Look out Rinkaby, Sweden, the Canadians are coming! They say good things come in threes and this summer three seasoned Canadian recording artists are setting sail for Sweden to prove that axiom true.

Canadian-born Lisa Hartt, Barry Stagg and Don Graham are packing their stories, songs and six strings and heading across the sea to hit the stages at the Lilla By Festival in Rinkaby on the Baltic Sea. This is the 3rd year of this festival, founded and produced by Jonas Tancred and Malin Östh, both performers in the successful Swedish duo Bara Jonson and Free.

Don Graham performed at last year’s 3^rd Annual Lilly By Festivalen and it will be the first time for Hartt and Stagg to experience the magic of the “little festival” by the bay. This is Don’s second year playing at the event and he is thrilled to be joined stages this year with both Lisa and Barry who has known for most of his early musical career days in Canada.

With the holidays fast approaching, radio will soon be on high rotation of the usual Christmas hits and the nostalgic classics.

At Cashbox Canada and Cashbox Radio, we have been receiving some great new Christmas tunes and I would like to share the first Top 10 songs that are now being played on Cashbox Radio.

We would really love if you give these songs a boost by listening to Cashbox Radio, and heading to our Request link here:
https://www.cashboxradio.ca/request-a-song-on-cashbox-radio/

Who knows? Maybe that future classic is right here on the first Top 10 – more to come next week!

Because at Cashbox Radio we believe someone has to play that future hit for the first time – and we want it to be us!

Cashbox Canada participated in our first Indie Week Canada and oh what a week it was!

Continuing our journey of the Cashbox Caravan, (recently performing in France and Sweden) we had two official showcases and both were met with resounding success. In addition, our acts performed at other venues throughout Indie Week, all to great reviews and accolades.

The first Cashbox Caravan Showcase was Thursday, November 14 at the B-Side Lounge, a cozy gem of a venue with a great stage and friendly staff. A cocktail hour show from 5-7pm featured Toronto’s newest shining star Ventresca, followed up by veteran singer-songwriters Barry Stagg and Don Graham.

The Cashbox Caravan continues its journey, having stopped in France (MIDEM in Cannes, France) and Orebro, Sweden (Live at Heart Sweden) and ending our year back here in Canada at the ever-popular Indie Week 2019.

“The idea behind the travelling Cashbox Canada Caravan was to give indie artists a chance to showcase at major events and have the opportunity to perform for agents, pr people, and labels with first-class sound and on professional stages all on a global level,” says organizer Sandy Graham. “We are proud to be able to offer an alternative way of showcasing at major events where the competition for submission is so high.”

Now the third event this year of the Cashbox Caravan will be back in the country of origin for the magazine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

“Indie Week has given us the opportunity to bring talent from other areas in the world so we will be able to have acts from not just Canada, but Sweden, Spain and the USA,” Graham says.

The first CASHBOX CARAVAN SHOWCASE is at the cocktail hours of:
5 pm – 8 pm
Thursday November 14
B-Side Lounge (669 College St)
Doors: 5:00pm

Barry Stagg was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where he lived for the first 29 years of his life. Although he resides in the US, he still spends summer months in Nova Scotia and maintains a Canadian address and passport.

He has written and recorded songs for Gamma Records, United Artists, London Records, RCA, and Cashbox Records. Barry is well known for his world hit song "To Love Means To Be Free,” released on his Green and Stagg album in 1969, which earned him the Canadian Business Music Industry’s writing award.

I caught up with Barry at his home and he still has all the enthusiasm of a young artist starting out.

“I just got back off the road doing a US promotional tour for both radio and television for ‘One Heart At a Time”. I was humbled by the reception and accolades we got every stop we made. I feel blessed that after all these years I still get to do what I love most. Write my songs and perform for people. There is nothing better than seeing the reaction to your material.”

Stagg has quite a legendary career behind his name: