Home Blog Page 3

Two-Time Folk Music Award Winner Crys Matthews Signs With TRO Essex and Releases Rallying Cry “Forged In Fire”

Eric Alper
-
0
Two-Time Folk Music Award Winner Crys Matthews Signs With TRO Essex and Releases Rallying Cry “Forged In Fire”

Crys Matthews has never been an artist who looks away. “Forged In Fire,” her powerful new single produced by Seth Glier, arrives as both a document of a specific moment in American political life and a rallying cry that reaches back to the Civil Rights movement for its emotional foundation. It is urgent, fully realized, and exactly the kind of song Matthews was built to write.

The single was written during a particularly turbulent week under the second Trump administration, born from headlines covering birthright citizenship battles, farmworker raids, press freedom violations, and the targeting of undocumented children. Matthews connects those headlines directly to the conditions endured by Civil Rights activists before her, and the song carries that weight without flinching. Hopelessness, she reminds us, is not an option.

The production matches the ambition. Powerhouse vocalists Kyshona, Kiley Phillips, Nickie Conley, Wil Merrell, and Jason Eskridge surround Matthews in a performance that draws fully on her A.M.E. upbringing. This is a song that takes you to church, and means it. The blend of Country, Americana, Folk, Blues, and Bluegrass that defines Matthews’s sound gives “Forged In Fire” both roots and reach.

The single also marks a significant career milestone. Matthews has signed an exclusive publishing and recording agreement with TRO Essex Music Group, home to Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Pete Townshend, Pink Floyd, and Black Sabbath, alongside its label arm Shamus Records. It is a signing that places her in company that reflects exactly the kind of artist she is.

The recognition has been building for years and is now impossible to ignore. Matthews is the 2025 and 2022 Song of the Year winner at the International Folk Music Awards, making her the first artist to claim that honor twice since the award’s inception. She was also named 2024 Artist of the Year. “Forged In Fire” is out now.

Country Road Warrior Chas Collins Delivers Barroom Comedy Gold With New Video for “This Bar Sucks”

Eric Alper
-
0
Country Road Warrior Chas Collins Delivers Barroom Comedy Gold With New Video for “This Bar Sucks”

Chas Collins has seen the inside of more bars than most, having played over 3,000 live shows across 43 states, so when he says a bar sucks, he knows what he’s talking about. The official music video for his fan-favorite single “This Bar Sucks” is out now, a tongue-in-cheek, self-penned romp through a night out gone gloriously wrong. Listen here.

The video delivers exactly what the title promises. Questionable clientele, an off-key band, a bartender who turns the whole night into a spectacle. Collins describes it as “a hilarious train wreck of a night where everything that could go wrong does,” and the video plays it with the kind of loose, good-natured energy that makes the song impossible not to enjoy.

“This Bar Sucks” follows “Slam Bam,” Collins’ previous single, a swaggering, hook-filled anthem built around neon lights and a shout-along chorus that premiered with The Music Universe and proved itself an immediate set-opener. Two singles in, Collins is showing a range that moves between high-energy bravado and sharp comic timing without missing a step.

The backstory behind Collins makes every song carry extra weight. A Southern-born singer-songwriter raised on gospel and honky tonk grit, he lost everything in Hurricane Katrina and rebuilt his life in Nashville, later channeling the losses of his mother, grandmother, and aunt into some of the most personal writing of his career. His breakout single “That’s What She Said” and Top 10 CMT hit “Try It On” put him on the national map, and he has stayed there through relentless road work and a sound that keeps getting sharper.

Irish Brothers The Guzzlers Crash Onto the Scene With Shanty Debut “20 Pints To Cherbourg”

Eric Alper
-
0
Irish Brothers The Guzzlers Crash Onto the Scene With Shanty Debut “20 Pints To Cherbourg”

The Guzzlers got fired from a ferry gig for drinking too much, so they wrote a song about it. That is the origin story of “20 Pints To Cherbourg,” the debut single from Limerick-born, Liverpool-based brothers Tom and Cian O’Dowd, and it tells you everything you need to know about what this duo is built from. Listen here.

The single is a lively, authentic shanty born on the Dublin to Cherbourg ferry where the brothers were employed playing Irish songs for passengers. One particularly riotous trip, too many pints and a near miss making the boat back, became the song. As the brothers put it: “Some bands write heartbreak songs, we wrote one about drinking 20 pints. It’s all related to love.”

The release came loaded with a campaign of live performances at their favourite pubs, playing a different Liverpool venue every day for 20 days leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, closing with a special night at The Jacaranda. They are now running the same campaign across Glasgow. Check their Instagram for locations and catch them at a pub near you.

The Guzzlers’ Liverpool rise has been fast and earned. Busking outside Irish bars led to residencies inside them, then stages at The Jacaranda, The Cavern Club, and The Philharmonic. They supported local legend Ian Prowse, landed a residency playing Anfield for arriving Liverpool FC fans, and guested alongside The Highstool Prophets at Liverpool Academy in January.

In December they entered the studio with producer Jon Withnall (Coldplay, Rihanna, Echo and the Bunnymen) and emerged with ‘Drinking The Dream’, a debut album packed with autobiographical songs rooted in Irish folk tradition but carrying their own unmistakable charm. The album arrives this Autumn, with further singles throughout the year and a run of December shows to close it out.

December Tour Dates:

December 11: Liverpool @ O2 Academy (with The Highstool Prophets)

December 12: London @ Shepherds Bush Empire (with The Highstool Prophets)

December 13: Manchester @ O2 Ritz (with The Highstool Prophets)

Winnipeg Folk Festival Drops Main Stage Schedule and Adds Korean K-Folk Rock Act Insun Park & Generals

Eric Alper
-
0
Winnipeg Folk Festival Drops Main Stage Schedule and Adds Korean K-Folk Rock Act Insun Park & Generals

The Winnipeg Folk Festival just gave its audience the full picture. The festival has announced its Main Stage and Big Blue @ Night schedules for 2026, and added a genuinely exciting new act to the lineup: Insun Park & Generals, a Korean ensemble blending rock with traditional Korean music and rhythms rooted in mask dance traditions.

The addition of Insun Park & Generals is the kind of programming move that separates a great festival from a good one. The group describes themselves as K-Folk Rock and incorporates masks into their live performance, drawing from Korean mask dance traditions. Artistic Director Chris Frayer calls it exactly what it is: something the audience has never experienced before, and something he is very excited to share.

The evening schedules are built to complement each other across genre and energy. Friday alone puts Jesse Welles on Main Stage against Wolf Parade at Big Blue @ Night, which is the kind of scheduling problem festivalgoers are happy to have. Lucy Dacus anchors a Main Stage singalong moment, while Angine de Poitrine brings something altogether different to Big Blue @ Night.

The full Main Stage and Big Blue @ Night schedules are available now on the Winnipeg Folk Festival website and through the official app on the App Store and Google Play. The complete festival schedule, including workshops and special events, drops in late May 2026.

The 51st Winnipeg Folk Festival runs July 9 to 12, 2026 at Birds Hill Provincial Park, Manitoba, on Treaty 1 territory and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. Tickets are on sale now.

Women in Music Canada and Music Publishers Canada Release Landmark Caregiver Study Demanding Industry Action

Eric Alper
-
0
Women in Music Canada and Music Publishers Canada Release Landmark Caregiver Study Demanding Industry Action

Women in Music Canada and Music Publishers Canada Release Landmark Caregiver Study Demanding Industry Action

TAGS: Women in Music Canada, Music Publishers Canada, Ontario Creates, Creative BC, Diane Davy, Margaret McGuffin, Karen Thorne-Stone, Prem Gill, Robyn Stewart,

A new study is demanding the Canadian music industry pay attention to a workforce crisis hiding in plain sight. “Sound of Support: Exploring the Music Community’s Caregiver Needs,” prepared by consultant Diane Davy and released by Women in Music Canada and Music Publishers Canada, lands today as a direct call to action for an industry that has long overlooked the people holding it together.

The research draws on a literature review, surveys, focus groups, and interviews, and the findings are stark. Seventy-eight percent of survey respondents reported being unaware of any organizations or programs offering caregiver support. That number alone should stop the industry cold. Caregivers are working inside a system that was never built with them in mind, and most of them don’t even know where to turn.

The study was made possible with support from Ontario Creates and Creative BC, two organizations that understand the music industry is only as strong as the people powering it. Karen Thorne-Stone, President and CEO of Ontario Creates, points directly to the stakes: Ontario’s music industry earns international recognition, and understanding the demands placed on caregivers is essential to keeping that workforce intact.

The barriers identified are specific and solvable. Irregular hours, touring schedules, and late-night commitments clash structurally with caregiving’s demand for consistency. The study calls for hybrid and flexible work models, on-site childcare at conferences and performances, financial stipends that account for caregiving costs, peer networking opportunities, and clear employer policy templates. These are not abstract recommendations. They are actionable starting points.

Margaret McGuffin, CEO of Music Publishers Canada, frames the study as a beginning, not a conclusion: a foundation for raising awareness, promoting existing resources, and building new support where gaps exist. The gaps are significant. Creative BC CEO Prem Gill puts it plainly: a caregiver-inclusive industry strengthens both individuals and the long-term sustainability of the entire music ecosystem.

Robyn Stewart, Executive Director of Women in Music Canada, brings the personal weight of fourteen years of caregiving experience to her role in this work. She is direct about what change can look like at its most immediate: recognizing that caregivers in your community are trying to succeed across every part of their lives, and that all of it matters. That recognition, she argues, is where the work begins.

“Sound of Support” is available now in full. The music industry has the research. The next move is its own.

Olivia Rodrigo Announces Third Album ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ Arriving June 12

Eric Alper
-
0
Olivia Rodrigo Announces Third Album ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ Arriving June 12

Olivia Rodrigo wiped her Instagram clean and replaced it with a single image: herself mid-air on a swing, pale pink dress, black Mary Janes, laughing into a cloudy sky. The message was immediate. The wait is over. Her third album, ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’, arrives June 12.

The announcement landed Thursday morning and the numbers tell the story. Within an hour, the post crossed 1.7 million likes. Signed preorders sold out in under an hour. Gracie Abrams, Addison Rae, and Suki Waterhouse all flooded the comments. This is the kind of album release moment the music industry rarely manufactures and almost never earns organically.

The rollout was months in the making. After the final stop of the Guts World Tour in August 2025, fans began decoding every post, every Instagram caption, every faint hint of what was coming. A purple mural appeared in Los Angeles, then shifted to pink over several days. Rodrigo’s fan accounts tagged everything with #OR3. The album cover confirmed it: the GUTS era’s electric palette is gone. Pink is the new era.

The title lands with intention. In a handwritten note included with Universal Music Group’s preorder materials, Rodrigo wrote that no matter how hard she tries to write love songs, they always come out laced with a little melancholy. British Vogue confirmed the fan theories: these are love songs, but specifically about obsession, anxiety, and the depression that follows when a lover is gone. Rodrigo told the outlet that her favourite romantic songs work because they carry “a tinge of fear or yearning.”

The album was recorded primarily at home in Los Angeles, largely with longtime collaborator Dan Nigro. Rodrigo has been candid about needing to feel grounded to write well, and ‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ sounds like it was built in exactly that kind of space. She described the process to Elle as genuinely fun, a creative stretch that feels different from both ‘SOUR’ and ‘GUTS’ by virtue of experience and perspective.

Those two records set an extraordinary bar. ‘SOUR’ won Best Pop Vocal Album and Best New Artist at the 2022 Grammys. ‘GUTS’ earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and sent Rodrigo headlining Glastonbury in 2025. The third album arrives not as a follow-up chasing those moments but as a natural continuation from an artist who has consistently grown on her own terms.

‘you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love’ is available for preorder now. June 12 cannot come fast enough.

Rock Legends Cactus Unleash All-Star Reimagining Of “Bad Stuff” With Joe Lynn Turner and Steve Morse

Eric Alper
-
0
Rock Legends Cactus Unleash All-Star Reimagining Of “Bad Stuff” With Joe Lynn Turner and Steve Morse

Cactus are firing on all cylinders. With ‘Temple Of Blues II’ arriving this Friday, April 3rd via Cleopatra Records, the drum legend Carmine Appice and his band drop “Bad Stuff” as their latest single, a piledriving reimagination of the track originally recorded on their 1972 album ‘Ot and Sweaty’. The result is a low-down, dirty blues crusher built for maximum impact.

The lineup here is absurd in the best possible way. Joe Lynn Turner, veteran of Deep Purple and Rainbow, handles vocals. Steve Morse, another Purple alumnus, brings his characteristic guitar alchemy. Tony Franklin holds down bass, Dream Theater’s Derek Sherinian commands the keys, and Cactus’s own Artie Dillon adds guitars. Turner calls it “a low-down, dirty blues track that moves and grooves with a sexy voodoo swagger,” and that description lands exactly right.

‘Temple Of Blues II’ is the long-awaited sequel to ‘Temple Of The Blues’ and expands on its predecessor’s star-studded blueprint with even more firepower. Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, Ted Nugent, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot, and Pat Travers all return, joined by an entirely new wave including Melanie delivering a transformative take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” Rudy Sarzo, Alex Skolnick of Testament, and others.

Seven Dixon/Wolf classics anchor the record, including “Spoonful” with Ted Nugent and Bob Daisley, “The Little Red Rooster” featuring Dee Snider, and “Back Door Man” with Eric Gales and Billy Sheehan. Appice drives every track with the power and groove that has made him one of the most influential drummers in rock history. ‘Temple Of Blues II’ is out now.

Futurebirds Chart New Territory With First Double Album ‘Far Out Country’ and a Monster Summer Tour

Eric Alper
-
0
Futurebirds Chart New Territory With First Double Album ‘Far Out Country’ and a Monster Summer Tour

Futurebirds just raised the stakes. Nearly two decades into one of indie country-rock’s most rewarding careers, the Athens, GA-born outfit announce ‘Far Out Country’, their first double album, due June 5 via Dualtone Records. Produced by GRAMMY-winner Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman), the 18-song record splits into two distinct halves, a sunlit “day” and a deeper, more interior “night,” blurring psychedelic country-rock, indie, and something that feels less like a genre than a physical place.

The band today released the Sienna Life EP featuring three tracks from ‘Far Out Country I’: “Sienna Life,” “Sleepless in the Cage,” and “Ghost Moon.” It’s an opening statement that holds real weight, three songs that confirm Futurebirds are operating at a level that demands attention.

In a bold physical-first move, the complete double album arrives on vinyl June 5, with the second half reaching streaming platforms months later. The only way to hear ‘Far Out Country’ in full from day one is on vinyl. Half the record was tracked live to tape at Sonic Ranch in the Texas borderlands; the other nine songs were built carefully in smaller studios, four produced by the band’s own Tom Myers.

Fronted by three distinct singer-songwriters, Daniel “Womz” Womack, Carter King, and Thomas “Tojo” Johnson, Futurebirds write in honest conversation across 18 songs about fatherhood, family, and navigating the tension between the road that made them and the lives waiting back home. Carter King sums it up well: “Far Out Country is a place, not a sound.”

A massive nationwide tour runs from April through November. Tickets are on sale now.

‘Far Out Country I’ Tracklist:

  1. Sienna Life
  2. Sleepless in the Cage
  3. Marco Polo I
  4. Nervous Ground
  5. Ghost Moon
  6. Fly On
  7. Gsus Take the Wheel
  8. Wishin’
  9. Featherbed

‘Far Out Country II’ Tracklist:

  1. I’m Yr Mane
  2. Sober Somewhere
  3. Pretty Eyes
  4. Far Out Country
  5. Talk About the Band
  6. Laugh in Your Sleep
  7. Marco Polo II
  8. All I Want
  9. Long Time Gone

2026 Tour Dates:

04/30: Myrtle Beach, SC @ The Boathouse

05/22: Savannah, GA @ The Park At Eastern Wharf

05/23-05/24: Isle of Palms, SC @ The Windjammer

06/05: Greensboro, NC @ The Pyrle

06/06: Richmond, VA @ The National

06/08: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

06/09: Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall

06/11: Boston, MA @ Royale

06/12: Woodstock, NY @ Levon Helm Studios

06/13: New York, NY @ Irving Plaza

06/16: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

06/18: Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon

06/19: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line

06/20: Winnetka, IL @ Winnetka Music Festival

07/08: Kansas City, MO @ recordBar

07/10: Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre

07/11: Beaver Creek, CO @ Vilar Performing Arts Center

07/14: Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom

07/15: San Diego, CA @ Music Box

07/17: Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom

07/18: San Francisco, CA @ August Hall

07/19: Camino, CA @ Delfino Farms

07/22: Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern

07/23: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

07/24: Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Courtyard

07/25: Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club Ballroom

07/28: Teton Village, WY @ Mangy Moose

07/30: Lander, WY @ Lander Presents Summer Concert Series

07/31-08/01: Livingston, MT @ Pine Creek Lodge

09/02: Nantucket, MA @ The Muse

09/06: Portland, ME @ Ghostland

11/14: Wilmington, NC @ BAD Day Music & Arts Festival

Celtic Punk Legends The Real McKenzies Are Back And They Want To Eat Sardines With Yer Mother

Eric Alper
-
0
Celtic Punk Legends The Real McKenzies Are Back And They Want To Eat Sardines With Yer Mother

Three decades deep and The Real McKenzies have not lost a single step. The Vancouver Celtic punk lifers return with “I Wanna Eat Sardines (With Yer Mother),” the first single from their upcoming album ‘On Yer Bike’, arriving May 29 on Stomp Records. The track landed March 27 and marks the band’s first new music following the closure of Fat Wreck Chords. Listen here.

Equal parts pub anthem and cheeky Celtic mischief, the song barrels forward on roaring guitars, thunderous drums, and the unmistakable skirl of bagpipes wrapped around a chorus built to be shouted across a crowded barroom. It’s rowdy, irreverent, and proudly ridiculous in the best possible way. This is punk rock that knows exactly how fun it can be when the pints are flowing and the pipes are blazing.

‘On Yer Bike’ is a thirteen-track blast of raucous Celtic punk. It swings through tales of love, history, literature, and outright lunacy, including a Sawney Bean trilogy, three songs inspired by Scotland’s most infamous cannibal clan. Soaring bagpipes and heart-pounding rhythms anchor every track.

Founded in 1992 by frontman and Scottish punk poet laureate Paul McKenzie, the band has shared stages with NOFX, Rancid, Flogging Molly, Metallica, and the late Shane MacGowan. Their reputation was built the old-fashioned way: relentless touring, roaring crowds, and songs made to be sung at the top of your lungs. ‘On Yer Bike’ proves the fire still burns.

1234...3,529Page 3 of 3,529

Follow us on Instagram @thatericalper

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

Popular posts

Popular category

© Copyright - That Eric Alper