Music News Digest, Jan. 28, 2021

By Kerry Doole

Billed as the first Canadian hip hop and R&B virtual fest of 2021, Everbloom Virtual Music Festival has announced the lineup of participating Canadian artists. Funded by FACTOR, and organized by Waveland Canada, with support from Music Canada and the City of Toronto, Everbloom will be a 2.5 hour virtual experience on Jan. 30 at 7 pm EST. The festival is free and will be hosted on Happin, a Toronto-based livestream platform. The lineup features Quincy Morales, Gary Beals, Aphrose, Joyia, The Free Label, Del Hartley, Dallas, Kei-Li & HMLT3409, and Osé. Full sked details here soon.

– The first ever International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards will take place in Winnipeg on May 22 and 23, with the winners chosen by the public. Leading the way with four noms (including single and album of the year) are Haisla Nation duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids, followed by David Strickland, a Mi’kmaw and Cree producer. He is up for three awards, among them single of the year for Turtle Island. An international hip hop single category includes artists hailing from the US, Australia and India. The winners will be selected through a public vote running until April 30 on the event’s website. Source: CP

– A reminder that submissions are now open for the 2021 Jim Beam Indie Awards, and will be accepted until Feb. 5.  Learn more and submit here.

– Come From Away’s Petrina Bromley and Phil Churchill of The Once will co-host MusicNL’s 28th Award Show. The show streams  Feb. 7 at 7 pm on MusicNL’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. It features 11 of the province’s top music acts and 10 award presentations including Album, Songwriter, and Fan Favourite of The Year.  MusicNL’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented. Full details here.

– Toronto-born rapper/actor Connor Price is already grabbing plenty of attention with his new single, Courteney Cox, thanks to the presence of A-list actor Idris Elba (Thor, Luther) on the track. A very amusing video (below) was released yesterday, and it features both TV star Courteney Cox (Friends, Scream) and Elba, alongside Price. Nick Krewenhas the story in the Toronto Starhere.

– The Calgary Folk Music Festival’s annual Block Heater event goes virtual this year. The lineup features local and Canadian artists, plus performers from the US, Mexico and Ireland. Notable names include Damien Jurado, Lisa Hannigan, and Valerie June. The fest runs Feb. 16 to 20 on two "digital stages," with shows being free or PwYC. More info here

– The 2021 edition of the SXSW Music Festival has announced a new batch of showcasing artists for the event, held virtually from March 16-20. Canadian artists featured include Holy Fuck, Paul Jacobs, and TEKE:TEKE, while M for Montreal hosts a showcase. More details here

– Music industry charity Unison Benevolent Fund (UBF) welcomes Donald Robins, Promotion Representative, Québec, Warner Music Canada as the newest member of the UBF Board. Robins joins 2020’s newly appointed Board of Directors including; Jully Black, Erin Ashley Lowers, Sandy Pandya and Mark Watts. See the full list of the UBF Board of Directors for the 2020-2021 fiscal year here.

– Albertan singer/songwriter/guitarist Lindsay Ell performs a fundraising live-streamed concert on Feb. 1, with all net proceeds donated to Crew Nation and other beneficiary organizations soon to be announced. She’ll feature songs from her acclaimed sophomore album heart theory for the first time ever in a concert experience produced by Fireplay. Tickets,  based on a pay-what-you-can model, are on sale now and available here.

– The trial of Hedley's former lead singer Jacob Hoggard, has been pushed back to 2022 due to the virus. Hoggard, who pleaded not guilty at his preliminary hearing to sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual interference, was initially set to be tried in Toronto this month. A new trial date was then set for April, but given ongoing court delays and restrictions related to the pandemic, it has now been postponed to Jan. 3, 2022.  Source: CP

– Toronto music promoter Andrea Morris (AM to FM Promotions) received a great response to her recent musical advent calendar. Next up in a bid to keep her artists relevant during Covid is the launch of a new musical series on Feb. 1, 14 Days of Love Songs. Here, a different artist from the AM to FM Roster will perform their favourite love song every day, leading up to Valentine's Day. The series launches with the premiere of new, original song from Tamara Maddalen.

– The 44th annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival is a fundraiser for The Ark, Ann Arbor’s non-profit home for folk, roots, and ethnic music. The live-streamed fest runs Jan. 29 and 30, and there is CanCon in the form of Alan Doyle (Great Big Sea). Colin Hay (of Men At Work fame) and Gina Chavez are other notable hosts. Tix to the free event here.

– Canadian/Kiwi roots music dynamo Tami Neilson is releasing a deluxe version of her acclaimed album Chickaboom! on Feb. 19, on Outside Music. The new version features five tracks reimagined with the 12-piece Big Boss Orchestra recorded live for Radio New Zealand. Here's a new music video for one of the album cuts.

– Today (Jan. 28) at 7 pm,  on Bell Let’s Talk day, Music NL presents an intimate discussion that takes a deep personal dive on what a new life in music looks like with special guest Canadian singer-songwriter Damhnait Doyle. The ECMA's Errin Williams also outlines mental health supports available to MusicNL members. Register here.

– Gearing up for the release of his debut EP later this year, Toronto-raised, Southern California-based, R&B singer/songwriter goodboy noah has delivered a new single tie down. It was co-written by noah alongside Dan Henig (ZAYN, Noah Cyrus, Chelsea Cutler) and Micah Gordon (Cautious Clay, Neon Trees) who also produced the track. Streaming links here.

– A reminder that applications are still being accepted for Let’s Hear It! Live – Music BC’s 7-part digital concert series and emerging artist showcase. Now in its third year, the Let’s Hear It! Live program has featured over 40 emerging and unsigned artists from around BC, with concerts streaming from Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria. Applications from all genders, cultural backgrounds, ethnicities and other measures of diversity are highly encouraged, with three different artists being selected by a jury of local industry representatives for each showcase. Submit here.  

– The Jane LeBlanc Foundation has created the 2021 Jane LeBlanc Music Award for New Brunswick resident composer-singers or composer-singers who are also musicians to assist them in the recording and mastering of one of their original songs (must be ready for finishing) as well as helping them to create their album art and brand to distribute their mastered track to all online music platforms. The deadline to apply here is Feb. 25.