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Fresh Breath, Irish Millie, and Donita Large Win Their Way to Sweden in the Inaugural North2North Competition

Eric Alper
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Fresh Breath, Irish Millie, and Donita Large Win Their Way to Sweden in the Inaugural North2North Competition

The inaugural North2North: The Artist Gateway competition has named its winners – and three extraordinary Canadian indie artists are heading to Sweden. Fresh Breath, Irish Millie, and Donita Large have each earned a spot in a Canadian contingent travelling to Lilla By Festivalen in Rinkaby, Sweden on June 12 and 13, 2026, where they will perform on the main stage and in the beloved Kanaladan – the festival’s very own Canada Barn. This is the first time a competition of this kind has opened a direct performance pipeline between Canadian indie artists and one of Sweden’s most warmly regarded independent festivals.

The three winners represent the full breadth of what Canadian independent music sounds like right now. Lilla By Festivalen co-founders Malin Osth and Jonas Tancred – who will host the Canadian contingent in Rinkaby – said it best: “This year’s winners highlight the scope and talent of Canadian music, from the warm Canadiana harmonies of Fresh Breath to the Celtic pop rock energy of Irish Millie and the emotional voice of Donita Large. We are truly excited to welcome these fantastic artists to perform at the Lilla By Festivalen 2026 and look forward to sharing their music with our audience in Sweden.”

North2North is produced and presented by Cashbox Canada, Lilla By Festivalen, Rise & Reign, and EMG Collectives – a coalition built on eight-plus years of cross-Atlantic music relationship-building between Canada and Sweden. The competition was open to all Canadian indie artists, with every submission receiving a written assessment and feedback from a panel of top-tier adjudicators. “The relationship between Canada, Sweden and the Lilla By Festivalen has been growing every year,” says Sandy Graham, Publisher of Cashbox Canada and North2North producer. “I couldn’t be prouder to be Canadian at this time in a world that sees what an amazing country we have and the music speaks for itself. Tack sa mycket Lilla By Festivalen!”

The prize packages – valued at up to $12,000 CAD – include two performances each at Lilla By Festivalen, full accommodations in Rinkaby, cover and feature stories in Cashbox Canada and Record World International, radio rotation on Cashbox Radio, artist development sessions, grant writing support, recording sessions, and social media video packages. In addition, producer Vance McKenzie will be on the ground in Sweden and will select one Swedish artist to perform in Canada before the end of 2026 – extending the exchange in both directions. Producer Ashley Andrews added: “Music doesn’t recognize borders, and initiatives like this prove that great songs and creative collaborations can travel far beyond geography.”

Lilla By Festivalen – founded in 2021 by Malin Osth and Jonas Tancred on their own private land in the Swedish countryside of Skane County – has grown into a beloved hub for music, culture, and community. The festival’s Kanaladan (Canada Barn) stands as a symbol of the deep ties between the two countries. North2North adjudicators included Sandy Graham (Cashbox Canada/Record World International/Cashbox Radio), Eric Alper (That Eric Alper PR), Vance McKenzie (Vance Music World), Lisa Hartt (Juno-nominated singer-songwriter), Ashley Andrews (Rise & Reign), and Malin Osth and Jonas Tancred of Lilla By Festivalen. North2North is a competition, a showcase, a mentorship programme, and a bridge – all at once. For the artists heading to Rinkaby this June, it is the start of something that reaches well beyond any single performance.

A Toronto Writer Is Walking to All 100 Toronto Public Library Branches in 10 Days to Honour Her Late Mother

Eric Alper
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A Toronto Writer Is Walking to All 100 Toronto Public Library Branches in 10 Days to Honour Her Late Mother

A Toronto writer is about to undertake one of the most personal and physically demanding tributes the city has seen in some time. From April 7 to 16, Marci Stepak will walk more than 300 kilometres to all 100 branches of the Toronto Public Library over 10 consecutive days, honouring the memory of her late mother and raising funds for the TPL Foundation.

The walk lands on the very day of the first anniversary of her mother’s death. A lifelong Torontonian who held a TPL card for more than 50 years, Stepak’s mother believed deeply that curiosity should cost nothing and knowledge should belong to everyone. A few days before she died, in the same conversation where funeral plans were discussed, she reminded Marci to return her library books “so other people can enjoy them too.” That detail says everything about who she was.

Stepak will cover roughly 30 kilometres a day, rain or shine, across the full geography of the city, from Etobicoke to Scarborough, through midtown, East York, and the Beaches, finishing at the Toronto Reference Library, her personal favourite branch. The route took hours of painstaking planning on Google Maps, as no mapping tool exists for this kind of undertaking. Full maps and the daily calendar are available at beingmarci.ca/map-calendar for anyone who wants to follow along or join her in their neighbourhood.

Funds raised support the Toronto Public Library Foundation, with a focus on programmes for older adults, including outreach initiatives that reduce isolation and build connection. These are the programmes Stepak’s mother relied on in her later years, and they mattered deeply to her. At a time when public space feels increasingly fragile, the walk is both a tribute and a visible act of civic gratitude.

Torontonians are encouraged to come out and walk alongside Stepak for any portion of the route. She will be documenting the journey daily and sharing stories about the role libraries have played in people’s lives. More information is available at everylibraryTO.com and on Instagram at @beingmarci. Marci is available for interviews and can provide route details, background, and visuals.

A Toronto writer is walking to all 100 Toronto Public Library branches over 10 days starting April 7, honouring her late mother and raising funds for the TPL Foundation. Join her at beingmarci.ca/map-calendar.

Western Canadian Music Awards 2026 Open Submissions for Artists and Industry

Eric Alper
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Western Canadian Music Awards 2026 Open Submissions for Artists and Industry

Western Canadian Music Awards 2026 submissions are now open, giving artists and industry professionals across the region a major opportunity to be recognized on one of Canada’s biggest stages.

Open to both artistic and industry categories, the awards highlight excellence across genres including pop, rock, country, R&B, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, and more, alongside specialty honours like BreakOut Artist of the Year, Indigenous Artist of the Year, and Producer of the Year.

New for 2026, the program introduces an Afrobeats Artist of the Year category, reflecting the continued growth and diversity of Western Canada’s music scene.

Early bird pricing is available for a limited time, with the final submission deadline set for April 15, 2026. Applicants must create a profile through Awardstage to begin the submission process.

Whether you are releasing your first project or building momentum in the industry, this is a key chance to gain recognition, connect with peers, and elevate your work on a national level.

Apply here: https://breakoutwest.ca/awards-guidelines/

Weezer’s Very First Studio Sessions Surface on Vinyl as ‘1192’ for Record Store Day 2026

Eric Alper
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Weezer’s Very First Studio Sessions Surface on Vinyl as ‘1192’ for Record Store Day 2026

Before the Blue Album. Before the record deal. Before any of it. Weezer’s very first studio sessions, recorded in November 1992, are finally seeing the light of day as ‘1192,’ an LP releasing April 18th via Ernest Jenning Record Co. as an RSD First Release, limited to just 3,000 copies. This is the kind of discovery that genuinely rewrites the opening chapter of a band’s story.

Weezer founding member and original bassist Matt Sharp found the sessions while digging through a collection of lost master recordings, a single reel of 1-inch Ampex tape sitting at the bottom of a treasure chest of other masters. What he and legendary producer Joe Chiccarelli found when they took it to East/West Studios in Los Angeles was the original lineup, including guitarist Jason Cropper, playing raw, explosive early versions of “Say It Ain’t So” and “Undone (The Sweater Song),” the very recordings that landed Weezer their record deal. The decision was made to honour the technology of the era entirely. Every track was remixed from tape to vinyl in a 100% analog process, Sharp producing and Chiccarelli on the mix.

The result is ‘1192,’ named for the month and year it was recorded, a 10-track LP that stands entirely on its own while also reframing everything that followed. Hearing these songs in this form, feral and ecstatically alive, before the polish of the Blue Album, is a genuinely revelatory experience for anyone who grew up with that record.

For Blue Album devotees, this is essential. For anyone curious about how one of alternative rock’s most iconic debuts came to be, it’s an invaluable document.

‘1192’ Tracklisting:

Side One:

  1. No One Else – Take 1 (1192 Mix)
  2. Say It Ain’t So – Take 2 (1192 Mix)
  3. Undone – The Sweater Song (1192 Acoustic Mix)
  4. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here (1192 Mix)
  5. Surf Wax America (1192 Mix)

Side Two:

  1. Say It Ain’t So (1192 Vocal and Guitar Mix)
  2. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here (1192 Vocal and Guitar Mix)
  3. Undone – The Sweater Song (1192 Band Mix)
  4. No One Else – Take 2 (1192 Mix)
  5. Say It Ain’t So – Take 1 (1192 Mix)

Billy Strings Brings His Tiny Desk Concert to Vinyl for Record Store Day 2026

Eric Alper
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Billy Strings Brings His Tiny Desk Concert to Vinyl for Record Store Day 2026

Billy Strings played NPR’s Tiny Desk on November 6th, 2025, and the performance was special enough to press onto wax. On April 18th, Record Store Day 2026 brings that set to life as a limited 12-inch EP on Milky White vinyl, pressed to just 7,000 copies via Reprise Records. It’s one of the most compelling RSD releases of the year for any fan of acoustic music done at the highest possible level.

The four-track EP captures Strings at his most intimate, featuring fan favorites “Red Daisy” and “Gild the Lily” alongside “My Alice” and “Malfunction Junction.” Tiny Desk sets have a way of stripping an artist down to their essential qualities, and Strings, whose Grammy-winning album ‘Highway Prayers’ has already cemented his place as one of the most gifted players of his generation, delivers exactly that kind of performance here.

Strings is currently back on the road in support of ‘Highway Prayers,’ and the demand for his live shows continues to grow with every tour cycle. The Tiny Desk EP is a perfect document of where he is as an artist right now, focused, precise, and completely compelling in a room with no room to hide.

7,000 copies. April 18th. Find your copy first.

‘Tiny Desk’ EP Tracklisting:

  1. Red Daisy
  2. My Alice
  3. Malfunction Junction
  4. Gild the Lily

Bruce Springsteen Brings His Asbury Park Homecoming to Vinyl for Record Store Day 2026

Eric Alper
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Bruce Springsteen Brings His Asbury Park Homecoming to Vinyl for Record Store Day 2026

Bruce Springsteen has called it one of the top three shows he’s ever played, and on April 18th, Record Store Day gives everyone else the chance to hear why. ‘Live From Asbury Park 2024,’ a 5LP set on Legacy Recordings capturing Springsteen and the E Street Band’s headlining performance at the 2024 Sea.Hear.Now festival, arrives as an RSD Exclusive Release in a limited quantity of 6,050 copies.

The show was a genuine homecoming. Springsteen set aside his standard setlist and reached back to the early days, pulling out rarities like “Blinded By the Light,” “Thundercrack,” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” and “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” songs written when he was still playing clubs around a then-derelict Asbury Park. On this night, he delivered them to 35,000 fans on the beach of a fully restored town. “I put that in one of the top five or three shows we’ve ever done,” Springsteen told Rolling Stone. “To be there for its rebirth and when it came back to life, and to see that happen on that beach in front of us on a beautiful September night was one of the loveliest performing experiences of my life.”

Spanning over three hours, the 5LP set covers the full arc of Springsteen’s catalog, from early deep cuts through landmark songs like “Thunder Road,” “Born To Run,” “Jungleland,” and “Dancing In The Dark.” It’s available on vinyl for the first time, and the tracklist alone makes it one of the most compelling RSD releases of the year.

Record Store Day 2026 also includes Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts’ ‘The Live Album,’ Fall Out Boy’s live Madison Square Garden set, Brandi Carlile’s ‘Live at Easy Street Records Vol. II,’ and a collaborative LP from The Doors’ John Densmore and Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

Tracklist
Side A
1. Lonesome Day
2. Blinded By The Light
3. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
4. Growin’ Up
Side B
1. The Promised Land
2. Spirit In The Night
Side C
1. Thundercrack
2. The E Street Shuffle
3. Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Side D
1. Hungry Heart
2. Local Hero
3. Atlantic City
Side E
1. Tougher Than The Rest
2. Long Walk Home
3. Racing In The Street
Side F
1. Because The Night
2. She’s The One
3. Wrecking Ball
4. The Rising
Side G
1. Badlands
2. Thunder Road
3. Meeting Across The River
Side H
1. Jungleland
2. Born To Run
Side I
1. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
2. Bobby Jean
3. Dancing In The Dark
Side J
1. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
2. Twist And Shout
3. Jersey Girl

Punk Supergroup Codefendants Drop New Album ‘Lifers’ and Team Up With Hip-Hop Legend The D.O.C.

Eric Alper
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Punk Supergroup Codefendants Drop New Album ‘Lifers’ and Team Up With Hip-Hop Legend The D.O.C.

Codefendants have been making the case that punk and hip-hop belong in the same room since day one, and ‘Lifers,’ their sophomore album out now, pushes that argument further than anything they’ve done before. Fat Mike, Sam King of Get Dead, and Julio “Ceschi” Ramos are locked in, and new single “Rivals” featuring The D.O.C. is the album’s most direct statement of intent yet.

The D.O.C., whose songwriting fingerprints are all over N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic,’ brings genuine authority to his opening verse, drawing direct parallels between gang culture in Compton and punk’s own street-level tribalism. Fat Mike sets the scene: “I was hanging with DOC, and he was telling me stories of gang life in Compton. I told him that there were punk gangs, too. He didn’t believe me. Then I told him about FFF and LADS and Suicidals. Then he wrote his verses to ‘Rivals.’ It’s pretty fucking awesome that the fuckin’ D.O.C. and I got to work on another song together.”

Ceschi frames the broader context with precision: “Our second track with the legendary D.O.C. stems from conversations about how punk and hip hop are overlapping counter-cultural movements that came out of a similar time period with similar ideals. Since we started Codefendants, we’ve been confronted by gatekeepers not understanding that we genuinely grew up in both of these worlds.” Fat Mike’s music for the track draws directly from the slower, sludgier punk of the early ’80s, giving the collaboration a foundation that’s rooted and real. The D.O.C. keeps it simple: “Being a Codefendant is one of the best parts of making music today. They don’t give a shit what my voice sounds like as long as it’s on beat.”

With ‘Lifers’ out now, Codefendants have upcoming dates at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on April 18th with Sublime, the Sublime Me Gusta Festival in Fort Worth on May 9th, and the Sublime Cruise sailing from Miami in November.

Codefendants Upcoming Tour Dates:

Apr 18 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre (with Sublime)

May 9 – Fort Worth, TX @ Sublime Me Gusta Festival

Nov 15-19 – Sublime Cruise, sailing from Miami, FL

German Punk-Metal Rockers Die Dorks Unleash New Album ‘Unberechenbar’ With Pure Unfiltered Energy

Eric Alper
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German Punk-Metal Rockers Die Dorks Unleash New Album ‘Unberechenbar’ With Pure Unfiltered Energy

Die Dorks have been earning their stripes the hard way, sharing stages with Tankard, Subway to Sally, The Exploited, and Pro Pain before anyone outside Germany’s punk and metal underground had reason to pay attention. ‘Unberechenbar’ (‘Unpredictable’), their new album out now via Motor Music Berlin, is the record that changes that equation.

The album was produced by Eike Freese of Chameleon Studios Hamburg, whose credits include Deep Purple, Helloween, Skid Row, and Alice Cooper, alongside Alexander Dietz, known for his work with Heaven Shall Burn and Kärbholz. That production team doesn’t take on projects they don’t believe in, and the result is Die Dorks’ most powerful and dynamic work to date. More muscle, more momentum, and exactly zero compromise.

Eleven tracks of honest German rock with a punk and metal edge, sung entirely in German and hitting with the kind of directness that doesn’t require translation. The band brings their own professional backline and touring infrastructure to every show, a detail that speaks to the seriousness of an act that’s been quietly building a formidable live reputation across Europe for years.

Die Dorks made their Wir Leben Laut Festival debut in 2025 alongside Doro and Unantastbar, a milestone that signals exactly where this band is headed. ‘Unberechenbar’ is the album that backs it all up.

‘Unberechenbar’ Tracklisting:

  1. Maximal
  2. Kein Sommer der Liebe
  3. Solange noch mein Herz schlägt
  4. Kranker Geist
  5. Alles zerstören
  6. Es ist echt
  7. Kopf frei
  8. Lieber in der Hölle herrschen
  9. Such dir keinen neuen Gott
  10. Exzessive Notwehr
  11. Unberechenbar

Joe Bonamassa Takes Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Into Its 12th Voyage With a Jimi Hendrix Celebration

Eric Alper
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Joe Bonamassa Takes Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Into Its 12th Voyage With a Jimi Hendrix Celebration

Writing now.

Joe Bonamassa Takes Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Into Its 12th Voyage With a Jimi Hendrix Celebration

TAGS: Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Orianthi, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Jimmy Vivino, King King, Brandon Taz Niederauer, Robert Jon and The Wreck, Nikki Hill, DeWolff, Zac Schulze Gang, Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, Sixthman, Norwegian Jewel,

Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea is heading into its 12th voyage, and this edition comes with a centrepiece worth the trip on its own. Sailing March 15-19, 2027 from Miami to Grand Cayman aboard the Norwegian Jewel, the blues-rock festival cruise is built around an exclusive All-Star concert celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix, hosted by Bonamassa and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

The lineup joining them is stacked. Orianthi, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Jimmy Vivino, King King, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Robert Jon and The Wreck, Nikki Hill, DeWolff, and Zac Schulze Gang are all confirmed, with more artists still to be announced. Beyond the headline concert, the voyage includes intimate acoustic morning sets, guitar clinics, guest jams, once-in-a-lifetime collaborations, autograph sessions, craft tastings, and a full suite of activities aboard the Norwegian Jewel’s world-class facilities.

The cruise benefits the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa’s nonprofit dedicated to music education. Since its founding in 2011, the Foundation has impacted more than 136,000 students across all 50 states through school music program funding, merit-based scholarships, and its Fueling Musicians Program, which has provided immediate financial assistance to over 450 touring musicians. Nearly $2.9 million in donations has fuelled that mission to date.

Bookings are open now with just $100 down per person before July 15th. This event has a consistent history of selling out, and with a Hendrix tribute headlining the bill, the 12th voyage is going to move fast.

Sheffield Dance-Punk Quintet Life Aquatic Band Drop “Look At Ya” Ahead of New EP ‘Stuck In The Mud’

Eric Alper
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Sheffield Dance-Punk Quintet Life Aquatic Band Drop “Look At Ya” Ahead of New EP ‘Stuck In The Mud’

Life Aquatic Band have been building toward this one. “Look At Ya” is the third single from their forthcoming four-track EP ‘Stuck In The Mud,’ produced by three-time Mercury-nominated Shuta Shinoda, out now, and it’s the track that ties the whole project together. NME called them “the psychedelic curveball you need in your life.” Record of the Day heard “a shimmering slice of electro-punk that distils the band’s high-octane live energy into something lean, dark and instantly danceable.” Both descriptions land.

Singer Ben Allen is candid about where the song came from: “‘Look At Ya’ was the last song we wrote for the EP and it really helped tie everything together. I was inspired by Gorillaz on this one, so I ended up using a radio mic to get that Albarn-style effect on the vocals. It’s probably the most angsty track we’ve ever done, and it came from how stuck I was feeling at the time, working an office job.” He adds that the band spent considerable time recording takes of nothing but breathing, arriving at something that felt like their own version of the screaming therapy John Lennon practiced. “We were all laughing because I recorded the vocals on a ten-pound mic, then we switched to a £5k mic just to capture us all gasping.”

The EP was recorded without traditional guitars, a deliberate choice that pushed the Sheffield quintet into new territory. Drawing on the early 2000s electroclash movement and New York’s 1970s No Wave scene alongside touchstones like DEVO, The B-52’s, LCD Soundsystem, and Hot Chip, ‘Stuck In The Mud’ is their tightest and most dancefloor-focused work yet. Working with Shinoda for the first time, and recording to tape, gave the sessions a cohesion and sonic character that sets it apart from everything they’ve done before.

The EP’s title track earned widespread support from BBC Radio 6 Music, including Lauren Laverne, Amy Lamé, Craig Charles, and Steve Lamacq, with John Kennedy adding his endorsement on Radio X. ‘Stuck In The Mud’ arrives March 6th, and “Look At Ya” is the clearest signal yet that Life Aquatic Band have carved out something genuinely their own.

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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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