Robin Williams and Martha Stewart can’t stop laughing while cooking up skirt steak tacos together.
Katy Perry Adds Canadian Dates to “Lifetimes Tour”
Today, multi-platinum global superstar Katy Perry announced a run of Canada dates on her 2025 ‘The Lifetimes Tour.’ Produced by Live Nation, the Canada leg kicks off on Tuesday, July 22 in Vancouver, BC at Rogers Arena with additional stops in Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, and more before wrapping up on Tuesday, August 5 in Toronto, ON at Scotiabank Arena. The tour supports Katy’s seventh studio album, 143, which was released September 20, 2024 via Capitol Records.
The Canada dates will follow sold-out dates in Mexico, Australia, and several in South America, with more to be announced.
American Express is providing Card Members access to Amex Presale Tickets™ for shows in Canada, available for purchase starting Wednesday, November 27 at 10am local time before the general public on-sale, while supplies last. Terms apply. This is one of the many entertainment benefits American Express Card Members can access across the arts, theater, sports and music through Amex Experiences™.
Tickets for the Canada dates will be available starting with Amex Presale Tickets™ (details above) beginning Wednesday, November 27. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, November 29 at 10am local time at KatyPerry.com.
Since Katy Perry’s Capitol Records debut in 2008 with One of the Boys, she has racked up a cumulative 115 billion streams alongside worldwide sales of over 70 million adjusted albums and 143 million tracks. The biggest-selling female artist in Capitol history, Katy is one of only twelve artists in history to have surpassed 100 million certified units with their solo single releases – and the first-ever Capitol Records recording artist to achieve the elite status of having 10 million RIAA-certified units for a single in 2015. She was also the first artist in RIAA history to earn three RIAA Diamond singles – for “Firework,” “Dark Horse” and “Roar.” Since then, she’s added a few more to her collection with “California Gurls” (feat. Snoop Dogg), “E.T”, and both “Teenage Dream” the SINGLE AND ALBUM going DIAMOND. Katy now has six singles and one album for a total of SEVEN Diamond-certified titles.
‘THE LIFETIMES TOUR’ 2025 DATES:
Wed Apr 23 – Mexico City, MX – Arena CDMX
Fri Apr 25 – Mexico City, MX – Arena CDMX
Sat Apr 26 – Mexico City, MX – Arena CDMX
Mon Apr 28 – Monterrey, MX – Arena Monterrey
Tue Apr 29 – Monterrey, MX – Arena Monterrey
Thu May 1 – Guadalajara, MX – Arena Guadalajara
Fri May 2 – Guadalajara, MX – Arena Guadalajara
Mon Jun 9 – Sydney, AU – Qudos Bank Arena
Tue Jun 10 – Sydney, AU – Qudos Bank Arena
Thu Jun 12 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena
Fri Jun 13 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena
Sat Jun 14 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena
Tue Jun 17 – Brisbane, AU – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Wed Jun 18 – Brisbane, AU – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Sun Jun 22 – Perth, AU – RAC Arena
Mon Jun 23 – Perth, AU – RAC Arena
Thu Jun 26 – Adelaide, AU – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Fri Jun 27 – Adelaide, AU – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Sun Jun 29 – Adelaide, AU – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Mon Jun 30 – Adelaide, AU – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Tue Jul 22 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Thu Jul 24 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
Sat Jul 26 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
Tue Jul 29 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
Wed Jul 30 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
Fri Aug 01 – Québec City, QC – Centre Videotron
Tue Aug 05 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sat Sep 6 – Santiago, CL – Estadio Bicentenario La Florida
Tue Sep 9 – Buenos Aires, AR – Movistar Arena
Sun Sep 14 – Sao Paulo, BR – The Town 2025
Tue Oct 7 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Wed Oct 8 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Fri Oct 10 – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
Sat Oct 11 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Mon Oct 13 – London, UK – The O2
Tue Oct 14 — London, UK — The O2
What Football Anthem Will You Hear At The End of the EPL Season?
By Mitch Rice
As the 2024-2025 EPL season races toward its grand finale, one question lingers: Which team will stand tall? Which squad will celebrate, drenched in glory, and serenaded by their iconic anthem? Football anthems aren’t just songs – they’re emotional fuel, symbols of pride, and sometimes, the soundtrack to history in the making. Whether you’re a die-hard supporter or a savvy fan watching the odds with Betway online sports betting, the stakes have never been higher. Let’s break down the contenders.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Liverpool)
Liverpool’s anthem is legendary, and for good reason. This season, the Reds are marching toward the title under the guidance of Arne Slot. With 18 wins in 20 games and a nine-point lead, they’ve sent a strong message to the league: “We’re back.”
Key players like Mo Salah and Szoboszlai have delivered clutch performances, and the defence has been rock solid. If they keep this momentum, we might hear “You’ll Never Walk Alone” echoing across Anfield come May. Fun fact: This anthem predates The Beatles mania, proving that Liverpool has been setting trends for decades.
“Blue Moon” (Manchester City)
Manchester City fans have been singing “Blue Moon” through countless victories in recent years, but will it ring out again this time? The defending champions have hit a few bumps – injuries and inconsistent form have raised questions about their dominance.
Still, Pep Guardiola is a tactical genius, and stars like Erling Haaland and Phil Foden are more than capable of flipping the script. Betting against City feels like betting against Marty McFly finding a way back to 1985. Can they regain their rhythm and make “Blue Moon” the anthem of champions yet again? Only time will tell.
“The Angel – North London Forever” (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s anthem might be the newest kid on the block, but “The Angel – North London Forever” has already captured the hearts of Gooners worldwide. It’s poetic, emotional, and perfectly reflects the club’s spirit.
This season, Arsenal has shown grit and flair. Under Arteta, the team has combined youth and experience. We’ve seen standout performances from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus. They’re in striking distance of the top spot. And if the stars align, “The Angel” could soar across North London as the final whistle blows on a victorious season.
“Blue Is the Colour” (Chelsea)
Chelsea’s anthem is a catchy blast from the past – a reminder that blue is, indeed, the colour of victory. The Blues have been resurgent this season under new manager Enzo Maresca.
With a mix of seasoned talent and rising stars, Chelsea is clawing its way up the table. It’s been a bumpy ride, but if they maintain their upward trajectory, Stamford Bridge could once again become a fortress. Imagine the scenes: Chelsea lifting the trophy while fans belt out “Blue Is the Colour.” It’s the stuff of dreams – or a great day for Betway online sports betting enthusiasts.
So, Who Gets the Last Song?
The Premier League is as unpredictable as a 90s rom-com. Liverpool looks like the favorite, but Manchester City’s resilience, Arsenal’s hunger, and Chelsea’s revival make this anyone’s game. Each of these anthems tells a story – a legacy waiting to be continued.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
Direct From Harmony House, Inside American Pie Coming To Toronto’s CAA Theatre
“So bye, bye Miss American Pie…”
You’ve sung the chorus, but do you know the stories behind Don McLean’s iconic song, American Pie?
McLean wrote the song to commemorate the 1959 plane crash that tragically took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper — a day forever remembered as “the day the music died.” But this classic tune is more than a tribute; it’s a treasure trove of riddles and historical references.
Why are The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Charles Manson mentioned? How does the Rolling Stones’ Altamont Free Concert tie into the narrative? And just who was Miss American Pie? These are just a few of the mysteries explored in Inside American Pie, a docu-concert experience created by musician Mike Ross and an outstanding ensemble of Island artists.
Performing at Harmony House in Hunter River, PEI, since 2021, the concert blends an unforgettable set list with captivating stories to reimagine McLean’s legendary song. Now, the show is headed to Toronto!
Inside American Pie will play at the CAA Theatre in Toronto from March 12 – 30, 2025. Tickets go on sale starting November 28, 2024, at Mirvish.com or by calling 1.800.461.3333.
Performance Schedule:
- Tuesday: 7:30 PM
- Wednesday: 1:30 PM & 7:30 PM
- Thursday: 7:30 PM
- Friday: 8:00 PM
- Saturday: 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
- Sunday: 2:00 PM
Harmony House, the birthplace of Inside American Pie, is a cozy music venue nestled in Hunter River, Prince Edward Island. Originally a United Church, it was reimagined by Mike Ross and Nicole Bellamy, a Charlottetown couple who returned to PEI in 2020 after years in Toronto.
Upstairs, Harmony House features an intimate 140-seat music hall, while the downstairs space boasts a restaurant, bar, and art gallery. It has become a hub for creative storytelling, hosting concerts that delve into music’s most fascinating histories.
Mike Ross has created numerous acclaimed docu-concerts at Harmony House, including The Leonard Cohen Songbook, The 27 Club (exploring the legacies of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison), and Behind the Veil: A Lucy Maud Montgomery Concert Experience.
Combining iconic songs with untold stories, Inside American Pie offers a fresh perspective on the formative years of rock and roll. Whether you’re a lifelong fan of Don McLean or just discovering the magic of his music, this is a concert experience you’ll never forget.
Secure your tickets on November 28 at Mirvish.com or call 1.800.461.3333.
My Next Read: “Talkin’ Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America’s Bohemian Music Capital” by David Browne
The definitive history of the rise and heyday of the revolutionary Greenwich Village music scene, based on new research and first-hand interviews with many of its legendary performers.
Although Greenwich Village encompasses less than a square mile in downtown New York, rarely has such a concise area nurtured so many innovative artists and genres. Over the course of decades, Billie Holiday, the Weavers, Sonny Rollins, Dave Van Ronk, Ornette Coleman, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Phil Ochs, and Suzanne Vega are just a few who migrated to the Village, recognizing it as a sanctuary for visionaries, non-conformists, and those looking to reinvent themselves. Working in the Village’s smokey coffeehouses and clubs, they chronicled the tumultuous Sixties, rewrote jazz history, and took folk and rock & roll into places they hadn’t been before.
Based on over 150 new interviews (Judy Collins, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Eric Andersen, Suzzy and Terre Roche, Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Shawn Colvin, the members of the Blues Project, and more), previously unseen documents, and author David Browne’s longtime immersion in the scene, Talkin’ Greenwich Village lends the saga the epic, panoramic scope it’s long deserved. It takes readers from the Fifties jamborees in Washington Square Park and into landmark venues like Gerde’s Folk City, the Gaslight Café, and the Village Vanguard, onto Dylan’s momentous arrival and returns, the no-holds-barred Seventies years (West Village discos, National Lampoon’s Lemmings), and the folk revival of the Eighties (Vega’s enduring “Tom’s Diner”).
In eye-opening fashion, Browne also details the often-overlooked people of color in the Sixties folk clubs, reveals how the FBI and city government consistently kept their eyes on the community, unearths the machinations behind the infamous “beatnik riot” in Washington Square Park, and tells the interconnected tales of Van Ronk, the seminal band the Blues Project, and the beloved sister trio, the Roches.
In also recounting the racial tensions, crackdowns, and changes in New York and music that infiltrated the neighborhood, Talkin’ Greenwich Village is more than just vivid cultural history. It also speaks to the rise and waning of bohemian culture itself, set to some of the most enduring lyrics, melodies, and jazz improvisations in American music.
David Browne is a senior writer at Rolling Stone and the author of Fire and Rain and biographies of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; the Grateful Dead; Sonic Youth; and Jeff and Tim Buckley.
5 Surprising Facts About Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’
Every once in a while, an album transcends its time, speaking to the present and future in a way that feels almost prophetic. For many, Radiohead’s OK Computer is one of those albums. Released on May 21, 1997, the record captured the angst of a world hurtling toward the digital age with abstract lyrics, unconventional production, and themes of alienation, globalization, and technological overload. It’s been dissected, celebrated, and even inducted into the US Library of Congress for preservation. But even with its legendary status, there are still secrets lurking within its tracks and artwork.
1. The Numbers on the Back Represent a Key Moment in the Album’s Creation
The sequence of numbers on the back of OK Computer—18576397—marks a precise moment in the album’s history. It represents the time and date the album was officially completed: 6:57 PM, March 6, 1997. This small detail immortalizes the conclusion of months of intense, groundbreaking work and symbolizes the meticulous care Radiohead poured into the project.
2. It Was Nearly Recorded in a Haunted Mansion
Most of OK Computer was recorded at St. Catherine’s Court, a historic rural mansion near Bath. The sprawling estate allowed the band to experiment with natural reverberation (like recording vocals on a stone staircase for “Exit Music (For a Film)”). But did you know the mansion is rumored to be haunted? While Radiohead never confirmed any ghostly encounters, the eerie atmosphere may have seeped into the album’s layered, haunting soundscapes.
3. “Paranoid Android” Was Inspired by a Los Angeles Bar Fight
The sprawling six-minute epic, often hailed as the band’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was born out of Thom Yorke’s experience at a bar in LA. After witnessing a woman lose her temper when someone spilled a drink on her, Yorke envisioned a dystopian world where petty human outbursts are magnified into existential crises. The song’s title, of course, is a nod to Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
4. The Album Almost Had a Different Title
Before settling on OK Computer, Radiohead toyed with other names, including Ones and Zeroes (a reference to binary code) and Your Home May Be at Risk If You Do Not Keep Up Payments (a satirical nod to mortgage warnings). Ultimately, OK Computer stuck, inspired by a phrase from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Yorke described it as both “terrified of the future” and “resigned to it.”
5. “Fitter Happier” Was Written in Ten Minutes
Working at the speed of light (or sound), Yorke dashed off the lyrics to “Fitter Happier” in just ten minutes. Feeling creatively blocked, he typed a list of slogans and buzzwords he’d absorbed from media and advertisements. Rather than singing the words himself, Yorke handed them over to Fred, the text-to-speech voice from an old Macintosh computer. The result is one of the album’s most unsettling tracks, a sterile critique of consumerist self-improvement culture.
Almost 30 years after its release, OK Computer remains a towering achievement in music, one that predicted the alienation and anxieties of the digital age with uncanny precision. From the cryptic numbers on its back cover to its ghostly recording sessions, every detail adds to its mystique.
Hard Rockers DEAD ROMANTIC Release Raw, Relentless New Single “Caught In The Moment”
Toronto’s hardest rockers, Dead Romantic, are back with a vengeance. Their latest single, “Caught In The Moment,” doesn’t just hit—it slams. This explosive track is a visceral punch to the gut, capturing the suffocating weight of feeling unseen, unheard, and trapped in your own emotions. The song’s ferocity and emotional honesty hit like a freight train, making it clear that Dead Romantic have just cracked the code to turning pain into power.
“This song is about that suffocating feeling of being invisible—of putting yourself out there and still being ignored,” says guitarist Mike K (Mike Krompass), who also produced the track. “It’s about the heartbreak of being sidelined, of watching someone you care about slip away because they’re too caught up in their own world to notice the damage they’re causing. “Caught In The Moment” is a raw, unapologetic release of that frustration—pure honesty with no filter.”
With powerhouse vocals from frontman Eko and a bone-crushing rhythm section from bassist Paulo De Bartolo and drummer Nick Chiarore, “Caught In The Moment” delivers in spades. The song builds from hauntingly sparse moments into an all-out, full-throttle assault—capturing the kind of energy that could have come straight out of a Deftones or Linkin Park track. Eko’s vocals, intense yet controlled, channel the same emotional urgency of icons like Chino Moreno and the late Chester Bennington, making this track impossible to ignore. Fans of A War Within, Acacia Ridge, and TIDALWAVE will feel right at home here.
Featured in the second season of Netflix’s hit show Perfect Match, the single has already garnered over 90,000 YouTube views in just two weeks. It’s the latest in a string of explosive singles that have helped solidify Dead Romantic’s presence in the rock scene. Previous tracks like “Fight Me” (over a million streams) and “Kissed With A Lie” (more than two million) have only increased the band’s momentum, while “Yesterday” has racked up a combined 2.5 million streams across YouTube and Spotify. The band’s music has been praised by international outlets like Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, and Canadian Beats, and they’ve become a regular fixture on Kerrang TV’s Top 10 and Kerrang Radio’s Top 20.
Dead Romantic’s live shows are just as intense, and their recent recording session at BCMG Recordings proves they can capture that same energy in the studio. Expect them to bring it all to the stage when they perform “Caught In The Moment” live at Toronto’s The Rockpile in December.
With “Caught In The Moment”, Dead Romantic are proving they’re not just a band—they’re a force. It’s loud, it’s unapologetic, and it’s a song you won’t be able to shake. This is a moment you don’t want to miss.
Folk Pop Artist Kele Fleming Explores AI’s Reality with Profound New Single “Turing Test”
It’s rare that a song is named after a test which is “used to assess a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human.” But for Vancouver-born, Victoria-based indie folk pop artist Kele Fleming, there’s proof of a beating heart in the stellar new single “Turing Test.” Simply put, no amount of artificial intelligence or machinery could craft such a pristine piece of work that is as ethereal as it is soulful.
Kele Fleming’s “Turing Test” is a haunting, introspective track that fuses Bruce Springsteen’s heartland rock with the ethereal vibes of Cocteau Twins. It explores AI’s quest for self-awareness and identity, reflecting humanity’s untapped potential and cosmic connection. Through lush, layered sounds and evocative lyrics, the song invites listeners to ponder technology’s allure, identity, and the ecstasy—and risks—of existence.
“The song touches on a number of themes — identity, longing for something you don’t have, and the lure of technology and creation and the potential dangers of such,” Fleming says of “Turing Test.” “In the song, the AI character wants so much to be free and have its own identity. It’s celebrating its uniqueness and the power of its existence without thinking about the impact it may have. At the same time, it’s eating a bowl of stars – a metaphor for devouring the universe and its potential to do damage to the universe as we know it.
“‘Turing Test’ is a reminder and an invitation to embrace that being alive and being human is a miracle. Part of being human is having access to the cosmos. There’s the opportunity for transcendence available to use in relationship to the cosmos and we don’t take it.”
The song is also named after the late British mathematician Alan Turing, who was crucial during the Second World War in deciphering the German Enigma Code which helped the Allies defeat Nazi Germany. Post-war, Turing laid the groundwork for what became computer science, including the idea of a “universal machine” which later was known as the Turing Machine, an abstract model for computers. Fleming says Turing’s life was also inspiration for the song.
“Alan Turing also wanted to be free,” Fleming says. “He was a gay man living in a time when being homosexual was illegal in the UK. He was punished and persecuted by the state for being who he was. So, the song also touches on the imagined pain and longing of Alan Turing to live out his life in peace and embrace his identity as a queer man.” Turing, who died in 1954, was pardoned posthumously in 2013.
“Turing Test,” written and recorded in June 2024 at Vancouver’s The Warehouse Studio, originated from a challenge keyboardist/pianist Matthew Presidente posed to Fleming: “write a new song on the Saturday night between sessions.” After writing the first verse and chorus after taking in a friend’s band’s gig, Fleming finished the song 12 hours later and recorded it with her band. “Everyone got into a magical groove,” she says. “It was pure joy!”
Fleming, who also plays acoustic and electric guitar on “Turing Test,” is accompanied by drummer/percussionist Tony Lee, Scott Fletcher on bass and mandolin, Jonathan Blokmanis on electric guitar and Presidente on piano and keyboards. The single was engineered by Sheldon Zaharko at Zed Productions (with assistant engineer Annie Kennedy) and mastered by Andrew Downton at Railtown Mastering.
“Turing Test” is the latest single for Fleming whose style has been compared to Lucida Williams, Kate Bush, and Neko Case. After fronting ’90s indie group Hazel Motes, Fleming released her debut solo album Songs from the Tinforest in 2006. Additional albums include 2010’s World In Reverse, 2016’s No Static and 2020’s The Song I Will Write For My Whole Life. The artist has played at various Vancouver venues such as The Railway Club and Wise Hall. In 2023, she released a handful of singles including “In My Dream (Mercury Teardrop Remix),” “Vanishing Of Bees,” “Set Me Free” and a remastered version of “Carrier Hotel.”
Now with a deliciously strong single in the “Turing Test,” Kele Fleming is once again proving that nothing can match the creative spark and drive of the human spirit. It’s a track that is incredibly smart while being anything but artificial.
Carbonstone Unleashes ‘Echoes,’ a Dark Anthemic Metal Anthem
As the eyes of an anxious world turn toward the flipping of another calendar, everybody is wondering what 2025 is going to be like. Baltimore, MD angst-rockers Carbonstone have a ready if troubling answer: like a masochistic relationship.
On their delightfully disturbing new single, “Echoes,” the Charm City grind-’n-grandeur outfit lay out a textbook study in tender loving abuse. Lead vocalist/songwriter Corey James starts off by verbally confronting a partner who, he charges, likes to watch him bleed. “It’s like you love my suffering,” he challenges.
Hell of an accusation there, but by the chorus, he’s admitting that he can’t get enough of it: “Bury me underground, I’ll lie with you/ ‘Cause alone, I’m nothing.” Whew! “I’m so self-destructive,” he clarifies, in what could be the understatement of the century. (Or the cemetery, but more on that later.)
The schizoid despair of the words is matched perfectly by the music, which has all the essential elements in the band’s acclaimed brand of industrial alternative metal. James’ cleanly enunciated vocals emote dramatically above guitars that are overdriven into the red zone, hurtling together toward the cliff of musical passages that end up dangling a taunting half-step above resolution. The effect is profoundly unsettling … yet completely habit-forming.
The reviews have been predictably ecstatic. East Coast Music Review calls the record “a sonic masterpiece on the rise,” while Indie Rage Radio praises the “anthemic sound and relatable lyrics” that make it “not just a song, but an experience.” And Mostly Music OWP says the track is “well-crafted, relatable, and holds its listeners in thrall from start to finish.”
Viewers will likewise be entranced by the accompanying music video, the latest in a long line of slickly produced Carbonstone clips awash in Gothic and/or brutalist imagery. The band shot this one in an actual cemetery during business hours, where they got to play their hearts out in front of a mausoleum while being mock-menaced by a bunch of costumed phantoms portrayed by various friends of the group—including Chrystal James, who sings lead for Baltimore post-industrial hard rockers Anoxia and also happens to be Corey James’ wife. The family that slays together …
The single and video point to another banner year in the career renaissance Carbonstone have been enjoying since 2019, when they returned from an extended hiatus to prep and drop their first full-length studio album, 2021’s Dark Matter. Its singles, “AM Trauma” and “Hush,” nabbed #1 placements on radio for over a month straight while garnering hundreds of thousands of spins on Spotify. In the wake of that success, standalone singles like “Scream,” “Pins & Needles” (a duet with Chrystal James) and “Damaged Like You” cemented the creative fertility of the band’s latter-day configuration. (In addition to James on vocals and guitar, the lineup now includes Steve Junkins on lead guitar, Josh Provencio on guitar, Eric Dee on bass, Ted Hile on drums and programming and Tony Correlli as synths and production —with added excitement and embellishment from “Frankie” the Nightmare Hype Bear). Most recently, the group’s “White Noise” landed in the #1 spot multiple times on several reporting stations and enjoyed multiple weeks as the most requested track on Indie Rage Radio.
The new year will see the release of Carbonstone’s second full-length album, the ominously titled The Absence of Self. In the interim, they have a big show coming up Saturday, January 25, at Cult Classic Brewery in Stevensville, Maryland, where they’ll be sharing the stage with The Oddeven and Silvertung. It’ll be an unforgettable addition to Carbonstone’s résumé of past gigs with the likes of Orgy, Cold, Drowning Pool, Saliva and Nita Strauss, and also ample evidence of why they so deserved their nomination as Best Metal Band in the 2024 Maryland Music Awards. Forget what we said about unhealthy relationships: Wanna bet that in 2025, the “Best” is yet to come?
Country Artist Anita Hamilton Shines with Infectious New Single “Love In A Small Town”
When young and in love, nothing is impossible. There are no hurdles or obstacles that can’t be overcome. But sometimes life throws a huge wrench into relationships, resulting in that dreamy, youthful optimism running headlong into reality. For Kamloops, BC-based country singer Anita Hamilton, that narrative is fabulously captured in the sharp, summer-driving single “Love In A Small Town.” The singer says the song’s inspiration came from her own story.
“Writing this song was in response to a traumatic event that happened during my first serious relationship,” Hamilton says. “I was head over heels in love with a college football player who experienced a severe sports injury, ending his football career. Taking months to recover, we worked hard to pay for his medical bills and adjust to the new future that lay in front of us. ‘Love In A Small Town’ is the story I told myself about how happily ever after can exist, even when it isn’t the future the young lovers envisioned for themselves. Sometimes homecoming queens trade up to a wedding gown, happily living out the rest of their lives, proud to remain in their hometown.”
“Love In A Small Town,” co-written by Hamilton and Jeff Johnson – who produced the song – speaks to lesser-known locales that teenagers or high school seniors often want to leave for bigger areas the first chance they get. But Hamilton says the single speaks to the “bumpy, imperfect, and beautiful” roadmap a girl has dreaming of her future. And instead of leaving for somewhere bigger, they end up staying in the town they were born and raised in.
Hamilton, who was born in Vancouver, has a heartfelt delivery throughout the vivid narrative, which describes small towns where everyone knows everyone and some people who thrive on gossip and rumors. “Love In A Small Town” has strong verses and a great chorus, which should instantly be a staple in concert, bringing to mind the likes of Meghan Patrick, Gretchen Wilson, and Alana Springsteen, among others. The single, which has all the traits of a great country single, without sounding formulaic or cliched, features Hamilton’s vocals, Ryan Stead on electric guitar and bass, Jeff Johnson on guitar, and mixing by Billy Decker.
Hamilton says she wrote the draft for the song in 2020 and recorded “Love In A Small Town” in 2023 in Coldstream, British Columbia. The song was also the first song she performed solo at shows as Hamilton was learning guitar when she was writing the track. “Knowing only a few chords at the time, we wrote with three chords and the truth, creating a song that practically anyone can play and relate to,” she says, adding the song is a “personal favorite.”
The singer also hopes “Love In A Small Town” celebrates those who, to quote John Mellencamp, were born, currently live, and will probably die in a small town. “There is a shortage of people planning to stay in small towns and work in blue collar careers,” she says. “Social media and pop culture glorify artificial realities and material things. Life is about more than designer brands and fancy cars; our society is built on the backs of hard-working Canadians.”
“Love In A Small Town,” the follow-up to “Before I Fall,” is the latest offering from Hamilton who has performed the national anthem at the West Coast League’s Kamloops NorthPaws baseball club and the BC Special Olympics. Hamilton, who has had millions of views on social media platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram, has performed in various venues in Vancouver and recently performed at Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Cafe.
Hamilton is also multi-talented having started an acting career when she was just 16. This is in addition to being a model, appearing in the British version of Vogue, an acclaimed figure skater, and owning a world championship cheer leading title. In short, Hamilton might live in a small town, but her talents go far beyond its town limits.
Now with the hot single “Love In A Small Town” and shows planned for 2025, Anita Hamilton should be known in small towns, big towns, big cities, and anywhere where great country music is adored and cherished.