For three decades, Econoline Crush has thrived in the space between industrial grit and melodic uplift. With their forthcoming single 'New Gold Magic' out September 26 —produced, mixed, and mastered by Kane Churko at The Hideout—the band signals not just survival but reinvention. Frontman Trevor Hurst frames it succinctly: “New Gold Magic is about getting your swagger back.”

 The Vancouver-born band’s roots stretch back to 1992, when their debut EP Purge earned them a Juno nomination and set the tone for a career defined by collisions of metal, electronica, and arena-sized hooks. Their 1997 breakthrough The Devil You Know went platinum, buoyed by the serrated synths of 'Surefire (Never Enough)' and the soaring melancholy of 'All That You Are (X3).' Alongside contemporaries like Gravity Kills and Stabbing Westward, they carved out a uniquely Canadian lane in the global industrial-rock surge.

“What happened to the protest singer?” asks Paul Cargnello on the searing opening single of his new album, and it's not rhetorical. With his 20th album, Combat Blues’, out now on Quartier General, the Montreal-based singer-songwriter and producer is back with a defiant, groove-laced, politically charged collection that refuses to look away. Think The Clash filtered through Curtis Mayfield with a jolt of Gil Scott-Heron. This is protest music for people who aren’t done fighting.

With his album Departures, his 2025 collection of “comfort-food songs from my Private Reserve,” Damn Coyote Chris turns again to themes of mortality, resilience, and the curious way laughter keeps us afloat. “Destination Funeral,” stands as one of the most personal and playful testaments yet to his lifelong songwriting craft.

Chris Nikiforuk-Rhyason — known to Alberta audiences for more than 35 years as Damn Coyote Chris — has long worked at the crossroads of music, tattoo artistry, and visual creation. As the force behind Them Damn Coyotes through the ‘90s and 2000s, he built a reputation for raw energy and unfiltered storytelling. With his solo work, Chris channels those same instincts inward, merging blues, jazz, and classical guitar techniques into songs that balance humour with unshakable honesty.

Jeff Michaels has released his brand-new single ‘Sittin’ Here On This Dock,’ offering listeners a warm escape into moments of ease, reflection, and celebration, blending Michaels’ country roots with vivid storytelling.

Born in Mississauga, Ontario, and now based in Cambridge, Ontario, Michaels has grown his career as both a bandleader and a solo artist. His years with The Southdowns gave him a foundation in performance and songwriting, while his solo work reflects his personal vision—country music rooted in sincerity and connection.

Following the release of his EP ‘Down Here In Mexico’, Michaels has continued to shape a sound that draws on his Ontario upbringing and his love of country traditions. His music thrives on the balance of good times with friends and the grounding presence of home.

Country music has a new voice that’s as real and grounded as the gravel roads she grew up on. Rising artist Janna Leduc, from Milverton and now based in Stratford, Ontario, is gearing up to release her debut album ‘Long Time Comin’’ this fall, with the single “That’s How,” out now.

Janna’s music is unapologetically country. It blends the storytelling heart of the genre with a rock edge that keeps her sound bold and fresh. Her shows aren’t just concerts—they’re rowdy, line-dancing, crowd-singing parties where authenticity and energy are front and centre.

 Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/album/2jvsEqSbecYoBZ4eV92QBQ

There’s a fire burning in the garden of Eden, and HuDost are inviting us to dance through the flames. With the release of their newest album *The Monkey in the Crown*, out now on Open Sesame Music, the genre-defying duo from Montreal-by-way-of-Kentucky delivers a bold, cinematic collection that fuses Americana, world rock, and retro-pop with a poet’s soul and a protester’s heart.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like if Florence Welch, Rumi, and Radiohead took a road trip through Appalachia—you’re getting warm.

"This album is a reckoning," shares Moksha Sommer, whose haunting vocals are matched only by the electric intimacy she conjures on stage and in studio. "It’s about transformation — how we live with grief, how we rise in love, how we face the fire and still choose to sing."

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/album/55cPZIeZMlzNTlgNUvSLcb

Glenn A Johnson releases his songwriter’s anthology *Love and Loss: The Songs I Kept*, a collection that draws deeply on his Nova Scotia roots and a lifetime of storytelling. Born in Halifax and raised in Liverpool, Glenn carries the spirit of the East Coast in every note—anchored by the pull of the ocean and the resilience of memory.

Though now based in Ottawa, Glenn’s heart remains tied to Nova Scotia’s South Shore. His music blends pop and light rock with folk traditions, carried by themes of longing, healing, and the enduring connection to home.

Some albums whisper. Others wail. 'Shadows & Machines', the new full-length from Canadian alt-rock artist Digger Jonez (a.k.a. Close Encounters), lives in the tension between both. Out now, with lead single “Treemen,”, the record marks a raw, unflinching statement from a Northern Ontario Ojibwa artist who has always seen music as survival.

Born in Whitehorse and now rooted on Vancouver Island, Brandon Isaak has carved out a reputation as one of Canada’s most authentic voices in the blues. His latest project, ‘Walkin’ With The Blues’, has spent three weeks on the Roots Music Report's Canadian Chart—including a turn at #1—proving that Isaak’s deep respect for tradition resonates with audiences across the country.

Ken Tizzard and Music For Goats is the current musical project for Ken Tizzard. Formed in 2016. The band consists of Tizzard on bass and vocals, alongside other talented Canadian musicians: Ken Grain (Bass) and Neil Lucy (guitar). Their sound is a mix of country, rock and folk, with lyrics that are often introspective and deeply personal.

Sadly, Music For Goats' drummer Steve Dagg passed away in 2023. Dagg was a highly respected musician in the Canadian music scene, having played with a number of notable acts throughout his career. His contributions to the band will be greatly missed, and his legacy as a talented drummer and musician will live on.

With the passing of Steve, the band has decided to release the album under the title “The Dagg Sessions” which was released in April 2024 and includes all the drum tracks recorded with Steve before his passing.

"'Other Side Of Wrong" was inspired after a night of catching up with an old friend," says Ken Tizzard. "It always amazes me how many great stories we all live through and the process of creation is heavily linked to listening to the people around you."

Eagle Owl, the rising Canadian voice fusing alt-pop, alt-R&B, and hip-hop, announces the release of his powerful new single “Way Out.” The track embodies raw emotion and cinematic darkness, pushing the boundaries of genre while staying rooted in the culture’s spirit of truth-telling and resilience. Blending melodic hooks with hard-hitting bars, Eagle Owl captures what he describes as his own self-portrait: 'For me, “Way Out” is like a self-portrait. It represents my inner battles, our struggles in life wanting a way out especially in this day and age.'

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/3kRKE5T841q2yncrFXLMjB

She was born in a tent and raised on the ancestral lands of the Kluane First Nation, surrounded by the wild beauty of the Yukon’s mountains and stories older than the map itself. Now, with her fourth album ‘Seeds of Dreaming’’ on the horizon (dropping September 19, 2025), Diyet & The Love Soldiers are packing up the bass, the pedal steel, and a thousand ancestral harmonies for their biggest tour yet.

youtube.com/@diyetmusic 

But let’s rewind. Before the festivals, before the awards, before she sang on national television and performed at Expo Osaka, Diyet van Lieshout was just a shy kid with a mind full of melodies. "I found music before I found my voice," Diyet recalls. “And when I found the words, they came out singing.” Raised on ancestor stories and fed by Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Japanese, and Scottish roots, she wandered through cities and back again — graduating from UVic with a degree in music performance before heading home to Kluane, where her real songs began.

Alice Moore has released her debut single “Cigarettes,” a track that unfolds like a hazy late-night confession. It marks the first glimpse of her forthcoming EP ‘The Waiting’, scheduled for October 3, 2025.

Moore grew up between Trois-Rivières and Drummondville, Quebec, places that shaped both her musical curiosity and her lyrical honesty. Her voice, drenched in intimacy, moves with ease through the moods of alternative indie pop, while her band gives the songs texture and atmosphere.

Her group includes Samuel Lessard on guitar, Léandre Bourgeois on keys, Ismaël Chagnon on drums, and James Forest on bass. Together, they form a constellation of sound that feels lived-in, pulling from the richness of Quebec’s indie traditions while carving something new.

A good blues song sticks to your ribs, and Rosie’s Smokehouse Deluxe serves it up hot. Their new single *'Faded Tattoo' is out now, and it’s as smoky and soulful as a late-night confession. A slow-burning ode to heartbreak, regret, and uncanny déjà vu, it’s a track built on stories lived, scars worn, and love that lingers — like the ink of a name you never really forget.

Rosie’s Smokehouse Deluxe is fronted by Detroit-born bassist and vocalist David G. Rose (aka Rosie), backed by a powerhouse lineup of road-tested Canadian players: Tony Moretta (lead guitar, backing vocals), Gabor Szepesi (keyboards), and Steven K Henry (drums, backing vocals). These are musicians with four decades of history, groove, and soul between them — and you can hear it in every note. 

Ash Ravens doesn’t just play the blues—he lives them, bends them, and invites you to go along for the ride. With the release of his latest album, Joyride Blues, the two-time Capital Music Award nominee proves that sometimes you have to lose the map to find the groove. Drawing from life in Bangladesh, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and now Ottawa, Ash weaves global threads into a record that’s as gritty as it is heartfelt, as classic as it is brand new.

Born in Bangladesh and raised on the sounds of bluesmen and jazz legends, Ash Ravens took the long road to Canada—through music cities like Melbourne and L.A.—and brought every influence with him.

You know you’re in the presence of a force when someone plays upright bass, harmonica, keys, and cigar box guitar and that’s *before* they open their mouth. Angelique Francis isn’t just the future of blues, roots, and soul; she’s the freight train pulling the whole genre into a new dimension. With her third studio album, Not Defeated, out on August 7th, the Ottawa-born powerhouse is delivering a rallying cry for resilience, packing soul anthems, gospel grooves, and barn-burning guitar solos into one of the most exciting Canadian releases of the year.

Canadian duo Partners in Crime have released a newly restored version of their track “Randy Girls,” a song they originally recorded in their early 20s and recently rediscovered. Out now as the new single from their self-titled album Partners in Crime, the track brings a nostalgic mix of danceable pop and rock back into the spotlight.

Written by Colin Whiteford and Doug Pegg, “Randy Girls” was recorded decades ago at Kinck Sound with engineer Fred Kinck Petersen and co-produced by Terry Gadsden. “Fred had the best ears of anyone we ever worked with,” the band recalls. “We recorded almost everything at Kinck Sound — even after we signed with A&M.”

With the runaway success of "I Don't Care" hitting Top 10 on the Canadian Independent Country Countdown, Americana artist KC Armstrong is riding a wave of momentum into his next chapter. Today, he releases his new single, "When You're Gone" — a cheeky, soulful tune filled with wit, rhythm, and personal history that stretches all the way back to a walk through a field in 1997.

Originally from Peterborough and now based in Brantford, Armstrong brings together years of road-tested musicianship, a wry lyrical sense, and a homespun charm that continues to win over listeners coast to coast. His latest single, which premiered June 30 on CBC Radio One during a live interview with host Mary Ito, is already making waves.

Acclaimed adult contemporary singer-songwriter Katie Ditschun has officially been named a Finalist in the 2025 InterContinental Music Awards, joining a global roster of exceptional independent artists selected for their musical excellence and cultural impact. The winners will be announced at the official online awards ceremony on August 24, where top finalists will gather to celebrate the theme of Bridging Cultures Through Music.

Ditschun's moving single "In Your Arms" earned her a spot among this year’s elite finalists, impressing judges with its emotional depth, poignant lyrics, and delicate musicality. Described by listeners as spine-tingling and fragile in the most beautiful way, the song has resonated with those navigating grief, absence, and emotional longing.

With the release of her new album Let Go, Fly Far, Huguette Lavigne opens the door to a world of motion and stillness, improvisation and deep emotion. Featuring eleven original piano compositions, the record invites listeners to follow instinct, embrace feeling, and travel beyond expectation.

For anyone who understands piano at a deep technical level, the craftsmanship here shines. Lavigne’s steady left hand offers grounding in each piece, while her right hand carves delicate, adventurous melodies that shimmer and stretch. Her tone is warm, her phrasing intuitive — this is the kind of playing that speaks from the soul through the keys.

Instrumentally, this album is a rare gem. Every note arrives with clarity and intention. With no formal plan or rigid structure, Lavigne allows each composition to unfold naturally. Her music carries an organic flow, rich with spontaneity and shaped by experience, memory, and pure sound.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/album/5g1FPDsi5MEkaolVlOndb8