Corb Lund: Home On the Range

July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 Roman Mitz

Corb Lund 2020 – Photo by Noah Fallis The song “Home On the Range” may as well have been written about Corb Lund. A rural Albertan hailing from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with a long family lineage of ranchers and rodeo people, Corb is about as authentic as they come. Before his stint with his band the Hurtin’... Read More

Dion – The Blues Wanderer

June 22, 2020June 27, 2020 Roman Mitz

“Dion DiMucci knows how to sing and he knows just the right way to craft these songs, these blues songs.” This quote is taken from the liner notes of Dion’s terrific new album “Blues With Friends” and, as endorsements go, you couldn’t get a better one as the sentiment comes from none other than Bob Dylan. Most folks are familiar... Read More

Glen Washington – Still Having The Time Of His Life

May 25, 2020 Roman Mitz

This month Open Spaces ditches its cowboy hat in favour of a Red Stripe cap, as we were fortunate enough to speak with Reggae superstar Glen Washington, who’s recording some new tracks in the south of France. Specifically, he’s at the renowned Irie Ites studio in the Pays De La Loire region, about two hours south-east of Paris. The studio... Read More

Kelsi Mayne – Catch A Rising Star

April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 Roman Mitz

Kelsi Mayne – Photo by Darren Eagles by Roman Mitz Open Spaces is not the gambling type but were it a betting page it would be inclined to place a large wager on Windsor native Kelsi Mayne winning the Rising Star trophy at this year’s Country Music Association of Ontario Awards (8th Annual CMAOntario Awards). You see, Kelsi has just... Read More

John Prine: 1946 – 2020

April 8, 2020April 9, 2020 Roman Mitz

Photo of Music Express Author Roman Mitz with wife Julie, and John Prine at Ontario Place ’90 by Roman Mitz I always liked John Prine’s music, but it took his passing away from symptoms of COVID-19 to realize just how much he impacted both music fans and musicians all around the world. The outpouring of grief, fond memories and heartfelt... Read More

Sass Jordan – Deals A Dose Of Rebel Moon Blues

March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 Roman Mitz

by Roman Mitz Sass Jordan is something of an enigma. The Birmingham England native relocated to Montreal at a young age and grew up in what was a burgeoning 70s music scene which included a no holds barred approach to glam, punk and progressive metal. There was no better musical place to be at the time and this was the backdrop... Read More

Tim Hicks – Gonna Wreck This Town

March 5, 2020March 26, 2020 Roman Mitz

The Stray Cats sang about tearing up the town on their 1981 hit ‘Rock This Town’. On ‘Wreck This Town’, the first number on Tim Hicks’ new three-song EP ’Wreck’, he picks up the pace ten-fold and basically levels the place. The song simply flies out of the gate with a driving rhythm that brings to mind ‘Bang, ‘Bang’, the... Read More

Country Round-up with Brett Kissel, Karli June, Jason Blaine, Don Amero and Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion, and more

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020 Roman Mitz

Brett Kissel As we make our way out of the traditional winter freeze of new releases, a couple of recent recordings have made a splash on streaming services beginning with Brett Kissel’s latest album “Now or Never”. Last year was a huge one for Brett, who won the JUNO Award for Country Album of the Year and earned the Canadian... Read More

Madison Kozak: The Next Big Thing

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 Roman Mitz

Madison Kozak has had a terrific year. The budding country star signed a deal with U.S. record label Songs & Daughters (a subsidiary of Big Loud Records), made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry, recently released three radio-friendly singles and was selected by Nashville’s Country Music Network to be a member of CMT’s Next Wave of Country, Class of... Read More

Jason Benoit – Country From The Rock

October 28, 2019October 28, 2019 Roman Mitz

To coin one of Willie Nelson’s signature lines, Jason Benoit can’t wait to get on the road again. Actually Jason is already on the road, travelling from his home in Newfoundland to Southern Ontario then on to Alberta, where he is playing a string of dates with his fellow Canadian country troubadours and good buddies, The Washboard Union. Jason will... Read More

Johnson’s Creek – Making A Splash

October 4, 2019October 5, 2019 Roman Mitz

The first song on Johnson’s Creek’s self-titled debut EP is ‘Light Up The Honky Tonk’, and when the boys drop an early reference to Hank Jr.’s ‘A Country Boy Can Survive’, you get the picture of what they’re all about. The group proudly declares itself to be the purveyors of ‘redneck rock’, and they wrote all of the tunes and... Read More

Don’t Mess With Meghan Patrick

September 6, 2019September 5, 2019 Roman Mitz

Alongside Kasey Musgraves and Ashley McBride, Meghan Patrick is among a handful of fiercely independent women that are blazing new trails in country music. Born and raised in Bowmanville Ontario and now residing in Nashville, Meghan has honed her singing and songwriting skills to a tee and the results are proudly on display on her latest recording, the six-song EP... Read More

Sizzling Summer Country Round-Up by Roman Mitz/Open Spaces

August 2, 2019August 4, 2019 Roman Mitz

Well, it’s been a real scorcher of late and things also seem to be heating up in terms of new country releases, available right now on all of your favourite music platforms. The hottest of the hot right now appears to be Matt Lang who’s self-titled five-song EP is sitting on top of the Canadian Country charts. The singer, who... Read More

Chad Brownlee – Back In The Game by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019 Roman Mitz

Chad Brownlee – Back In The Game by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces For Chad Brownlee, the title of his new EP ‘Back In the Game’ says it all You see the singer/songwriter has been pretty low-key since his last musical offering in 2016. It’s been a time of reflection for the singer, and this led directly to major changes... Read More

Austin Jenckes – The Voice That Roared by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces

June 2, 2019June 2, 2019 Roman Mitz

When Austin Jenckes wrapped his gravelly pipes around covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’ and The Bee Gees’ ‘To Love Somebody’ during season five of the television series ‘The Voice’, you simply knew you were hearing someone special who would soon be on the radio with original material. The only thing you did not expect was that it would take... Read More

Open Spaces: Dean Brody – A Fresh Dose of Country

April 27, 2019May 3, 2019 Roman Mitz

“I don’t try to stand out. I just do because I’m a little weird or unorthodox in the way I approach music.” Dean Brody is explaining why his music is not like most of the stuff you hear on country radio as his numbers seem to come from a very different place. The singer definitely marches to the beat of... Read More

Dallas Smith – Number One with Seven Bullets

March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 Roman Mitz

If you want to describe Dallas Smith’s chart success in western terms, you might say that he’s starting on his second six-shooter. You see, the JUNO, CCMA and Music Express Awards – winning artist recently earned his 7th Number One single with “Rhinestone World”, serving as the second consecutive chart-topper from his new EP “The Fall” and sixth consecutive chart-topping single... Read More

Aaron Goodvin – Are You Ready For The Country

February 21, 2019March 5, 2019 Roman Mitz

Aaron Goodvin’s voice is as country as a long stretch of gravel back road in a rural town. While his current single ‘You Are’ starts off with some electronic bleating that makes it sound like it could be a Shawn Mendes record, as soon as Aaron opens his mouth all bets are off. The guy is pure country. His new... Read More

Aaron Pritchett Goes Out On The Town

January 29, 2019 Roman Mitz

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces “It was serendipitous.” Aaron Pritchett is explaining how his song ‘Out On The Town’ was a perfect fit not only for the title track of his new EP but also for the name of his current tour that’s taking him across the country. The Vancouver native kicked off the tour on January 11 in... Read More

‘Tis The Season – New Yuletide Releases

December 21, 2018December 22, 2018 Roman Mitz

As is usually the case for this time of the year, new recordings are few and far between but there are a couple of dandies we should mention. First off, there’s a lovely new seasonal EP from B.C. born and Oakville raised Vanessa Marie Carter called ‘Merry Christmas To You’. On it, she covers ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little... Read More

Category: Open Spaces