing is framed with a first-class production that pays equal attention to both the vocals and instrumental work while still managing to bring them all together in a seamless, fluid package. The song’s roots are in American music, but this Canadian artist owns the song like he’s been singing this sort of material all of his life – it’s another marker of his talents to consider how effortlessly Sule handles a variety of forms. His command of “Love Me” is absolute and never heavy-handed.

Rhye has released a music video for the track, Song For You, off their critically acclaimed new album, BLOOD. Directed and produced by Rhye frontman, Milosh, and Geneviève Medow Jenkins, the stunning clip stars Nathalie Kelley alongside Christopher Brochu. Watch the video here.

“Song for You explores the moments of our lives, the cycles we all experience,” shared Milosh. “We hope these moments resonate with you, both the joy and the pain, in the same way, they did with us while making this piece.”

BLOOD is available digitally and physically now via Last Gang Records. Limited edition vinyl bundles are available exclusively via the RHYE Shop. This Friday, Rhye will share two official remixes of the album track, Taste. Stay tuned for more information.

One of the finest voices in country music has left the planet at young age of 46. Daryle Singletary passed away suddenly at his home in Lebanon, Tennessee just outside of Nashville.

Singletary born in Cairo, Georgia got started early in music singing gospel songs with his brother and cousins. Moving to Nashville in 1990, he played the local nightclubs before signing with Evergreen Records in 1992. He worked as a demo singer and one of the demos that Singletary sang was "An Old Pair of Shoes", which Randy Travis eventually recorded. Travis liked what he heard and recommended Singletary to his management team, who helped him sign to a recording contract with the Irving Azoff’s Warner-distributed Giant Records.

Esteemed singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot returns to Hamilton for a performance at the FirstOntario Concert HHall on Thursday, November 15, 2018.Tickets for this one-night only performance go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 9, 2018.

The Junos have announced this year’s nominees, with the awards to be handed out in Vancouver on March 24, 2018.
2018 Juno Nominations Announced

de Fire led with nominations for Group of the Year, Album of the year and alternative album of the year for Everything Now. The group will vie in the single of the year category for the title track, while the artwork for the album is also up for a Juno.

The past year marked a breakthrough for Toronto singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez, who will vie in multiple Junos categories: fan choice, breakthrough artist and best R&B/soul recording for her debut Kiddo. Her music video for the powerful song Gatekeeper is also nominated for video of the year.

It was also a significant year for R&B star Daniel Caesar (born Ashton Simmonds) is nominated for Artist of the Year, the Oshawa, Ont.-raised singer-songwriter's Freudian is up for best R&B/soul recording. The album's artwork, producers, and recording engineer are also up for Juno nominations for their work on the independently released Freudian.

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the first time since 2003 that the ceremony was held outside Los Angeles (where the Staples Center had been the home of the Grammys since 2004). James Corden returned as host.

The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. The nominations were announced on November 28, 2017.
And the winners are…..

ole, the world's fastest-growing independent music publishing and rights management company, is pleased to announce that it has concluded an exclusive deal with one of Country Music's hottest singer/songwriters, Chris Janson. The deal includes the purchase of Janson's publishing share of his existing catalogue (including his most recent album, "Everybody"), and extends ole's existing publishing agreement with Janson for future albums.

"I'm proud to extend my partnership with ole. I am proud to be a songwriter, and thankful for the success it has brought my family and I," commented Janson. "I'm passionate about songwriting and look forward to the future with the ole team."

John Ozier, ole's Vice President, Creative, added, "We're incredibly proud to have extended our deal with Chris Janson. Not only is Chris an amazing artist and performer, Chris is a prolific songwriter. We look forward to building on the success and momentum that we have and cannot wait to see what this year brings for Chris and ole."

‘Gettin’ Together with Tommy James’ is now airing on SiriusXM’s ‘60’s on 6 Channel!

SiriusXM presents a new show with Tommy James, the 1960’s hitmaker and leader of the rock band, Tommy James and the Shondells. Gettin’ Together with Tommy James will feature Tommy playing ‘60s hits and some eclectic surprises too while sharing his personal memories of the stars and the music of the era.

Tommy James, singer, songwriter, producer and musician, will host a new weekly series, Gettin’ Together with Tommy James, on Sunday nights on SiriusXM’s ‘60’s on 6 channel. This is the latest guest-curated show to be added to 60’s on 6, with other popular programs including Something Good, hosted by Peter Noone, singer and founder of Herman’s Hermits.

Celebrating 10 years, MDM Recordings Inc. is pleased to announce it is scaling up its recorded music operations internationally with dedicated distribution and partner services globally for the first time.The development comes via an innovative partnership with leading edge technology centric company FUGA, that specializes in building smart industry-predictive solutions and offers a variety of services to some of the world’s leading independent labels.

Additionally, MDM is happy to enter into an inventive partnership with Zooby Media’s Adria DeLaune, who will represent the label and its robust roster in Nashville.

Hugh Masekela, who has died aged 78, was one of the world’s finest and most distinctive horn players, whose performing on trumpet and flugelhorn mixed jazz with South African styles and music from across the African continent and diaspora. Exiled from his country for 30 years, he was also a powerful singer and songwriter and an angry political voice, using his music and live performances to attack the apartheid regime that had banished him from homeland.

Even when he had returned to the country of his birth under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, after having lived and worked in the US and in Botswana, Masekela continued to comment fearlessly on political events in South Africa and around the world, enjoying his status as an international celebrity, playing for presidents and royalty and concert audiences, and often collaborating with other musical greats.

Long before they were a band, Montreal duo, The Beat Escape, took a small first step towards a longer journey at a university video class. “We made a short oddball work; a video piece that followed two characters through a psychedelic waking dream,” say Beat escapists, Addy Weitzman and Patrick A Boivin, of their founding collaboration. Many other projects and outside collaborations later, the duo have crafted a debut album their younger selves would be proud of: released through Last Gang/Bella Union on April 27th, the sublimely immersive Life Is Short the Answer’s Long plays like a waking dream of near-psychedelic electronic pop, moving to its own beat in the push-pull of forward motion and submerged reflection.

With ten multi-platinum albums and sixteen Top 30 hits, Foreigner is marking their milestone 40th anniversary with the 40thAnniversary Tour stopping in the SONY CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS on THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 with special guests and Canadian legends Chilliwack. Universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world, Foreigner’s formidable musical arsenal continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 75 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including “Juke Box Hero,” “Feels Like The First Time,” “Urgent,” “Head Games,” “Hot Blooded,” “Cold As Ice,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” and the worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” Foreigner continues to rock the charts almost 40 years into the game.