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Canadian Country Summer Round-Up 2022 by Roman Mitz

Canadian Country Summer Round-Up 2022 by Roman Mitz
Hot Fun Country Summertime Sounds to Round Up the Summer of 2022 Singer-songwriter Riley Taylor pictured above, has just released his debut single, “Good Things.”  The 24-year-old, hailing from Burton, New Brunswick, grew up surrounded by music from a young age. His influences from the country classics being played on his uncle and grandfather’s guitars at bonfires are apparent in his... Read More

Sass Jordan – Still Alive & Well

Sass Jordan – Still Alive & Well
Sass Jordan can be a little bit sassy. Calling to talk about her terrific new album “Bitches Blues”, the free-spirited Sass is not averse to dropping the occasional colourful adjective in order to make a point, and she often punctuates the conversation with her extremely infectious high-pitched laugh. Her new album can almost be considered part two of 2020’s “Rebel... Read More

High Valley – Way Back & Way Cool.

High Valley – Way Back & Way Cool.
Have a little faith. This may well be the signature catchphrase of High Valley, the country band which originated in a small Mennonite community in Alberta and is now based in Nashville. Family values have always been an integral part of the band’s music and this remains an important underlying theme on their latest album ‘Way Back’.  Lead singer Brad... Read More

Ronnie Hawkins Remembered  

Ronnie Hawkins Remembered  
Ronnie Hawkins and ME Writer Roman Mitz by Roman Mitz Ronnie Hawkins was an enigma. He was a good ol’ boy from Arkansas but when he pulled on his cowboy boots and hit the stage he became a premier rockabilly shouter and self-described “matinee idol.” Ronnie passed away at age 87 but he leaves more memorable moments than most people... Read More

Spring Country Round-up  

Spring Country Round-up  
Gord Bamford’s “I Ain’t Drunk” featuring celebrated Canadian country star Terri Clark By Roman Mitz Spring is a time of rebirth so we’ll begin with the rebirth of Gord Bamford’s album “Diamonds In A Whiskey Glass” in an expanded Diamond Deluxe Edition. Spring is a time of rebirth so we’ll begin with the rebirth of Gord Bamford’s album “Diamonds In... Read More

Hailey Whitters – Raised On Country Sunshine

Hailey Whitters – Raised On Country Sunshine
You can take the girl out of the cornfield, but you can’t take the cornfield out of the girl. Hailey Whitters represents small town America at its finest as she hails from Shueyville Iowa, population 731. The singer/song writer has just released a new album called “Raised” and like Hailey herself, the record is steeped in the culture of the... Read More

Amanda Jordan – Everything’s Coming Up Roses

Amanda Jordan – Everything’s Coming Up Roses
by Roman Mitz Smith Falls native and Nashville transplant Amanda Jordan has been on a pretty wild ride as of late. The country chanteuse released the singles “Pretty Girl” and “Love You To Pieces” in March and August of 2021. It ended up being a breakout year for Amanda which saw the two songs amass over half a million streams... Read More

Roman Mitz’ Open Spaces – Country Holiday Wrap 2021!     

Roman Mitz’ Open Spaces – Country Holiday Wrap 2021!     
Petric End-of-year music releases are typically few and far between, but this year we’ve seen a plethora of country recordings from both emerging artists and go-to favourites. This may be due to the fact that performers are preparing to hit the road again now or in the New Year, and they need some new product to trot out before the... Read More

Lee Aaron – Rocks Out With Radio On!

Lee Aaron – Rocks Out With Radio On!
Multi-platinum, award-winning vocalist Lee Aaron is back with “Radio On!”, a collection of 12 brand new original songs that continues to build upon this rock legend’s legacy. Lee has gone through several incarnations as a performer, dealing heavy metal thunder on her mid-eighties classic “Metal Queen”, crooning jazz with the best of them on “Slick Chick” from 2000, and then... Read More

Bruce Allen Joins Forces With Music Express – 45th Anniversary Edition – Part Two

Bruce Allen Joins Forces With Music Express – 45th Anniversary Edition – Part Two
Bruce Allen, the Godfather of the Canadian Music Industry – Photo by Dee Lippingwell by Roman Mitz This is Part 2 of The Music Express’ 45th Anniversary Edition, with founder, editor-in-chief Keith Sharp Part 1 is available here …“Bruce Allen was really upset that the phenomenal debut album by Loverboy, a band he managed, was not even nominated for Best Group or... Read More

45 Years of Music Express Magazine: Building A Legacy – Part One

45 Years of Music Express Magazine: Building A Legacy – Part One
by Roman Mitz What a long strange and wonderful trip it’s been. It seems appropriate to paraphrase this album title when describing the history of Canada’s most enduring magazine, Music Express, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this month. The wonderful part of the trip begins with the magazine’s impressive reach as it is the only contemporary publication in the history... Read More

The Road Hammers – Back At It

The Road Hammers – Back At It
Roman Mitz – Open Spaces An undeniable staple in Canadian country rock since 2004, The Road Hammers (singer/guitarists Jason McCoy and Clayton Bellamy, and bassist Chris Byrne) have had six Top 10 hits and nine Top 20 singles, amassed over 25 million streams and collected five CCMA Awards and one Juno Award along the way. After a two-year hiatus, the... Read More

One Ugly Cowboy – Making Beautiful Noise

One Ugly Cowboy – Making Beautiful Noise
By Roman Mitz – Open Spaces Up and coming Toronto-based country-rockers ONE UGLY COWBOY are a relatively new band but the quintet is steeped with experience, and it shows on their latest album “Ride With The Wind”. The group is fronted by dynamic vocalist Jane Sowerby and her axe-wielding soul mate Richard Zwic, who has written and worked with several... Read More

Hourglass – Murray McLauchlan’s Timely New Album

Hourglass – Murray McLauchlan’s Timely New Album
 by Roman Mitz Murray McLauchlan has one heck of a resume. The renowned singer/songwriter is an 11-time Juno Award winner and an Order of Canada recipient who has authored a bestselling autobiography, hosted CBC Radio’s Swinging On A Star, and starred in Floating Over Canada, a recurring CBC/PBS TV special which followed Murray, a licensed bush pilot, across the country... Read More

Tim Hicks – Campfire Troubadour

Tim Hicks – Campfire Troubadour
Tim Hicks – Photo by Dustin Rabin By Roman Mitz While Tim Hicks is known for his raucous live shows and the party atmosphere surrounding them, his evolution as a performer had humble beginnings, as he charmed bar patrons nightly with a vast repertoire of solo acoustic material designed to please a crowd. His latest EP, “Campfire Troubadour“ pulls from this model, reimagining... Read More

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar – Little Bit ‘O Soul

Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar – Little Bit ‘O Soul
Samantha Martin is a musical chameleon.  She first showed off her soulful vocals on her 2004 EP entitled ”Fade”, followed in 2008 by her terrific full-length debut album ”Back Home”, which contained her loving tribute to Janis Joplin fittingly entitled “Pearl”.  Samantha then took off in a rootsy-rockabilly direction for the eponymously titled Samantha Martin & The Haggard in 2012... Read More

Jess Moskaluke Gets Intimate

Jess Moskaluke Gets Intimate
On her brand new album “The Demos” Jess Moskaluke bares all, figuratively speaking, as she includes stripped-down versions of three of the tracks to pull back the curtain on the songwriting process. The record also contains the full studio renditions of those songs, plus a handful of new recordings that have all of the bells and whistles. Jess worked virtually with... Read More

PETRIC’s Prairie Flashbacks

PETRIC’s Prairie Flashbacks
With over 14 million online streams and eight charting singles, including three Top ’20s, PETRIC has made quite the statement since forming back in 2014. The Winnipeg country trio, comprised of brothers Tom and Jason Petric, along with long-time friend Jordan Day, have just released their first full-length album “Flashbacks”.  The new record is really a mix of flashbacks and flash-forwards, as... Read More

Molly Johnson’s Cool Yule Record

Molly Johnson’s Cool Yule Record
Molly Johnson – Photo by Chris Nicholls Photography It seems fitting that our chat with Molly Johnson takes place the day after the legendary Canadian songstress’s annual Christmas cookie baking session. Her new EP “This Holiday Season” evokes festive images that are as pleasant as the smell of gingerbread and macaroon treats wafting from the oven. “The cookies turned out... Read More