Richard Todd, singer/songwriter/guitarist for Toronto band Redpath Traffic, accepted a Community Service Award in the Arts & Culture Leaders category for spearheading his ensemble project, Artists Against Homelessness. The award was presented by Chris Glover, MPP, Spadina Fort-York, at his annual Community Recognition Ceremony. 

“This award acknowledges the work we’re doing to help end homelessness in our communities,” Todd says. “But it also underscores how much work there is still to do.”

At the center of the project is Todd’s song, “The Forgotten Homeless”, which tells the heart-wrenching stories of people struggling while living on the street. Twelve all-star indie singers appear with Todd on this “We are the World”-style production, including Anna Goldsmith, Shari Tallon, Chris Birkett, David Moses, Michael Quattro, Sarah Siddiqui, Luciana Santaguida, Chatrisse Dolabaille, and Signe Miranda, along with singers Osaze Dolabaille, Esmaeel Abofakher, and Rahaf Alakbani. Watch it on YouTube here:

Since he was five years old, Simon Roosé wanted to be a musician. Coming from a musical family, music was already in his blood. What started out as an interest became at the age of thirteen a complete obsession with listening to, playing and creating music.

For the past nine years, he has experimented with many musical genres, everything from pop, rock, indie all the way to hip-hop, jazz, funk, and fusion.From singing in choirs to attending Christian 4:s Gymnasium in Kristianstadto study songwriting and production in Stockholm, Blekinge and Skåne. (Sweden). At the same time, he also studied a variety of instruments to finally fall in love with the guitar which has been his main instrument since.

Ken Tizzard has released his debut album “The Dagg Sessions” and has some insight on the background of this new offering:

"I am once again looking to release another album of original music with the current line-up of Music For Goats; Neil Lucy (guitar) Ken Grant (bass) and Dave Lawrence (drums) and Steve Dagg (RIP - drums). This album titled “The Dagg Sessions” celebrates the songs created before our original drummer Steve Dagg was diagnosed with Cancer. After a year-long battle of treatments Steve passed away in the winter of 2023. We had recorded the drums for the entire record in September before Steve’s illness was terminal".

Check out the first single "Barstools And Broken Hearts" here:

It’s one thing for a couple to stay together for decades while plying their trade in different corners of the same business. It’s another for them to collaborate on a project that celebrates the durability of their bond with the deepest sincerity. And it’s still another thing entirely for them to sit on that document for a quarter century, then have it feel as fresh and honest as a newly written wedding vow when it finally does come out.

Toronto TD Music Hall - October 10th, 2024 6:00pm
$20 Adults, $15 Student Tickets Now Available Here
Sudbury Grace Hartman Amphitheater - July 21st, 2024 7:00pm (tickets are free)

Some of the best, most innovative musical acts ever started out when they were merely teens – The Runaways, The Strokes, The Arctic Monkeys, to name just a few – and Canada’s Teen Jam, a first-of-its-kind performance showcase, is aware of the immense talent and creativity that can be developed during that wonderful time of life. 

Canada's Teen Jam’s Discovery Program has proven hugely successful in uniting undiscovered musical teens and providing high-level opportunities such as performing on the same concert stages used by iconic Canadian music stars, and absorbing the professional world that surrounds them!

Back in July, Canada’s Teen Jam hosted its inaugural launch at the Wayback Festival in Kitchener ON, receiving a whopping 300 submissions in their search for teen talent.Now, Canada’s Teen Jam has acquired a major Sponsor, United Van Lines Canada, for a multi-year deal!

The first-ever musical episode of the CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries was a hit with just about everybody. The fans loved it. Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv called actor Thomas Craig’s big number, “Bloody Hell,” “bloody marvelous.”

And on March 25, the night before the episode aired, JUNO Awards host Nelly Furtado even gave this melodic milestone, a special shout-out from the stage of Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre. The episode subsequently premiered on Alibi in the U.K. on April 4 and on Ovation in the U.S. on April 6. It will also air on Acorn in the U.S. soon.

Check out The Making of

Burton Cummings & his Band are set to headline opening night at the PNE (Vancouver) Sat, Aug 17th, 2024, with special guest Colin James.

Join Burton Cummings, the unmistakable voice of the original The Guess Who’s classic hits, and his band playing the songs you know, sung by the voice on the records and the writer/co-writer of the hit songs such as “American Woman”, “These Eyes”, “Laughing”, “No Time”, “Star Baby”, “Albert Flasher”, "Clap for the Wolfman", “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature”, “Share the Land” and from his solo career, “Stand Tall” and “My Own Way to Rock”.

VOTING NOW OPEN AT INDIES.CA/VOTING

Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce the nominees for the 23rd Anniversary Jim Beam® INDIE Awards taking place June 6, 2024 at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. Allison Russell, Charlotte Cardin, and The Beaches lead with four nominations each.

Finger Eleven, nominated for Rock Artist/Group or Duo of the Year, will be closing out the Jim Beam® INDIES with a headline set. Tickets are currently on sale and can purchased at the following link: ticketmaster.ca/event/10006056D8592BE7

On March 21, way back in 1952, rock and roll music was close to being born…but suffered its first setback. However, the setback would turn into a win eventually.

 “The Alan Freed Moondog Coronation Ball” was a concert of acts performing what the pioneer DJ Alan Freed coined “rock and roll” music at the Cleveland Arena. March 21, 1952 was a Friday night. The event turned into an unmitigated disaster.

 That's because there were as many counterfeit tickets sold as legitimate ones. When some 22,000 people tried to cram into a building meant to hold only about 12,000, a full-scale riot erupted. Extra police had to be called along with firemen who'd use their hoses to break up the mess. To escape injury, Freed had to be hoisted via a rope to the upper level announcer's booth. 

If you had to assign the music business to a literary category, you’d have lots of options: horror, true crime, maybe science fiction. But none of those possibilities has the storytelling potential of a good romance. Enter Rock Crush and Roll, an amorous potboiler from author Hunter Snow that shows what happens behind the scenes can be even spicier than what goes on in the lyrics.

The plot in a nutshell: A female artist manager named Tyler Robertson works at a company that represents the biggest rock star in the world, Cary Kingston. But when their relationship becomes more than professional, she has a lot of soul-searching to do. For one thing, she’s violating her hard-earned policy against dating musicians. (Ever been in or around a band? Good call!) And his lifestyle is hardly conducive to having a serious relationship. Now she must navigate a precarious courtship while trying to figure out if her attraction is really to him, or merely to what he represents.

“This book, at its core, is about navigating relationships,” says author Snow. “Friends, families, partners, colleagues, and what truly makes you happy at the end of the day.”

Sultans of String & Indigenous Collaborators across Turtle Island Create Trailblazing Musical Response to the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action

Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 8:00pm

Hugh’s Room Live presents
‘Walking Through the Fire’ – Indigenous Collaborations with Sultans of String

Featuring Dr. Duke Redbird, The North Sound, Shannon Thunderbird, Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), and a multimedia extravaganza including Northern Cree, Kendra Tagoona, Tracy Sarazin, and more!

Hugh’s Room Live
296 Broadview Avenue,
Toronto ON M4M 2G7

TIX: $45 in advance, $50 at the door, 647-347-4769

showpass.com/sultans-of-string-walking-through-the-fire/

What sets businesses apart and makes a good business a great business is the ability and foresight to continue to grow and change with market demands and needs.

Eric Alper of Eric Alper PR is an embodiment of that mindset, embracing change and fluidity “Change is constant – not a bad thing. And change in the music business is happening at an ever-accelerating pace.”

Eric Alper has been at the forefront of the Canadian entertainment industry for the past 25 plus years and his forward thinking is what keeps him at the top of his field.

Bif Naked has garnered a coveted nomination for the prestigious Screen Award for Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series by The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. This esteemed recognition is in tribute to her outstanding portrayal in the captivating new CBC Gem original series, ‘I Hate People, People Hate Me’.

‘I Hate People, People Hate Me’ has picked up 4 Canadian Screen Award nominations.

Bif Naked's unparalleled talent, dedication, and enduring impact continue to captivate audiences worldwide. As she embarks on this remarkable journey, the celebration of her illustrious career and the anticipation surrounding her latest accolades reach new heights.

About Bif Naked

Bif Naked, a dynamic force in music, TV, film, and dance, boasts a storied career as a multi-platinum and gold singer-songwriter. Celebrated and notorious in equal measure, her journey reads like a whirlwind—a gripping saga of resilience, rebellion, and unwavering advocacy.

Art During Wartime, a podcast that examines the beauty and richness of Ukrainian culture, kicks off its second season with an interview with rapper OTOY, one of the most conceptual Ukrainian rappers today.

The podcast was conceived by Ohio native David Junk, who first started working in Ukraine in 1999, not long after the fall of the Soviet Union, as a record executive for Universal Music. At the time, no other Western record label had ventured into Ukraine. David played a pivotal role in opening Universal's first branch office in the country, which was a major boost to the early development of the Ukrainian music industry. Check out the podcasts here: podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/art-during-wartime/id1716447606