Amazon Music to Spotlight Canadian Musicians at National Parks in 'Northern Echoes'

Amazon Music has a new program highlighting Canada's natural talent.

Northern Echoes will feature undiscovered Canadian musicians performing in historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada. Episodes in the series will be available on Amazon Music Canada's Instagram and YouTube channels, and will serve to highlight Canadian artists from remote communities.

The musicians will all perform original songs on a solar-powered stage on top of the Amazon Music Bus and will also get the chance to share how growing up in their community has influenced their artistic journey.

"At Parks Canada, we know that rich histories and cultures can be found in communities from coast to coast to coast, and that is what the Northern Echoes series intends to explore," said Ron Hallman of Parks Canada in a press statement.

The program indicates Amazon Music's continued investment in Canada, in addition to its Breakthrough Artists to Watch program, which this year featured rising Canadian talent like Punjabi Canadian singer Jonita Gandhi and country singer Owen Riegling. (In June, Riegling also released an Amazon Music Original cover of the Tragically Hip's Canadian classic "Bobcaygeon.")

The series also suggests a growing effort to support musicians from outside of Canada's major cities. In a country with a vastly spread-out population, musicians often have to move to Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal to make it in the music industry.

But there's plenty of music going on outside of those hubs, from festivals in like Yellowknife's Folk on the Rocks and the Dawson City Music Festival, to local bars that host open mics and community jams.

For musicians who grew up in these spaces, applications for the Northern Echoes program are open in English and French until September 17.