Artist of the Month: New Moon Junction
October 13, 2021
Canadian Country Artist Discovery: Jade Turner (MB)
November 9, 2021In The News (November 2021)
This section of the newsletter is comprised of news stories, press releases and links to Internet articles that are sent in by our members who believe they will be of general interest to the membership. We include them as a courtesy to our members but do not verify or edit their content. Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the CMAOntario nor do their contents reflect the views or opinions of the CMAOntario. If you would like to have something included in the newsletter, please send us a short synopsis, a photo or graphic and the hotlink that can be included in the news listing. Submissions can be sent to verle@cmaontario.ca. Please make sure the Subject Line reads “For inclusion in the CMAOntario Newsletter”. The deadline for submissions is the 20th of each month.
David Boyd Janes Releases Debut Album Drove Me Country
With the arrival of his hotly anticipated debut album Drove Me Country on November 5, Toronto-based singer/songwriter David Boyd Janes makes good on the promise of his 2020 hit single, “Couldn’t Hurt,” as well as multiple marquee wins on the country music talent circuit, notably the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase, which Janes won in 2019.
Produced by Jeff Dalziel (see Washboard Union, Jim Cuddy, Thornley) — who also added multiple instruments — Drove Me Country features an original collection of dazzling country corkers and ballads showcasing Janes’ distinctive honey/sandpaper voice, notably propulsive lead single “Behind Bars” and “Fools Gold” a poignant track itemizing the truly important things in life (hint: it ain’t money). The album is also the culmination of Janes’ brave decision to ditch the safe workaday world to follow his dream as a country star.
(Source: Member Submission)
Canadian Country Artist Sacha Confirmed as Performer for 2021 CCMA Awards presented by TD
Break out Canadian country artist Sacha was announced as a performer at the 2021 CCMA Awards. Ontario based Sacha will join 6-time 2021 CCMA nominees The Reklaws for the first ever broadcast performance of their smash Gold-certified hit “What The Truck”. The viral TikTok track was the most streamed domestic release in Canada for 14 straight weeks, as well as becoming the fastest domestic single ever to reach 1-million streams.
Sacha is also set to join multi-Platinum selling Country Duo Maddie & Tae on the 16-city 2022 CMT Next Women of Country Tour. The tour will kick off on January 6th in Oklahoma City, making stops in major cities including Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Nashville and New York.
Since the 2020 release of her EP ‘The Best Thing’, Sacha has been making a name for herself in Canada and the USA with her signature blend of traditional and pop-country. Her single “Standards”, boasts over 1 million global streams, and resulted in her being featured as iHeart Radio’s ‘Future Star.’ Sacha was named one of CMT’s ‘Next Women of Country’ for 2021, and has been featured in CMT, Music Row Magazine, American Songwriter, Rolling Stone Country, Billboard, and The Boot.
The 2021 CMAOntario Rising Star Nominee continues to make her mark on the music industry, having performed alongside incredible Canadian artists including Brett Kissel, Jess Moskaluke, Madeline Merlo, The Abrahams, and Terri Clark, and played at venues including Boots and Hearts, Havelock Jamboree, Sound of Music Festival, CMAOntario Stages, and the Canadian National Exhibition.
Sacha – CMT Next Women of Country: All Song No Static Tour Dates
January 6, 2022 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theatre
January 7, 2022 – Houston, TX – House of Blues – Houston
January 12, 2022 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
January 13, 2022 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
January 14, 2022 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
January 15, 2022 – Warrendale, PA – Jergel’s Rhythm Grille
January 19, 2022 – San Diego, CA – Moonshine Beach
January 20, 2022 – West Hollywood – The Roxy
January 21, 2022 – San Jose, CA – Club Rodeo Rio
January 22, 2022 – Roseville, CA – Goldfield Trading Post
February 3, 2022 – Grand Rapids, MI – Elevation at The Intersection
February 4, 2022 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theater
February 5, 2022 – Columbus, OH – The Bluestone
February 10, 2022 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
February 11, 2022 – Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center – Mars Music Hall
February 12, 2022 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
(Source: Press Release)
New Music from Genevieve Fisher: “Neon Healing”
“Neon Healing” follows on the heel’s of Genevieve Fisher’s 2 Top 40 hits earlier in 2021, the first being her duet performance with David James “Then There’s You” and her more recent solo release “Playing Favourites”.
London born and raised, Genevieve Fisher, has earned 9 top 50 hits on both Billboard’s BDS and Mediabase Canadian National Country Charts. Her Indigenous background has allowed her the privilege of registering 3 number 1 hits on the National Indigenous Music Countdown chart.
(Source: Member Submission)
Platinum Selling Singer-Songwriter Tebey Releases Music Video for “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
CCMA Award nominee and Platinum-selling artist Tebey, has released the music video for his new holiday single “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”.
Just in time for the holiday season, the new track features a gang chorus that includes vocal contributions from Tyler Joe Miller, Chrystal Leigh (Sons of Daughters), Mariya Stokes, Danick Dupelle, Dave “Dwave” Thompson and Casadie Pederson, and was recorded at Canadian owned Vibe Recordings in Nashville and produced by Danick Dupelle. Delivering his version of the emotive Christmas classic, Tebey’s new music video, directed by Ryan Nolan, is sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
“My manager has been encouraging me to record a holiday song for some time now and I am really excited that I finally did one! I wanted to find a song that suited my voice and this song definitely felt like I could make it my own,” said Tebey. “With the skills of Danick (guitars), David Dorn (keys) and Mike Melancon (drums) bringing the track together we were able to then add the talented vocalists who were in town and could help bring this beauty of a song to life. And finally, Ryan Nolan caught some behind the scenes fun to create our music video – thanks to all and happy holidays!”
Watch the video here.
(Source: Press Release)
London Designated as Canada’s first UNESCO City of Music
The City of London, together with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), announced on November 8th that London has been designated a UNESCO City of Music. London is Canada’s first city to receive this designation.About London
About the Canadian Commission for UNESCO
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) serves as a bridge between Canadians and the vital work of UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Through its networks and partners, the Commission promotes UNESCO’s values, priorities and programs in Canada and brings the voices of Canadian experts to the international stage. CCUNESCO operates under the authority of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Elyse Saunders Releases New EP Free
Elyse Saunders is thrilled to share her new EP, “Free”. On its first day, “Free” hit #2 on the iTunes Country Music Album Charts in Canada and #11 across all genres. The six song EP includes tracks produced by CCMA award-nominated Dan Swinimer, BCCMA winners Paul Shatto & David Wills, and CMAO-nominated Shawn Moore.
Elyse recently earned CMAO nominations for Female Artist of the Year and Rising Star of the Year, and performed at the show. She finished the summer as a Top 5 finalist in CBC Music’s country-wide Searchlight competition, a Top 10 finalist in the Corus Radio Summer Song contest, and as one of 7 finalists in the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase.
To date, the EP’s title track earned 500,000 Apple Music streams and over 100,000 YouTube views. It also won Video of the Year and Song of the Year at the Mississauga Music Awards, and made the semi-finals in the Country & Unsigned Only categories of the 2020 International Songwriting Competition out of over 26,000 submissions. Her winter follow-up “Wine Down” cracked 170,000 combined streams across YouTube and Spotify, while being one of Yangaroo’s daily top 5 “Most Downloaded Country Singles” to Canadian radio in April. Her newest single, “Sunshine State of Mind” has given Elyse her most popular music video with over 100,000 views, and it was also featured on CMT.com.
For more information, please visit https://www.elysesaunders.com
(Source: Member Submission)
CMAOntario Members Participate in Holiday “Wish List” Concert
CMAOntario members The Steel Horse Gypsies and New Moon Junction will be performing at St. Paul’s Center in Orillia on December 11th, 8:00pm, as part of the Holiday “Wish List” Concert in support of The Lighthouse.
Minimum $20 donation or item of equal value from the wish list to enter. All proceeds go to The Lighthouse.
(Source: Member Submission)
CMAOntario Members to Perform in Oshawa
CMAOntario members New Moon Junction, Aaron Allen, and Suzi Kory are coming together for one night only at The Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa, Ontario, Saturday Dec 4th.
Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketscene.ca/events/38868.
(Source: Member Submission)
Alli Walker Releases “Country Music”
CMAOntario
nominated singer-songwriter Alli Walker is back with the release of a new single “Country Music.” Giving listeners insight into some of the biggest country tracks and artists that have shaped Walker’s life, the nostalgic and upbeat track is available on all streaming platforms now.
Written by Walker, Dustin Bird (Open Road Recordings) and Brian John Harwood (Kansas Stone) and produced by Danick Dupelle (Tebey, Tyler Joe Miller, Emerson Drive), the track got its debut on TikTok earlier this year. Quickly racking up over a million views and thousands of comments on Walker’s channel, the demo allowed fans to bond over the role country music has played in their lives. Keeping listeners on their toes, “Country Music” provides a treasure hunt of references weaved through the lyrics from Walker, Bird and Harwood’s all-time favourite tracks that fans are challenged to find.
Fans are also encouraged to stay tuned for the official lyric and visualizer videos which are slated for release over the coming weeks.
(Source: Member Submission)
COVID-19: Ontario Music Venues Get Clearance to Hold Standing Shows, Operate at Full Capacity
Ontario’s live music venues can get concertgoers back onto their feet after a sudden change in the province’s COVID-19 guidelines.
As part of a broader decision to remove capacity limits at outdoor, organized public events, a representative for the provincial government confirmed Thursday that indoor concert venues will no longer be subject to seated restrictions and can operate at full capacity.
The Canadian Live Music Association adds that the easing of rules means venues that hold “general admission” shows — or concerts that are largely standing room only — can return to something closer to business as usual about two weeks earlier than planned.
(Full Story: Global News)
7th Annual Golf ‘Classic’ Adds Lots Of Green To Unison Fund
Goodwill and good fun have resulted in the Unison Fund raising more than $100,000 with its annual Charity Golf “Almost” Classic.
All in, the 7th annual has raised $115,000 in its 7th annual that goes to Canada’s music industry charity that provides counselling and emergency relief services
The Unison Charity Golf “Almost” Classics took place at Montreal’s Beaconsfield Golf Club on September 20th, Toronto’s Lionhead Golf Club & Conference Centre on September 28th, and Vancouver’s Tsawwassen Springs Golf & Country Club on October 7th.
(Full Story: FYI Music News)
Cam Bogle Releases “Walking Out The Door”
22-year old Cam Bogle from Burlington, ON, released a new single in October. The track, “Walking Out The Door”, debuted at #1 on the iTunes Canadian Country chart, as well as #12 on the All-Genre chart. Last month, he also released the accompanying music video.(Source: Member Submission)
Karli June’s New Single “The List” Out November 19
Canadian country artist Karli June releases her heartwarming country ballad “The List.” The track was co-written by Karli June & hit songwriters Karen Kosowski (Karen also produced the track) and Emma Lee (Meghan Patrick, The Washboard Union, Tim Hicks, Mickey Guyton). Karli has performed at festivals such as Boots & Hearts & the Saskatoon Jazz Festival and has shared the stage with the likes of Washboard Union, Dierks Bentley, Brett Kissel, Terri Clark, and Corb Lund.
“The List to me was about the expectations we put on our lives for things to happen when we want them to happen. I’ve learned through my journey that God has greater plans and if we trust the journey – we will see he has perfect timing. We wrote it with Karen Kosowski and Emma Lee in Nashville,” said Karli.
“At the time I had just met my now husband, and I was sharing about how it had been a long journey to finding the right one but how glad I was that things didn’t work out in the past. This is a song that no matter what people are going through, I hope it encourages them to trust the greater plan.”
- Karli recently opened for award-winning Country music group The Washboard Union in August at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival.
- Karli is currently participating in the prestigious 2021 TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship powered by SOCAN Foundation.
- Karli was 1 of 3 finalists selected to represent Ontario in the 2021 nationwide Jim Beam Talent Search.
- Karli recently completed her work with Nashville based songwriter / producer Karen Kosowski to complete the remaining tracks for her 2022 EP release.
(Source: Member Submission)