advertisement
FYI

Prism Prize Video: Black Mountain - Licensed to Drive

The 2019 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Kevan Funk, for his clip for Belle Game’s Low. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos, including this one from a Vancouver psych-rock band with an international following.

Prism Prize Video: Black Mountain - Licensed to Drive

By External Source

The 2019 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Kevan Funk, for his clip for Belle Game’s Low. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos, including this one from a Vancouver psych-rock band with an international following.


Black Mountain - Licensed to Drive

Internationally-acclaimed Vancouver rock group Black Mountain released the 8-bit video game music video, Licensed to Drive, last May. 

Director Zev Deans says, "Licensed to Drive is a deep dive into the soul of a late 1970s living room, an exploration of the deep psychedelic fantasy at the core of the birth of the videogame."

advertisement

As described on their website, “Licensed to Drive would easily be the most exhilarating and dangerous ripper on a titular film’s soundtrack, a dose of heavy right before the muscle car’s wheels fly off going 100 mph on the freeway.”

Band member Stephen McBean says, “A riff in a flat and some Neu / Nugent / Newman Motorik hustle. Was the vacation better than the journey or did the drive etch itself into your soul? I’d like to thank the DMV for the inspiration.”

Directed by Zev Deans

Produced by Brendan McGowan

DP: Vivian Gray

Line Producer: Toula Sweeney

Dream Catcher: Bradley Bailey

advertisement
Charlotte Day Wilson
Jessica Foley
Charlotte Day Wilson
Concerts

CNE 2026 Bell SOUNDSTAGE Lineup: Charlotte Day Wilson, JoJo, Finger Eleven and More

As part of its partnership with NXNE and a renewed focus on live music, CNE will also welcome a special soon-to-be revealed global headliner presented by Billboard Canada on Aug. 28.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is embracing its musical roots with a high-profile lineup for 2026.

The beloved long-running fair, baptized The Ex by Torontonians, has unveiled the full list of artists who will be headlining the newly-named Bell SOUNDSTAGE at the Bandshell to celebrate the event's 147th edition. Canadian stars like Charlotte Day Wilson and Finger Eleven as well as international pop star JoJo have been added to this year's programming, which reflects a diverse mix of renowned names and rising stars across a multitude of genres including pop, hip-hop, Punjabi music and soca, among others. They join previously announced acts like Lights, Lupe Fiasco, Shaggy and more.

This year, the exhibition is partnering with Toronto music festival NXNE, to modernize its musical programming with chart-topping artists and newer acts, and revamping the Bandshell as the Bell SOUNDSTAGE. “Music is such a massive part of who we are,” Mark Holland, CEO of the CNE, told Billboard Canada in April during his Executive of the Week interview. "Connecting everybody to that is a democratic mission that we are really invested in."

keep readingShow less
advertisement