Midland, Ontario’s Opeongo, also known as Keegan Trumpour, has returned with a new single, “maybe maybellene,” written as a love song to a man that he loves infinitely – his late, great friend, Liam Steffler.

“maybe maybellene” is a stark, earnest folk number which centres around Trumpour’s evocative lyrics, blending optimism and the reality of addiction. “Ain’t we here after all?” Trumpour sings as slide guitar and gentle drums join him. 

Singer-songwriter Daniel James McFadyen began his musical journey by playing at small, bustling pubs in and around the Annapolis Valley. After touring Nova Scotia extensively in 2019, Daniel’s music began to gain publicity and popularity. His upbeat and captivating storytelling mixed with his interactive performances has made him a crowd favourite across the province.

Daniel’s debut album “August, I’m Yours” was released earlier this month. 

“On this fog filled morning, the smell of leaves fill your throat, I saw you leaving you took your bag and you took your coat” 

These are Daniel’s favourite lyrics from the album. He expands below:

“I think that these lines sum up the feeling of the end of summer. There’s a new smell in the air and everything feels a bit crisper. You can start to see your breath and there’s a sense of abandonment. Summer always goes by so quickly in Canada and you always feel that you didn’t take advantage of the time you had.”

BUD is a solo project that was started by singer/songwriter, Omar Elkhatib, in his hometown of Waterloo, Ontario. At a glance, BUD can be described as a happy-go-lucky approach to reviving the charm of rock n’ roll, whether that be metaphorically and sonically.

The groovy and tight take on rock that is “Nowhere” was influenced by a huge identity crisis that Omar had upon moving out away from home for the first time. 

Reflecting on the situation in the wider world too, “Nowhere” asks instead of being jaded, how can we make it a better place for ourselves and others?

Toronto punk-rock quartet Sham Family are loud in all the right directions and pure-heartedly ambitious in several other “right” directions you haven’t thought of yet. The forced break that was 2020 gave the band time to labour away in their practice space, honing in on and perfecting their sound.

Hostile new single, “This Blue Mob,” is a seething anti-police screed written in the wake of the George Floyd murder. It’s a protest song that calls out cops for what they are – a dangerous mob. 

Watch share the official music video, a cheeky play on copaganda, via YouTube now.

My sophomore EP was inspired by really dark times in 2020 when I went into a cocoon of loneliness and self-pity. When I emerged, I had 117 in my hand and a renewed sense of self.

“who i am” started out as a journal entry that I wrote during the lockdown. I was feeling very isolated, as we all did. More than that, I realized that on some level I had always felt that way. Like the people in my life that were closest to me didn’t actually know me very well, and in this song I come to terms with the fact that moving on from these relationships was a very real, and very scary, possibility.  

Hear “who i am” and 117 below.

I want you to know the real me. This is the most honest I’ve ever been in my music, and the most true to myself. These songs are written about things that I wasn’t able to say out loud until I got to know myself a little better. I have a theory that you find a new version of yourself every 7-10 years, and 117 is your introduction to that person.

Ben Sures is a storyteller. On his poignant, natural-sounding acoustic tenth album, The Story That Lived Here, the Edmonton-based songwriter, guitarist and author sings stories told to him by friends and fans and songs written by his own heart – including “End Of The World.”

This track is an earnest folk song, buoyed by gentle mandolin and strings, which captures Sures’ acceptance of the new reality which we experienced at the onset of the pandemic.

Sures combines lighthearted nihilism with bemused empathy and a self-awareness that brings hope and comfort.

Ben Sures shares:

“When things started to shut down and everyone was washing their groceries spring before last and things felt very uncertain, I was hovering between the hell and the humour of it. 

I started to consider what was important to me and if there was anything I really wanted if this was the end of the world – ooh I thought, a cinnamon bun would be nice and with a plague looming who’s thinking about calories?.

So began the writing of my new single, “End Of The World,” which charts the initial reaction of panic through to an acceptance of the new reality we have been experiencing throughout the last couple years.

This song is taken from The Story That Lived Here, a collection of stories collected from conversations with friends and strangers, as well as from my own heart and imagination..

I have tried to tap into those things we feel but don’t get off our chest, so by the concluding lines of “End Of The World,” I decide to ‘spill the beans’.

Enjoy this bit of lighthearted nihilism.”