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‘HEAL THE EARTH’ Online Concert for Earth Day Canada with Andy Kim, Glass Tiger, Gowan, Julian Taylor, Murray McLauchlan + more

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Entertainment Music Group (EMG) has gathered legendary artists and young independent artists from around the world to create a virtual music-doc to be pre-produced and released on April 22, 2021 in honour of Earth Day. The project is headed up by Executive Producer Sandy Graham, a music industry veteran and owner of the legendary Cashbox Magazine Canada, in conjunction with celebrity icon, Dr. Tom Jackson, C.C., LL.D, who will act as the host for this music initiative.

“When we sent out the call to action tour global music world contacts to help us celebrate Earth Day from the global the resounding feedback was overwhelming and positive,” says Sandy Graham. “So much so we were humbled by the legendary artists who want to help get the word out for the mission of Earth Day and beyond. Although our home base of production is in Canada, we have artists from Canada, the USA and Europe who have all submitted relative videos.” and will be reaching out to our global network to make this a success for a much needed initiative about not just funds but awareness of the work that Earth Day is doing on a daily basis.”

“Heal the Earth is here to lift conscience, mind and spirit to a higher ground,” says Tom Jackson, producer and host of Heal the Earth. “This is a moral and musical compass designed to guide you on a road paved with caring and compassion. There is hope in our future if we use our voices to take action against the sounds of silence. These are songs to be sung and celebrated so our children can bear witness to the enduring strength that is the love and beauty of Mother Earth.”

“Earth Day is global and to participate from Europe is wonderful. Right now, all our focus must be pointed to improve the environment for the entire world. This is a task that can only be done by working together to build a better future, says Peter Astedt, European Consultant for EMG. Heal The Earth is one of the voices that is needed to bring people closer to a better world. It’s great to be involved in a project that is so important and can make the world a better place.

Featuring Video Performances by:
Andy Kim – Who Has the Answers (Canada/USA)
Barry Stagg – Shine a Little Light (Canada/USA)
David Pomeranz – It’s in Every One of Us (USA)
Don Graham – You Can Count on Me (Canada)
Glass Tiger – Diamond Sun (Canada/Scotland)
Gowan – Dancing On My Ground (Canada)
Julian Taylor Band – Just a Little Bit (Canada)
Kingstown Experiment – Letter to Mother (Canada)
Marshall Potts – That’s How It Starts (Canada)
Murray McLauchlan – The Farmer’s Song (Canada)
Spoons – New Day New World (Canada)
The Magnettes – Indifferent (Sweden)
Tom Jackson – Blue Water (Canada)
Tommy James – Crystal Blue Persuasion (USA)

“Earth Day Canada” is excited and grateful to be the recipients of the funds raised through this event and would like to thank Entertainment Music Group and all of the performers involved in the Heal the Earth event for their generosity,” says Earth Day Canada. “Your contribution will support our mission of helping people and organizations to reduce their environmental impact.”

The one hour docu-music special will be available on a live stream at 7-8 pm EST – April 22, 2021 and available on social media and web platforms around the globe as legendary musical offering to celebrate this day while raising awareness about the needs of our planet regarding waste management and re-aligning ourselves to sustain a healthy planet. Entertainment Music Group has secured the services of an online streaming company who will make the docu-music special available with a link that will be available in advance to secure a viewing ticket. Donations are accepted with all proceeds being given to Earth Day Canada.

“The legendary artists are all committed to the same mission and are excited to be part of what could grow into an annual event for Earth Day Canada. As this will be available on a global social media network, our hope is to get thousands of people to raise awareness to the effects of climate change and what we can do to reset this beautiful world back to factory settings through change, awareness and positive action – our future depends on it.”

100% of all proceeds raised are donated directly to EARTH DAY CANADA.

California Singer/Songwriter BOBBO BYRNES Pays Tribute To Canada with New Song “Chasing Rock and Roll”

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It’s ‘the thrill of the chase’ in this cut from California songwriter Bobbo Byrnes as he weaves yarn on the tale of a van of young American dudes ready to tear up the stage, night after night, in Canada.

Byrnes quickly sets the scene from the first sentence: crossing the border, passing by Niagara, and heading to Toronto to play a host of sets at some of the nation’s finest clubs along the troubadour passageway.

Byrnes chants, “chasing rock and roll for the rest of our lives.”

And aren’t we all.

In his signature melodic fashion, Byrnes observes the nightly pastime of many-a-rocker: winning over patrons and audiences alike, finding inspiration at the sound of a Blue Rodeo album, seeking refuge on the floor of hotel rooms for a few moments of rest, and doing it all again the following night.

What “Chasing Rock and Roll” provides the listener with is an insight audiences rarely get to see; the song delivers the inside track on the path to stardom for a band that kicks it nightly on the stage. Suddenly privy to the goings-on behind the curtain instead of dancing in front of it, Byrnes offers audiences a lyrical “backstage pass.”

“Chasing Rock and Roll” is in good company on Byrnes’ most recent record, SeaGreenNumber5 — and one he attributes to having an unabashed “house party” vibe.

Wanting to encapsulate a living room concert — an intimate portrait, sans amplifiers or gimmicks — SeaGreenNumber5 is Byrnes stripped down to his core, providing the listener with a host of songs that will make you feel like the only person in the room.

“In the past few years I’ve done a lot of house concerts,” Byrnes reveals. “There’s something special about performing in a small room with a handful of people connecting that really is a different experience. It’s exactly what I was going for.”

When it came to penning “Chasing Rock and Roll,” Byrnes says the details are true — right down to being gifted that Blue Rodeo album referenced in the lyrics. A bonafide love song to the Canadian musical landscape, “Chasing Rock and Roll” becomes an antidote of sorts for live music fans missing out on concerts during pandemic restrictions. A playback on the song transports audiences to the clubs, the concert halls, and the bars and places once called “home.”

“The El Mocambo and Hotel Brunswick were two places I remembered playing,” he recalls. “I remember wandering into Don Cherry’s Sports Grill and watching a hockey game instead of going to soundcheck. I remember hanging with band members from ’63 Monroe, Landslide and Osterberg, and staying at one of their houses where the only food in the fridge was Labatt’s 50s and a couple of ketchup packets.

“I remember cutting my arm open on my guitar strings, and finishing the set with someone else’s guitar and bleeding all over it.

“I remember it being one of my favorite places to tour,” he adds. “I remember falling in love with Canada, and not wanting the tour to end.”

New Jersey-Based Pop Artist ALEX SU Showcases the Rise & Fall of Love in New Single, “Jenga”

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Pop artist Alex Su stacks the building blocks of love with this, his new single “Jenga” — available now.

Drawing some 2012 The Weeknd vibes, the New Jersey-based Su takes audiences on a honeyed journey through the shaky ups and downs of a scenario many have been through: Deep in love, lacking control, carefully investing and building in a relationship… All just to see our efforts, heart, and ego tumble to the ground.

Love can be a playful yet dangerous game and, as the title provides in a clear, almost rough-hewn metaphor, Jenga (the game) is an obsessive and artful combination in concentration, soft movement, careful motions, and general unease. Not to mention, it often ends in a shocking, free-fall of disappointment.

“I love the game of Jenga and, one night, I found similarities between the game and toxic relationships,” he shares. “You keep pulling and hurting each other until the whole thing crumbles down.”

At three-minutes-fifteen-seconds in length, this achy single reminds listeners that love, too, can be an unpleasant yet invigorating game of building and breaking, all its own. On “Jenga” (the song), Alex Su provides an aesthetic that, over the course of the perfectly planned pop tune, makes the listener feel the bobbing, up and down sensation we sometimes find in many early relationships.

“Stop the rollercoaster escalator, I’m too scared of riding off into a life without you,” Su groans, before ‘So the Jenga pieces fall’ in full audio as Su infused a subtle, yet dreamy reversed sound of an actual Jenga tower falling into the song’s intro.

Su, whose “Jenga” lyrical video showcases both stacked and individual wooden Jenga blocks engulfed in flames, ultimately finds himself admitting that “nobody really wins.”

Dali Van Gogh Face Their “Past Crimes” in the Lore of Love with New Single and Video

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Well, with the annual day of ‘unbridled love’ long out of the way, Canadian rockers Dali Van Gogh are soldiering on with a brand new video and release for their favourite “anti-love song”; “Past Crimes” is available now.

The freshly pressed video depicts two lovers at the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic; it serves as an allusion to the stress and turmoil of the last year, and the toll it’s taken on even the closest relationships. It was originally envisioned as a live action story but, after numerous delays due to related restrictions, the band converted the concept into an animated lyric video.

Highlighted with a Tchaikovsky-inspired keyboard line, the song churns through a near-despondent ‘lost love’ narrative and the haunting consequences of old mistakes. The groove-centric duet features bandmates John Scotto and Rachelle Moreau trading lead vox as they’re supported by the rest of the Halifax-based five-piece: drummer Johnny Moore, bassist Lance Hicks, and guitarist Isaac Kent.

Inspired by real-life experiences, it was Kent who first tabled the song’s concept. “Without getting into too much detail, the first draft of the song was written about the breakdown of a close relationship in my personal life,” he shares. “It wasn’t originally going to be a duet but, once it clicked to me that this could be taken as a love story of sorts, the lyrics came together.”

With a sound best described as “infectious, gritty, and surprising” by Recording Artists Guild founder Byron Booker, Dali Van Gogh have received international radio play and charting status, over half a million streams across their various platforms, were named semi-finalists in the SOCAN Canadian Songwriting Competition, and have released five records — Verbal Warning (2010), Mask Identity (2012), Wild Blue City (2012), From Ashes (2017), and Under Her Spell (2019) — the latter two of which were recorded at Kent’s newly minted HouseFire Studio One after the fire.

Produced by JUNO-nominated songwriter Rob Laidlaw (Platinum Blonde, Honeymoon Suite), “Past Crimes” is Dali Van Gogh’s second 2021 offering, and the fourth tying into the band’s ongoing concept release; The Testimony. The song follows last year’s singles: “Heavy Living” and “Boneyard” — the latter also produced by Laidlaw — and this year’s “Stand Up, Wake Up,” a re-imagining of a track off of 2017’s “From Ashes”.

First formed in 2008, Dali Van Gogh returned to the stage in 2015 following a fire that destroyed Kent’s home and recording studio: every instrument, computer, and master disk, not to mention countless mementos from his personal life, were lost. “Almost nothing was recovered,” he recalls. “Needless to say, it was a major roadblock, but also the driving force behind everything I’ve done, everything I’ve fought for since.

“That includes Dali Van Gogh.

“It’s been quite a journey getting this far”, Kent continues, expanding on putting material together for the release. “The pandemic has wreaked havoc every step of the way, not the least of which on the music video, which we had to change dramatically last minute.

“On the bright side, animation allows us to tell any story we want, and in some ways made it much easier to tie the concept into The Testimony,” Kent — who created the animation himself — adds.

The Testimony, a story the band has been delivering through both music and a digitally-issued tie-in novel, is a high-concept journal of sorts, that takes place in the near future. With multiple viewpoint characters, and conflicting accounts, Dali Van Gogh have used The Testimony to tell the story of those who have come into contact with its main character, ‘The Preacher’ — an enigmatic figure whose very presence alters the world around him.

By using an animated video, “we can keep things more mysterious with our ‘Preacher’ character,” Kent adds. “When we show less of him, it lets the audience make up their own minds on what he’s doing, and what his goals are.”

1-minute tip for social media post ideas: Creative blocks.

It’s not so much the inspiration of your art, but how you got over the hill when you’re stuck creatively that connects with your audience.

Pete Davidson and Director Jason Orley Reunite for “I Slept with Joey Ramone”

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Netflix and STXfilms have partnered to develop and produce I Slept with Joey Ramone, a biopic chronicling the life of the king of punk.

Director is Jason Orley (Big Time Adolescence, Pete Davidson: Alive from New York and upcoming film I Want You Back), working with a treatment by Pete Davidson and Jason Orley based on the Mickey Leigh memoir of the same name.

“When you share a bed with someone – and not just a bed, but a childhood, a family, and a lifetime – you know that person better than anybody else. Mickey Leigh not only collaborated with his big brother’s band – he has irreplaceable memories of and insights into Joey Ramone, having supported him when no one else would and witnessed him overcome adversity in the most dramatic way. I Slept with Joey Ramone is a great rock anthem that will make an equally great rock biopic, set apart by a universal story of family. Pete is perfect for this role and we’re excited he and Jason will be bringing this icon of rock to life and thrilled to be collaborating once again with our friends at Netflix,” says Adam Fogelson, Chairman STXfilms Motion Picture Group.

The film will be made with the cooperation and support of the Estate of Joey Ramone and with the assistance of Rosegarten Films.

Orley and Davidson previously teamed up on the feature film Big Time Adolescence, which Orley wrote and directed. Orley also directed Davidson’s standup special Alive from New York for Netflix.

I Slept With Joey Ramone continues Netflix’s relationship with STX who produced the Netflix series Rise of Empire: Ottoman, which is produced in collaboration with Karga 7. The companies have previously partnered on other films such as Work It starring Sabrina Carpenter.

Apple Original Films announces “Black & Blues: The Colorful Ballad of Louis Armstrong”

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Apple Original Films announces definitive Louis Armstrong documentary “Black & Blues: The Colorful Ballad of Louis Armstrong”

Imagine-produced documentary feature tells Armstrong’s story entirely through the revolutionary musician’s own words.

Apple Original Films announced today that it has green lit the anticipated Louis Armstrong documentary feature “Black & Blues: The Colorful Ballad of Louis Armstrong” from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries to join its Academy Award-nominated feature film slate.

The documentary, which is produced under Apple’s first-look agreement with Imagine Documentaries, will be directed by Emmy-nominated Sacha Jenkins (“Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men”), and produced by Jenkins, Julie Anderson, Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard serve as executive producers. The project is being produced in association with Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment with Michele Anthony and David Blackman serving as executive producers.

The film offers a definitive look at the master musician’s life and legacy as a founding father of jazz, the first pop star and a cultural ambassador of the United States. He was loved by millions worldwide but often mischaracterized for not doing enough to support the civil rights movement. In reality, his fight for social justice was fueled by his celebrity and his willingness to break his silence on issues of segregation and patriotism. With the full support of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, the filmmakers have access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival materials, including hundreds of hours of audio recordings, film footage, photographs, personal diaries and a life’s worth of ephemera for exclusive use in the first significant documentary dedicated entirely to his life.

“Black & Blues: The Colorful Ballad of Louis Armstrong” follows the global success of the critically acclaimed Apple/Imagine documentary “Dads” for Apple Original Films from director Bryce Dallas Howard, the Emmy-winning “Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10” directed by Morgan Neville, as well as the upcoming docuseries “The Supermodels.” Apple will soon premiere the “Peanuts 70th Anniversary, Who Are You Charlie Brown?” documentary from Imagine Documentaries and WildBrain.

The Weeknd Is 2021 Songwriter of the Year at ASCAP Pop Music Awards

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Honoring pop music’s hottest songwriters, producers and publishers, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) today announces the winners of the 2021 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, which will be celebrated on ASCAP social media through April 15. After a record-setting year following the release of his double platinum album After Hours, pop superstar Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye is named ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for the first time in his career.

Known for his signature alternative R&B sound, velvety voice and pitch-perfect falsetto, The Weeknd undeniably dominated the charts in 2020. Taking home the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year honor and two most-performed song awards for smash hits “Blinding Lights” and “Heartless,” The Weeknd is now a 13-time ASCAP Awards winner. As the critical and commercial success of After Hours continues, “Blinding Lights” closes in on diamond-certified status, while becoming the first song in history to spend an entire year in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10.

ASCAP Pop Music Awards Song of the Year goes to Post Malone’s megahit “Circles,” honoring ASCAP hitmakers Louis Bell, Kaan Güneşberk and Billy Walsh alongside publishers Nyan King Music, Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group. The third single off the chart-topping album Hollywood’s Bleeding, “Circles” spent 39 weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marks the artist’s first #1 hit as a solo billing.

Warner Chappell Music receives Publisher of the Year. The prestigious award recognizes the prominent publisher for their contribution to the pop music soundtrack of 2020 with top tracks “10,000 Hours,” “Blinding Lights,” “Lose You to Love Me,” “ROCKSTAR” and more.

Global Citizen Announces “VAX LIVE: The Concert To Reunite The World” Hosted By Selena Gomez

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International advocacy organization Global Citizen today announced VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, a global broadcast and streaming special that aims to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and help get the COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere. During the special, Global Citizen, will call on philanthropists and corporations to donate enough “dollars-for-doses” to vaccinate more than 27 million heroic health workers, that are serving on the global frontlines, in the world’s poorest countries everyday. The special will also encourage global development advocates and changemakers to call on world leaders to prioritize the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for everyone, everywhere.

VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World will be pre-taped at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Airing and live streaming on Saturday, May 8, 2021 on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube, iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations and the iHeartRadio App, VAX LIVE will start at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT. The concert will also air on FOX at 11:00 PM ET/PT. With support from the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister of Italy and G20 Chair Mario Draghi, and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez, and the State of California, the special, hosted by multi-platinum recording artist, actress and producer Selena Gomez, will include a night of musical performances by Jennifer LopezEddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and H.E.R.

As the exclusive global streaming partner, YouTube will stream an extended version of VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World on the Global Citizen channel for a full run-time of 90 minutes, which will include additional performances and appearances by NCT 127 and YouTube creators Daniel El TraviesoKati Morton, ShootforLove, Thembe Mahlaba and The Try Guys.

“As a global community, we are in a race against time and the key to coming back together is the vaccine. We need to build vaccine confidence in the U.S. and globally, and encourage people to take the vaccine as quickly as possible,” said HUGH EVANS, Global Citizen Co-Founder & CEO. “There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but getting vaccines to everyone, everywhere regardless of who they are or where they are from, is key to ensuring the end of this pandemic around the world. We must all unite to get back on track to eradicating extreme poverty.”

As part of VAX LIVE, Global Citizen is campaigning to support the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative – including COVAX – a vaccine-sharing program co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), to ensure that low-income countries can access COVID-19 vaccines. VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World aims to inspire Global Citizens to call on governments, asking them to pledge $22.1 billion, the outstanding balance needed by the ACT-Accelerator to get two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, tests and treatments to the world’s poorest countries by the end of 2021.

VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World is part of Global Citizen’s overall 2021 Recovery Plan for the World, a year-long campaign and series of events that aims to help end COVID-19 for all, end the hunger crisis, resume learning everywhere, protect the planet, and advance equity for all.

To achieve global vaccine access and confidence, VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World aims to: 

  • Increase donations of vaccine doses to low income nations, build vaccine confidence and promote vaccine uptake, helping to ensure access for everyone, everywhere;
  • Call on philanthropists and corporations to donate enough “dollars-for-doses” to help vaccinate the more than 27 million heroic health workers, that are on the front lines, in the poorest countries that need access to vaccines most;
  • Call on governments, corporations and philanthropists to invest an additional $22.1 billion to get two billion vaccine doses and other medical tools to the poorest countries;
  • Disseminate financial commitments to regional responders supporting health, education, hunger, equity and climate efforts;
  • Encourage pharmaceutical companies to commit to selling COVID-19 vaccines at a production price – earning profits at the expense of human lives will impede progress; and
  • Build vaccine confidence by educating and empowering audiences to get answers to their top questions about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Global Citizen today is also launching VAX BECAUSE, to drive candid conversations about the COVID-19 pandemic, provide people with ranging perspectives about vaccine confidence, and arm people with facts about personal health and immunization options. With the aim of ensuring that individuals, families and communities can make the right decisions for themselves, the campaign will live on a multi-media HUB, where visitors can both ask questions they have about the vaccine, and find fact-based information about the coronavirus epidemic. Global Citizens are encouraged to ask questions and find answers at http://VaxBecause.org.

CBC Music’s Annual Searchlight Initiative Returns April 19

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CBC today announced an expanded version of its annual musical talent search, CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021, featuring additional prizing for the Top Five acts and a larger grand prize to help kickstart the finalists’ music career, courtesy of Toyota Canada, the National Music Centre, Play MPE global music promotion and Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class. Launching Monday, April 19, the Top Five and grand prize winners, as selected by a combination of public votes and an industry panel, will be announced on CBC Radio One’s Q with Tom Power on Tuesday, June 22. Canadian artists are encouraged to submit an original song across any genre to CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 contest at CBCMusic.ca/searchlight between April 19 – May 3, 2021.

The winner of CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 will earn a grand prize package tailored to take an artists’ career to the next level. This year again includes a five-day residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, with access to recording studios, professionals, and a historic instrument collection that spans more than 450 years of technology and innovation. New to this year, the grand prize winner will receive a curated full-service, global music promotion distribution campaign for one release (single or album) from Play MPE. Additionally, Toyota Canada is providing $2,500 worth of studio recording time and $2,500 worth of music equipment. More information on prizing for the four runners up provided by Toyota Canada and Play MPE can be found here.

CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 KEY DATES:

  • Submissions: start on Monday, April 19, at 9 a.m. ET and end Monday, May 3, at 3 p.m. ET. This is the period when all entrants can register for Searchlight 2021 and upload a song.
  • Round 1: Voting begins on all eligible songs on Tuesday, May 11, at 3 p.m. ET and ends Thursday, May 20, at 3 p.m. ET.
  • Round 2: Top 100 revealed and voting begins on Top 100 Tuesday, June 1, 3:00 p.m. ET and ends on Tuesday, June 8 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
  • Round 3: Top Ten revealed on Tuesday, June 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
  • Final: Judges reveal Grand Prize Winner and Runners Up on Tuesday, June 22

CBC MUSIC’S TOYOTA SEARCHLIGHT 2021 is an annual search to find the next great Canadian artist. Recent winners include: Shawnee (2020), Shopé (2019) and aquakultre (2018). Canadians can join the conversation online by using #Searchlight2021 and #ToyotaMusic and following CBC Music on TwitterFacebook and Instagram.