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The Judds Announce Fall 2022 Arena Tour ‘The Final Tour’

Eric Alper
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The Judds Announce Fall 2022 Arena Tour ‘The Final Tour’

Today, GRAMMY-winning iconic duo, The Judds, announce their first tour in over a decade, The Final Tour. The 10-date arena tour, produced by Sandbox Live and Live Nation, kicks off on Friday, Sept. 30 in Grand Rapids, Mich. at Van Andel Arena, making stops in Toledo, Green Bay, Fort Worth, and more before concluding in Nashville, Tenn. at Bridgestone Arena on Friday, Oct. 28. Martina McBride will join as a very special guest on select dates. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning April 15th at TheJudds.com. See below routing for on-sale times. Fans can sign up for pre-sale ticket access at TheJudds.com.

“The fans have always been my family of choice. I love them dearly, so I’m chompin’ at the bit to belt out our hits and reconnect with them once again. The cherry on top is singing with my beloved, wild and extremely talented daughter… the best singer of any genre, Wynonna! She asked me if I was still going to twist, twirl and crack jokes. I answered, “Heck yeah! I’m too old to grow up now!” Naomi shared.

“What I’m looking forward to most is celebrating Judd music with the fans. Mom and I have had quite the journey over the last 38 years, and the fans have been with us through it all. This tour is a celebration for them!” said Wynonna.

The Judds, one of the most successful duos in country music history, will make a triumphant return to the CMT MUSIC AWARDS stage tonight, to perform their international hit and chart-topping single, “Love Can Build A Bridge” with the iconic landmark of Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame as their background, a nod to the duo’s upcoming 2022 induction. The performance kicks off a soon-to-be momentous year for Naomi and Wynonna as they’re officially enshrined in the hall of fame in May.

Wynonna and Naomi Judd brought a fresh acoustic sound to country music, with unmistakable harmonies surrounding Wynonna’s powerful lead vocals. The Judds are often celebrated for a rarely-interrupted stretch of 14 No. 1 hits when every single of theirs released by RCA landed in the Billboard Top 10; and a career that defined what it means to be individualists in the music business. The Judds dominated touring in the 80s with 20 Top 10 hits, have sold more than 20 million albums and blazed a trail for duos and women who have followed them. Together, The Judds have 16 Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum albums and longform videos, led by 2x Platinum albums Why Not Me and The Judds Greatest Hits. Their stripped-back style revived the popularity of acoustic sounds in country music and opened up the genre for more traditional approaches.

THE FINAL TOUR 2022 DATES:
Sept. 30 Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Mich.
Oct. 1 Huntington Center – Toledo, Ohio
Oct. 7 Denny Sanford Premier Center – Sioux Falls, S.D.
Oct. 8 Resch Center – Green Bay, Wisc.
Oct. 14 Gas South Arena – Duluth, Ga.
Oct. 15 Propst Arena at The Von Braun Center – Huntsville, Ala.
Oct. 21 Choctaw Grand Theater – Durant, Okla.
Oct. 22 Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, Texas
Oct. 27 Mississippi Coast Coliseum – Biloxi, Miss.
Oct. 28 Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tenn.

Conan Gray Announces Superache Album To Arrive June 24

Eric Alper
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Conan Gray Announces Superache Album To Arrive June 24

Platinum-selling singer, songwriter, and Gen Z pop king Conan Gray will release his anxiously awaited second full-length album, Superache [Republic Records/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company], on June 24, 2022.

Currently crisscrossing the country on “The Conan Gray World Tour 2022,” he has quietly dropped hints to his fans each night about the forthcoming Superache. This weekend the tour will make a historic stop for his debut performance at Coachella 2022.

Making headlines, GQ featured Conan in their March 2022 issue and christened him “The New Prince of Sad Songs,” while Vogue included him in its massive new fashion spread in this month’s issue.

Earlier this year, he initially teased the album with the grungy banger “Jigsaw,” which has amassed 14.5 million Spotify streams. In addition to plugs from NME and coup de main, Rolling Stone praised, “Conan Gray is going down the rock road – and he’s placing the sonic puzzle pieces in all of the right places,” and UPROXX hailed it as “electrifying.”

It also arrived on the heels of his most recent release “Telepath.” The latter has gathered nearly 35 million streams and counting. Earning critical acclaim, NPR noted, “Conan Gray has ignited Sad Girl Fall” and proclaimed, “A repetitive, mind-numbing bassline gives this song an electro-pop feel that throws us back to the ‘80s.” Fader dubbed it a “striking new electro-pop single,” and press continue to praise Conan with UPROXX saying “Gray has steadily released hit after hit.”

In other news, 2021 was a massive year for Conan: “People Watching” has amassed nearly 140 million streams to date. Inspiring tastemaker applause NPR raved, “it’s incredibly validating to hear others share thoughts that you assumed no one else saw or felt,” and Clash Music hailed it as “potent” and “a bittersweet return that has electrified fans.” Its predecessor “Astronomy” has tallied nearly 100 million-plus streams and counting.

Since releasing original demos on his YouTube channel at the age of 15, Conan Gray has emerged as one of the pre-eminent pop superstars of his generation. Even after the commercial success of global multi-platinum hits “Heather” and “Maniac”, his music continues to maintain its unflinching authenticity and originality. Gray’s debut album, Kid Krow, crafted by Gray and longtime collaborator and producer Dan Nigro, reached #5 on the Billboard 200, #1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and became the biggest new artist debut of the year. In the summer of 2020, when “Heather” topped charts around the world, Sir Elton John publicly praised Gray for being the only artist on the Spotify top 50 to have written the song entirely on their own. With over 7 billion streams, Gray has attracted unanimous applause from a who’s who of tastemakers including Vogue, GQ, V Man, Paper, Fader, Billboard, NPR, MTV, I-D, Wonderland, Clash, Notion, and has delivered rapturous performances on television shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and The Today Show. Gray’s much anticipated sophomore album is set for release June 24th, 2022.

The Conan Gray World Tour 2022 Dates
4/11 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
4/13 San Francisco, CA Fox Theatre
4/16 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
4/18 Phoenix, AZ The Van Buren
4/20 Denver, CO Mission Ballroom
4/23 Indio, CA Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
5/5 Oslo, Norway Sentrum Scene
5/6 Stockholm, Sweden Annexet
5/7 Copenhagen, Denmark K.B. Hallen
5/9 Hamburg, Germany Edel-optics.de Arena
5/10 Berlin, Germany Verti Music Hall
5/11 Warsaw, Poland COS Torwar
5/13 Munich, Germany Tonhalle
5/14 Prague, Czech Republic Forum Karlín
5/15 Vienna, Austria Gasometer
5/17 Zurich, Switzerland Volkshaus
5/18 Milan, Italy Fabrique
5/20 Barcelona, Spain Sant Jordi Club
5/21 Madrid, Spain Palacio Vistalegre
5/24 Paris, France L’Olympia
5/25 Brussels, Belgium Ancienne Belgique
5/26 Cologne, Germany Palladium
5/27 Amsterdam, Netherlands AFAS Live
5/30 Dublin, Ireland 3Olympia Theatre
6/2 Glasgow, UK O2 Academy
6/3 Leeds, UK O2 Academy
6/4 Manchester, UK O2 Victoria Warehouse
6/6 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy
6/8 Bristol, UK O2 Academy
6/9 London, UK Eventim Apollo

100 Gecs Share “Doritos & Fritos”

Eric Alper
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100 Gecs Share “Doritos & Fritos”

100 gecs share the second offering from their highly-anticipated sophomore album 10000 gecs with the track “Doritos & Fritos.” Lead by a distorted guitar and high-energy slapped bass sounding like timewarped homage to early 90’s Alternative Rock heroes, the new song provides another peek into what tricks the band has up their sleeves on their forthcoming album.

“Doritos & Fritos” follows the lead single off 10000 gecs “mememe”, which was described by their Pitchfork cover story as “an ebullient carnival of ska-inflected verses that bounce off a chorus of thrash guitars and a squiggling synth line.” The new 10000 gecs song also follows 100 gecs’ sold-out North American tour to which The Boston Globe noted, “a pungent medley of vape smoke, Gen Z mosh-sweat, and hundreds of spilled drinks — was the lingering effect of gecs.” Across the tour, the gecs teased the unreleased songs “Hollywood Baby,” “757” and “what’s that smell?”

This summer, 100 gecs will be performing at multiple festivals including Coachella this weekend and next, So What Music Festival in May, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Primavera Sound in June, Lollapalooza, Capitol Hill Block Party and Osheaga in July, Reading Leeds in August and Firefly in September.

100 gecs, the duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, planted their flag on the proverbial pop culture moon with their 2019 debut album 1000 gecs, which was heralded by The New Yorker as, “an impressively precise maximalist exercise with no rules” and “utterly unhinged in the best way possible” by GQ. The innovative project captured the hearts of fans and critics alike – selling out all of their live shows to date along with The New York Times calling it, “some of the savviest pop music of the year,” and Rolling Stone dubbing it “one of 2019’s most exciting debuts.” In just a few months following the release of 1000 gecs, the band went from playing their first concert from inside the video game Minecraft to selling out shows across the country, proving that their rabid, rapidly multiplying fanbase doesn’t only exist in the far corners of the internet. After their world tour was postponed in the summer of 2020, Brady and Les kept rolling with the release of 1000 gecs and The Tree of Clues, a rework of the original album featuring collaborations from the likes of A. G. Cook, Fall Out Boy, Charli XCX, Rico Nasty, as well as crowd sourced contributions by fans. The transformative release was described by The NME as a “brain-melting, genre-crushing vision of pop’s future.”

Upcoming Live Dates:

USA
4/16 + 4/23 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
5/27 – Arlington, TX @ So What Music Festival
6/1 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Soud
6/12 – Queens, NY @ The Governors Ball
6/18 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
7/22 – 7/24 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
7/28 – 7/31 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
7/30 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga
8/26 – 8/28 @ Reading and Leeds
9/22 – 9/25 – Dover, DE @ Firefly

EU
June 2nd – Barcelona, Span @ Primavera Festival
June 3rd – 5th – Nurmberg, Germany @ Rock im Park
June 8th – Barcelona, Spain @ PC Music Party @ La 2 de Apolo
June 10th – Porto, Portugal @ Primavera Sound Porto
August 11th – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
August 12th – Berlin, Germany @ Metropol
August 13th – Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic @ Sodapop
August 15th – Warsaw, Poland @ Proxima
August 17th – Vienna, Austria @ Grelle Forelle
August 18th – Polten, Austria @ Frequency Festival
August 20th – Hasselt, Belgium @ Pukkelpop festival
August 21st – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
August 23rd – Cologne, Germany @ Gloria Theater
August 26th – Leeds, UK @ Reading & Leeds
August 28th – Reading, UK @ Reading & Leeds
August 30th – London, UK @ 02 Forum Kentish Town
September 1st – Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theater
September 2nd – Stradbally, Ireland @ Electric Picnic Festival
September 4th – Manchester, UK @ 02 Ritz Manchester
September 5th – Glasgow, UK @ Galvanizers, SWG3

Canadian Singer/Songwriter Frances Hope Sings Of The Push & Pull Of Toxic Love With “Stay”

Eric Alper
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Canadian Singer/Songwriter Frances Hope Sings Of The Push & Pull Of Toxic Love With “Stay”

There will be nothing you’d rather do than “Stay” when you take a spin on the latest song from Canadian singer/songwriter Frances Hope and her new single.

The ethereal, whimsical, pop-injected rock offering lands like a magical soundscape lulling you like a lullaby — pleading with you to remain just where you are, and as you are, as you listen. The track penned by the Edmonton-born, Victoria-based indie songstress is a majestic insight to yearning, needing; imploring of pure human desire that begins as need as it builds to self-sufficiency.

Says Hope of the song: “‘Stay’ was dreamt up while at my piano while contemplating how to bring the feeling to life of being powerless, angry, hurt, and broken, but still wishing that the person who broke you in the first place would ask you to stay. In my opinion, this song is the representation of love as an addiction, and the push-pull of the toxic relationship, where everyone around you asks, ‘why didn’t you just leave?’”

Hope is a leading contender in the field of up-and-coming Canadian musicians. A poet, lyricist, instrumentalist, and vocalist, she has defined her place in the musical landscape, bringing an edge of grit to vulnerability, and remaining wholly authentic.

Having already made waves in singing competitions like Sing for the Shot: Remastered, and taking the top prize from a battle of the bands to perform at the Dragon Boat Festival in Victoria, Hope is chiseling out her path as an indie musician to watch for. Now armed with two EPs (and a third on the way), plus singles to match, Hope is garnering acclaim across radio and streaming alike.

Frances Hope teamed with Spencer Lillo to bring “Stay” to life. She says, “The collaboration began after I posted a short video of myself playing a moody and emotional version of the song on the piano. Spencer Lillo happened to see the video and contacted me about creating a pop-rock version of the song, which I was really excited to try and think will resonate with others who have experienced the same thing.”

In addition to her songwriting prowess to deliver messages of genuine heartbreak and the innate desire to heal oneself in an effort of poignant discovery, Hope also tackles current and old school covers; sharing her recreations on YouTube, generally stripped down to just she and her piano, she excels in dreaming up the message she wishes to share and creating the melody and lyrics to draw in a listener through both experience and understanding.

“‘Stay’”, she says, “is a letter to those needing to forgive themselves for what they experienced, and recognizing healing is non-linear and nothing can be gained from a relationship that makes you suffer.”

And it’s that connectivity Frances Hope provides her listeners that compels them to “Stay” with her.

Her music. Her message. Every time.

Rock Trio Of Nature Hit the Open Road with New Single, “Midnight Drive”

Eric Alper
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Rock Trio Of Nature Hit the Open Road with New Single, “Midnight Drive”

Painting a vivid picture of a mysterious figure with profound, drifting thoughts on an open road to nowhere, the psychedelic stylings of Canadian rock trio Of Nature are on full display with the release of their new single, “Midnight Drive.”

Silky-smooth bass grooves and electrifying guitar riffs transport the listener across a smoky desert highway — the falling sun clear as day in the rearview. The seductive sonic energy on “Midnight Drive” is accompanied by soaring vocals sure to awaken the demons that come out at night.

The twilight enchantment of “Midnight Drive” is greatly enriched by lyrical imagery that tells a story and inspires listeners towards a deeper understanding of our emotions.

“I sit alone by the side of a highway road
It’s been too long since I’ve been home and I’m tired
So I get down on my knees
The road’s been hard, but the thought is deep.”

Channeling the musical depth of progressive rock with a few splashes of harmonic psychedelia to create a distinctly timeless sound, Of Nature’s style harnesses the rock gods of the past while synthesizing contemporary rhythmic structure for a robust sound that appeals to the masses.

The collective artistic vision of Aiman Jadue and Devin Legge, fate intervened after a seemingly random encounter on the streets of Toronto saw bassist Greg Prymicz fold naturally into the band with genuine chemistry after just one rehearsal.

Of Nature looked to Toronto music veteran and owner of Bombshelter Records, Pat Greisberg to engineer and produce a few tracks. All of their hard work paid off with a polished, mature sound that siphons influence from the greats to create something fresh and familiar.

Folk-Roots Rocker Matt Zaddy Appreciates “A Dear Friend” with Release of New Single

Eric Alper
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Folk-Roots Rocker Matt Zaddy Appreciates “A Dear Friend” with Release of New Single

Years can pass. Time can slip by. But not for you and that one friend. The one who’s there till the end. And with the release of his new single, Mississauga, ON-based folk-roots rocker Matt Zaddy perfectly sums up that relationship in “A Dear Friend.”

The pandemic threatened to destroy relationships the world over. But Matt Zaddy understands what it means to hold onto those sacred; the ones who we treasure deep inside our hearts. “A Dear Friend” is a song that surmises the importance of keeping our loved ones close — even in distance, isolation, or time apart.

“This song has been very special to me for since the day I wrote it,” Zaddy explains, adding, “I was thinking about how my best friends in my 20s were people I played music with and, when the band we were in together ended, we didn’t see each other nearly as much as any of us would like.

“‘A Dear Friend’ is an affirmation and a reminder for me to make time for the people that I care about,” he continues. “This rang true even more so during the pandemic when no one could see their friends as often as we’d guessed.”

The folk/roots/indie musician selected the JUNO Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Ross Citrullo to work alongside him on the cut. And, as a songwriter at heart, Zaddy looked deep inside his core to pen the track that delicately frames the urgency to keep friendships strong, while creating a coffee-house vibe that is both gentle on its edges, while still staying true to its alternative indie-rock soundscape.

“I had a great time working with Eric Soto on the video as well,” Zaddy says. “We wanted to show what a day in my life was like during COVID. It was solitary on most days, but with the hope of seeing my friends and family again soon. The video starts out with me very much on my own, and ends with a combination of Zoom calls, humour, and a taste of a live show, with the line, it’s good to be back.

“It’s really good to be back… This video is a taste of hope that this year will be better than the last, that we can get back to things as we knew them.”

A decorated musician who has shared the stages with the likes of K’Naan, Francesco Yates, and Canadian rock legends Tom Cochrane and Jim Cuddy, Zaddy excels in being authentic, and genuine in his delivery. During the pandemic of 2020, he focused his attention on live streams and pre-recorded concerts, still providing his fans and listeners with his music. A teacher of his craft, Zaddy also leaned himself to music education and content creation (in partnership with The Guitar Shop Canada) and hosted virtual online events for artists in the community.

“A Dear Friend” is included in Zaddy’s latest offering, Be. The track is a blending of his innate ability to blend rock, with soul, with roots, with folk. Matt Zaddy has created the track that brings the feels between two people that hold each other so tightly, they can only be considered dear friends.

And this song can become a dear friend of yours.

Three Days Grace Announce North American Tour

Eric Alper
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Three Days Grace Announce North American Tour

Today, Three Days Grace share their new music video for “Lifetime” off their forthcoming seventh studio album, EXPLOSIONS out May 6th via RCA Records. The music video was filmed in the town of Mayfield, KY, which was devastated on December 10th, 2021 when an EF4 tornado tore through Western Kentucky. This hit home for the band, as guitarist Barry Stock lives in the area, and band taped the music video for the song in the town to raise awareness and funds to help them rebuild. Watch the music video, directed by Jon Vulpine who also directed the band’s recent “So Called Life” below.

The band shared, “Lifetime is about loss. It also speaks to the human condition to push forward and put one foot in front of the other even when you wake up and your world is turned upside down. Barry lives 2 hours to the north of Mayfield and when the tornado struck he not only knew people directly affected but days later found photos and debris in his own backyard; hitting, in more ways than one, close to home. The Mayfield community has shown hope and resilience in the face of unimaginable devastation. When we discussed how we wanted to visually portray this song the story of Mayfield immediately came up. We travelled down to Kentucky from Toronto in March. To see it all with our own eyes and to meet some of the families while overwhelming at times it was also a reminder to us and hopefully to all of you that while there is suffering there is also hope, resilience and strength around every corner all over the world.”

Today the band announced their headlining tour of the US and Canada. The multi-platinum selling Canadian band will perform in cities including Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Vancouver, Edmonton & more (full dates below with more to be announced). The band will be joined by special guests Wage War & Zero 9:36 on select U.S. dates and special guests The Warning & The Standstills on select Canadian dates. Tickets for dates and VIP packages will be available here starting Thursday, April 14 at 10am local time for Canadian dates and Friday, April 15 at 10am local time for U.S. shows.

The band recently confirmed that their EXPLOSIONS is available for pre-order on all formats here. The band’s new song “So Called Life” is their first new original music since their Juno Award-nominated Outsider (RCA Records). The song’s music video was directed by Jon Vulpine.

Since 2003, the band has staked a spot amongst the hard rock vanguard, breaking records, toppling charts, moving millions of units worldwide In 2015, Human marked the group’s second straight #1 slot on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart as well as their fourth consecutive debut in Top 20 of the Top 200. It spawned two #1 singles “Painkiller” and “I Am Machine,” signaling their 13th overall and 5thconsecutive number ones on the U.S. Active Rock Radio chart. Moreover, the four-piece consistently averaged a staggering 3.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify—remaining one of the most listened to rock bands in the world. In 2012, Transit of Venus soared to the Top 5 of the Top 200 and garnered a nod for “Best Rock Album of the Year” at the Juno Awards. The seminal One-X [2006] notched an RIAA triple-platinum certification as Three Days Grace [2003] was minted platinum and Life Starts Now went gold. To date, their veritable arsenal of number one includes “Chalk Outline,” “The High Road,” “Misery Loves My Company,” “World So Cold,” “Good Life,” “Break,” “Never Too Late,” “Animal I Have Become,” “Pain,” “Just Like You,” and “Home.”

Three Days Grace 2022 Tour Dates
4/19 – Huntsville, AL at Mars Music Hall
4/21 – St. Augustine, FL at The St. Augustine Amphitheatre &
4/22 – Tampa, FL at Amalie Arena (98ROCKFEST) %
4/23 – Orlando, FL at Tinker Field (Earthday) %
4/25 – Norfolk, VA at The NorVa $
4/26 – Charleston, SC at Charleston Music Hall $
4/28 – Newark, NJ at Prudential Center (Rock The Rock Fest) %
4/29 – Harrisburg, PA at House of Music, Arts & Culture $
4/30 – Worcester, MA at DCU Center (Big Gig) %
5/2 – Cincinnati, OH at Bogart’s $
5/3 – Fort Wayne, IN at The Clyde Theatre $
5/4 – Madison, WI at The Sylvee $
5/6 – Milwaukee, WI at Fiserv Forum (Hog Fest) %
5/7 – Minneapolis, MN at Target Center (93X Twin City Takeover) %
7/14 – South Bend, IN at Four Winds Field (WRBR Big Growl)
7/18 – Detroit, MI at The Fillmore^
7/19 – East Moline, IL at The Rust Belt^
7/21 – Clive, IA at Horizon Events Center^
7/22 – Chesterfield, MO at The Factory^
7/23 – Green Bay, WI at Capital Credit Union Park^
7/25 – Pittsburgh, PA at Stage AE^
7/27 – Wallingford, CT at The Dome at Toyota Presents Oakdale^
7/28 – Boston, MA at House of Blues^
8/1 – Portland, ME at State Theatre+
8/3 – Reading, PA at Theatre at Santander Arena^
8/5 – Atlanta, GA at Tabernacle^
8/6 – Nashville, TN. At Marathon Music Works^
8/7 – New Orleans, LA at The Fillmore^
8/9 – Houston, TX at 713 Music Hall^
8/11 – Austin, TX at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre^
8/12 – Irving, TX at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory+
8/15 – Denver, CO at The Mission Ballroom^
8/18 – Hollywood, CA at Hollywood Palladium^
8/19 – Tempe, AZ at The Marquee Theatre^
11/8 – Vancouver, BC at Queen Elizabeth Theatre*
11/10 – Penticton, BC at South Okanagan Events Centre*
11/11 – Calgary, AB at Grey Eagle Event Centre*
11/12 – Edmonton, AB at Edmonton Convention Centre*
11/14 – Grande Prairie, AB at The Bowes*
11/15 – Saskatoon, SK at Sasktel Centre*
11/17 – Winnipeg, MB at Burton Cummings Theatre*
11/20 – Laval, QC at Place Bell*
11/23 – London, ON at Start.ca Performance Stage at Budweiser Gardens*
& with Black Veil Brides, Motionless in White and Ice Nine Kills
% with Godsmack and many more
$with Lilith Czar
* w/ special guests The Warning & The Standstills
^ w/ special guests Wage War & Zero 9:36
+ w/ special guests Zero 9:36

Little Big Town Releases New Single “Hell Yeah” Out April 11

Eric Alper
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Little Big Town Releases New Single “Hell Yeah” Out April 11

Little Big Town is releasing their latest single, “Hell Yeah,” on Monday, April 11. The song is the first single released by the ACM, CMA and GRAMMY-winning band in two years and will be on their forthcoming 10th studio album. The new record follows the No. 1 Country album Nightfall (released in 2020) which included singles “Over Drinking,” GRAMMY-nominated “The Daughters” and “Wine, Beer, Whiskey.”

“Phillip and I wrote this with Tyler Hubbard and Corey Crowder,” said LBT’s Jimi Westbrook. “I remember when Corey brought that hook in that day. He sang his idea and when he turned that phrase at the end of the chorus, we were all like ‘hell yeah!’ We always have a blast writing with those guys.”

GRAMMY, ACM, CMA, and AMA Award-winning group, Little Big Town — consisting of members Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, and Jimi Westbrook — first entered the music scene more than 20 years ago with hit songs “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home,” “Good As Gone” and the GRAMMY-nominated “Little White Church.” The bands breakthrough albums Tornado and Pain Killer produced multiple #1 singles, including “Pontoon,” “Tornado,” and “Day Drinking,” as well as the history-making, best-selling country single of the year (2015) “Girl Crush.” 2017’s, The Breaker, debuted #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and Top 10 (No.4) on the Billboard 200 to critical acclaim. The album features their GRAMMY-winning, multi-week #1 single, “Better Man,” as well as the 2019 GRAMMY-nominated, “When Someone Stops Loving You.” Critically acclaimed and GRAMMY-nominated “The Daughters,” “Over Drinking,” and hit single “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” are the latest from the bands self-produced ninth studio album Nightfall which was released at the top of the Billboard Country Charts in January of 2020. To date “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” has reached global streams of over 316 Million. The bands tenth studio album is set for release later this year.

From Venezuela and El Salvador to now living in Montreal: MC Pipo & Doc Filo Bring New Life Into Classic “Bésame Mucho”

Eric Alper
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From Venezuela and El Salvador to now living in Montreal: MC Pipo & Doc Filo Bring New Life Into Classic “Bésame Mucho”

Inspired by the romantic hymn composed by Consuelo Velázquez in the 1940s, MC Pipo and Doc Filo create a sultry dance between modern production and a love story as old as time itself with the release of their new single, “Bésame Mucho.”

It all started in 1995 when two young rappers with similar ambitions and a deep-rooted passion for music were introduced to Bolero — a bittersweet yet alluring collection of love songs influenced primarily by Spanish musical styles. The constant struggle these two faced on their journey to become successful rappers is metaphoric for the struggle people go through to find love — and the faith they put into the life they are aiming to create with a significant other.

Much as we do with love, however, there was no river wide enough these two couldn’t get across. Driven to be the best at what they do, MC Pipo and Doc Filo are persistently and consistently showing the world – and their listeners – there is nothing in the way of your dreams.

MC Pipo (Rick Alfaro) is a Venezuelan rapper based in Montreal, Canada who found himself drawn to urban music at a young age. Working alongside Pipo is Doc Filo (José Emilio Rivera), a Salvadoran rapper also based in Montreal Canada, Filo found himself singing and making music as a child; into his early teenage years, he decided to look at music from a professional angle.

While these two rappers complement each other’s strengths and bolster each other’s weaknesses, no team is complete without a competent engineer; the group credits their more recent singles’ clean and executed sound to producer KingAlexBeats, who can provide complete productions with a great mix of musical styles.

This amalgamation of talent is presented beautifully in the group’s new single, “Bésame Mucho,” an homage to the late Consuelo Velázquez. Acknowledging Velázquez’s claim to fame as a Mexican pianist, the bouncy style of Spanish piano is featured prominently in the introduction of MC Pipo’s and Doc Filo’s “Bésame Mucho.”

However, it’s not long before the group’s intention becomes clear – to breathe new life into a famous and classic piece of music history.

After Doc Filo heard his son doing an instrumental of the original “Bésame Mucho” in the studio, he found himself inspired to bring a modern touch to the song. Collaborating with MC Pipo and KingAlex created the perfect storm of high energy and romantic swing.
“We like to merge many different styles of music and this song was perfect to make a version with our style. We wanted to keep the romantic concept while adding a splash of urban concepts.”

While MC Pipo and Doc Filo’s version of “Bésame Mucho” feels like a breath of fresh air, it is far from new. It’s hard to imagine that something so seemingly perfect sat on a “shelf” on someone’s hard drive for longer than a few months but, the truth is, “Bésame Mucho” is about five years old and, thanks to the duo’s new label, Montreal’s own Dance Plant Records, the push to release this absolute storm of a track arrived.

“Bésame Mucho” was released alongside a full-scale music video. As an additional tribute to the song’s roots in early Spanish music, the music video features 50’s attire and a standalone trumpet player accompanied by a burlesque singer.

“As the song is an old classic, we took inspiration from that for the video. We dressed like we were in the 50s to bring the music of today to a past era. We had a lot of fun making the video and everything came out as planned. We are very proud of the work done and hope that our fans will like it too.”

The best way to sum up “Bésame Mucho” is a well-executed project that expertly meshes a classic single from the 40’s with all of the high-energy drive of today’s hip-hop. Featuring sultry piano, bodacious trumpet, and a covetous vocal performance, “Bésame Mucho” is a production that rewards the listener with every listen.

Alt-Country Rockers Foreman & Co. Take a Look at Tumultuous Times with Release of “Sun Still Rises”

Eric Alper
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Alt-Country Rockers Foreman & Co. Take a Look at Tumultuous Times with Release of “Sun Still Rises”

Change is hard, letting go is even harder, and often the best way to deal with both is to simply rock. Canadian alt-country band Foreman & Co. know this deep in their bones and it shows on their infectious, head-bopping new single “Sun Still Rises.”

Fresh from the Grenville Sur La Rouge, QC-based band’s 2021 nine-track album, Waiting For A Sign, “Sun Still Rises” is a toe-tapping rocker heavy on Americana flavor. It’s got twangy guitars, an easy-rockin’ beat, and it’s full of that push-forward lament that makes country such a great genre for getting through tough times.

“Sun Still rises is the story of letting go, be it a relationship that’s failing, or a band that is collapsing,” the band says.

To that end, the song was written when the band was going through a lot of challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Foreman & Co share; as Covid took its toll on live shows and rehearsal options, the band began to struggle via the shedding of members.

Throughout most of the production period, it was just founding members Tom Foreman and Steve Larocque locked away ‘Hall and Oates-ing a band on life support, they recall. The result is an emotionally charged record that speaks to loss and frustration and looks to better days.

“It’s both a personal and an objective take on the great dumpster fire of life that was the winter of 2021,” the band says of the album. “But it’s not all dark; it is true that it takes a little rain and a little crap to make flowers grow.”

Waiting For A Sign also includes “Hometown Saturday Night,” an AC/DC-fueled anthem that refuses to go gently into the dark night, and begs for the return of the action-packed Saturday night. “Just Like You And Me” is a Springsteen-style fight to find some light in a dark day during a dreary winter commute. “President’s Day” is an acoustic song of heartbreak, while “Down To The River” offers a resurgence of hope.

Staying resolute in their own resurgence of hope and determination to remain a band, Foreman and Larocque found other members to round out the roster; Brooke Fullerton was able to make it into some of the recording sessions and contributed with thoughtful piano and B3 lines, as well as accordion and rich vocal harmonies and, by the spring of 2021, the band had added Dave Luker on drums and Matt Remenda of lead guitar — which brought things full circle, since Matt, Tom, and Steve had been friends and bandmates of one sort or another since high school.

Foreman And Co. are a rollicking loud alt-country rock band from Grenville Sur La Rouge, just outside of Montreal, Quebec. They write like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, but they sound like Skynyrd and Bon Scott-era AC/DC. If you love The Tragically Hip, Wilco, Blackberry Smoke, and Steve Earle, this band is for you.

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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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