Ty Baynton is a small town Ontario boy, growing up an hour outside of downtown Toronto in Waterdown, but that hasn’t stopped him from making it to the big city and beyond with his own country music. The first time we saw Baynton live on stage was at the Boots & Hearts Music Festival as a finalist in the 2014 Emerging Artist Showcase. In the three years since, we’ve had the chance to see Baynton grow as an artist, a performer, and we’ve had the chance to catch up with him at the jewel of Canadian country at Canadian Country Music Week 2016 in London. Baynton counts Randy Travis as one of his earliest influences. When we spoke with him at the CCMAs, he told […]

With a hot summer single, live summer shows, and a new music video on the way, The Reklaws are showing just how far these hometown kids have come. The sister-brother duo of Jenna and Stuart Walker grew up on a working farm in Cambridge, ON, learning the value of hard work, persistence, and the realities that so many songs in country music talk about. Their passion for music came young and only grew as the siblings started writing and performing their own music. Stories of Jenna singing as soon as she could talk and Stuart learning to play the guitar at age nine are good indications that a career in music was inevitable for these two. In 2013, The Reklaws were recognized for their talent […]

Trading in a hockey stick for a guitar may not have been the plan when Kris Barclay was growing up in the suburbs outside of Toronto, but it has turned into a pretty good move for the country singer/songwriter. Barclay has been a busy dude in the last 18 months, working on a new EP that will showcase his singing and writing chops, and playing as many shows as there are stages across the province. We’ve had the chance to see a few of those live shows, and we can tell you this: he’s exactly where he should be when he’s up on stage with the band. As an entertainer, it’s clear that Kris Barclay knows what to do with a crowd. Whether he’s at […]

All the way from Harrow, Ontario to the 2017 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards, Buck Twenty has been on one heck of a journey. Mike Ure and Aidan Johnson-Bujold’s up-and-coming country duo has worked hard to get to where they are now, playing showcases, acoustic sets, festivals, the Canadian National Exhibition, and more. Most recently, the boys have been seen in the spotlight playing both the CBC’s Easter Seals Telethon, and Canadian Country Music Week. At each stop reports have rolled in that Buck Twenty are well worth the price of admission, and on their way to being seen even more. And if you’re interested in seeing Mike and Aiden do their thing live, you’ll find them all over the province again this summer, […]

From the mines of Nickel City to the big city stage, Andrew Hyatt has put in the work it takes to get country music fans to take notice. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen Sudbury born-and-raised Andrew Hyatt emerge as one of Ontario country’s rising stars. With stripped-down performances that showed off his songwriting skills and soul, and amped up rocking sets that dripped with sweat and put his heart squarely on his sleeve, country music fans have walked away wanting more and waiting for what’s… “next.” As a singer/songwriter, Hyatt first showed us that he was an artist to watch. And his radio singles, Love Drunk and MGR (Me And A Girl And A Radio) had Canadian country music fans singing along. […]

Brooklin’s Lindsay Broughton has been on Ontario country music fans’ radar since her 2013 CMAO Awards win as Rising Star of the Year… and if she hasn’t been on yours, it’s time to change that now. In the time since that win, the small town girl has been writing, recording, and releasing new country music for fans, and playing it on stages all over the province and beyond. Her energy at those live shows, regardless of the time or place, has consistently showed off her personality and authenticity, helping her connect to her fans. And it’s what brings those fans back to see her again and again, creating that base that every artist needs. In 2014, Lindsay released her debut album, Take Me There, which […]

Singer, songwriter & performer Krista Earle checks off all three boxes as she continues to push forward in her country music career. With multiple Country Music Association of Ontario award nominations (Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Single of the Year and Rising Star) Krista has become an Ontario mainstay, playing shows for crowds all over the province and continuing to write new music that explores her own personality and what she loves most about country music. In fact, a quick look at Krista’s social media channels will show you that there’s new music coming in 2017. And 2017 might just be the perfect time for Krista’s philosophy and music. Quoted in the past as saying, “Music and songwriting has the power […]

Mississauga’s Alessia Cohle has been putting in work – and it’s paying off! The country songstress released her Talk To Me album in November 2016 and launched an East Coast tour on the strength of the first single, How Bad (track 1 on the album), before releasing the title track to radio in January 2017. Cohle helps to reinforce the city-girls-singing-country world that we live in. Even though she’s not a farm girl, her voice sounds as country as you could hope for – or would expect to hear on country radio – and the songs that she’s putting together could just as easily have come from a girl that lived in a one-stoplight town. There’s a pop influence, but the twang that comes from […]

From an early age on the farm, Ben Hudson knew that music was going to be important in his life… and with a background in piano and guitar, Ben decided to take the leap and show the world that he had country music inside of him that needed to get out and be shared. 2016 was a big year for Hudson with the February release of his self-titled EP, shows on a heap of stages, a CMAO nomination for the Rising Star Award, and with the momentum that he built, it looks like 2017 will be another step in his country music career. In January of last year Ben was also tagged as CMT Canada’s Fresh Face Artist, giving him that shot of awareness and […]

Country from the cradle, Kelly Prescott was born to sing country music. As a third generation singer/songwriter, music is genuinely in her blood. With the release of her 2016 EP, Hillbilly Jewels, the Ottawa Valley songstress has allowed the country music community to get a closer look at what makes her tick. And after listening to the five song collection, it becomes quite clear that Prescott has made the right decision in following her musical path. With previous albums and recognition, including writing, producing and recording Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official 2015 campaign song with her brother Kaylen, Kelly Prescott isn’t new to performing – but she also isn’t at the point where she’s ready to kick back and relax. A busy stretch on the […]