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BILLBOARD CANADA FYI
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Petros Studio
Billie Eilish
FYI
Music News Digest: Billie Eilish Pop-Up Shop Coming to Toronto, Feist and Alessia Cara Play Star-Studded Health Care Benefit
Also this week: Faouzia breaks big, women-led festival The Wilding debuts, PISS sign to Sub Pop, MusiCounts opens applications for emerging songwriters fellowship & more.
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Billie Eilish's concert film, Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), is launching in theatres on May 8. To accompany it, there will be a handful of pop-up merch shops in select cities — and Toronto being the sole Canadian one.
The store will run from May 8-10 at 80 Atlantic Avenue (not coincidentally also the headquarters for Universal Music Canada) and feature exclusive merch including a Hit Me Hard and Soft basketball jersey and the Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live) 3LP vinyl.
– PISS, the genre-bending and experimental four-piece punk band from Vancouver, B.C., have just announced that they have signed to famed U.S. indie label Sub Pop for the world, and with Paper Bag Records for Canada. Ahead of new material, PISS have international headlining and festival dates spanning the spring, summer, and fall of 2026, beginning May 2, in Liverpool, U.K., at Sound City Festival and running through Nov. 5, in Reykjavik, at Iceland Airwaves. There's also a date at Sackville, New Brunswick's Sappyfest on Aug. 1. Itinerary here.
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PISS comprises poet and teacher Taylor Zantingh on vocals, filmmaker Tyler Paterson on guitar, Gavin Moya on bass and Garreth Roberts on drums.
Industry News
A free Toronto hospital fundraiser concert in Toronto on June 6 is loaded with CanCan talent. It will feature new Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Feist, platinum-selling pop-soul star Alessia Cara, groundbreaking indie rock collective Broken Social Scene and The Tragically Hip's Paul Langlois (another new CSHF inductee). The event is organized by Fitzrovia, a rental developer, and promotion company MRG Live, as part of TOgether. The festival's goal is to raise $1 million for UHN and Michael Garron Hospital.
– The National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa is partnering with CIMA (Canadian Independent Music Association) to provide 50 free CIMA memberships for independent Canadian artists and music industry entrepreneurs, a move designed to boost their careers. Apply here.
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– The deadline for applications from bands/artists for CIMA's Canada House showcase event at the Reeperbahn festival and conference in Hamburg is May 8. Interested artists can fill out CIMA’s Canada House application form here and Reeperbahn’s artist application form here. The event runs Sept. 16-19. Last year's showcasing artists included Pierre Kwenders and Kaia Kater.
– MusiCounts Fellowship for Emerging Songwriters & Composers applications are now open. Through the fellowship, 10 artists (five songwriters and five composers) will be selected to receive a $7,500 funding package, personalized mentorship from Canadian artists Nemahsis and Cait Nishimura, national exposure through MusiCounts platforms and partner initiatives and an opportunity to collaborate across disciplines. Applications will close on May 22. To get started, applicants are asked to complete this short intake form.
– The deadline to apply for Via Rail's Artists on Board program for summer 2026 is April 30. Successful applicants gain complimentary or reduced fare travel while performing. Learn more and apply now here.
Festivals News
The Wilding, a brand new women-led music and makers festival, debuts on Saturday May 2 at Le Vignoble De Chelsea, Quebec. The fest was founded by singer-songwriter Jessica Pearson, drawing inspiration from Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair. The lineup features Claire Morrison, Wild Remedy, Sam Stone, Malia Rogers, Vicki Brittle, Kathryn Patricia, Savannah Shea and Mars Aspen and culminates in a special performance by Jessica Pearson and The East Wind that launches their new EP, The Wilding Part One, out on May 1. More info here.
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Artists News
Winnipeg vocalist, songwriter and classically trained multi-instrumentalist Faouzia is on serious roll, at home and away. Upon announcing the three theatre shows on her upcoming Film Noir Tour, they all sold out in under an hour, with a second Montreal show now added on August 22 (tix now on sale). The other concerts are at Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre (Aug. 3), Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall (Aug. 19) and Montreal’s Beanfield Theatre (Aug. 21).
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Faouzia's international tour kicks off this June in Berlin before hitting major European cities including Amsterdam, Paris and London. It then heads to North America where Faouzia will play major markets throughout July and August. The trek also includes select stops at major festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands. More tour information here.
Released last Nov., her debut album, FILM NOIR, has already tallied over 110 million global streams and recently charted on Apple Music’s Top Pop Albums chart.
– American folk music legend Tom Rush is still going strong at age 85, as was reaffirmed last week by his two sold-out shows at Hamilton’s Westdale Theatre and Toronto’s Hugh's Room. At the Hamilton concert, we were charmed by Rush’s warm vocals, fluent guitar work, amusing anecdotes and a well-chosen setlist.
The latter featured his favourite originals (“No Regrets” and “Merrimack County” were highlights), a couple of new semi-novelty songs, covers of blues standards and his much-loved versions of classics by Canadians Joni Mitchell (“The Circle Game”) and David Wiffen (“Driving Wheel”) plus Jackson Browne’s “These Days.” His stories also included Joni (a funny David Crosby dis in there) and good Rush friend Gordon Lightfoot. He was accompanied by guitarist/harmony vocalist Brendan Cleary who also delivered a few solo songs.
– On April 30, famed Toronto club The El Mocambo dives into nostalgia with its Everything 80’s Party, headlined by Juno-winning soul singer-songwriter Sean Jones and powerhouse vocalist Cleopatra Williams, along with with DJ Starting From Scratch. Tickets here.
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