This week, we kick it off with a comeback story of sorts. Ottawa and Leamington-based Singer/Songwriter Francine Honey has been nominated for her single “Stay” in both the Americana and Sing Your Heart Out/Love Songs Categories in the 2019 International Songwriting Competition Awards with the same song. This is a shade unusual, having the same song nominated in two diff categories but the lady is loving it.

Although the bilingual Canadian roots/Americana artist has made music since childhood, she never dreamed of making it a career. Instead, she studied math and computers, got married, had kids and worked as a project manager. Her life seemed perfect. Then a near-simultaneous breakup and job loss forced her to relocate, find a new career and raise a family alone. Music went on the back burner; she never stopped writing, but songs went unfinished — until her kids fixed that.

Side projects are great evolvers of music and White Hot Guilt is on that from the get go. Change is good, and for Josh Warburton (July Talk) and Toronto producer Thomas D'Arcy (Small Sins/BROS./Tommy Hawkins) change was exactly what these two needed to fully discover their new side project White Hot Guilt. Out making the rounds is first new track, Little Things , off self-titled debut EP (TDM Inc.). All proceeds from sales will be donated to ' SKETCH ' - a Toronto-based community-arts-development initiative that creates equitable opportunities for young people homeless and on the margins from across Canada to experience the transformative power of the arts. Check out more info about White Hot Guilt at www.whitehotguilt.com.