Introducing Riley Michaels, a rising star in the world of pop/rock. Drawing inspiration from iconic artists such as John Mayer and Prince, Riley Michaels has developed a unique sound that blends the emotional depth of Pop with the infectious energy of Rock. A two-time Niagara Music Awards winner, his music strikes a chord with listeners, touching their hearts and moving their souls.

His song “Doctor, Doctor!” is largely about that person that you know is bad for you to love, but you do it anyway, because you just can’t get over them – no matter how bad they are for you. It’s like drinking coffee – you know it’s not the best thing you can do for yourself, but it’s just too good and you can’t get enough of it. Your body, your soul craves it and you need it to function. 

Though Riley is known for his sappy and emotional love songs, he wanted to make this one a real “rock ‘n roll” groove. This song was a collaboration between Riley and Ryan Guay from the band, Street Pharmacy. 

Custie is an emerging alternative pop artist hailing from London, Ontario. His distinct sound explores pop music as it intersects with singer-songwriter, R&B and alternative music.

His song “ON E, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN” deals with themes related to addiction. Although he hasn’t personally struggled with addiction, it has affected the lives of people close to him. E stands for ecstasy in the broadest sense, and also energy. There’s been this uptick in songs about energy, the cosmic pull of stars and planets, and attributing behaviours and interactions to continuums beyond our capability of understanding. Though Custie doesn’t believe in astrology, he always seems to write romantic things that bring the possibility of it to light.

“‘E’ is an attempt to stylize and leave much of the song up to listener interpretation,” says Custie. “By giving things concrete names, it makes everything very topical. I always like to find a way to have my listeners move with me by presenting a song with a certain kind of allure in mystery. Hence the ‘E’ – it stands for anything you’d like.”

shn shn (she/they) is an electronic experimental pop artist who ventures into the realm of production and soundscapes, immersing herself in the exploration of sonic textures and emotional landscapes. Their music sounds like a blend of lush vocals, meditative beats, and swelling pads, to craft cinematic-inspired music that transcends conventional boundaries. Creating from a space of curiosity, contemplation and care, they question the nature of existence in this bizarre, absurd and exciting world. 

Glimmers are not always loud and boisterous and in your face, sometimes they are subtle. shn shn’s song “Glimmer” represents moments of joy, hope and possibility; which are themes that they explore in their upcoming album. 

“Glimmer” aims to take listeners on a journey that twists and turns as the music unfolds into its different parts. The frosty bells fold over themselves, the whispered vocal delivery invites you in, and the apex where the music beat and bass create a completely different vibe suddenly return you back to the bells from the beginning, always moving in cycles. This song is for fans of Björk’s album, Vespertine. 

Nominated for the 2024 ECMA’s Rock Recording of the Year for debut album Joy State of Mind, singer-songwriter Elyse Aeryn is known for her fiery and rebellious rock and roll. Her bluesy melodies paired with her bold, warm voice make for an authentic and ageless sound. 

The winner of Music Nova Scotia’s 2023 Country Recording of the Year and The Coast’s Best of Halifax Readers’ Choice Award for Best New Artist has a fierce new single, “Cowboy.”

“I was imagining what it would be like to live so boldly,” Elyse offers. “As the chorus started flowing, it hit me that I am stepping into that energy. I don’t want or need anyone to save me. I am the cowboy.”

Hard knocks, dead ends, new beginnings – Elyse writes with heart about the stuff of life. You can practically taste the inner strength and resilience in her rich voice, soulful lyrics, and charismatic guitar riffs.

Balladeer and actor John Gogo hails from a musical family in Snuneymuxw (a.k.a. Nanaimo), on Vancouver Island. He’s best known for writing and performing his folk songs about the people & places, the true and the tall tales of the west coast – the islands in particular. From Haida Gwaii to St. John’s to Old Crow, John has played community halls & big houses, festivals & pubs, theatres and beer parlours.

John produced his 6th LP, Western Balladeer, which is slated for a summer release. Featured with him on his 10 song record are Duke & Goldie, daughter Jeri Gogo, Tyler Lieb, David Essig, Ed Peekeekoot, brother Paul Gogo, cousin Brent Gubbels, Alan Moberg, Tobin Stokes, Rick Scott, Daniel Lapp, Dazy Weymer & Valdy.

Lead single “Larry’s Grandad” is a true and personal story that tells of a time when life was both harder yet simpler. It was inspired by a family story told to John by Larry Glenwright in Riverport, Nova Scotia, who he met while he was on tour in the Maritimes in 2019. Larry told of how his Grandad was a coal miner as a young boy and how he met the love of his life. For John, he was immediately drawn to the charming story and knew it would fit right in with the songs he liked to write. 

There are many places like home. On I Held the Shape While I Could, the 2023 sophomore record from Montreal duo Bodywash, home is a mutable thing; a location that is fixed until it isn’t. Over the album’s 12 tracks, Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter reflect on their separate and shared experiences of losing a sense of place, the way something once solid can slip between your fingers, and their attempts to build something new from the fallout. 

Steward and Long Decter met in college in 2014, but didn’t immediately share a musical language. Working toward their own blend of airy vocals, intricate guitar work and atmospheric synths, Steward’s abstract guitars and Long Decter’s cascading vocals act as the album’s ambient throughlines: blurring the digital and organic, gesturing toward something intangible, just out of reach.

Release Spirit, by the electronic artist Khotin, was in heavy rotation while Bodywash were on the road last year, soundtracking everything from the craggy cliffs of the Pacific Northwest to the dreaded NJ Turnpike, so the duo were keen to have him remix their song, “Kind of Light.”  His version takes the tension and catharsis of the original song and injects it with blissed-out euphoria. It’s a track that’s destined for a sunrise slot in the chill-out room, channeling the West Coast rave psychedelia of Pilgrims of the Mind along with the more ambient influences that informed Bodywash’s last record.