Like a breath of fresh air, stirring the soul while soothing the heart; hauntingly beautiful melodies wrapped in harmonies as warm as a mid-winter fire- there's a telling familiarity to the themes explored in 'Golden Hour'- the debut release from powerhouse Newfoundland folk duo Quote The Raven. Comprised of the pairing of emotive vocalist Jordan Coaker and haunting songstress Kirsten Rodden-Clarke, "aptly titled 'Golden Hour' is the physical embodiment of right place, right time, right people." Crafted alongside virtuoso producer Chris Kirby, and featuring an embarrassingly high caliber of Canada’s songwriting elite – Gabrielle Papillon, Ian Janes, Charlie A’Court, Keith Mullins, Chris Kirby, Stephen Green, Aaron Green, and Dwight D’eon – "Golden Hour is as much a statement piece of a pair of hungry musicians ready to hit the stratosphere as it is a tremendous artistic achievement."

Creativity, style and power. Those are just a few of the elements that Sweden-based artist Eleonor Léone brought to the table during Newfoundland’s first edition of the international music festival Live At Heart. Together with her DJ and best friend Alexandra, the duo set off for Canada in a major step towards bringing their music to the world stage.

At the age of 5 Eleonor joined a musical group that toured all over Scandinavia and since then she hasn’t looked back. Making appearances in all kinds of shows from musicals to dance productions, (‘FAME’, ‘Me and my girl’, and ‘Moderskärlek’ to name a few) Eleonore has always had a love for performing. In fact, she has gone above and beyond performance to take on other roles in the industry such as choreographer for productions in De Geerhallen, collaborations with various fashion shows as well as working with the Symphony Orchestra in Norrköping. It’s safe to say that Eleonor Léone is fearless and has decided early on to make a life out of doing what she loves.

Canada’s Lindsay Ell is burning up the worldwide country music charts and earning many new fans - including some of country music’s biggest performers.

You could say that Worth the Wait, the title of Lindsay Ell’s 2017 EP, sums up her life quite well. Hailed as a 'Top Country Artist to Watch' by the Huffington Post in 2015, Ell has since rocketed to country music stardom.

Ell spoke to The Herald from her home in Nashville about her rise to the top of the country music charts, touring with country’s biggest acts, her recent chart-topping albums and about being nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award in the same category as one of her idols, Shania Twain.

Ell, who was born and grew up in Calgary, started playing piano at six-years-old and then, the guitar at eight. “Playing the guitar become part of my blood,” Ell told us. “I just fell in love with it so much.” These days, she usually performs with her custom Les Paul Goddess and Martin acoustic guitars.

Toronto x Montreal rapper, Patrik, drops two releases to preview his forthcoming EP, Spadina, including the bright new track, Diamonds, and visuals for his single, StayLone (prod. By Retro). Diamonds will appear on Spadina, set for release on November 9. The song launches Patrik into album mode, as he makes his rounds in the city to share insight on the process, recently appearing in an interview segment on YTV’s The Zone. Check it out here, and stream Diamonds for a sample of the new record.

“Diamonds is about the way we marvel at materialism. We always believe that having more makes us happy. So, Diamonds is to talk about how we can have so much material belongings & still be dead inside,” Patrik says of the single.

Melbourne, Australia's Oh Pep! are back with their sophomore effort, I Wasn't Only Thinking About You..., out October 26th on ATO Records. Today, the duo share the second single and accompanying video - "Hurt Nobody." 20-year-old director Emily Dynes led an all-female team in the production of the video saying, "'Hurt Nobody' touched me from the very first time I heard it. The song encapsulates a very guttural, raw and female type of pain, so it felt like the natural fit to bring together a young female-led team of creatives for the project. It was an absolute privilege to work on such a beautiful song for a band I deeply admire, and a complete joy to spend three days shooting and dancing across the mountains in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia." The video features performer Cecilia Low.

Montreal electro-pop artist, Radiant Baby, announced his debut album, Restless, and shares the lead single, Do It, along with a stunning new music video. Both premiered today on The 405, which raves, "Felix Mongeon collaborated on the loving and heartfelt video for Do It with director Laurence Philomène, who Mongeon credits with creating the video's ‘purple queer love romance’ aesthetic. But the music? That earworm track that begs for repeat listens? That is all Mongeon. And the song's poignancy seems to extend from some universal feelings that Mongeon taps into with precision and ease." Restless is set for release on February 8, 2019, on Lisbon Lux Records. Listen to Do It on all streaming platforms now, and watch the video here.

Catfood Records announces the October 19 release of Every Soul’s a Star, the label debut from acclaimed soul/blues singer and guitarist Dave Keller. Produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison) and recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, Every Soul’s a Star showcases 10 original songs, plus a scintillating cover of the Aretha Franklin classic, “Baby, I Love You.”

Keller’s soulful vocals are beautifully supported by The Rays, which includes not only legendary Motown guitarist Johnny McGee, but also Bob Trenchard – bass; Dan Ferguson - Hammond B3, Wurlitzer, keyboards; Richy Puga – drums; Mike Middleton – trumpet; Nick Flood - tenor and baritone sax, plus the heavenly voices of Janelle Thompson and Shakara Weston - background vocals; and Christopher Serrano – percussion.

Catfood label head Bob Trenchard calls Dave Keller, “The most-talented songwriter I've ever worked with,” and it was he who suggested Jim Gaines to produce the new project.

Psych-rock outfit Lost Cousins are no strangers to places of deep unfamiliarity. The group's journey to pursue music thus far has re-directed their inspirations, allowing them to examine grappling life transitions and the domino effects of choice. You can stream and share the band's new single "City Escape" below - officially out on all DSPs this Friday, August 31.

"STREAM / SHARE "CITY ESCAPE" @ SOUNDCLOUD"

Growing up, moving on, and pushing forward into change isn't always as easy as it looks - but consistently reaps big rewards. This is none more apparent than on the track "City Escape" with a steady, pulsing riff before the drums kick in and you feel swept away before the vocals cue up.

"City Escape is about a relationship that spans two different cities," the band explained. "It speaks to feeling trapped within a certain space and routine, and finding solace in another person's day-to-day. The lyrics reminisce on time spent in unfamiliar new places, and how this experience can feel like an escape from reality."

Banovich is an interesting guy, a guitar picker and songwriter with his feet firmly planted in both blues and Americana music traditions, a wealthy combination that often produces genuine pearls when least expected.

Following on from his 2016 release ‘Acoustic Roots and Blues,’ Banovich here serves up a cracking dish of modern classics peppered with his own writing in the genre, while always pushed along by his punchy and often fiery fretwork. Tracks range from classic standards like ‘Walkin’ the Dog’ and ‘Walking Blues’ to the folk-roots classic, ‘Black is the Color’ and the seldom heard ‘Blues Run the Game’ originally from the mostly long-forgotten and overlooked sixties US writer-picker, Jackson C Frank.

As a result, Banovich, a Scot who was partly raised in the blues hotbed of Chicago, brings a refreshingly delightful and innovative take to the blues music table with ‘Hot Cookin’ Mama,’ a twelve-track release that rocks and ripples with sensitivity, hooks and hotspots throughout. This is an acoustic-driven album to savor, a rare thing these days, and a thing of great beauty. Buy it while you can.

This is hardly a blues release but, that said, it’s a truly wonderful album from a young(ish) Scottish singer-songwriter, who can sure put together a fine lyrical flourish with some equally fine melodies. All ten tracks are self-written and the package was produced by musician, Boo Hewardine, in Glasgow, at Rab Noakes’ Kyoti Recording studios. The result is a truly exceptional release, an irresistible offering that is both hauntingly aching and delightful in pretty much equal measure.

British Columbia roots and blues singer, songwriter, guitarist Judy Brown celebrates the southern Ontario launch of her new full-length solo recording titled ‘Say It’ with two key concerts. The first show is in Hamilton at Mississippi Queen Foods Restaurant on Thursday, September 6, and the second is in Mississauga at the Southside Shuffle, 20th Anniversary Port Credit Blues and Jazz Festival on Friday, September 7, 2018. Note: See all concert details below.

Produced by Maple Blues and JUNO award-winners Gary Kendall (Downchild Blues Band) and Teddy Leonard (Fathead) – ‘Say It’ (released May 18, 2018) – represents Brown’s journey in roots and blues that began in Alberta, followed by 30 years in the Toronto music scene and now marks an exciting next chapter. After taking time to raise her two children, in 2017, Brown made a move west to Nelson, BC (to be near family and a supportive arts community) and returned to recording with long-time musical friends and collaborators Kendall and Leonard.

This is a new artist and a new label both with strong connections to bluesman Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes and his family-run downtown café-bar-juke joint in Bentonia Mississippi. Munson has released a few self-produced indie efforts in recent years but ‘Rose Hill’ marks a change with a new US blues label and an optimistic purpose that shines through each successive track.

Munson favours acoustic guitar mostly, with some enjoyable and understated slide-work also thrown into the mix. His own approach is clearly influenced by the likes of Skip James and Jack Owens, both pioneers of the style now largely labeled, ‘Bentonia Blues,’ a type of picking that leans heavily on tradition but sparked-up by haunting, eerily redolent minor tunings. This is the style favored by Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes himself, who guests here on one track, and which pretty much owes its origins to Holmes’s family business, the renowned Blue Front Café in Bentonia where the album was recorded.

Founding KISS guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member, Ace Frehley, has released a new song called Rockin' With The Boys. This is the second song Frehley has released this year, from his forthcoming all-new Spaceman album, due October 19, 2018, via Entertainment One (eOne). Frehley previously released the track, Bronx Boy, in April.

Spaceman, Frehley’s eighth solo LP, features nine new original tracks including a cover of Eddie Money’s, I Wanna Go Back, a ripping power pop makeover of the original.

Wily Bo Walker is one of those guys who never seems to fail to deliver interesting, varied, finger-on-the-pulse blues music that rips and roars along pulling in a huge variety of influences and crossing genres at almost every twist or turn. Originally from Scotland, Walker is a London-based picker, singer-songwriter who is prepared to nail his colors and balls to the wall with a remarkable release bulging at the seams with sheer class and originality.

In recent years he has turned out albums that always surprise and delight in pretty much equal measure. His fretwork is gripping and driving while his voice scratches the paint from bar-room walls and clears the head with ease. With this latest offering, ‘Almost Transparent Blues,’ Walker again turns up the heat to produce an eleven-track album that holds echoes of Stevie Ray one moment followed by Lightnin’ Hopkins and Springsteen or Joe Cocker the next. Each successive cut draws the listener deeper into his revelatory riptide and rattles the roof with startling effect and essence.

Some of the greatest artists in our modern lexicon have been introduced to us through the magic of mixtapes and compilation albums. A lot of the time, comps aren’t necessarily geared towards conveying a specific artistic narrative or theme and purely designed to get attention and commercial interest ignited in a record label, and other times they represent a change in the tide culturally and professionally throughout music and pop culture. BWH Music Group has become synonymous with hosting some of the biggest and brightest young stars on their roster, and the label’s epic new comp That Summer is nothing short of an eclectic, albeit insightful look into what the future of pop music in a variety of genres is going to look like in the next ten years.

Spayed Koolie is the name of a little band from Florida that, if you’re keen on country music, you should definitely start familiarizing yourself with over the next coming months, because they’re coming to take over. Their latest record Ashtray Change is indeed a garage rock record tailored specifically for fans of lumbering, white-hot southern stylizations and old-school outlaw country, and even though I didn’t know who these guys were a little more than a week ago, they’ve already made a handful of new fans out of myself and the people that I’ve shared this new album with recently. What makes Ashtray Change such a sexy choice for newcomers to the country music genre isn’t just its open accessibility that features shades from a variety of influences seeming to work together in this setting much better than they did on their own; it’s the fact that for perhaps the very first time in the history of country music, we’ve got some bright young stars who aren’t singing about the same old subject matter and pretending that it’s somehow different or revolutionary compared to those who came before them.

Submitted by Thomas Patton III

CKY (Chad I Ginsburg, Jess Margera and Matt Deis) have released a brand new music video for their track, Wiping Off The Dead, from their most recent LP, The Phoenix. Directed by Dave Causa, this is the third music video we've seen from the band off their current release.

"Our good friend Dave Causa filmed us rehearsing for our UK tour last summer and the end result was us making a badass music video," says drummer Jess Margera. "It was filmed before we ever played a single show for the release of our album. Thank you, Dave, and thank you CKY alliance! Enjoy this great video from the archives."

The official music video for Ruston Kelly’s new single, Mockingbird, has premiered across Viacom platforms in an unprecedented partnership between CMT Music, MTVU and MTV Live. Watch/share here.

Of the song and video, Kelly shares, “I wrote Mockingbird in a Dominican hotel, on the edge of a bed, at like six in the morning. I needed a release from a cyclical pattern of a doomed relationship. The kind that leaves you with less than what you went in with. But, what directors Stephen Kinigopoulos and Alexa King reminded me with their proposed story about a single mother, is even though I write about my own personal situations, it’s also everyone’s story: the human condition, our connected plight in a mad world. Regardless of how it’s expressed, we all struggle through something with hope on the other side. That’s this song and that’s this video. That’s also why I fell in love working with them immediately.”

Nashville, TN – One listen to the brand-new album, “This Side or The Other,” and you’ll know David Olney is a man familiar with the wandering life and yearning heart of a poet. After more than 30 years in music, he’s had as many incarnations as you can imagine. His resume has expanded to include acting, poetry and a popular weekly stream cast. All of this adds to Olney’s strength as a songwriter’s songwriter, and one of Nashville’s founding fathers of Americana music.

While “This Side or The Other” is not a concept album, there are some recurring themes. The frequent reference to walls in these songs – walls being built and tumbling down – will suggest that while Olney has encountered more than his own share of walls, he is still trying his best to understand them.

“I wanted to explore the idea of walls,” says Olney, “What does a wall mean? What does it mean to be an immigrant who comes upon that wall as a wanderer, someone lost and alone?”