Music News Digest, Aug. 18, 2022

By Kerry Doole

Awards news

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) has announced the final round of presenters and performers to headline the CSHF Gala on Sept. 24 at Massey Hall in Toronto. Grammy-winning singer Olivia Rodrigo will present Alanis Morissette with her induction into the Hall of Fame. As part of the tribute, Juno-winner Alessia Cara will perform in honour of Morissette (NB: Both Rodrigo and Cara are Grammy Best New artist winners). JP Saxe will also be performing alongside previously announced artist Ruby Waters in the Morissette tribute. This year's Inductees to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame are Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, Alanis Morissette, David Foster, and Daniel Lavoie.

– With the official countdown to Country Music Week 2022 in Calgary now on, the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has named the full lineup for the CCMA Songwriters’ Unplugged presented by TD series, with the acoustic performances taking place over three days. The first session, on Sept. 8 at 1 pm (MT) in the Performance Hall @ National Music Centre, will see performances by Jason Benoit, Aaron Goodvin, Nate Haller, Madison Kozak, Mackenzie Leigh Meyer, Tyler Joe Miller, Mariya Stokes and Tim & The Glory Boys. 

Session Two, Sept 9, 4 pm, at same venue, features Don Amero, Kyle McKearney, Griffen Palmer, Meghan Patrick, Kelly Prescott, Owen Riegling, Dave Sampson and Shantaia. The final session is on Sept. 10, 1 pm, at the NMC, and hosts Dean Brody, Kelly Archer, Brad Rempel (High Valley) and Phil Barton, sharing stories and songs. Tix on sale at the NMC.

– Performers have been announced for CCMA House presented by Amazon Music and Alexa, taking place at Calgary’s Palace Theatre on Sept. 9. as part of Country Music Week 2022. The event is free to attend, and RSVPs will be required for entry. Notables on the long list of performers include  Don Amero, Gord Bamford,  Steven Lee Olsen, Tyler Joe Miller, Jade Eagleson , Meghan Patrick, Five Roses, Brad Rempel (High Valley), and Tebey. See the full list and RSVP here.

– The Mississauga Music Walk of Fame has announced Alessia Cara and Don Mills as its 2022 inductees, and they will be honoured at an Induction Ceremony on Sept. 11, at 11 a.m. at Memorial Park’s Gazebo Stage in Port Credit, ON to honour these renowned Canadians with their roots in Mississauga. The ceremony is part of the Southside Shuffle Blues and Jazz Festival. Cara was born in Mississauga and raised in Brampton, while hit producer/songwriter Mills has resided in Mississauga for over 20 years.  

Festivals news

– POP Montreal will run Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 this year, and it has just announced a final round of performing artists. That group includes Tess Roby, Joe Rainey, Isabella Lovestory, Witch Prophet, Ombiigizi, Esmerine, and Sophia Bel, joining a potent cast of previously-announced headliners, including Tortoise, Allison Russell, The Linda Lindas, Cymande, Wayne Snow, Lydia Képinski, and Martha Wainwright. Check the full lineup here.

– The Muskoka Music Festival and Dockside Festival of the Arts return To Gravenhurst, ON, Aug. 19-21, with shows taking place at three venues. Headliner Whitehorse was forced to cancel, with Terra Lightfoot stepping in as a replacement. Other artists featured on a potent lineup include Jim Bryson, Steve Poltz, Matthew Barber, Ahi, Devin Cuddy Band, Caroline Marie Brooks, Alex Pangman, Tania Joy and Shawna Caspi. More info here.

 –The Havelock Country Jamboree was scheduled to run over four days this weekend in Havelock, ON, but was cancelled on short notice, marking the third straight cancellation of an annual fest that once drew as many as 20K attendees. CTV Newsreports that ticketbuyers are unhappy at the news, while organisers say they will address the refunds situation.

Industry news

– Canadian Heritage is offering the Canadian creative industries the opportunity to enter the Australia and New Zealand markets by participating in a virtual exploratory pre-trade mission. The tentative dates for the event are Oct. 25-26. Due to the major time difference between Canada and Australia, the two half-days event will take place in the evening (ET) in Canada (morning in Australia and NZ). This virtual pre-mission will allow participants to get acquainted with Australia and NZ as potential export destinations and make an informed decision whether to apply to participate in the planned in-person trade mission to Australia and potentially NZ, to take place in late winter 2023. 

The program for the virtual pre-mission will include networking opportunities, options for self-booked B2B meetings with Australasian counterparts, as well as presentations from Canadian, Australian and NZ speakers, to inform the participating Canadian businesses of the opportunities in creative industries that these two destination markets currently present. Participation in the virtual pre-mission is free of charge, but places are limited and will be taken on a first come-first serve basis. The completed form (apply here) should be returned to missioncommerciale-trademission@pch.gc.ca no later than Sept. 6.

– The Royal Canadian Mint is launching a special $1 coin celebrating late music legend Oscar Peterson. The one-dollar circulation coin was unveiled at a Toronto event on Aug. 11, with attendees including the jazz pianist’s widow, Kelly Peterson, and daughter, Celine Peterson. Pianist and composer Thompson Egbo-Egbo paid tribute to Peterson with a special performance. The winner of numerous Juno and Grammy Awards over his 60-year career, Peterson was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame before dying of kidney failure in 2007 at the age of 82. 

– The deadline to book accommodation for the Contact East conference at a special rate at Hotel Halifax has been extended to Aug. 31. Book here. The event runs Sept. 22-25 in Halifax. 

– Creative Manitoba is seeking additional members for its volunteer Board of Directors. If interested contact Executive Director Thom Sparling via email with a brief and concise write-up about what you can offer as a member of the Board. The deadline to submit is Sept. 2.

– The just-announced Nova Scotia Music Week Travel Bursary Fund is a subsidy intended to help offset the cost of travel and accommodations for artists and bands/groups performing at NSMW that are not eligible for FACTOR showcase funding.To apply, click here. Music Nova Scotia, with support from the province, is providing $30K over the next three years to the fund.

Artists

– In a surprise appearance from Rush, the group performed the classic Closer to the Heart with Matt Stone and Primus at South Park the 25th Anniversary Concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Aug. 10. The 25th Anniversary Concert features South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone taking the stage to perform songs from the show’s 25-year history. They were joined by Primus, Ween, and other special guests. Watch the concert for free here or on Paramount+.

 – Drake has officially broken The Beatles’ Billboard Hot 100 record, which they held for 55 years, USA Today reports. Drizzy now has more songs on the top five hits list in Hot 100 history than any other artist thanks to his recent collaboration with DJ Khaled and Lil Baby on the hit Staying Alive. Drake broke his 29-song tie, now 30, with The Beatles. That band last charted with their 1970 hit The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue, according to Billboard Monday. “Ok I broke my records for the month,” Drake wrote on Instagram Monday acknowledging the milestone. On his Instagram, Drake posted a photo of a plate that read: “Just another celebration.” He also holds the record for most top 10s, 20s, 40s and overall Hot 100 entries, with Staying Alive extending the title, reports Billboard.

– Canadian rapper bbno$ has announced Singapore and Australia tour dates set to take place this Sept. and Oct. His headlining shows in Sydney and Melbourne accompany his run of appearances at all four days of the upcoming Listen Out festival, taking place in four different cities in Australia. The rapper will perform in Melbourne on Sept. 22 and Sydney on Sept. 27. bbno$ released his sixth studio album  Eat Ya Veggies last Sept.  Source: NME 

– Acclaimed Toronto roots singer/songwriter Julian Taylor has released Wide Awake, a new single from his sophomore solo album coming in Oct. The single is out on Howling Turtle/Warner Music Canada, and is available on all major platforms. Check Taylor's gigging schedule here.

– Veteran indie-rockers Universal Honey recently released a new single, Is This The Real Thing? The band's principals, Leslie Stanwyck and Johnny Sinclair, made a mark in one incarnation of The Pursuit of Happiness, and are both active with another band, the roots-accented Tucker Lane. 

– Canadian rock faves Sloan play the Stockey Centre in Parry Sound, ON, on Aug. 26. An Aug. 22 show by Bruce Cockburn at the same venue is sold out. Get Off The Bus Concerts has both gigs. Sloan releases a new album, Steady, on Oct. 21. 

– Toronto punk band Silverstein is about to embark on its next run with co-headliners, The Amity Affliction. Beginning August 25 in Phoenix, AZ at the Marquee Theatre, the band will visit over 25 cities across North America, including stops in Los Angeles, Chicago,  Atlanta, Philadelphia, and more before wrapping up with a hometown showon Oct. 2 at History. Tix for the tour are available now here. Silverstein released their latest studio album, Misery Made Me, this past May via UNFD.