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 music. Riley celebrated the release of “Good Things” from the stage at the Boots & Hearts kick-off party in Oro-Medonte. Years of hard work gigging across the Maritimes, writing and practicing his craft, earned him a single release through Warner Music Canada in the summer of 2022.
Multi-Platinum, record-setting group The Reklaws (sibling duo Jenna and Stuart Walker) are back with a brand new track. Give it a listen here Hay is for Horses. The nostalgic love song is timed perfectly for Jenna, who recently walked down the aisle. The duo couldn’t think of a better time to release a track that honours the innocence of falling in love with your best friend. Coming off their first Canadian festival show of the year at Festival Country Lotbinière in Quebec and an incredible performance at their first CMA Fest in Nashville, The Reklaws have a jammed-packed summer across the country with shows already announced for several cities, including Swift Current, SK, Fort McMurray, AB and London, ON. For a full list of shows, check out www.thereklaws.com.
Nothing hits home like a song about the one you grew up in. For Madison Kozak, her brand new self-penned release Loud House is that song. It paints a detailed portrait of her experience as one of eight kids in a house filled to the brim. While there is tenderness to it, Madison doesn’t sugar-coat her upbringing, including a nuanced look at how families don’t always get along.
“I grew up in a household with seven brothers and sisters, and with that came a combination of bitter and sweet moments that we had living under one roof,” she reminisces. “When I moved from my hometown in Ontario to Tennessee at 14, I was in such a rush to chase the Nashville dream that the homesickness didn’t set in until a few months later. It eventually really weighed on me all that I was leaving behind. “Loud House” is sort of my coming of age story, growing up in a big family and the big feelings that come with leaving home for the first time.”
“Feelin’ hot, hot, hot.” Oh yeah, that’s how you’ll feel when you give a listen to the new single by One Ugly Cowboy, (OUC) a scorching cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire.” It’s hard to believe the Man in Black recorded the song 60 years ago, and it’s even harder to imagine how well the song is transformed from a mariachi-horn-driven, mid-tempo number into a balls-to-the-wall rocker. Guitarist Richard Zwic lays down some serious riffs while “Hurricane Jane” Jane Sowerby takes the song into the stratosphere with her soaring vocals. You can catch the OUC opening for Honeymoon Suite at the El Mocambo on August 11. Listen to “Ring Of Fire.”
Bailieboro Ontario’s Jade Eagleson has just released his latest single, Shakin’ In Them Boots, on the heels of his #1 song from earlier this year, “She Don’t Know.” Fueled by a leading up-tempo fiddle and classic dobro licks, “Shakin’ In Them Boots” brings the energy of Eagleson’s live show to speakers across the country. “This is a fun one,” says Jade of the new single. “There aren’t a ton of up-tempo songs out there that have country roots like this, which is why I knew we had to put it out. The band and I are loving playing this one ‘live,’ and it’s been great seeing the fans react to it in such a big way already.”
Third-generation singer-songwriter and bona fide country music blueblood Kelly Prescott is bringing fans to “Cloud 9” with the release of her major label debut EP. The five-track Cloud 9 runs the gamut from 70s soul to modern country to a bit of pop, representing just a fraction of Prescott’s musical scope. In the lead-up to this release, Prescott has been bringing her one-of-a-kind voice straight to the people as she’s crossed Canada on tour with Canadian country music superstar Dallas Smith. On the album, Kelly says, “It was escapism for me. I was feeling so down, as were many of my peers, when we realized that we were the least essential workers on the planet. I wanted something that made me feel good, and that’s where this EP came from.”
Fast rising country artist Shantaia continues her upward trajectory with her latest single, “Hung Over You.” Currently living in Nashville, Shantaia is writing with some of the biggest writers in Music City, playing milestone shows including The Listening Room Cafe and Whiskey Jam, and working on bringing her new music to the next level. Of the new release, Shantaia shares, “I like to call this song my ‘Sad Girl Summer Bop.’ And it’s one of the most fun videos I’ve ever shot. My director, Ryan Nolan, had the idea to show me in two locations or moods. One is where I’m at home sad and heartbroken, and in the chorus, I’ve kind of teleported to my bar self, where I’m masking my heartbreak with all of my bad habits.”