Nova Scotia songwriter Carleton Stone is an award-winning artist with a growing list of credits, and a founding member of the hugely successful Port Cities. An outstanding writer, Stone has written songs for, and with, diverse artists as Ria Mae, Matt Andersen, The East Pointers, Donovan Woods, Classified, Bobby Bazini, and Neon Dreams.

His latest single, “Fences,” is an anthem for the down-but-not-out romantics; an epic modern love story that unfolds in soaring fashion on the wings of poignant piano and glowing synth. Driven by a relentless beat, Stone guides us through the timeline of a fractured relationship.

When the final notes of the song’s climax ring out, there’s still no resolution, but most great love stories never end—they just transform. “Fences” provides a balm for the broken-hearted who aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.

The new track, co-written by Kayleigh O’Connor, owes its ecstatic soundscape to a team of musicians and studio wizards with musical prowess including Todd Lumley (Alan Doyle, Hawksley Workman), Loel Campbell (Wintersleep, Billy Talent), Corey LeRue (Neon Dreams, Ria Mae), and Colin Buchanan (Paper Lions). 
Stone added producer to his list of accomplishments with both Willie Stratton’s award-winning Drugstore Dreamin’ and his own self-produced album, Papercut, which was nominated for the MNS 2023 Pop Recording of The Year and the ECMA 2023 Contemporary Roots Recording of the Year.

Originally from London, UK, LTtheMonk had an eclectic musical upbringing that set him off on a journey to becoming a musician himself. Dance is also an intrinsic part of LT’s toolkit, with bantamweight Gene Kelly-meets-James Brown footwork and immaculate sport socks both indelible signatures of his persona as an entertainer. Melding all of his influences, LT aims to fuse dance music with hip-hop and pop, to create his own unique sound. 

The focus track “Reminder” from new album Uptown Intern #333 is inspired by childhood love, a first crush that no matter where you go in life, you can’t leave behind. Physically, LT describes seeing beautiful Canadian and American women that remind him of his first love back in South London, England, but metaphorically, the concept is all about that first love being the key to one’s childhood, maybe a true self that one left behind when entering adulthood. Remembering that love is meant to be a reminder of one’s true self, of keeping that childhood spirit and purity alive, no matter where you go.Uptown Intern #333 is musically inspired by the Uptown Sound, a sound defined by the New Jack Swing style that blended hip-hop, R&B and pop music, and was invented and popularized by Teddy Riley and Andre Harrell at Uptown Records in the late 80s and early 90s. Lyrically, the album tells the story of “The Intern,” the child with a love of music so pure he’ll do anything to see that love realized. Uptown Intern #333 tells the story of The Intern as he embarks on his journey Uptown, traveling through the sounds and the eras, to find his own New Monk Swing.

The Syncopation Rebels are the supergroup comprised of the artists Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Martha and the Muffins, John Orpheus, Sam Casey and Alex Exists, who have come together to record a special version of “Sound And Vision” by David Bowie. 

“The artists in the Popguru musical community have always thrived on collaboration. It’s in our DNA,” says Popguru Sound & Vision founder Graham Stairs. “To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company, we decided to record a version of Sound And Vision by David Bowie. Not only is it a great song by a great artist, but the company’s name is a tip of the hat to the song’s title.”

After the song was chosen, the first person brought into The Syncopation Rebels project was producer Mike Schlosser. He had already worked with a number of Popguru artists including John Orpheus, Sam Casey and Alex Exists. The next people invited were Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Martha and the Muffins who have been great resources to the younger artists. The objective was to involve experienced and emerging artists from the roster.

“Over the years, Popguru has brought me together with many talented people to collaboratively write and record songs,” says Martha Johnson of Martha and the Muffins. “…It felt great to be recording the song with the whole group at Revolution Recording as well as shooting the video in an evening of exuberance at the CNE. After the years of isolation, it was so exciting to be all together singing and dancing our hearts out.” 

Recently announced, Mark Gane of Martha and the Muffins is one of this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees for “Echo Beach”.

Over the past 15 years, Graeme Cornies has been lucky enough to work on more than 40 TV shows and has contributed to more than 1000 episodes of television with his writing partners at Voodoo Highway Music and Post. The last five years have brought multiple awards from both SOCAN and BMI – recognizing his musical reach both domestically and internationally. Recently, Graeme has been releasing electronic-pop music under the moniker Kodiak Arcade.

The new Kodiak Arcade song, “Another Summer,” asks a question that people often ask themselves: Once the infatuation of a new relationship fades and the spell of newness has worn off, can the relationship bloom again and again over time? Even after you’ve been in a relationship for a long time, that question remains – can we keep falling for each new version of one another as we grow? 

“It sometimes strikes me how irrational it is for me to ask anyone to stay with me longterm if I can’t even guarantee who I will be in 10 years,” Graeme explains about the inspiration for the song. “And it’s the same in reverse. It takes some irrational faith to commit to another person to the point where you are building a life together, to say, ‘No matter who we become as individuals, I will try to love that next version of you too, even after a million minor disagreements, the grind of work life, bills, laundry and groceries.’”

Fake Shape is an experimental band from Hamilton, Ontario. They settle in between a melange of eclectic influences—a little indie rock, some solid jazz flow, and even the odd twang in the vocals. Chester Edington (guitar and vocals) states that “through actively practicing collaboration we [David Baldry (keyboard, synthesizer and flugelhorn), Olivia Brown (bass and vocals), and Mackenzie Read (drums)] are able to write better music.” The resulting music works together as a whole, not in one voice or instrument on the surface, but in juicy layers of well mixed and deeply felt meaningful music. 

Their latest release is “Black Bear,” one of their favourite songs to play live, so Fake Shape sought to capture that same level of intensity and energy. Temperamental and expansive, they wanted to bring attention to the space in between the lyrics and allow the sound to develop. Baldry’s trumpet solo shines, supported by Brown and Read’s instrumentals, and is further complemented by an undercurrent of super fuzzed feedback which creates an uneasy kind of crazed feeling. 

Acclaimed Los Angeles-based band The Americans released their latest video or “Land of the Free,” from the intricate new EP, Strays, today.

“Land of the Free,” is a powerful anthem about homelessness. With a Tom Waits-crooner opening, featuring piano and upright bass, the song falls into a dreamscape of rolling rhythms and shimmering electric guitars. “O’er the land of the freeways,” sings frontman Patrick Ferris, “and the home of the strays.”

The video is a powerful and poignant piece that sheds light on the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles. The video opens with a haunting melody and scenes of people living on the streets, capturing the harsh realities of life without a stable home. Through evocative imagery, the video paints a vivid portrait of individuals from diverse backgrounds who have found themselves in the clutches of poverty and homelessness, highlighting the often unseen struggles faced by those living on the margins of society. As the music intensifies, the video doesn’t shy away from the harsh truths of the issue, but it also portrays moments of resilience and hope, reminding viewers of the strength and humanity that persist in the face of adversity.

The Americans’ “Land of the Free”  is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged exploration of a pressing social issue. The video’s raw and honest portrayal of homelessness, coupled with the band’s compelling performance, makes “Land of the Free” a thought-provoking and socially conscious work of art that strives to make a difference by raising awareness and advocating for change.

Both “Land of the Free,” and Strays is an impressive demonstration of the band’s ability to reinvent rock & roll through the prism of early folk and blues. Patrick Ferris (vocals/guitar), Zac Sokolow (guitar), and Jake Faulkner (bass) deliver an album that lands somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Nathaniel Rateliff. Over the last several years, they’ve backed Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams, Ashley Monroe, and Devendra Banhart, and joined Ryan Bingham on four national tours. They worked closely with Jack White and T Bone Burnett, joining Nas, Elton John, and Alabama Shakes in the PBS/BBC primetime series American Epic. They have appeared on The Late Show (CBS), and their music was featured in the films Texas Killing Fields, A Country Called Home, Little Glory, and the TV series No Tomorrow.

“Land of the Free” by The Americans is not just a music video; it’s a rallying cry for change and a testament to the power of art to shed light on crucial social issues.