Category: Open Spaces

By Roman Mitz Colin James has won six Juno Awards, including one for Best Blues Album for his ‘National Steel’ LP.  He’s also received 20 Maple Blues Awards from the Toronto Blues Society, both for his solo offerings and the work he did with his swing outfit Colin James & The Little Big Band. With so much blues blood running through... Read More

by Roman Mitz Vancouver’s Shawn Austin is an overnight sensation. It’s just that it took him over ten years to become one. Shawn was slugging it out in the city’s bar circuit when a stroke of luck brought him to the attention of country superstar Dallas Smith, who signed him to his Steelhead Music label. Shortly thereafter in 2017 he... Read More

by Roman Mitz Jimmy Rankin’s new album is called “Moving East” because that’s exactly what he’s done. He’s moved back to Nova Scotia after living and working in Nashville. One of the most famed Canadian songwriters who is known for his work with The Rankin Family and as a solo performer, Jimmy wrote such classic Rankin hits as “North Country”... Read More

by Roman Mitz The past few months have been a real whirlwind for The Reklaws, comprised of siblings Jenna and Stuart Walker (for the uninitiated, Reklaws is their family name, Walker, spelled backwards). The duo, who grew up in Cambridge, signed a record deal with Universal last year and they promptly scored a summertime hit with the effervescent “Hometown Kids”.... Read More

by Roman Mitz Alberta-based Nice Horse provides one of the best country music values of the summer as they take to the Northern Comfort Saloon stage at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto from August 31 to September 2. The show is free with CNE admission so just order up a tall boy or two and enjoy the sweet sounds... Read More

“I’m on Highway 401 coming out of Trenton, which was a parking lot, and right now I’m doing about two kilometres per hour.” Canadian country icon Charlie Major is on the road providing a report on the traffic conditions that have already added about an hour to his travel time enroute to Toronto’s Budweiser Amphitheatre. He’s taking the stage to... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces “It takes a whole lot of medicine for me to pretend I’m someone else” is a line from the Randy Newman song ‘Guilty’ rendered most famously by Joe Cocker. In the case of their new EP ‘20 Dollars In My Pocket’, Toronto duo The Lovelocks are not trying to pretend their someone else, but... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces ‘Gonna stomp our boots till the neighbours call the cops’. The opening line to Tim Hicks’ latest single “Loud”, and one of a dozen songs you’ll find on his new release “New Tattoo”, gives you a great indication of the wild ride that’s in store for you. The song is about tearing it up... Read More

                                                               by Roman Mitz                   The success of Canada’s most accomplished songwriters, composers and music publishers is being celebrated at the 29th annual SOCAN Awards on June 18 in downtown... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces Vancouver country trio The Heels were not always The Heels. They started out as the The Heals, thus the play on words of their debut album title, ‘Love, Heels’. Two-thirds of the group, Kyla Rawlins and Brittni Dominelli, had just ended difficult relationships and music was the catharsis that saw them through the hard... Read More

                          The Country Music Association of Ontario Awards (CMAO’s) were held on June 3 at London’s Centennial Hall and once again a great time was had by all. This was largely due to the fact that the event was again hosted by the charismatic lead singer of the Road Hammers, Jason McCoy. Ever-engaging and entertaining, McCoy, a two-time CCMA... Read More

Over the years there have been a lot of artists known to make music for the masses. In the 50’s Hank Williams Sr. sang about the trials and tribulations of the common man in songs like ‘Honky Tonkin’ and ‘Lost Highway’.  Thirty years later Bruce Springsteen connected with the blue collar crowd through reflective numbers like ‘My Hometown’ and ‘Badlands’,... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces Paul Brandt is the most awarded male Canadian country artist in history. His 1996 debut certified Gold album “Calm Before The Storm” went on to sell one million albums internationally, propelled by the #1 single and wedding classic “I Do”. His subsequent 11 career albums have spawned hit singles, multiple Album of the Year... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces It has been quite the whirlwind year for Stuart Walker and his sister Jenna, better known as The Reklaws on Canadian country radio. Last summer they signed a record deal with Universal and they promptly scored a Top 20 hit with the effervescent ‘Hometown Kids’. Now they have followed that up with a three-song... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces Open Spaces had the good fortune of recently catching a set in Toronto by Castlegar B.C. native Lisa Nicole. Lisa has a strong set of pipes which she aptly demonstrated on songs from her recent CD ‘Come Find Me’, and on well-chosen covers like Martina McBride’s ‘When God-Fearin’ Women Get The Blues and the... Read More

by Roman Mitz for Open Spaces How often do you find a country record that features guest performances by legendary Grand Ole Opry star Charley Pride and Megadeth guitarist Dave Mustaine? That would be a pretty rare bird indeed but Brett Kissel, the winner of four 2017 Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA’s) including Best Male Artist, likes mixing things up... Read More

by Roman Mitz, Open Spaces This has been quite a year for fans of Canadian Country Music. Veteran performers like Dean Brody and transplanted Scot Johnny Reid continued to make their mark, with Brody taking the 2017 Canadian Country Music Association’s (CCMA) Fan Choice Award while Reid released a fine new soulful album called Revival. While it’s great to see... Read More

                                                               “There’s always a high and lonesome song that keeps on pushing me along.” This line from the title track and lead single of Meghan Patrick’s latest album Country Made... Read More

Kentucky singer/songwriter Carly Pearce is still in a state of semi-shock. The previous evening she performed songs from her week-old debut album ‘Every Little Thing’ at a listening party in a downtown Toronto club. Accompanied by only her tour guitarist Nick Scallorn, Carly tore things up with unplugged versions of the hit title track plus four or five other nuggets... Read More