Ruth Moody is releasing the second single from Wanderer,her first new album in over a decade. Moody's clear soprano soars on "Already Free," a song Moody says is "for anyone who is ready to let go of the weight they are carrying and be free”.

Check out Ruth Moody on YouTube here: youtube.com/@ruthmoodyvideos

"I wrote the lyrics during the pandemic This was me, saying ‘I’m not coping well, I’m losing my grip’ and finding strength in that admission. It’s a song about that moment of reckoning, that acceptance of vulnerability and surrender that ultimately helps us to find our resilience.”

Les Stroud, the renowned Rock musician from Huntsville, Ontario, is proud to announce the release of his newest single, “Ancients Call,” – Check it out on YouTube here:

 This impactful and moving song breaks through musical limits, encouraging listeners to rekindle their bond with the earth and the knowledge of their ancestors. Ancients Call is more than a mere track; it's a deep dive into Stroud's spiritual and emotional exploration, inspired by earth ceremonies around the world.

Drawing inspiration from the survival expert’s adventures while filming the series Beyond Survival, Ancients Call mirrors his immersion into numerous earth ceremonies, from Ayahuasca and San Pedro rituals to ceremonies honouring the elements and Incan high priests.

It’s been quite wild ride for Ottawa roots singer/songwriter and keyboard player Jeff Rogers over the past 6 months.

Last fall he had the thrill of opening for The Legendary Downchild Blues Band on their sold-out Ontario theatre tour, to great response. The February 16, 2024, American and international release of his new album Dream Job, recorded in the revered music mecca of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, helped the album hit Top 5 on the Roots Music Report Canada Album Chart alongside The Dead South on March 30, 2024. Stellar album reviews south of the border from respected magazines like Downbeat and praise from Billboard Canada as “one to watch in 2024”, have helped put Jeff Rogers on the map internationally.

On June 27^th, Rogers will hit the stage with his 10-piece band at the Ottawa Jazz Festival to open for American alternative/indie darlings Lake Street Dive, who just happen to be one of Rogers’ favourite bands.

With the buzz building, Rogers is set to release his brand-new lyric video for his first single “Lock & Key” TODAY. Watch it now at https://youtu.be/hZXP6n_NG8g

Cashbox Canada has spent the last few years forming a strong bond with Sweden and we have seen so many talented emerging artists that deserve some recognition. So we now have a column devoted to that called Knock! Knock! based on the song by Sweden’s Bara Jonson and Free. The artist reviews will be written and presented by Malin Osth and Jonas Tancred of BjF, carefully chosen by their expert musical ears and featured here, proving as always that music has no borders.

Knock! Knock! Meet:

Agnes Mai – An Old Soul With A Young Heart

Submitted by Malin Ostha and Jonas Tancred

One way of describing Agnes Mai is that she is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Lund, Sweden. Softspoken, maybe a bit shy.

Another way to describe her is that she from her first note grabs a firm hold of you and that she will not let go until she has told you all her stories, until you feel what she felt, until you understand.

An old soul with a young heart indeed.

When one man honestly commits his emotions to record, that’s par for the musical course. But when he conscripts nearly 200 people to join him in it … well, you’re in for a lot of feelings.

And a lot of feelings is what we get on “Hearts On Fire,” a spotlight track from Brookfield, Nova Scotia-based singer/songwriter/ukulelist James Hill’s latest album, Uke Heads. Hill enlisted a legion of his friends and fans to appear with him on the record, with the new single as a particularly effective advertisement that an enormous collective can still convey the solitary sorrows and joys of an individual soul. Watch YouTube here:

Break out your velvet couches, champagne flutes, and Soul Train swagger: Performance artist, musician and author John Orpheus brings back the golden age of get-down on his mood fixer of a new single, “Get Right!” Watch on YouTube here:

Like an urgent, time-traveling bulletin from an era when funk, punk and pop coexisted happily on the dancefloor, the new record finds the Trinidad-born, Toronto-based Orpheus applying his talent for musical shapeshifting to deliver a motivational sermon that's nostalgically succinct:

If it feel right, jump on it
If it ain’t right, we don’t want it
If it ain’t right, we don’t get your money

Canadian singer and songwriter Annabel Gutherz unveils her new single, “Shame,” out now. Following the success of her latest single, “Eclipse,” this new track continues to introduce listeners to Annabel’s unique blend of classic rock influences and modern pop sounds. "Shame" was co-written with and produced by Mikal Blue (OneRepublic, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat) and Bret “Epic” Mazur (Crazy Town, Prince, The Black Eyed Peas). Check it out on YouTube:

Every once in a while, you need to hear a friend say, “Just keep going.” Would that they could all do it with the priceless gift for melody Canadian country upstart Angie Bohlke brings to the subject on “Don’t Give In,” a musical wellspring of support that’s the latest single from her debut album, The Best Part of Me. Check it out on YouTube here:

It’s impossible to remain unswayed by Bohlke’s sincerity as she implores a loved on to persevere and vows the result will be worth it. Imparting thoughtful coping strategies like “trust in yourself” and “think of something beautiful; a place you’ve never been,” she makes the emotional stakes plain on the song’s absolute haymaker of a chorus:

Having a foot in two cultures can sometimes feel like being torn between two lovers, and never getting any satisfaction. Turkish-British alternative artist Onur Sevigen tackles this conundrum in his sensual, suspenseful, and cinematic new single “My Way” – check it out on YouTube here:

Fusing R&B, hip hop, and a falsetto rivaling Prince, “My Way” is percussive and passionate and perfectly captures a spirit in conflict.

“Growing up the son of immigrant parents packs on more challenges than one’s average coming of age story,” Onur explains. “Trying to navigate relationships, life, ambitions and also not belonging fully to either country is almost like being bisexual and not ever fully experiencing what it is to love both sexes, or at least being repressed in a way by society to choose one or the other.”

Some things never go out of style, like having your heart broken and boozing away the pain. Vancouver country crooner Justin Mattock pulls up a barstool and aligns himself squarely with that proud tradition on his latest single, the irresistibly besotted “Where I Come to Drink.”

An instant classic of the tears-in-your-beer genre, the song chronicles the fallout of what Mattock has called “a goodbye that wasn’t meant to be permanent.”

“We had stories in this bottle/ Never time to take a sip,” our crestfallen narrator laments. “Black and white label and a colt cigar hanging off my bottom lip.” The picture painted and the stage duly set, his voice rises in righteous self-pity to let us know just what this night is going to entail. 

Exploring the contents of our grandparents’ houses as children can be a profound sensory experience, a journey back in time for our imaginations, and a map of clues to who we are, where we came from, and who we can become. For Michael Saracino, it was the wonderment of his childhood discoveries of Christmas cards from Duke Ellington, scribblings from Louis Armstrong on a Blue Note napkin, and his grandfather Ernest’s own simple words of advice that molded those deep, lasting impressions. In his lifetime, Ernest Orlando was a part of establishing the Toronto Jazz Society along with lifelong friend, pianist & composer Norm Amadio, which helped bring touring jazz musicians to the city, which brought touring jazz musicians into Canada and provided them a place to perform. “If you want to play music forever, that’s great'', Ernest had told Michael as a boy. “Just make sure you have a plan.”

Finding new love after experiencing heartbreak can be both thrilling and exciting. No one knows this more than Oyo, Ibadan, Nigeria-born, Montreal-based Afropop singer ADEOLUWA. Following the heartbreak displayed on his previous EP "Kings of Detours", ADEOLUWA returns with his julibant new EP "For The Fourth" and the single "Jeje". Check out YouTube:

 Steady drums, soothing background vocals, and a sprinkle of trumpet open the song as ADEOLUWA sings the first verse. The drums enhance the silky, steadfast tone of ADEOLUWA's vocals as he tries to woo a new lover. When the chorus comes in, the chanted chorus combines with the horns, drums, and background vocals from earlier to create a sensual mood.

Titling his debut album The Insomniacs’ Lullaby was the first clue that Wolfgang Webb wanted to take us on a trip through the long, dark nights of the soul. But just how long and how dark those nights can be doesn’t really hit home until you’ve heard two of its spotlight tracks, songs steeped in a melancholia that only the anguish of personal experience can convey.

Take “Before You Sleep (The Pills),” which weds some truly harrowing imagery to an uncompromising dirge with the compellingly funereal quality of Leonard Cohen—and a mournful lead vocal that has more than a tad of Tom Waits-style grit.

Check it out on YouTube here:

What’s in a name? To indie-folk/pop songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sheena Legrand, the answer is “Just enough to make you change it when the time has come to hit the gas.” For her return to recording activity after a 10-year hiatus, the former Sheena Grobb has taken on a whole new moniker to better reflect the direction of her life - and the updated musical approach previewed on her new single, the hauntingly beautiful “Green Light.” Check it out on YouTube here:

In her husky, sultry semi-whisper, Legrand gives voice to the prayers of anyone who’s ever wished that life would stop throwing up roadblocks—only to realize they were the one in the driver’s seat after all.

At first listen, Canadian rapper Pimpton’s latest single, “Moonroof,” sounds like nothing more than a seductive invitation to a cozy nighttime drive. I mean, check out that slick come-on of a chorus:

Open up the moon roof
Let ya hair down baby, we gon’ fade away
We connect like a Bluetooth
Live from the belly of the beast, but in God we pray

Check out “Moonroof” on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/3JowxNSthMQ2prAuIv7qnq

What’s in a name? To Philadelphia electronic/EDM /vaporwave artist Paul G. Marchesani, the answer is apparently “a lot”—which is why he’s had more than 20 of them.

For 10 years, Marchesani has been recording under multiple musical aliases—starting with “Crossing Bridges” and snowballing from there—which he says has been the only way to preserve the distinct character of the more than 1,500 (!) tracks he’s laid down in that time. But every once in a while, he feels the urge to compile standout recordings by his various identities under a common umbrella. Hence “Forest Kids Collective,” whose new album, Galileo Grandiose, collates some of the best of Marchesani’s work into a remarkably smooth and cohesive listen.

When a child and a parent lose each other, the lines of communication are severed tragically and forever. Or are they? Indigenous folk-rocker Mike Bern volunteers his services as a spiritual middleman on his latest single, “New World,” an imagined declaration of anguish and devotion from a mother who was taken too soon. Check it out on YouTube here:

 Left my daughter behind
Now I’m drowning the sky
There’s one thing I do know
I got no place to go
Carry the love into our lives
Carry her heart
Greet her with my eyes closed
I can’t hold you no more
I love you more than you know
Kind words from above

The Stan Rogers Folk Festival (Stanfest) is pleased to announce that much-loved Canadian artist Jim Cuddy will perform in Canso, Nova Scotia on Friday, July 26.

Both as a solo artist and as one of the creative forces in Blue Rodeo, Jim Cuddy has received nearly every accolade Canada can bestow upon a musician, including 15 JUNO Awards, The Order of Canada and, along with band mates Blue Rodeo, has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, received the Governor General Performing Arts Award and a Star on the Walk of Fame. Cuddy has written many of the songs that have become indelible in the soundtrack of Canadian lives. With the release of his fifth solo album, Countrywide Soul, he continues to contribute to that extraordinary songbook and on this record, Cuddy continues to find new ways to balance personal reflection and plainspoken storytelling, remaining both intimate and accessible. For more information on Jim Cuddy, visit: jimcuddy.com

Life has its sour moments, and it can be hard to move on when it happens with someone you love. Sometimes, hard things come before good things, and you have to work through some pain in order to get to a better place. This is showcased on Toronto based rock singer-songwriter Dylan Bradley's new single "I'm Sorry" from his debut No Turning Back, which the album is already at over 70,000 streams on Spotify. Check it out on YouTube:

The song opens with some energetic guitar riffs reminiscent of pop-punk bands like Good Charlotte and Blink-182. Buffering this is Bradley's passionate vocals as he sings of how a lover made false apologies after damaging his stuff and how he blames himself for not being the best person he could be.

Don Ross, guitar wizard, has just released his 18th solo album “Water” and is setting out on a tour of Ontario and Quebec, twelve concerts across the provinces and two in the United States in Michigan. The tour includes a stop at Hugh's Room Live in Toronto on April 13 in support of the release.

The tour will feature dates in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Kitchener, London, Toronto, Montreal, Peterborough, Ottawa, Port Perry, Haliburton and across the border in Lake Orion and Detroit, Michigan. Joining Don on this tour is fellow guitarist, Kent Nishimura. We caught up with Don at the Charlottetown airport on his way to Toronto to start the tour in Sudbury. “Heading to Toronto to meet the crew and pick up the rental car and get this thing started. Going to be a lot of driving but really looking forward to get started.”

No stranger to the road Ross has been traveling and performing for 36 years.” When I was a kid growing up in Montreal I used to look at maps of the world and look at all the place I wanted to see. And now I’ve been fortunate to travel the world playing my music.”