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Warner Music’s Global Catalog Division And Yes Announce Milestone Deal

Eric Alper
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Warner Music’s Global Catalog Division And Yes Announce Milestone Deal

Warner Music Group’s (Nasdaq: WMG) Global Catalog Division has announced the acquisition of the recorded music rights and income streams from YES’ Atlantic Records era catalog. More than 50 years after the British group’s debut, YES remains one of the most successful, respected, and influential rock bands of all time, with more than 30 million albums sold worldwide.

This acquisition continues a longstanding relationship between the band and Warner Music that now spans over a half-century, beginning with YES’ self-titled 1969 Atlantic debut album. The deal encompasses landmark works such as Fragile, Close to the Edge, and 90125. The full purchase includes 12 studio albums, as well as live recordings and compilations.

In making the announcement, Kevin Gore, Warner Music’s President of Global Catalog, said: “My introduction to YES came while working at a record store in Ohio in 1983. I loved the 90125 album and went to see the band live, where I was introduced to their catalog of incredible songs. I’ve been a fan ever since and we’re absolutely thrilled and deeply honored that the strong relationship between YES and Warner Music will continue forever.”

The band added in a joint statement: “The entire YES family came together and worked enthusiastically with Warner Music Group to secure this historic deal, ensuring that these iconic recordings will continue to be curated in the optimum manner to delight their fans across more than five decades, while also finding and developing new audiences for this timeless music.”

YES is among the most enduring, ambitious, and virtuosic bands in music history, with a dedicated legion of fans across the globe. When the progressive rock pioneers joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, Rush’s Geddy Lee noted in his induction speech: “The music of YES is still echoing down through the years, showing me that music truly is a continuum.”

The original members of YES – bassist Chris Squire, singer Jon Anderson, drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist Peter Banks, and keyboardist Tony Kaye – came together in 1968. In early 1969, the band auditioned at London’s Speakeasy Club for Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who immediately signed them up. Later that year, the group released its self-titled debut, mixing original material with totally reworked versions of songs by groups like the Byrds and the Beatles.

YES became an international arena band after Steve Howe joined in 1970 for The Yes Album and Rick Wakeman in 1971 for Fragile. The band’s sound evolved and its songs became more ambitious as they adopted a symphonic approach to their music and explored more enigmatic themes with their lyrics. Drummer Alan White joined in 1972 after the recording of Close to the Edge.

This era saw YES build a huge global following, enjoying both critical and commercial success thanks to a string of now-classic albums: The Yes Album (platinum), Fragile (double platinum), Close to the Edge (platinum), the double album Tales from Topographic Oceans (gold), Relayer (gold), Going for the One (gold), and Tormato (platinum). The ’70s also produced some of YES’ best-loved tracks, including “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Starship Trooper,” “Roundabout,” and “Heart of the Sunrise,” along with album-side length epics like “Close to the Edge” and “The Gates of Delirium.”

A new YES incarnation was born in 1983 when Anderson, Squire, White, and original keyboardist Tony Kaye were joined for the first time by guitarist Trevor Rabin. The landmark album 90125 was certified triple platinum and produced the band’s first and only #1 hit, “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” An instrumental track on the album, “Cinema,” would go on to win the GrammyÒ Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. In 1987, YES released its final album for Atlantic, Big Generator. It was certified platinum and featured the radio hits “Love Will Find a Way” and “Rhythm of Love.”

Studio albums, live recordings, and compilations included in the deal:

Yes (1969)
Time and a Word (1970)
The Yes Album (1971)
Fragile (1971)
Close to the Edge (1972)
Yessongs (1973)
Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973)
Relayer (1974)
Yesterdays (1975)
Going for the One (1977)
Tormato (1978)
Drama (1980)
Yesshows (1980)
Classic Yes (1981)
90125 (1983)
9012Live: The Solos (1985)
Big Generator (1987)
Yesyears (1991)
Yesstory (1992)
Highlights: The Very Best of Yes (1993)
In A Word: Yes (1969-) (2002)
Yes Remixes (2003)
The Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection (2003)
The Word Is Live (2005)
High Vibration (2013)
Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two (2015)
The Steven Wilson Remixes (2018)
Topographic Drama: Live Across America (2017)
Yes 50 Live (2019)

Metallica: ‘72 Seasons Global Premiere’ Coming To Movie Theaters April 13 For One Night Only

Eric Alper
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Metallica: ‘72 Seasons Global Premiere’ Coming To Movie Theaters April 13 For One Night Only

Metallica and Trafalgar Releasing are excited to extend an open invitation to a worldwide listening party: the global premiere of Metallica’s forthcoming 12th studio album, 72 Seasons. For one night only on Thursday, April 13, 72 Seasons will be played in full in pummeling surround sound, exclusively for cinema audiences worldwide—with every one of the new songs featuring its own music video and exclusive commentary from the band. The result will offer fans an unforgettable night as they experience 72 Seasons first and fully on the eve of its April 14 release date. View a 72 Seasons – Global Premiere announcement video from Metallica HERE.

Tickets for 72 Seasons – Global Premiere will be available beginning Thursday, March 2 at metallica.film.

Preceded by the newly released album track “Screaming Suicide”  and its brand-new lyric video, and first single “Lux Æterna” — hailed upon its November 28, 2022 release as “thundering, breakneck” (Billboard), “gut-punching” (Rolling Stone) and “blistering” (USA Today) — 72 Seasons will be released April 14 via Metallica’s own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track 72 Seasons is Metallica’s first full length collection of new material since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. The album will be released in formats including 2LP 140g black vinyl and limited-edition variants, CD and digital—for a full listing of configurations, pre-orders and further information, go to https://www.metallica.com/store/72-seasons/.

“This is a monumental opportunity for Metallica fans to be the first to hear the new album. We are thrilled to be a part of this historical global moment—connecting Metallica with their fans once again,” said Kymberli Frueh, SVP Programming and Content Acquisitions, Trafalgar Releasing.

The 72 Seasons global premiere sees Metallica and Trafalgar joining forces once more, having previously worked together on the October 2019 worldwide cinematic release of Metallica and San Francisco Symphony: S&M², which documented Metallica and San Francisco Symphony reuniting to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their original S&M (Symphony & Metallica) concerts and releases.

Formed in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, Metallica has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, selling nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 15 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on all seven continents. Metallica’s catalog of multi-platinum studio albums includes Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, … And Justice for All, Metallica (commonly referred to as The Black Album), Load, Reload, St. Anger, Death Magnetic, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, and the forthcoming 72 Seasons, out April 14, 2023, on the band’s own Blackened Recordings label. Metallica’s awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, a 2009 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Sweden’s Polar Music Prize. In 2017, Metallica established the All Within My Hands Foundation to give back to communities that have supported the band. To date, All Within My Hands’ collective efforts have raised nearly $12 million – providing $5.9 million in grants to career and technical education programs, over $2.5 million to combat food insecurity, and more than $3.3 million to disaster relief efforts.

Rick Wakeman Cbe Returns To The USA With A New Solo Show

Eric Alper
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Rick Wakeman Cbe Returns To The USA With A New Solo Show

Keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman CBE is pleased to announce that he will be returning to the USA in March and April 2023, with his latest tour, AN EVENING WITH RICK WAKEMAN: HIS MUSIC AND STORIES, starting Wednesday, March 15 in Phoenixville, PA.

“It’s always so enjoyable playing in America,” Wakeman comments. “At every show, I see old friends and hopefully, make new ones.”

Wakeman’s set will consist of music taken from across the wide breadth of his 50-year-plus career, stripped back to its roots in arrangements for grand piano. It will include work from his early days as a session player arranging and performing keyboards on hits like David Bowie’s Life On Mars, through his groundbreaking stint with progressive rock band YES and his own multi-platinum solo albums, plus quirky covers of other acts like The Beatles.

And this glorious display of keyboard virtuosity will be punctuated by hilarious anecdotes and reminiscences of his life. Renowned as much for his irreverent sense of humour as his musical talent, as he himself says, all of Wakeman’s stories contain an element of truth; it’s up to the audience to decide how much!

In a departure from his previous solo tours, as well as playing a grand piano, Wakeman will also be bringing along a few electronic keyboards to add variety and texture to his set. “I’m looking forward to ringing the changes with the addition of keyboards, which is a bit of a departure from my traditional ‘piano shows’, but will give me the opportunity to vary the setlist.”

With over 50 million albums sold in five decades and an enviable reputation as a wit and raconteur, AN EVENING WITH RICK WAKEMAN: HIS MUSIC AND STORIES will be an opportunity to share musical memories and riotous reflections in the company of a true rock legend!

RICK WAKEMAN 2023 US TOUR

March 15 Phoenixville, PA Colonial Theatre
March 17 Fort Lauderdale, FL Amaturo Theater @ Broward County
March 25 Clearwater, FL Capital Theatre @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
March 27 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
March 30 Bethlehem, PA Wind Creek Events Center
March 31 Atlantic City, NJ Sound Waves Theater @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
April 1 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theater
April 3 Red Bank, NJ The Vogel @ Count Basie Theatre
April 4 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
April 5 Huntington, NY The Paramount
April 6 New York, NY City Winery
April 9 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall

Daniel Caesar Releases New Single “Do You Like Me?”

Eric Alper
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Daniel Caesar Releases New Single “Do You Like Me?”

Multi-Platinum, GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Daniel Caesar drops his newest single “Do You Like Me?” today.

The song—produced by renowned Multi-Platinum artist Raphael Saadiq alongside Caesar and Dylan Wiggins—juxtaposes an airy, laid back vibe with the insecurities of romantic relationships.

On the inspiration behind the track, Daniel Caesar says, “A song about a woman I respect deeply.. 90 degrees of a love triangle.”

“Do You Like Me?” sets the stage for more to come from Caesar in 2023 and follows a whirlwind 2022 for the artist.

Last year, he dropped his single “Please Do Not Lean” feat. Badbadnotgood to critical acclaim after a career-defining headline performance at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which drew massive crowds and featured a surprise appearance by Justin Bieber to sing their smash hit “Peaches.” Not to mention, Caesar took to the 2022 GRAMMY Awards stage alongside Bieber and Giveon to perform the song, after it received four GRAMMY nominations, two Billboard Music Award nominations, amassed billions of streams, and also landed Caesar his first #1 on the Billboard 100 Chart.

Multi-platinum GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Daniel Caesar is on a journey of self-actualization. He’s built his name across the gamut of contemporary R&B—contemplative soul and evocative rock to intergalactic alternative and understated pop—with artistry at his core. One of the most critically and commercially successful artists today—he’s one of the Top 10 most-streamed Canadian artists of all time on Spotify with over 20 million monthly listeners on the platform and 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube—he’s ready to elevate his artistry in 2023 and beyond. His 2017 debut, Freudian, was released independently and was a R&B breakthrough, bolstered by the 5x-platinum “Best Part” [feat. H.E.R.] and 3x-platinum “Get You” [feat. Kali Uchis]. Daniel received a GRAMMY Award for “Best R&B Performance” for the former, and the b-side “Blessed” was featured on President Barack Obama’s annual favorites playlist. 2019’s follow up, CASE STUDY 01 [featuring John Mayer, Brandy, and Pharrell Williams], debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Top 200. His first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 came two years later with Justin Bieber’s megahit “Peaches” [featuring Giveon], amassing billions of streams. 2022’s “Please Do Not Lean” has garnered nearly 70 million global streams to date and received critical acclaim from across the globe.

Green Day Release ‘Nimrod 25 – 25th Anniversary Edition’ Includes Unreleased Demos & ‘97 Live Set From Philadelphia

Eric Alper
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Green Day Release ‘Nimrod 25 – 25th Anniversary Edition’ Includes Unreleased Demos & ‘97 Live Set From Philadelphia

Today, five-time GRAMMY Award-winning band Green Day release Nimrod 25 the 25th Anniversary Edition box set. Nimrod 25 includes the original album, one disc of previously unreleased demos, and a live set from Philadelphia’s Electric Factory recorded on November 14, 1997 one month after Nimrod’s release. The 14 track demos disc includes two unreleased Green Day songs (“You Irritate Me” and “Tre Polka”) plus a cover of the classic Elvis Costello song “Alison” (previously unreleased). Nimrod has now sold over 3 million copies.

Nimrod was originally released on October 14, 1997. The Billboard Top 10 LP was driven by the hit singles “Hitchin’ A Ride”, “Redundant”, “Nice Guys Finish Last” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” the latter of which has sold 5 million copies in the US alone. The song was written as a spiteful ballad and has evolved into the soundtrack of everyone’s seminal life moments; even being featured in the Seinfeld series finale. The album certified triple platinum in the US and has been certified multi-platinum, platinum or gold in several other countries, including the UK, Japan, Canada, Australia and Spain. In retrospect, KERRANG! asserted, “If Dookie was the album that put the band on centre stage, Nimrod was a multifaceted spreading of wings that saw them begin to master what to do now they were there,” and Alternative Press cited it as “a game-changer.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band brought their sold-out Hella Mega headline stadium run to the UK and Europe this past summer, as well as, headlining festivals including Innings, Shaky Knees, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Rock In Rio, Sea Hear Now, & Firefly. Green Day played Formula 1 Grand Prix’s in Austin and Singapore Grand Prix performing to over 65,000 fans, the largest crowd at the event in over three years.

Formed in 1986 in Berkeley, CA, Green Day is one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time, with more than 75 million records sold worldwide and 10 billion cumulative audio/visual streams. The five-time Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees released their breakout album Dookie in 1994, which sold over 10 million and achieved diamond status, is widely credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock, catapulting a career-long run of #1 hit singles. Entertainment Weekly calls Green Day, “The most influential band of their generation,” while Rolling Stone attests, “Green Day have inspired more young bands to start than any act this side of KISS, and that doesn’t seem to be changing.” In 2004, Green Day released the rock opera American Idiot which captured the nation’s attention, selling more than 8 million copies in the U.S. alone and taking home the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. Mojo declared “It’s exhilarating stuff, the kind of record that sets new parameters as to what is possible from a punk rock’n’roll band in the 21st century.” In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway to critical and commercial acclaim. Released in 2020, Green Day’s thirteenth studio album Father Of All… (Reprise/Warner Records) debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart and #1 in both the U.K. and Australia. Pitchfork declared, “Green Day’s most fetching and youthful songs in ages. The trio sounds reinvigorated, more like hungry newcomers staking their claim.” In July 2021, Green Day embarked on The Hella Mega Tour (w/ Fall Out Boy & Weezer). The U.S. leg included 20 sold out stadium gigs – including renowned venues like Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Boston’s Fenway Park and Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium – and a total attendance of more than 630,000 fans.

NIMROD 25 – 25th Anniversary Edition Tracklisting
Vinyl Box (5 LPs):
LP 1 & 2: Nimrod
LP 3: Nimrod Demos
LP 4 & 5: Live at The Electric Factory 1997

CD Box (3 CDs):
CD 1: Nimrod
CD 2: Nimrod Demos
CD 3: Live at The Electric Factory 1997

Nimrod:
1. Nice Guys Finish Last
2. Hitchin’ A Ride
3. The Grouch
4. Redundant
5. Scattered
6. All The Time
7. Worry Rock
8. Platypus (I Hate You)
9. Uptight
10. Last Ride In
11. Jinx
12. Haushinka
13. Walking Alone
14. Reject
15. Take Back
16. King For A Day
17. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
18. Prosthetic Head

Nimrod Demos
1. Nice Guys Finish Last
2. Place Inside My Head
3. The Grouch
4. Walking Alone
5. Jinx
6. Alison
7. Espionage
8. You Irritate Me
9. Tre Polka
10. When It’s Time
11. Desensitized
12. Chain Saw
13. Reject
14. Black Eyeliner

Live at the Electric Factory, Philadelphia
November 14 1997
1. Going To Pasalacqua
2. Welcome To Paradise
3. Geek Stink Breath
4. Nice Guys Finish Last
5. Hitchin’ A Ride
6. The Grouch
7. Chump
8. Longview
9. 2000 Light Years Away
10. Brainstew
11. Jaded
12. Knowledge
13. Basket Case
14. She
15. Fuck Off And Die
16. Paper Lanterns
17. Scattered
18. Prosthetic Head
19. When I Come Around
20. Good Riddance

My Next Read: “The Tastemaker: My Life with the Legends and Geniuses of Rock Music” by Tony King

Eric Alper
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My Next Read: “The Tastemaker: My Life with the Legends and Geniuses of Rock Music” by Tony King

The Tastemaker charts the singular life of a man who has been at the beating heart of music’s most iconic moments for over sixty years and features stories of his time working with everyone from the Beatles to the Ronettes and Elton John to the Rolling Stones.

Leaving school at the age of sixteen to start his career in the music industry at Decca Records, Tony King would soon find himself becoming a close friend and confidante to some of the world’s biggest artists – a far cry from his childhood days in Eastbourne.

Living in an era of seismic social, technological and cultural transformation, King experienced these defining moments as an influential figure in London and New York’s gay scenes. Despite his heady life in showbusiness, however, he would soon learn that a glittering career couldn’t shield him from heartbreak – witness to the AIDS crisis and the devastating consequences, his personal life was intermittently marked by tumult and turmoil. This included spending time with with his friend Freddie Mercury in the Queen frontman’s final days.

Suffused with Tony King’s disarming warmth and unparalleled charisma – and at times profoundly moving – The Tastemaker paints an intimate portrait of a music legend and captures the unpredictable world he stamped his indelible mark upon.

Quebec’s Bilingual Folk/Roots Group JABBOUR Releases “Dans ton café” Single and Video

Eric Alper
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Quebec’s Bilingual Folk/Roots Group JABBOUR Releases “Dans ton café” Single and Video

How many friends do you really have—and not just online? How well do you know the members of your family? How many times do you promise to make a date to catch up, and never really do? Do you know what your friends and family take in their coffee? Maybe it’s time to make a New Year’s resolution to follow through and find out.

The new single from Quebecois folk group Jabbour, “Dans ton café,” is about exactly that. Sung in French, the song details all the small things friends and family could do to get to know each other a little bit more: “As it is, I don’t even know what you take in your coffee.” The song arrives accompanied by a charming, animated video where coffee cups transform into guitars and the steam of a hot beverage becomes the strings of a violin. “Dans ton café” is the lead track on Jabbour’s 2021 album Carling Lake, named after a small Pine Hill ski centre in the Laurentians, which closed in the mid-1990s. The album uses the image of Carling Lake as a nostalgic symbol of the innocent camaraderie, family spirit and the appreciation of nature that reigned there; conditions that contrast with the pandemic context in which the album was recorded. The album’s previous single, the title track, sung in English, was launched with a music video mixing archival film with modern footage of the still standing but shuttered resort.

Jabbour creates folk music with accents from the regional Quebec communities where the members live, from the Laurentians to Montérégie, sung in both English and French. Carling Lake is the group’s third album, produced by John McColgan (Durham County Poets, Mama’s Broke), a 12-song collection that incorporates different sonic textures, interviews, and field recordings. The group’s identity crystallized during its 2015 tour of British Columbia, when the musicians realized they had found their niche on the Canadian folk music scene. That winter, the band recorded its debut album ‘Round the Clock over a weekend on stage at the Oscar Peterson Hall in Montreal. This debut album won them a Stingray Songwriter Award and airplay on SiriusXM, Stingray, CBC, ICI Musique Radio-Canada and several community and university stations. It also gave them the opportunity to tour the Maritimes twice and perform at various festivals. In 2019, Jabbour released their second album Saint Bernard, and toured throughout Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; conference showcases at Folk Alliance and Folk Music Ontario and concerts at the Folk on the Canal Festival in Montreal, La Série Découvertes at Place des Arts and other Quebec festivals.

It’s a TumbleWeedyWorld from Ottawa Singer-Songwriter Lynn Miles With New Album Out March 17, 2023

Eric Alper
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It’s a TumbleWeedyWorld from Ottawa Singer-Songwriter Lynn Miles With New Album Out March 17, 2023

Lynn Miles has earned her reputation as one of Canada’s most formidable songwriters, having written more than 900 songs and released 15 albums over her remarkable career.. She’s racked up multiple Juno Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, had two albums voted #1 by readers of Penguin Eggs magazine, and had her songs covered by a multitude of artists including Claire Lynch on her Grammy-nominated album North by South. The Ottawa-based singer is a producer, professor and public speaker, a paragon of excellence in everything she does. You could say she is reliable. The songs on her 16th album, TumbleWeedyWorld, out March 17, 2023, however, are about unreliability. About shaky situations. About a time when cracks begin to appear in everything.

“These are songs that arrive at a moment when global instability illuminated the fragility of personal relationships. They’re about impermanence (“I’m a lonesome drifting girl / In my tumbleweedyworld”). About incompatibility (“I wish you were a night owl, too”). About the left (“Johnny Without June”) and about the leaving (“Hide Your Heart”). About spiteful endings (“All Bitter Never Sweet”). About how those endings are never crystal clear, about the complications of regret (“All these years I’ve been carrying around this heart / There’s always been a tiny missing part / I couldn’t name it or maybe I wouldn’t dare / Cause I know I’d have to walk through fire to go back there”). They’re songs about navigating life’s hurdles, about dodging tumbleweeds, about leaving stuck situations. On the surface, they’re hurtin’ songs about two people who can’t make things work.“

Dig deeper, however—as Lynn Miles does—and they’re about every kind of relationship where “Sorry’s Just Not Good Enough.”

TumbleWeedyWorld, like many Lynn Miles records, sounds the way a warm blanket feels. Her emotive, empathetic vocals are situated in acoustic arrangements with nods to pop, country and bluegrass, without percussion. She’s surrounded by ace instrumentalists, but her voice is always central. Says fellow songwriter Ellis Paul, from Boston, “Lynn Miles has the kind of voice that insists that you pull the car over. Call the radio station. Change your citizenship. Buy a home in Toronto. She’s been blessed with such a drop-dead-beautiful, honey-smooth voice that it’s impossible to not fall in love with it. It rides along the ebb and flow of a gifted sense of melody. She’s the kind of lyricist that renders whatever heartache you feel into something both beautiful and aching. She also is extremely funny. Like she’s carrying an antidote to inject you with between songs to cure you of the snake bite.”

As a public speaker and writer, Lynn Miles speaks of mental health issues in the music community; she gave a presentation on Musicians and Mental Health at the 2019 Folk Alliance International conference. She has raised over $10,000 for charities with her “ugly sweater” raffles at her annual “Winter/Christmas” shows. Her single “What If You Were a Refugee” raises funds for agencies that help migrants.

Tracklisting

1. Night Owl 4:20
2. Highway 105 3:46
3. Cold Cold Moon 5:12
4. Johnny Without June 4:09
5. Hide Your Heart 2:24
6. Sorry’s Just Not Good Enough 3:15
7. Palomino 3:34
8. All Bitter Never Sweet 2:17
9. Moody 3:47
10. Gold In The Middle 3:57

SOCAN Foundation Announces Winners of Third Annual SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards

Eric Alper
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SOCAN Foundation Announces Winners of Third Annual SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards

The SOCAN Foundation is thrilled to announce the recipients of the third annual SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards: Adria Kain, AHI, Desarae Dee, Nonso Amadi and Zach Zoya.

The Black Canadian Music Awards were created to recognize and celebrate the artistic merit demonstrated by Black music creators of any genre. This year, SiriusXM Canada has doubled their support for the award, with the five selected winners each receiving a prize of $10,000 to support their career development.

“What an honour to participate in amplifying Black creatives. So many of the submissions were incredible, making this the hardest jury process to date,” said Keziah Myers, Executive Director at ADVANCE Music Canada, and chair of the jury. “I learned of writers and composers that I didn’t know about, automatically looked up their projects, and it inspired me to think of ways to amplify them within the industry and provide more vehicles for opportunity. Congratulations to the winners!” Myers was part of the SOCAN  Foundation committee that created the Black Canadian Music Awards, and she has also served as a jury member for the last three years.

This year the Awards had a record number of applications from artists across Canada, spanning a multitude of genres. Winners were selected by a jury and advisory council of prominent Black artists and industry leaders. Jury members include Keziah Myers (Executive Director at Advance), Nicolas Ouellet (Radio Host at Radio-Canada), Lord Quest (Executive Creative, Black Music at SOCAN), Marika Siewert (Recording Artist) and Wayne Samuels (President and CEO at Wired Management Inc).

“We’re so proud to help bring this program to life for a third year and to double the prize money for these incredibly talented and deserving recipients,” said Michelle Mearns, VP, Programming & Operations, SiriusXM Canada. “SiriusXM is committed to supporting Black Canadian artists and I can’t wait to see what these artists create in the future.”

Special distinctions and awards of $1,000 are also being made to City Fidelia, Haley Smalls, Leila Day, Promise and Shreez.

Adria Kain is a Toronto-based artist known for sharing raw and honest lived experiences through soulful melodies and thought-provoking lyricism. She came up through The Remix Project alongside DVSN’s Daniel Daley and Jessie Reyez. With an impressive vocal range and unique tone, the budding talent has garnered acclaim from tastemakers including Complex, Fader and CBC. Adria’s debut album, When Flowers Bloom, landed her a Polaris Prize nomination and a moving COLORS performance of her song “Only With Time“, which blew away the likes of TI, Lena Waithe, Rapsody and Joe Budden.

With a voice like “gravel on silk”, Brampton-born singer-songwriter AHI has learned to balance his instrument’s power across a colourful landscape of tightly-crafted lyrics, driving rhythms and catchy melodies, propelling him to the forefront of the contemporary Folk/Roots scene. From charting on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon, to delivering captivating performances on CBS and NPR Tiny Desk and touring internationally with Mandy Moore and Milow for his latest studio release Prospect, AHI has quickly amassed over 60M streams worldwide. The album has earned AHI his second JUNO nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year and his first-ever Polaris Prize nod, establishing him as one of Canada’s most exciting new voices.

Desarae Dee is a Toronto-based powerhouse pianist and multi-instrumentalist who has made significant waves in the Canadian music industry as an instrumental fusion artist since 2014. Known as “Toronto’s Queen of Vibes”, her passionate and meaningful sound combines a unique mixture of faith, soul, vulnerability, and divine balance. Desarae has an extensive resume that includes 21 singles and four project releases over the last eight years, regional touring, a feature on the cover of Spotify’s Fresh Finds Jazz playlist with her single “Care For You“, a feature on NPR Music’s Jazz Night On The List Spotify + Apple Music playlists with her single, “Meditation,” national and international media coverage and radio plays, and a recent Top 100 finish in the 2022 CBC Music Searchlight competition. She continues to blaze the trail in the name of instrumental music, while continuing to break barriers and forge a path for current and future Black women musicians in Canada.

Nonso Amadi is an Afro-R&B, soul singer-songwriter and producer from Nigeria. Nonso transformed into a sonic globetrotter after his move to Canada – leading him to fuse the soul and rhythm of Afrobeats with modern soft textures of R&B. With over 100 million streams to date, Nonso stands tall as a constantly evolving, textured lyricist able to translate Alte, Afro-fusion and hip-hop into his R&B-canvassed approach to storytelling, best represented on his 2019 EP Free, which features Afrobeats heavyweights Simi and Mr Eazi. Currently recording his debut album supported by Universal Music Canada, Nonso is determined to shed even more of his creative-skin.

In just a few years, rapper Zach Zoya has become a central figure in Montréal’s flourishing music scene. Raised in rural French-speaking Québec, he learned English by listening to American hip-hop, R&B and soul music. Zoya’s passion for songwriting and performance led him to pursue a career in music. In 2019, he signed with Universal Music Canada and began collaborating with some of the country’s biggest producers for his debut EP, Spectrum, which was released to critical acclaim and several award nominations. With the 2022 release of his sophomore EP No Love Is Ever Wasted, Zach has had two consecutive Top 40 radio hits, was crowned a YouTube Trending Artist on the Rise, and received three nominations at the 2022 Gala Dynastie Awards.

1964: Eyes of the Storm Photographs and Reflections by Paul McCartney Out June 13, 2023

Eric Alper
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1964: Eyes of the Storm Photographs and Reflections by Paul McCartney Out June 13, 2023

In 2020, an extraordinary trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by Paul McCartney on a 35mm camera was re-discovered in his archive. They intimately record the months towards the end of 1963 and beginning of 1964 when Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band’s first visit to the USA, they became the most famous people on the planet. The photographs are McCartney’s personal record of this explosive time, when they, The Beatles, were inside looking out and were the ‘Eyes of the Storm’.

1964: Eyes of the Storm presents 275 of McCartney’s photographs from the six cities of these intense, legendary months – Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami – and many never-before-seen portraits of John, George and Ringo. In his Foreword and Introductions to these city portfolios, McCartney remembers ‘what else can you call it – pandemonium’ and conveys his impressions of Britain and America in 1964 – the moment when the culture changed and the Sixties really began.

“Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time. This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back. Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris (where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers three years before), and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America.”

Complementing this new publication, McCartney’s photographs will be displayed for the first time in the unprecedented exhibition, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm, at the National Portrait Gallery, London. The exhibition will run from 28 June until 1 October 2023, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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