Metamorphosis can be defined as a change in physical or structural form, and perhaps nobody knows more about change than Lee Miller Matsos. His musical journey began as a teenager, after seeing Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., leading to a life of opera and musical theatre. Until, that is, he decided to metamorphosize into a pop rock artist by enrolling at Holland College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 2019. While in PEI, he wrote most of the songs for his debut EP, and on September 8, 2023, the “Metamorphosis” had begun.

On May 10, 2024, Matsos will released his 4th single, Mother’s Day Weekend”, from the upcoming EP, “Metamorphosis, Pt. 2”. Check it out on YouTube here:

With modernization and urbanization comes big changes – and inevitable sadness and nostalgia. Regina, SK-based folk artist Jeffery Straker captures a loss of rural identity in his new single “More Than Two by Fours and Timber,” in which he describes a grain elevator being bulldozed in a small farming town. Check it out on YouTube here:

 It was so much more than two by fours and timber
That last grain elevator was comin’ down today
Under their breath people said good-bye
They tried their best to take it all in stride
They just got used to doin’ it that way

"I’m not prone to loneliness," Canadian folkie James Gordon says of his new single, "Lonesome As Hank Williams Tonight." Given the deep, convincing wistfulness of the song, and that of some of the other tracks on his new, live album, Wrinkles and Scars, it's almost hard to believe him. Check out the single on YouTube here:

Young love is hard and unrequited but young love is even harder. Just ask, the singer-songwriter born in Shanghai and based in Toronto, who documents his own teenage romance in his latest lovelorn single, “shade of hue.”

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/7aoG3LDYTOmmEjOUX3GaIa

The track, out now, tells the story of a fateful day spent sight-seeing in Toronto at the end of his freshman year.

“It only took a few months for an eighteen-year-old hopelessly romantic boy to almost give up on ever finding teenage romance,” he says of the song’s inspiration. “Just days before I flew home for summer, I ran into this guy at my friend’s residence, and we instantly connected while watching a game. Later, he proposed to take me to my first Blue Jays game and teach me how to take photos with his digital cameras.”

There’s nothing all that bluesy or melancholy about “Kingsburg Blues,” the new single by 2024 ECMA Fusion Recording Of The Year for Anuri, Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia)-based Gina Burgess, although it is indeed haunting. Instead, the song, which blends psychedelic elements with Celtic and Inuit roots, takes us into a magical and mischievous fairy world shimmering with fireflies and secrets. Check it out on YouTube here:

 There’s only one lyric to the song: “And how long does it take for a rose to bloom and die?” But that lyric allows an entry point into that November day in Nova Scotia when Burgess was first inspired to write “Kingsburg Blues.”

Country music was built on the backs of musicians who spent grueling hours on America’s endless highways between low-paying gigs, self-medicating in their downtime to deal with chronic pain, loneliness and boredom. It’s what Americana upstart Gene Moran has witnessed all too often from people in his life. He explores the danger of those long, slow hours in his new single “In A Flash.” Check it out on YouTube here:

The former teacher out of Mesa, Arizona has worked through a lot just to play smoky rooms and juke joints. Born with cerebral palsy, Moran had to develop his own playing style and get over a crippling stage fright before he could bring his high, lonesome tunes to audiences.

Is it possible to still be underrated at age 71, and after a five-decade career in which you’ve inspired just about everybody in Canadian blues?

Big Dave McLean is about to offer an emphatic “yes” with This Old Life, an album that’s poised to finally shine the light of mass acclaim on his mighty talents as a singer, harmonicist and slinger of the National guitar—skills that, among his many other accomplishments, once led Billboard to proclaim “He’s done more to shape the Western Canadian blues scene than perhaps any other artist.”

And now everybody gets to hear why. The new record is a 14-song collection of immediately indelible, classic blues, combining supremely authentic covers of tunes by legendary artists like Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Little Walter with three new McLean originals that can stand proudly with the best the art form has to offer.

 The bar is set by leadoff track “Well, I Done Got Over It,” a rendition of the 1953 Guitar Slim nugget that shows McLean’s soulful, gravelly rumble of a voice is perfectly suited to the archetypal lament of a good man done wrong:

After Aline Garza’s successful kickstart in music with her heartfelt breakout single “Day One” while going viral on Instagram with over 2.4 million views, the Texan artist now captures a tremendously powerful and utterly necessary message in her new single “Superhero”.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/album/5jY7EDdHLrUYqWgWfreHx8=

On top of an upbeat, hopeful and catchy melody, Aline Garza evokes nostalgia with a 2010’s Pop/R&B sound and spreads a heartwarming message to all bullying and harassment victims:

They only talkin' cause they're jealous
They so unhappy with themselves
They insecure so they're projectin'
So don't be tough on yourself

And, much like a warm ray of sun on a freezing day, Aline Garza shows her unconditional support for all going through a tough time in the chorus:

Get Right! EP Release Party June 18 at The Rivoli. Tickets Now Available: eventbrite.com/e/john-orpheus-get-right-ep-release-celebration-tickets-880410671017?aff=oddtdtcreator

Baggy jeans and Timberlands for everybody! Toronto hip hop - funk connoisseur John Orpheus teleports us back to the salad days of the late 20^th century on his new single, “90’s Fool.” And young and old alike take notice: What we have here is a throwback with real pull. Check it out on YouTube here:

As she combines authentic blues, soul and gospel influences with smooth, rock-infused electric guitars, JUNO Award winning artist Angelique Francis delivers a captivating performance on her new single “Train Coming”, pit now. The first single to be released ahead of her new album Watch Me Grow, set to release this summer, “Train Coming” Invites listeners to join along for an exhilarating ride. Check it out on YouTube here:

Winterland

When we first met the creative engine behind Winterland, Fredrik Nilsson, he was this warm, goodhearted music store owner in our town in the south of Sweden. Always ready to assist and promote the local musicians coming to his store. Always ready to make a deal, to help struggling artists making a great bargain. Displaying their records, CDs and posters. And, always ready to crack a bad joke!

He was already at that time known for his musicality; as an awesome blues guitarist.
The whole town mourned the day the store had to close down. But out of the ashes rose something bigger, stronger… a songwriter of rank. Winterland had been born.

This rock solo project approaches music with a down-to-earth perspective, drawing inspiration from 70’s yacht rock bands like Fleetwood Mac and artists like Van Morrison, and Hall and Oates. For Fredrik, music has become a therapeutic experience.

Stony Plain Records proudly announces the signing of legendary American band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who will celebrate their 50th anniversary with the release of their first studio album in eight years, Struck Down, on June 28th. The album’s first single, “Payback Time,” featuring Billy Gibbons, is out now. 

The album features contributions from Elvin Bishop, Terrance Simien and Canadian blues guitar ace Steve Strongman, who co-wrote with Kim Wilson nine of the album’s 10 tracks. The lone cover song on the album is a scintillating take on Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling,” featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal and Mick Fleetwood. 

In the 1960s, Greenwich Village was at the epicenter of the burgeoning folk music boom that was happening around the world, and a young Rory Block had a ringside seat to this evolution. With the release of her new album, Positively 4h Street: A Tribute to Bob Dylan, she gifts the sounds of that era to listeners everywhere. Stony Plain also plans to release the title track as a single on Bob Dylan's birthday, May 24^th.

Even a 15-year-old guitar god-in-waiting occasionally has to deal with normal, everyday high-school angst. For Nikhil Bagga on his new single, “Never Meant It,” that means having to sit home with his trusty axe while everybody else is out having a good time.

Check it out on YouTube here:

I’ve been staying at home
And I’ve been checking my phone
But I see nothing
I’ve been laying in bed
Drowning with thoughts in my head
And you can’t save me
You don’t invite me to the party but you play my song
I know I should be happy but I feel so wrong
Hey
While everyone is having fun and shooting for the stars
I’m just a kid who’s strumming his guitar
Hey

Kingston’s multi-instrumentalist Christopher Jackson is thrilled to announce the release of his new single, "Best of Me".

This production evokes notes of seventies roots rock, alt-country, and blends folky Canadiana/Americana with his own twist. It encapsulates events and experiences in Jackson’s life over the last few years.

““Best of Me” was written about making changes in my life and moving forward,” says Jackson. “Not letting anyone bring me down or get in my way.” Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/6WMIfiN5K9OeNo9zQNm1yH

With over 30 years under his belt as a working musician in a variety of bands, Jackson has built a reputation as a true entertainer. He is known for his banter, audience interaction and impromptu musical collaborations.

The album is produced in collaboration with recording engineer Paul “Doc” Halladay. All the vocals and the majority of the instrumentation, including electric/acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums and mandolin, is performed by Jackson.

And now, some hard-earned wisdom from Avalon Stone: Personal growth is a bitch. Sometimes, you even have to be dragged into it.

The emergent rock sensation shares that message with a forceful authenticity that belies her 20 years on her third and latest single, “Drag Me.” Check it out on YouTube here:

In a three-minute confessional that’s harrowing yet positively habit-forming, Stone struggles to escape the darkest pits of her own mind and to admit she may need to be carried out of there on somebody’s back.

It’s the mark of a great artist when even one of her pledges of undying devotion has more going on than meets the eye. For proof, cop a listen to “The Spell of the Lilac Bloom,” the romantically straightforward—or is it?—latest single from Ruth Moody’s new album, Wanderer. Check it out on YouTube here:

Singing in the gorgeous soprano The Huffington Post says could be “the prettiest voice in all of North Americana these days,” the Winnipeg-raised folkster lays out a plan of the heart that rings hopeful and forthright:

While the supposedly religious try to claim God’s favor for themselves and deny it to anyone they see as “other,” Canadian Afrobeats queen Zochi – and a real-life Princess in royalty, too - has something more open-hearted in mind. Her new single, “Alone (Whole Again),” sees her praying for the consummation of a same-sex attraction not just because she wants it, but because the Lord must too. Check it out on YouTube here:

When bad love hurts you, it can really sting. The betrayal can cut deep and sometimes you feel the need to shame them for what they did. The Canadian /U.S. collaboration RENITA ZINTEL from Lethbridge, AB and RANDY LODDER of El Paso, Texas knows this personally but uses rock n' roll to heal their wounds in new single "Bad Bad You." Check it out on YouTube here:

Recently nominated in the U.S. for a HUGS 24/7 Radio Award, opening with some explosive guitar riffs, the song kicks into high gear with smoky, angry vocals from vocalist RENITA. Reminiscent of Joan Jett and a sprinkle of Janis Joplin, RENITA’s passionate delivery of the song's lyrics is captivating.

Her solo career may be soaring, but OUDi still doesn’t like heights. On her latest single, industrial pop’s prodigal daughter admits she’s “Afraid of Flying”—because the higher you go, the farther you might plummet.

I miss the horizon, I miss the views
It never used to scare me but now I know the truth
That what goes up, must come down
I’m afraid of flying, I’m afraid of heights
‘Cause now I know what it feels like, falling from that high
Feeling so helpless, I can’t help it
Oh, I’m afraid of flying