1974 JUNO Award Winner Cathy Young Was Here All Along, and Now She's Back With the Most Personal Song of Her Life

Long before playlists and streaming numbers, before most of today's music industry existed at all, Cathy Young was already a fixture of Toronto's legendary Yorkville scene, standing shoulder to shoulder with the artists who built Canadian music history. She's been credited as a Juno winner, immortalized on one of the tallest music murals in the world, and quietly worked alongside icons for decades. And now, with her deeply personal new single "I Don't Want to Lose You," Cathy Young proves she was never gone. She was simply waiting for the right story to tell.

Young first burst onto the scene when her debut album, 'A Spoonful of Cathy Young,' was named a Billboard Pick of the Week, an early signal of a talent that would soon become impossible to ignore. She won the Juno Award for Best New Artist in 1974 and returned the following year as a nominee for Best Female Vocalist, cementing her place among Canada's brightest new stars at a moment when the Canadian music industry itself was still finding its footing. She performed as Mary Magdalene in Robert Stigwood's production of Jesus Christ Superstar, lent her voice to award winning video games including entries in The Black Mirror series, and toured the world across the United States, Mexico, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Thailand, Australia, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. In 2017, she was honoured with a place on Toronto's towering 22 storey mural of music icons along historic Yonge Street, a permanent tribute to the scene she helped define. Her story has since been documented in Music from Far and Wide: Celebrating 40 Years of the Juno Awards and in Bill King's Talk: Conversations in All Keys, and she was inducted into the Friar's Music Museum in Toronto.

For all of that history, Young has never been the kind of artist who simply rests on accolades. She has spent decades quietly recording, mentoring emerging talent, and staying connected to the music community that shaped her, even as the industry's spotlight moved elsewhere. That makes her return now, with a song this personal, feel less like a comeback and more like an overdue arrival, a legend who never actually left, finally ready to share a story only she could tell.

"I Don't Want to Lose You" was written by Young in 1974, though she says at the time it was written to no one in particular. "Songs just come to me when they come," she explains. "They come in a rush, and if I don't stop whatever I'm doing, even sleep, and write, I will lose it forever." It would take 50 years for the song to find the person it was truly meant for.
That person was a fellow musician Young first met briefly at the Juno Awards decades earlier. Their paths crossed again years later when she recorded backing vocals for his band, then drifted apart until an unplanned social media post changed everything. "One day, almost on a whim, I posted a photo of a horse drawn Cinderella carriage on Facebook and wrote, ‘Now all I need is a groom’," Young recalls. "It wasn't something I would normally post. In fact, I nearly deleted it, but something told me to leave it." He saw it. His reply was simple: "I'm here! I'm here!" What followed, Young says, was the beginning of a beautiful love story.

Not long after reconnecting, Young sang him the song she had written half a century earlier. "When I finished, he looked into my eyes and quietly said, ‘How could I not love you,’" she says. "From that moment on, the song belonged to us." The lyrics themselves carry that same plainspoken devotion: "So come and put your arms around me, tell me you love me, tell me you need me, and no one else will ever do. I've given you my everything, and even more, I've opened up my heart and let you in."

Young went on to join him on what would become his final tour before he passed away suddenly from a heart attack. "In an instant, my world changed forever," she says. "I truly believe he was my soulmate. This song is my tribute to him, to the extraordinary love we were blessed to share. I know that one day we will meet again. Until then, I will carry him in my heart and celebrate a once in a lifetime love that not even time can erase."

Written by Young and produced by John Zych, Ann Hunter, and Dennis Nieves, "I Don't Want to Lose You" is released through Bronte Road Music, with a new EP on the horizon. It arrives as both a deeply intimate tribute and a reminder that one of Canadian music's true trailblazers, a woman who shared stages and studios with legends and helped shape an entire era of Yorkville's music history, is still very much writing her story, one unforgettable chapter at a time.

https://www.facebook.com/Cathyyoungtoronto

https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/track/6Socr1AG0kEFGs7CnibABW?si=b9b3c3591b4242c6&utm_source=mistmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1974-juno-award-winner-cathy-young-was-here-all-along-and-now-she-s-back-with-th&nd=1&dlsi=b77021864bbe4f09

Ethan Askey & The Elevators Have Plenty to Say in New Single "Big Bad Bossman" and Soulful Roots and Blues Album 'Outside the Lines'

Ethan Askey & The Elevators release "Big Bad Bossman", the spirited third single from their forthcoming album 'Outside the Lines', out now. The upbeat blues shuffle takes aim at every petty tyrant who ever mistook control for strength. Askey wrote the lyric about a universal figure, any bully or leader whose insecurity and self-regard gets in the way of good living. Anyone can relate to the song about power dynamics and reclaiming your footing, set to a rhythm that refuses to sit still.

While it is the second track in the album sequence, the single is a good entry point for the album as it wears its blues lineage proudly. "Big Bad Bossman" stands squarely in the footprint of blues pioneer Jimmy Reed. Driven by frontman Askey's baritone vocals and tasty harmonica blowing, the song also features Keith Larsen's explosive guitar playing over a locomotive rhythm section of drummer Ben Dunn and bassist Mike Honeyman, who keep the groove rolling.

The songwriting is clean and clever. "You may act the big dog, you may call the shots," Askey sings, before adding with a wink, "but how you do that is the rub, and friction’s all you got". The previous single release (in March 2026), “Zamboni Girl”, is another song written with a sense of humour and fun, and which also manages to pay respect to the blues masters by invoking several by name even though the subject matter of the song relates to ice hockey.

The singles land in good company on 'Outside the Lines', with its eleven original tracks that reach into folk, funk, swing and varying shades of blues. While the song compositions by Askey and Larsen are diverse in texture and delivery, Askey’s thoughtful lyrics have threads running between them all: there are consistent themes of community, honouring others, finding inspiration in people and places, and squeezing life a little for the sweetest juice. His is a voice of someone who’s lived more than a little, reflected a lot, and who cares for others. At his most somber, Askey offers us “Freakshow” (closing Side A of the vinyl release) which he describes as “a meditation on mindfulness in a dark time of doublethink”. Most joyfully, he describes the vibes of an annual roots and blues music gathering on Canada’s west coast in “My Heart Explodes”, with that song dedicated to the late, great Tim Williams.

The album's roots run all the way to the source. A catalyst for the record was a January 2023 Road trip Askey and Larsen made through Mississippi and Tennessee, timed to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, where the two northern souls soaked up dozens of bands, played some music, and reconnected with the spiritual birthplace of rhythm and blues. That journey sparked their songwriting partnership and is captured in the album's earlier single "Clarksdale”.

To finish the album, Askey and Larsen travelled east from the Rockies to Ganaraska Recording Co., the Ontario farmhouse studio owned by Blue Rodeo guitarist Jimmy Bowskill, where multiple JUNO Award winner Steve Marriner came aboard to mix the album and do some of the recording there. In that farmhouse setting, Askey recalls magic happening: “The last time Suzie and Jared and I were together we shared the Baltic Blues festival stage in northern Germany, then at Ganaraska we picked up right where we’d left off”. Venerated root and blues artist Suzie Vinnick and rising talent Jared Sowan contributed powerful vocals to the almost gospel-tinged “Purpose”, a prayer for a life on this Earth. The album title track and closer, “Outside the Lines”, has an entirely different feel from the rest of the album as it was captured at Ganaraska using just two vintage microphones on the stripped-down acoustic trio of Askey, Larsen and Marriner.

This album displays an evolution in songwriting and thematic intent since Askey's 2022 solo debut 'Walk When You Wanna Run', an independent release he created with studio musicians that earned steady radio play and the distinction of spending 150 weeks on the roots and blues charts worldwide. This new album reflects the chemistry of band members who collaborate with the ease of old friends. Ethan Askey & The Elevators may be just out of the gate together, but they carry decades of shared history: Askey, Larsen, Dunn and Honeyman had performed together more than twenty years ago in other bands and on local festival stages before life sent them their separate ways. Now living near one another again, voilà! the band.

https://www.ethanaskey.com/

https://www.facebook.com/p/Ethan-Askey-the-Elevators-100090840564193/

https://www.instagram.com/ethanaskeymusic/

New song by Will Ludford

 

We are pleased to announce the new song by Will Ludford KEEPING MY EYES ON YOU. 

 

More info on his sites:

https://www.facebook.com/bigbuzzardrecords

https://www.facebook.com/willludford/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/38Cggr0Z1Nq1vzeUunVC31

 

LISTEN TO HIM HERE

LIVE STREAM >> HERE

Kamloops Teenage Blues Phenom Jake Soberlak Releases Debut Single 'You Gotta Leave' Ahead of September Album 'I'm In Trouble'

At 17-years-old, Jake Soberlak of Kamloops, British Columbia plays the blues with the authority of someone who has lived inside the music for half a century. Today, the young guitarist, singer and harmonica player shares his debut single "You Gotta Leave," the first taste of his forthcoming album 'I'm In Trouble', arriving September 11, 2026. The song announces the arrival of one of the most compelling young voices working in Canadian blues today.

Soberlak's path into the blues began with a discovery that reached across generations. Digging through a collection of his grandfather's old records brought over from England, he found something scratchy, raw and utterly alive that grabbed hold and never let go. He followed the threads the way devoted blues listeners always have, one name leading to another, one record to the next, building a deep self-education in a tradition more than a century old. B.B. King, Peter Green and Eric Clapton became his teachers. He picked up guitar at thirteen and harmonica at fourteen, and word soon spread through Kamloops that something special was happening.

"You Gotta Leave" is an original Soberlak composition, and its origin offers a window into how completely he has absorbed the form. He wrote the song after hearing "Wine, Whiskey and Women" by Papa Lightfoot, a recording where the vocal sounds as though it is being sung straight through the harmonica microphone. Soberlak set out to write something where he could capture that very effect, channeling a vintage technique into a fresh new song. The result swaggers with confidence, anchored by a piano solo that he counts among his favourite moments on the entire record.

The lyrics carry the plainspoken directness that defines the best of the genre. "You gotta leave now babe go away from my door," Soberlak sings, "it's over now baby I don't want you around no more." There is a knowing assurance in lines like "won't you tell me where you learned to be so cold," delivered by a young artist who understands that the blues was always about connecting to something real and giving it your own honest take.

The single arrives from sessions that honour the way the great records were made. Soberlak cut his debut album at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver with producer and drummer Leon Power, known for his work with City and Colour and Frazey Ford. Power assembled a seasoned band for the dates, with Darren Parris on bass, the acclaimed Darryl Havers on piano and John Raham engineering. Every track went down live off the floor across two days, four musicians playing together in a room, capturing the spontaneity and feeling that the form demands.

For a teenager recording his first album alongside players of that caliber, the experience proved joyful and affirming. "They're all great people and great musicians, and it was so much fun," Soberlak says. He approaches the music with a humility that runs deeper than his years. "Not all blues songs are sad," he explains. "It's really a reflection of life. I like finding songs from the 30s, 40s or 50s, these gems that I really connect with, and I enjoy giving them my own take once I've learned them."

Soberlak has been building his live reputation across Kamloops and the surrounding region one room at a time, and his goals remain refreshingly uncomplicated. "I just want to be playing music and gigging," he says. "That's all I want to do." That clarity of purpose runs through every note of "You Gotta Leave" and points toward a debut album that introduces a genuine old soul finding his voice.

https://jakesoberlak.bandcamp.com/album/im-in-trouble-2
https://www.facebook.com/JakeSoberlakMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/jakesoberlak/

Honeybear, the Band Channels Vintage Soul on New Single "Just Your Fool"

Vancouver-based soul, blues and roots quartet Honeybear, the Band releases its new single "Just Your Fool" out now, a classic blues ballad built around the timeless pull of devotion, even when that devotion may not be entirely returned. The track continues the band's run of vintage inspired storytelling, delivered through the warm, horn laced sound that has become their signature.

“Just Your Fool” has already racked up more than 30,000 streams, proving there's still a strong appetite for authentic, human performances and timeless songwriting. A riff on the classic Slim Harpo tune 'Raining in My Heart,' the song harks back to an earlier era, both sonically and lyrically.

Written by bandmates Colin Brumelle and Ian Beaty and produced by Jeff Zipp, "Just Your Fool" brings together the full lineup, with Beaty on bass and vocals, Brumelle on guitar, Cindy Fairbanks on keyboards and Geoff Hicks on drums, joined by Jerry Cook on saxophone and Jocelyn Waugh on trumpet. The horn arrangement adds a rich, old-school texture to the track, grounding the song's emotional weight in the kind of soul instrumentation the band has built its reputation on.

Formed in 2023, Honeybear brought together four longtime friends and veteran performers who had crossed paths for decades on tours across Canada and down the West Coast. The band's origin traces back to the pandemic, when the group found itself jamming outdoors in parks, running amps and PA systems off jerry rigged motorcycle batteries just to keep playing live music together. That instinct to connect through sound has carried through to every release since.

The band's debut album, 'I Was Wrong,' self released in June 2025 on their own Playmor label, has surpassed eight million streams on Spotify with close to 180,000 monthly listeners, earning placement on official Spotify Editorial playlists including Retro Soul, The New Retro and Best Blues of 2025. The record has also found a home on the airwaves, receiving support from CBC, NPR, CKUA and indie and co-op radio stations around the world.

That momentum has translated directly to the stage, with Honeybear quickly becoming a festival favourite at Rifflandia, Barnside Harvest Fest, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Kitchener Blues Fest, Wapiti and Starbelly, alongside sold-out club dates at celebrated rooms like The Horseshoe in Toronto, the Rainbow in Ottawa and the Ironwood in Calgary. The band's rise has not gone unnoticed within the industry, earning a nomination for a Blues Music Award from the Memphis based Blues Foundation, a Blues Artist of the Year nomination from the WCMA, a spot on the Vancouver Sun's "10 Artists to Watch in 2026," and Roots Music Canada's New Discovery of the Year for 2025.

https://honeybear.band/

The Name Droppers

The Name Droppers are dropping more than names this summer with the release of their new album, “Let’s Live Together,” on HMG Recordings, available now. The band’s last three albums have seen consistent radio play and chart action on blues shows and blues radio across the country and in Europe.

The Name Droppers have a storied history. The Name Droppers were the backing band for legendary Guitarist Charlie Karp who played with Buddy Miles. The band will be performing at the Park City Music Hall in Bridgeport CT July 30th along with another Buddy Miles alumni – Bassist David Hull – who along with Charlie, dropped out of High School to play with Buddy. His career went on to perform with many major artists and his band The Dirty Angels will also be on the bill – giving the audience a night of nostalgic Connecticut Rock and Blues history.

The Name Droppers are guitarist Rafe Klein, who played alongside Charlie Karp for years and co-wrote with him. Drummer Bobby ‘T’ Torello has an extensive career most notably as the drummer for the Johnny Winter band along with Scott Spray who was the bassist for Johnny Winter. On keyboards is Ron Rifkin whose unique style of playing puts him high on demand as a session player.

Their new album “Let’s Live Together,” also features the vocals of Simone Brown who has sung background on the band’s two previous releases ‘Cool Blue Shoes,’ and ‘Starshine.’ Guest performer is the world -renowned musician Crispin Cioe on saxophone - a member of the Uptown Horns, Crispin has toured and recorded with many artists - the Rolling Stones, Peter Wolf, Joe Cocker, James Brown and the list goes on. The album was produced by Vic Steffens, who is a two-time New England Music Awards winner for ‘Producer of the Year’.

The Name Droppers upcoming gigs in Connecticut :

July 23rd Madison Beach Hotel, https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mpecuqq-madison-beach-hotel/
Park City Music Hall on July 30th https://www.parkcitymusichall.com/#/events
July 31st The Rocking Horse, Vernon https://rockinghorsebarandgrill.com/
August 1st , The Wolf Den, Mohegan Sun https://mohegansun.com/
August 15th, The Old Well Tavern, Simsbury https://oldwelltavern.com/
For more info on the album, tour dates and tickets www.thenamedroppers.net
Video for the single, ‘Let’s Live Together’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc9HFv4IX5U&t=1s

LISTEN TO ONLY THE NEWEST!

 

 

JAM 66 RADIO BRINGS YOU THE NEWEST ROCK, BLUES AND BLUES ROCK!

Playing only new blues/rock bands! Every day, lots of new groups and songs added to the playlist on the radio!

 

Listen at https://jarnanz.wixsite.com/jamradio , hear with your favorite player or download the app. See links in the right column.

 

LIVE STREAM >>  https://eu4.fastcast4u.com/proxy/jam66?mp=/1

 

ENJOY ONLY THE NEWEST on JAM 66 RADIO!

Crystal Shawanda Honours Raul Malo With Soulful Cover of "Come Unto Me," First Single From Upcoming Album 'Homesick Indian Blues' + Announces Canadian Tour

 

JUNO Award-winning powerhouse Crystal Shawanda releases "Come Unto Me" today on all streaming platforms, a heartfelt cover of The Mavericks classic and the first single from her forthcoming album 'Homesick Indian Blues'. The recording carries deep personal meaning for Shawanda, serving as a tribute to Raul Malo, the Mavericks' famed frontman, whose early support helped launch her career.

The story reaches back to Shawanda's earliest days in Nashville, when she and her band played for tips in the back room upstairs at Tootsies on Broadway, a room reserved at the time for acts the industry had given up on. Performing a mix of pre 1975 country, blues and rock and roll, Shawanda’s group built a devoted following among the songwriters, artists and producers who came to watch, Malo among them. "We never bothered Raul when he came in," Shawanda recalls. "We could see he was trying to lay low."

That changed the night of her RCA Records showcase, when Shawanda looked up and saw Malo in the crowd. His presence meant everything to a young artist who admired him precisely because he never fit the country music mould. "That support, that interest, it inspired me and encouraged me," she says, calling it one of the breadcrumbs that told her to keep going. When The Mavericks reunited years later with Eddie Perez joining the lineup, Shawanda and her husband, producer and guitarist Dewayne Strobel, began dreaming of one day collaborating with the band whose records had shaped them both.

That dream took on new urgency when the couple began working up "Come Unto Me" just before Malo's passing in December 2025. Strobel encouraged Shawanda to carry the song forward as a tribute rather than set it aside, and invited Perez to be part of the recording. Perez accepted, contributing electric and acoustic guitars and backing vocals, and personally walked Shawanda through his parts on the track. "I was like a little kid, so nervous and excited," she says of the session, describing Perez sharing stories of his years alongside Malo.

Malo himself once explained that the song drew inspiration from the film King Kong, the idea that even a giant can be rendered vulnerable by love. Shawanda has embraced that same spirit in her version, delivering the material with the commanding, full throated vocal power that has defined her blues catalogue for over a decade, set against the Tex Mex textures of a Flamingo Pink Stratocaster that Strobel acquired directly from Perez. "My husband and I have lived these words," Shawanda says, "and I think that really shines through in this track."

Born and raised in Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Shawanda signed with RCA Nashville in her early twenties and released 'Dawn of a New Day' in 2008, the highest charting album by a full blooded Canadian Indigenous country artist in the SoundScan era. She became the first Indigenous woman to win the Canadian Country Music Award for Female Artist of the Year in 2009, before shifting fully into the blues, a run that has produced JUNO wins for 'Church House Blues' and a Billboard Blues Chart Top 10 debut with 'Midnight Blues.' Her most recent album, 'Sing Pretty Blues,' topped the Indigenous Music Countdown in 2025 and earned JUNO and Canadian Blues Music Award nominations. In 2012, she founded New Sun Records, the first female and Indigenous owned record label in Canada, which she continues to run while mentoring emerging Indigenous artists.

Crystal Shawanda Tour Dates:

July 31 @ 10:00 AM, Wikwemikong Park Centre, Wikwemikong, ON

August 6 @ 7:00 PM, Red Arrow Brewing Company, Duncan, BC

August 8 @ 6:30 PM, Maffeo Sutton Park, Nanaimo, BC

August 15 @ 6:00 PM, Berczy Park, Toronto, ON

August 29 @ 8:00 PM, Massey Fair, Massey, ON

September 5 @ 8:00 PM, Playland Amusement Park, Vancouver, BC

September 11 @ 6:00 PM, Port Credit Memorial Park, Mississauga, ON

September 12 @ 5:30 PM, Badlands Amphitheatre, Drumheller, AB

September 26 @ 7:30 PM, Palais Montcalm, Québec, QC

September 27 @ 3:00 PM, Lakefield United Church, Lakefield, ON

January 16, 2027 @ 8:00 PM, Italian Cultural Centre, Thunder Bay, ON

January 18, 2027 @ 7:30 PM, Dryden Regional Training and Cultural Centre, Dryden, ON

January 21, 2027 @ 7:30 PM, Townshend Theatre, Fort Frances, ON

Molly Johnson Announces New Album 'Talk to Me' Out June 26

 

 

Recognized as one of Canada’s greatest voices, Molly Johnson announces her new album Talk To Me, arriving June 26 via Universal Music Canada. The 10-track project combines music from Johnson’s recent All I See and Long Time Running EPs with four new recordings, including lead single “Holiday,” out now, further showcasing her unmistakable voice and continued artistic evolution.

Across the album, Johnson collaborates with artists from across generations of Canadian music, including JUNO Award-winning rapper Haviah Mighty, rising producer and artist CUBE, and Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo. The result is a deeply collaborative body of work that blends soul, jazz, R&B, and rock through Johnson’s singular artistic lens.

At the heart of the album is “Talk To Me,” a call-and-response collaboration with Haviah Mighty centred around listening, dialogue, and connection across generations. Pairing Molly’s signature vocal style with Haviah’s sharp lyricism, the track reflects a meaningful exchange between two distinct voices and perspectives.

“What does a 67-year-old woman and a 21-year-old kid have in common? A real love of great music,” says Johnson about working with producer and artist CUBE. “I really believe we need to listen to younger voices, and I feel so excited that I get to be part of this new generation of music. The future looks bright to me.”

The album also features Johnson’s stirring interpretation of The Tragically Hip’s “Long Time Running,” recorded with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo. First released in 1991, the song remains a defining piece of the Canadian musical canon, here reimagined with a sense of intimacy and reverence that honours its enduring legacy.

“This has been a long time coming,” says Johnson. “I’ve always wanted to record a duet with Jim. We’ve been friends for years, so to finally collaborate on a song by our beloved The Tragically Hip feels like real magic.”

Across the album, Johnson is joined by her long-time collaborators, including Davide Di Renzo, Mike Downes and Robi Botos, whose enduring musical partnership remains central to her sound. New recordings including “Holiday,” “Happy,” “Sunday Morning,” and “Just As Bad As You” further expand the album’s rich and deeply collaborative musical world.

Talk To Me will be available June 26 via Universal Music Canada.

Canadian Blues Music Awards Crown First-Ever Winners at Landmark Toronto Gala

The Canadian Blues Music Awards made history at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, crowning the first-ever winners of Canada's new national blues recognition programme across 16 competitive categories. The inaugural gala brought together the finest performers in Canadian blues for a landmark celebration that was more than an awards show. It was a statement about the depth, diversity, and resilience of blues music in this country.

The evening's biggest winner was Brandon Isaak, who took home Electric Blues Recording of the Year, Blues Song of the Year for "Walkin' With The Blues," and Blues Guitarist of the Year, all for his album 'Walkin' With The Blues.' Steve Marriner claimed Blues Producer of the Year for his work on three recordings: 'Hear My Heart,' Big Dave McLean's 'This Old Life,' and David Gogo's 'YEAH!' Sue Foley won Acoustic Blues Recording of the Year for 'One Guitar Woman, A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar.' Crystal Shawanda took Female Blues Vocalist of the Year for 'Sing Pretty Blues,' while Marcus Trummer claimed Male Blues Vocalist of the Year for 'From The Start.' Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne won Blues Keyboard Player of the Year for 'Ooh, Yeah!', and Ollee Owens was named Emerging Blues Artist or Group of the Year for 'Nowhere to Hide.'

The Canadian Blues Music Awards is a fully independent, incorporated national not-for-profit organization built from the ground up with a mandate to govern, develop, and operate Canada's premier blues recognition programme. Initially formed in spring 2024 by Brant Zwicker and Cindy McLeod, the CBMA Governing Committee spent more than a year in extensive research, national consultation, and programme development before incorporating as an independent organization. All artist category awards are decided exclusively by a jury panel of industry professionals drawn from a national pool spanning radio, print, labels, engineering, production, promotion, academia, associations, festivals, and venues. "The Canadian Blues Music Awards represents a complete overhaul," said Quisha Wint, Chair of the Toronto Blues Society. "A whole new programme created to serve the Canadian blues community with greater transparency, fairness, and unity from coast to coast to coast."

Lifetime Achievement honours were presented to five foundational contributors to Canadian blues: Amos Garrett, Bobby Dean Blackburn, Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, Russell Jackson, and Tim Williams. The gala also featured live performances from Steve Marriner, Crystal Shawanda, Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, Brandon Isaak, and Dana Wylie of Secondhand Dreamcar, with host Danny Marks opening the evening. The after-party featured sets from emerging artist nominees Glenn Marais and The Mojo Train, Ollee Owens, JP LeBlanc, and Secondhand Dreamcar.

The Canadian Blues Music Awards are now established as the gold standard of blues recognition in Canada, a programme built on transparency, coast-to-coast representation, and a genuine commitment to the music and the people who make it.

2025 Canadian Blues Music Awards Winners:

Emerging Blues Artist or Group of the Year

Ollee Owens (Ollee Owens: Nowhere to Hide)

Blues Song of the Year

Brandon Isaak: Walkin’ With The Blues (Walkin’ With The Blues)

Acoustic Blues Recording of the Year

Sue Foley: One Guitar Woman, A Tribute to the Female Pioneers of Guitar

Electric Blues Recording of the Year Brandon Isaak: Walkin’ With The Blues

Blues Producer of the Year

Steve Marriner (Steve Marriner: Hear My Heart; Big Dave McLean: This Old Life; David Gogo: YEAH!)

Female Blues Vocalist of the Year

Crystal Shawanda (Crystal Shawanda: Sing Pretty Blues)

Male Blues Vocalist of the Year

Marcus Trummer (Marcus Trummer: From The Start)

Blues Guitarist of the Year

Brandon Isaak (Brandon Isaak: Walkin’ With The Blues)

Blues Keyboard Player of the Year

Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne (Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne: Ooh, Yeah!)

Blues Harmonica Player of the Year TIE

Guy Bélanger (Guy Bélanger: Postcards from London)

Steve Marriner (Steve Marriner: Hear My Heart; Big Dave McLean: This Old Life; David Gogo: YEAH!)

Blues Horn Player of the Year

Jerry Cook (Wailin’ Walker: All Fired Up)

Blues Drummer of the Year TIE:

Jim Casson (Davis Hall & The Green Lanterns: Canboro Canborough)

Sylvain “Sly” Coulombe (Chambers DesLauriers: Our Time To Ride)

Blues Bassist of the Year

Jasmine Colette (Blue Moon Marquee: New Orleans Sessions)

Blues Video of the Year

The Harpoonist: Show Me The Green (Did We Come Here To Dance)

Blues Industry Person of the Year TIE:

Bruce Morel (Morel Music International)

Ken Simms (Think Tank Music Network)

Lifetime Achievement Recipient

Tim Williams

Fan Favourite Award for Blues Artist or Group of the Year

Blue Moon Marquee

Kathreen Halloran

 

Seems like forever since Australian guitarist/songwriter Kathreen Halloran released her debut single "Free With Me", which was November 2024. Kathleen has now recorded a full length debut album, which is due for release on the 8^th May 2026. As a pre-release for the album Kathleen has release her 3^rd single from the album, "Showstopper" which is a moody blues rocker, with a killer chorus.

 

Kathleen Halloran is one of Australia’s most compelling new voices.

 

A Melbourne-based guitarist, singer-songwriter and composer, she has spent years on stages and in studios across the country, earning a reputation built on genuine musical authority — commanding audiences with presence, confidence, and power. She’s a shredder.

 

Her sound carries the confidence and firepower of decades of guitar greats before her, while remaining unmistakably her own. As she prepares to release her debut body of work, Halloran arrives fully formed — undeniable, uncompromising, and built for the stage.

 

 https://open.spotify.com/album/5tHGfsEe6l5qNT1jWMZ8Jx

 

 

LISTEN TO HER HERE

LIVE STREAM >> HERE

Suede Aces

 

So straight off the bat a very young group of musicians decide that rather than hit the world with a bunch of singles, we`ll hit folks with our debut 51 minute album. So Suede Aces are a 5 piece 70`s retro band from New Jersey over in the USA, that original came together in 2021, but have recently had a couple of new members join. Fronted by the female powerhouse that is Lily Slix the band are forging a killer live band, playing with the likes of Steven Adler`s Guns N Roses, Slaughter and Rachel Bolan of Skid Row. The band wanted to share their opening track from the album "Fool" for folks to hear on the radio, hoping it shows they`re a kick ass rock n roll band.

Suede Aces – Band Biography Rooted in NJ, Suede Aces is a hard rock and blues band—fusing gritty soul, intricate musicianship, and raw emotion into a sound that hits as hard as it moves. Drawing from the classic power of Led Zeppelin and the vocal soul of Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin the band crafts music that’s both timeless and forward-thinking. At the heart of Suede Aces is vocalist Lily Slix, whose journey began in childhood, following in her father’s footsteps—a lifelong musician. By age nine, she was recording in studios, and by thirteen, performing live with the confidence and intensity of someone twice her age. Her voice is bold, soulful, and full of intent—anchoring the band’s sound with passion and purpose. Brothers Darrin Bell and Tommy Bell grew up playing together from the moment their father handed them their first instruments. Their lifelong musical bond translates into a seamless onstage chemistry and a sound that’s both tight and explosive. Darrin’s guitar playing blends blues-rooted riffs with a flair for melodic intricacy, while Tommy brings hard-hitting energy and rhythmic drive grounded in classic rock tradition. Gareth “Gort” Odendaal joined the band in late 2025, devoting his talent and passion to playing bass. Jamming for years by himself and with friends, he never found the chance to play live. That’s until he joined Suede Aces. In January 2026, he played his second show ever at the legendary Stone Pony, showing that success is about hard work and soul, not having played a certain amount of time. Jerry Reaves joined SUEDE ACES in 2026 as rhythm guitarist, bringing a lifetime of playing experience and deep classic rock influences that further strengthen the band’s dynamic and layered sound. Since forming in 2021, Suede Aces has built a name for themselves on the live circuit, known for powerful, no-frills performances that hit home. They opened for Steven Adler of Guns N’ Roses and Slaughter at the iconic Starland Ballroom, shared the stage with Rachel Bolan of Skid Row at The Stone Pony - a standout moment that added fuel to the band's momentum. With one foot in the roots of rock and the other in its evolving future, Suede Aces is carving their own path—loud, honest, and unmistakably real.

 

 https://suedeaces.com/home

 

 

LISTEN TO THEM HERE

LIVE STREAM >> HERE

Brass Camel-Everybody Loves A Scandal

 

 

A bit later than planned, as Daniel took off for the weekend and forgot to share the latest and somewhat strange new single from Brass Camel "Everybody Loves A Scandal". I guess I shouldn`t really say strange as this is Brass Camel after all and they`re Canadian. Plus compared with another musical phenomenon recently, Brass Camel are quiet normal. Anyway here`s the latest track from the bands 3rd self titled album, which I believe is just around the corner from release date, April 15th.

Performed by:
Daniel Sveinson - electric guitar/vocals
Curtis Arsenault - bass/vocals
Aubrey Ellefson - keyboards/vocals
Wyatt Gilson - drums and percussion

“We release our third album, "Brass Camel" on April 15th. This album was written shortly before hitting the road to support "Camel" last year and we recorded the bulk of it while on tour, at Chalet Studios in Uxbridge. Recording at this pastoral studio with our good friend Kevin Comeau (of Crown Lands) acting as engineer and co-producer was a tremendously fun process. The studio is located on a farm and the rural environment, with big plate glass windows in the live room offering natural light and views of thunderstorms along with various examples of Ontario's flora and faura, made for a great atmosphere. The album is anchored in bed tracks which were all recorded live in a room together, performances kept intact in the mixing process which result in a raw feel to the album. It was a pleasure bringing Terry Brown (Rush producer/mixer, engineer on Axis: Bold as Love) on board to mix the album. The album covers more ground than the first two and we hope you'll dig it more with each spin!”

https://www.brasscamel.ca/

VERY SOON YOU CAN LISTEN TO THEM HERE

LIVE STREAM >> HERE

Bluestronica

 

"I started playing guitar at fourteen, and music has been part of my life ever since. Over the years I’ve been active in many parts of the European blues scene — as a musician, DJ, producer, promoter, label owner and collaborator.

Bluestronica brings together the different sides of that journey: blues roots, electronic grooves, recordings, collaborations and the music that shaped my path.

My musical roots are firmly in the blues, but traditions stay alive by evolving. Technology, electronic grooves and modern production approaches can give roots music new energy.

Bluestronica explores that space where blues feeling and electronic grooves meet — guitars with beats, old recordings inspiring new creations.

Over the years I’ve been involved in touring, recording and releasing music, both on stage and behind the scenes. Live performances, studio work and long-term collaborations have taken me to countless venues and festivals across Europe.

All those experiences, influences and connections now come together here, in Bluestronica — alongside artists, labels and projects that form part of a wider ecosystem of kindred spirits.

With every playlist, remix or collaboration my aim remains the same.

https://blues-tronica.com

 

VERY SOON YOU CAN LISTEN TO THEM HERE

LIVE STREAM >> HERE

Artur Menezes Releases Blues-Driven Single “Not Today”

 

 

Fresh off his performance at Lollapalooza in Brazil - as the only blues rock artist in the lineup - guitarist, singer, and songwriter Artur Menezes announces the release of his new single “Not Today,” arriving April 11 on all digital platforms. The track is the second single from his upcoming independent album and showcases the bluesier side of the record while still pushing into modern and groove-driven territory.

“Not Today” explores the struggle of trying to stay sober while life keeps knocking you down. The lyrics follow the cycle of holding on, falling off, and starting over again, capturing the tension between determination and vulnerability. It is a song about resilience, setbacks, and the constant fight to move forward.

Sonically, the track draws inspiration from the hypnotic, loop-driven grooves of R. L. Burnside, combined with driving percussion, heavy slide guitar, and influences ranging from Johnny Winter to Beck. The result is a gritty, groove-heavy track rooted more directly in blues traditions than some of the heavier and more psychedelic tracks on the upcoming album, highlighting another side of Menezes’ sound while maintaining the raw energy and modern edge that define his recent work. Menezes’ vocals are strong, raspy, and full of character, carrying the emotional weight of the lyrics while the band locks into a deep, hypnotic pocket.

The single was produced by Pops Magellan, whose production approach continues to play a key role in shaping the sound of Menezes’ upcoming album, helping push the music beyond traditional blues into heavier and more contemporary territory while keeping groove and feel at the center of the music. She also plays bass and handles programming. "Not Today" also features Aaron Haggerty on drums, Randy Emata as mixing and tracking engineer and Fili Filizolla on mastering. 

The upcoming album is a fully independent, DIY release, reflecting Menezes’ commitment to artistic independence and creative control. With these new releases, he continues to push beyond traditional blues boundaries, blending heavy guitars, groove-driven rhythms, and psychedelic and alternative influences, expanding the genre into new territory and reaching audiences beyond the traditional blues world.

Born in Brazil and based in Los Angeles for the past decade, Menezes recently became a U.S. citizen and continues to build strong international momentum following major festival appearances, international touring, and a growing global audience.

VERY SOON YOU CAN LISTEN TO THEM HERE LIVE STREAM >> HERE