News
Danny Marks returns with landmark album Back to the Blues
1+ day, 41+ min ago (340+ words) Danny Marks, one of Canada's most enduring and deeply revered figures in blues and roots music, has released his new album, Back to the Blues. Spanning 13 tracks and drawing on more than five decades of living, listening, and playing, the…...
Blues advocates say awards progress is good but there's more to be done to make things fair for Black artists
1+ week, 2+ day ago (1019+ words) An advocate for equity in the music business says the newly-minted Canadian Blues Music Awards, which held their inaugural edition at the end of March, appear to have evolved in a way that addresses some concerns about fairness involving the…...
Check out Ken Whiteley's performance of "Aberdeen' " and his upcoming shows
1+ week, 3+ day ago (148+ words) Ken Whiteley just celebrated his 75th birthday with a big bash at Hugh's Room Live in Toronto, and now he's released this video for "Aberdeen." It's a one take performance of the Bukka White blues classic. "I learned this decades ago…...
Trailblazing Indigenous cellist Cris Derksen has died
2+ week, 3+ day ago (490+ words) Like many of you, we here at Roots Music Canada are devastated by the news that trailblazing Indigenous cellist and composer Cris Derksen has died at the age of 45 after a motor vehicle collision Saturday in northern Alberta, reportedly after…...
Remembering pioneering Canadian reggae artist Ernie Smith
2+ week, 4+ day ago (804+ words) Music lovers everywhere lost a good friend with the departure last month of Glenroy Anthony Michael Archangelo Smith. He was an internationally famous and widely beloved Jamaican Canadian artist who excelled as both a singer and a songwriter. He was…...
Collingwood's Shjaane Glover Earns Honourable Mention At International Songwriters Day Song Contest With "Effervescence
3+ week, 3+ day ago (214+ words) Southern Ontario singer-songwriter Shjaane Glover has earned an Honourable Mention at the 2026 International Songwriters Day Song Contest for his song "Effervescence." The honour was announced on April 9, International Songwriters Day itself. The contest, which drew entries from Norway, Taiwan, Austria,…...
CBMA winner Ollee Owens announces new album with producer Colin Linden, plus tour dates
3+ week, 3+ day ago (634+ words) Roots Music Canada Ollee Owens is having a year. The Calgary-based blues and Americana artist has taken home the inaugural Canadian Blues Music Award for Emerging Blues Artist or Group of the Year " recognizing her album Nowhere to Hide and…...
Women in folk shine bright at the first ever Wilding Festival
3+ week, 2+ day ago (828+ words) The hills were alive with the sound of music on May 1 in Chelsea, QC. The music came from the first annual The Wilding, an all-woman music festival spearheaded by Ontario folk singer Jessica Pearson. Set at Le Vignoble de Chelsea,…...
Inside Abigail Lapell's personal journey through motherhood on Shadow Child
3+ week, 4+ day ago (516+ words) With Mother's Day right around the corner, singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell is reflecting on the transformative experience that inspired her newest album, Shadow Child." The nine-track record traces the emotional and physical journey of pregnancy, with each song representing a different…...
The Pintos are back in the saddle with new cosmic country single "Studio Rain
3+ week, 5+ day ago (349+ words) Roots Music Canada The Pintos'formerly Matt Paxton & The Pintos'are a Hamilton, Ontario alt-country band that has been gaining international recognition over the past several years for heart-wrenching songwriting, augmented by a distinctive musical chemistry. The quartet comprised of singer/songwriter…...