We’re thrilled to bring you this exclusive #CMPremiere of Nice Horse’s brand new video for “Mansplainin’,” the latest single from the high-energy country-pop outfit’s LP, There Goes the Neighbourhood. It’s no coincidence that we’ve launched the video for this feminist anthem on International Women’s Day (March 8th), or that the band tapped director Lisa Mann and a crew predominantly comprised of women to shoot it.

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Longtime Canadian Musician contributor Jeff Gunn sits down once again with Mark Pelli, guitarist & keyboardist with reggae-infused pop outfit MAGIC!

Guitarists who have experienced major mainstream success in pop bands often have musical interests that go beyond their band’s sonic profile. Mark Pellizzer, more commonly known as Pelli by his muso friends, is one such musician. A Juno Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, Pelli performs guitar and keys with Magic! and has written and co-produced songs for artists including Shakira and Classified. Here, Pelli reflects on his intimate approach to acoustic guitar in songwriting and live performance.

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Longtime Canadian Musician contributor Jeff Gunn speaks with busy L.A.-based guitarist Dru DeCaro (Miguel, Jay Z) about all-things acoustic guitar.

If you’ve attended any of Grammy Award-winning artist Miguel’s energizing shows, or happened to score a ticket to the latest Jay-Z 4:44 Tour, or better still, caught a pop-up L.A. performance by space-faring rock band Falconry then you’ve seen Dru DeCaro in action.

Decked in white like a modern-day guitar saint, his onstage presence captures the essence of rock ‘n’ roll while contributing unlimited vitality to whichever show he may be performing.

It was during a coffee break on a day of recording at DeCaro’s LP House Studios in LA that the two-time Grammy-nominated guitarist (he co-wrote and co-produced songs on Miguel’s Kaleidoscope Dream and Wildheart) revealed that he has always felt an intimate connection to his acoustic guitars.

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Big Little Lions’ upcoming album, Alive and Well, is the duo of Helen Austin and Paul Otten’s most cohesive project to date, delivering their signature pop/folk shimmer and irresistible rhythms with a new lyrical edge inspired by the polarity of our world. In this exclusive #CMPremiere, you can stream this compelling collection in its entirety a few days ahead of its official release.

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SiriusXM Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA), has announced the launch of its Top of the Country competition, offering a national platform exclusively for emerging Canadian country artists. The cross-Canada search will give participating acts a chance to play at Canada’s biggest country music festivals, industry mentorship programs, a SOCAN songwriting camp in Nashville, and more, plus the grand prize of $25,000 and a SOCAN songwriting camp in Pender Island, BC.

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Submissions are now being accepted for Canadian Music Week’s Startup Launch Pad, which is a pitch competition for new businesses that are based in or connected to the music industry. The deadline for submissions is March 19, 2018.

The competition will take place during this year’s CMW conference on Wednesday, May 9th at the Sheraton Centre Hotel.

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Slaight Music has announced the launch of the It’s Your Shot songwriting and artist development competition. The contest, which is open to all musical genres, encourages Canadian artists to submit a song/and or video to www.itsyourshot.ca for a chance to win a grand prize valued at $100,000 in total. The It’s Your Shot competition is one of the many initiatives put forth by Slaight Music, a company focused on discovering, developing, inspiring, and supporting Canadian recording artists.

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Showcase submissions are now being accepted for the 2018 BreakOut West Festival, which are taking place from Oct. 10-14 in Kelowna, BC. Submissions close on March 21, 2018.

All performing festival artists must be residents of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon and/or the Northwest Territories, for at least six months between January 1, 2017 and March 21, 2018. The mandate of the Western Canadian Music Alliance is to support artists and companies who reside in Western Canada a majority of the time and as such contribute to healthy and thriving music communities in the region. In the case of groups, 50% of the members must meet residency requirement.

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Known for their innovative and seamless fusion of tradition folk instrumentation and energetic modern rock, B.C.’s Shred Kelly have produced their most ambitious offering to date with their fourth LP, Archipelago. In this exclusive #CMPremiere, we’re bringing you the brand new video for the album’s second single, “Don’t Ever Look Back.”

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Sing in the shower? Most everyone does it. Record a track in the men’s room with nearly 50 of Canada’s most celebrated musicians? That is definitely one for the history books.

And history they made as Alan Doyle, Jim Cuddy, Sarah McLachlan, Ed Robertson, Colin James, Barney Bentall and many more of Canada’s top musicians came together to cover Spirit of the West’s “Home for a Rest” in honour and support of frontman John Mann and his battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Performing and recording as part of a benefit in John’s honour at the Commodore Ballroom in November 2017, the resulting video and song sit at the helm of a GoFundMe campaign to assist the 55-year-old singer in his extensive care for the devastating degenerative disease. 100% of the proceeds from the sales and streaming of the new release will go to the John Mann Trust Fund. (more…)