This week: Music PEI Week gets underway, M for Montreal accepts submissions, a survey on caregivers in the music industry and more.
Shubh
Spotify has just announced its first-ever Global Impact List for Canada. This list highlights artists whose songs were in heavy rotation among listeners outside their own countries during the last six months. To nobody's surprise, Drake and The Weeknd are each featured on three of the Top 10 each, while rising global star Tate McRae makes the list with "It’s OK I’m OK"at No. 4.
Less expected is the appearance of Toronto newcomer Chris Grey, who checks in at No. 3 with his viral hit, "Let The World Burn," launched as a background track to many social media clips. Grey's largest international audience is found in cities across Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia. Confirming the international appeal of the Punjabi Wave are Shubh and Raghav who respectively come in with "King Shit" at No. 6 and the Bollywood-fuelled hit "Teri Baaton mein Aisa Uljha Jiya" at No. 9.
Here's the top 10:
Music PEI Week is now well under way in Prince Edward Island. One recommended event is the SOCAN Songwriters Concert, at Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre in Summerside on Match 6 (7.30 p.m. start). The lineup includes Dylan Menzie, Gizmo, Lawrence Maxwell, Noah Malcolm and acclaimed honkytonker Whitney Rose (now based in Austin). The five days of activity culminates in the 24th Music PEI Awards Gala, at the Confederation Centre of the Arts on March 8. Performing there will be Vishtèn Connexions, Dylan Menzie, Hikado and Lawrence Maxwell. Tickets here. See the full list of nominees here.
– The Springtide Music Festival has announced the first wave of artists for the 2025 festival lineup taking place June 12-14 in Uxbridge, Ontario (northeast of Toronto). Folk and roots artists feature prominently in an impressive lineup that includes Juno winners The East Pointers and Quique Escamilla, Reuben and The Bullhorn Singers (led by Reuben and The Dark leader Reuben Bullock), Indigenous shoegazers Status/Non-Status, indie roots-rock veterans Cuff The Duke and The Burning Hell, Casper Skulls, Torrance (led by Tamara Williamson), The Pairs and The Vaudevillian. More artists will be announced later this spring. The festival features both free and ticket events and is helmed by Folk-Roots artist Tania Joy. More info here. Weekend passes are on sale here.
– The M For Montreal Festival is now accepting submissions from artists wanting to showcase there. Apply here. This year, the event runs Nov. 19-25. (Billboard Canada is a presenting partner of M for Montreal.)
Music Publishers Canada (MPC) and the non-profit Women in Music Canada organization are undertaking a needs assessment to explore and identify the specific requirements of the music community related to the demands of caregiving. This survey is meant to be answered by those who currently have caregiver responsibilities and work in the music sector in Canada as well as those who have exited their music careers due to caregiving demands. The survey (here) must be completed by April 14.
– Fresh from its successful recent FAI Conference in Montreal, Folk Alliance International (FAI) is having its Annual General Meeting on March 6, at 2 pm CT, via Zoom. The Board of Directors reviews the last year, and if you’re a voting member of FAI, you’ll receive an email with the agenda, meeting documents, and a Zoom link to join (with the ability to participate and ask questions). Non-members are also invited to join. You can view the live AGM at the appointed time on the FAI YouTube channel.
– Acclaimed Toronto-based company Opera Atelier is marking a milestone 40th anniversary this year by presenting the Toronto premiere of a 17th-Century masterpiece, David and Jonathan, composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The production will run at Koerner Hall’s TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, from April 9-13, and is fully staged and choreographed by Opera Atelier co-artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. Tickets and information at OperaAtelier.com.
It is hard to believe that it has been 40 years since Toronto's much-loved beatnik jazz band The Shuffle Demons took to the streets of their hometown to busk up a storm. They have since earned an international audience for their free-spirited sound, and this week they release a new album, Are You Really Real, on Alma Records/Universal. Original members Richard Underhill and Stich Wynston are joined by other Juno-winning players in the current Shuffle Demons lineup. Over these four decades, the band has released ten CDs and two hit videos and toured nationally and internationally including 25 cross Canada tours, 5 U.S. tours, and 17 European treks. The new album will be launched on March 6 at Hugh's Room Live in Toronto (tickets here), followed by shows at Hotel Wolfe Island, Kingston, March 7-8. Stream the advance single "X Marks The Spot" here.
– Via his seminal band Three O'Clock Train, Montreal singer/songwriter Mack MacKenzie was part of the '80s Canadian roots-rock boom alongside the likes of Blue Rodeo and Jr. Gone Wild. He is still going strong, with that band, as a solo artist and as a full-fledged member of Medicine Singers, the internationally acclaimed Indigenous collective based in the U.S.. MacKenzie is joined by Suzanne Nuttall (ex-Bare Bones) for a double-bill acoustic singer-songwriter tour beginning in Kingston on March 6, with dates in Ottawa, Montreal, Cornwall, London, Hamilton (The Gaba Gaba Gool Club, tickets here), Toronto and Norwood. A full itinerary here.
– On March 21, Hamilton-based rockabilly/roots singer-songwriter Ginger St. James will release her fourth album, Told Ya, out on regional label Busted Flat Records. Renowned for a spirited performance style, St. James has an eclectic sound that draws upon rockabilly, country, blues and early rock 'n roll elements. She plays a hometown album release show at The Mule Spinner on March 22 (tickets here) and has other shows in Guelph (March 8), London (March 14) and Tweed (April 25).
– Emerging Toronto alt-pop singer-songwriter Zoe Ferris has a debut album coming in April, and she has just released a second advance single, "Touch Ground," co-produced by Annelise Noronha. Later this year, Ferris will attend Berklee NYC’s master’s program in music production and songwriting. Check the track out on Soundcloud here.
Metric
Also in the news this week: Joel Plaskett is surprised with a tribute album, Green Day makes a statement at Coachella, AI copyright fears & more.
Trans artists Bells Larsen and T. Thomason are pulling out of U.S. tour dates because of border fears, and the issue is grabbing attention on both sides of the border. That story has grabbed headlines this week, as have Coachella performances, AI backlash and an HYBE crackdown on deepfakes in South Korea resulting in multiple arrests.
Read about those stories and more in our weekly roundup below:
Metric Backs Out of Tour, Citing ‘Sudden Production Decisions' from Team of Co-Headliner Bloc Party
Canadian band Metric has announced on social media that it is backing out of an upcoming tour with English band Bloc Party, but will still play a hometown show with Sam Roberts Band in place. – Canadian Press
Trans Musicians Are Cancelling U.S. Tour Dates Due To Trump's Gender ID Rules
Canadian trans artists are cancelling because of Trump's crackdown on immigration at the border. – Manisha Krishnan, Wired
Toronto Musicians Share Their Favourite Memories From the Dakota Tavern: ‘It Was Like Our Version of a Sunday Service’
Jason Collett, Ed Robertson, Charlotte Cornfield and more on nearly 20 years at the Dakota: “The first Toronto venue where I felt the true magic of time and place.” – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
45th Montreal International Jazz Festival boasts ‘a modern twist’
With the Montreal International Jazz Festival turning 45 this year, programming director Maurin Auxéméry likes to joke that the city’s emblematic summer event is having its mid-life crisis. The city’s flagship festival presents more than 350 shows — from June 26 to July 5. –T’Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette
Canadian Folk and Rock Stars Surprise Joel Plaskett With Tribute Album 'Songs From The Gang'
Arkells, Alan Doyle, Sloan, City and Colour, Jenn Grant, Julian Taylor and many more are putting their spin on the east coast songwriter's vast body of work. – Rosie Long Decter, Billboard Canada
Opera Atelier Co-founders Celebrate 40 years, Onstage and Off
Opera Atelier’s upcoming presentation of baroque masterpiece David and Jonathan at Toronto’s Koerner Hall is cause enough for celebration. The 40th anniversary of the company, co-founded by married joint artistic directors Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg and Marshall Pynkoski is another. – Brad Wheeler, Globe & Mail
After a Harrowing Spiral Into Darkness, Toronto Singer Cold Specks Returns with Breathtaking Comeback Album
Released nearly eight years after mental illness derailed her career, “Light for the Midnight” is a stripped-back soul record that sublimates pain into breathtaking beauty. – Richie Assaly, Toronto Star
Liberal Leader Mark Carney Nails his Nardwuar the Human Serviette Interview
If Nardwuar the Human Serviette truly is, as a wise person once suggested, the “litmus test for humanity”, then Mark Carney just passed with a gold-standard showing. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Stratford Festival Gears Up for New Season Amid Succession Questions
As this year’s Stratford Festival inches closer, two crucial questions are circling: Who will take the top job in Canadian theatre when current artistic Antoni Cimolino steps down at the end of the 2026 season? And what sort of festival will they inherit when they start? – Aisling Murphy, Globe & Mail
Canadian Rock Veterans Headstones Sign To Dine Alone, Release New Single with City and Colour
With this signing, Headstones become labelmates with Dallas Green, who guests on the Hugh Dillon-fronted band's brand new single, "NAVIGATE." Kerry Doole, Billboard Canada
A Fresh(Up) Approach to R&B in Hamilton
Sonic Unyon’s showcases have expanded to include hip hop, soul, electronic and roots performers. The dream is to eventually blossom into a full-fledged summer festival. – Sarah Jessica Rintjema, Hamilton City Magazine
Neil Young, Joan Baez & Maggie Rogers Perform at ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Rally
The moment took place on Saturday (April 12) at the political rally hosted by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. –Jessica Lynch, Billboard
Green Day Change 'Jesus of Suburbia' Lyrics to Make Israel-Palestine War Reference During Coachella 2025 Set
Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong used the band's Coachella debut to make a political statement that had the crowd cheering. – Entertainment Weekly
European Union’s Latest Draft AI Code of Practice Renders Copyright ‘Meaningless,’ Rightsholders Warn
A coalition of creatives including the IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide, said the third draft is “completely unacceptable” as it “undermines the objectives of the AI Act, contravenes EU law and ignores the intention of the EU legislator". – Mandy Dalugdug, Music Business Worldwide
Warner Music Group is Readying Its Superfan App – With Help From Ed Sheeran
Warner Music Group‘s long-promised superfan app is moving closer to reality, with a more sophisticated version now being tested by a select group of users, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. The app recruited Ed Sheeran as its first featured artist. – MBW
Music Can Lift Mood, Foster Community and Even Rewire Brains – But Does It Need to Have a Purpose?
The therapeutic role music can play is the focus of a string of new books and even an entire BBC radio station. But why can’t we just listen to music for music’s sake? Emily MacGregor, The Guardian
HYBE Deepfake Crackdown Sees Eight Arrested in South Korea
Company's CEO pledges 'zero-tolerance and no-settlement policy' over alleged crimes against its artists .– Murray Stassen, MBW
