In the Kitchen with Stacey Lee Guse Charley Pride Kristian Bush Danielle Marie
June 18, 2015
Maddie and Tae’s Debut Heather Longstaffe
Charley Pride Tours Canada Charley Pride's classic third and fourth albums are finally released. Remastered from original source tapes, this release features Charley's early hits "Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger", "The Day The World Stood Still" and "Crystal Chandeliers" as well as his hard-to-find cover versions of many other well-known Country songs. Catch Charley Pride at on of his Canadian Dates: June 21, 2015 ~ Moncton, NB - Casino New Brunswick June 23, 2015 ~ Sydney, NS - Centre 200 June 25, 2015 ~ St. John's, NL - Mile One Centre June 27, 2015 ~ Kitchener, ON - Centre In The Square July 05, 2015 ~ Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Casino August 14, 2015 ~ Orillia, ON - Casino Rama
The Road Hammers Go Everywhere With Nine-Episode Webseries For CMT Website Launch It’s summer time; the beer is cold, the weather is warm and the necks are red. There is no better time for Canada’s favourite highway-loving, hillbilly -singing, country legends, The Road Hammers, to celebrate. After a brief hiatus, The Road Hammers came back strong in 2014 with both a CCMA and JUNO Award nomination as well as the release of their fourth studio album Wheels. What fans truly don’t know is what happened during the interim that lead to their return – now, The Road Hammers are telling their side of the story through a nineepisode web series. Set to launch with CMT’s new website on June 8th, The Road Hammers Go Everywhere follows the trio through their country music return while capturing their first national tour (antics and all) since reuniting. “We had so much fun filming this and being back on the road,” says Jason McCoy. “The Road Hammers Go Everywhere shows the heart of tour life, and being on the road is what we’re all about.” Once on the road, these boys don’t quit. With the summer festival season quickly approaching, The Road Hammers will be making another trip across the nation to perform at some of the top festivals of the summer, including Ontario’s biggest country
music festival of the year Boots and Hearts. Fans are encouraged to keep an eye out this summer for The Road Hammers’ selfie booth with Fueled by Rednecks – there’s sure to be plenty of merchandise, contests and more along the way! In case the band misses your hometown this summer, CMT and Coors Banquet are giving you a chance to bring both The Road Hammers and label mate Tim Hicks to perform in your town in September. Submit a picture showing your small town pride to win an exclusive performance by two of Canada’s favourite country acts. For more contest details: www.coorsbanquet.ca/en/oht June 19 - Summer in the City - Steinbach, MB June 20 - Maritime CountryFest - Fredericton, NB June 25 - Dauphin Country Festival - Dauphin, MB June 26, - Cider Fest - Stoney Creek, ON July 4 - Elliot Lake’s 60th Anniversary - Elliot Lake, ON July 10 - Last Best Country Fest - Billings, MT July 11 - Hard Rock Casino - Vancouver, BC July 18 - Canola Fest - Taylor, BC July 23 - Bathurst Hospitality Days - Bathurst, NB July 25, 2015 Kemptville Live - Kemptville, ON July 30 - Queen City Ex - Regina, SK August 1 - Tweed Stampede - Tweed, ON August 2 - Boot Hill Country Jamoree - Bothwell, ON August 6 - Boots and Hearts Festival - Oro-Medonte, ON August 22 - Extreme Mudfest - Bonnyville, AB
Maddie and Tae make their Canadian debut No act launched in 2014 with the velocity of Maddie & Tae, going from publishing deal to single sensation with “Girl In A Country Song” in a matter of weeks. Before that year was over, the pair from Sugar Land, Texas and Ada, Oklahoma, had a #1 single. Maddie & Tae will release START HERE August 28. The album is now available for pre-order on iTunes: Smarturl.it/MTStart. Produced by Dann Huff (Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Reba), the eleven tracks reveal the real young women’s perspective on emerging into a world filled with haters, dreams, courage and having a good sense of humour. The duo make their Canadian debut at this year’s Boots and Hearts Music Festival August 7th - 9th at Burl’s Creek in Oro-Medonte, Ontario. Just 15 minutes north of Barrie. Nestled behind groves of mature maples, the vast meadows show off our beautiful Canadian landscape.
Debut Project from Heather Longstaffe The Talent Associates, a cross-border management and marketing company, announces plans to release new music from Winnipeg-born singer/songwriter Heather Longstaffe. This marks the first time TTA will bring music directly to radio and the fans. TTA will ship Longstaffe’s debut single “Rooftops” to Canadian "This is exciting for country stations ASAP. The us," said company song, an explosive celebration founder and of love, was written by Heather President John with Vancouver-based writer/ Ettinger. "We producer Dan Swinimer. established TTA as Longstaffe is acclaimed as a a force to help great powerful vocalist and a highly sought-after writer for many of music get heard, Canada's hottest artists. She and Heather is the was the opening act on the justperfect singer to completed Emerson Drive Tiltestablish this new A-Whirl tour, and was the side of our work." grand-prize winner of the Radio Star National Songwriting competition. Her EP Slingshot, set for release this Summer, features five new songs written by Longstaffe, and they present an artist with an obvious and exciting path ahead — through Canada and beyond.
"On stage is where I belong," says Longstaffe. "We all want this music to bring me and my band on stage and in front of a new bunch of friends across Canada." TTA has established a unique and powerful brand the past five years in North America. Ettinger, former head of promotion at Mercury Records (Shania Twain, Terri Clark, Sugarland) and the Disney-owned Carolwood label, founded the company as management for awardwinning group Emerson Drive. TTA now serves in the same function for Tebey (along with Jill Snell and RoadAngel), Alissa Griffith, Jordan Dean, and Longstaffe. As a radio service team, led by Ryan Barnstead, the VP of Promotion and Artist Development, TTA brought BlackJack Billy to radio in the US and Canada, and they function in a similar role for Sugarland founder Kristian Bush, and team with various Canadian artists in bringing their music to the United States. For the past nine months, TTA has represented the roster for Open Road Recordings to Canadian radio, bringing CanCon chart-topping singles to Dean Brody and High Valley (2), and Top 10 and Top 20 hits to Tim Hicks and Doc Walker.
It Is Better To Have “Loved locked” Than Never To Have Loved At All… Canada’s own award-winning country duo The Lovelocks (MDM Recordings Inc. / Universal Music Canada), Ali Raney and Zoe Neuman, are here to stay and making a musical splash with the release of their new single “Born To Love”. A band whose name was literally inspired by a visit to the love locks wall in Paris, the new single, which is available for purchase on iTunes today, similarly celebrates romance and the power of intoxicating amour! Shares The Lovelocks, “The sound of “Born To Love" is still very much us, but it’s an edgier side of The Lovelocks, a new musical twist for our fans. This song explores a passionate love. We think many people can relate to that drive-you-crazy kinda love. The title and main chorus hook came up the night before we got into the writing room and we ended up finishing the whole song in under an hour the very next day with our co-writers Phil Barton and Brian White. We’ve never written a song that fast!” Acclaimed musicians, including recent nominations for two 2015 Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) Awards including Roots Artist or Group of the Year and Album of the Year, the 2014 Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA®) Discovery Series winners The Lovelocks, released the video for the first single, “Born To Love”, off of their new album to CMT on May 25, 2015. The duo will continue to tour throughout Canada this summer, including a performance at Boots and Hearts.
Big Star Recordings' Emerson Drive Achieve A Record 20 Top 10 Singles In Canada Emerson Drive's extensive background in the country music landscape is undeniable. For well over a decade, the band has produced such hits as "I Should Be Sleeping," "Moments," "Fall Into Me" and their latest GOLD single - "She's My Kind
Of Crazy." They have countless Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) award wins, including three for Group or Duo of the Year, and they're one of the only Canadian country bands in history to hold nominations from the Academy of Country Music awards (ACMs), the Country Music Association awards (CMAs) and the Grammys in the U.S., solidifying
them as one of the great bands of all time. President of Invictus Entertainment Group, Jim Cressman says "Longevity isn't ubiquitous in this industry. By evolving their sound and listening to their fans, these guys have stood the test of time and are more relevant than ever." Expect new music from Emerson Drive on June 16th when their new single "Till The Summer's Gone" hits radio.
Upcoming Canadian dates: June 27, Cider Fest - Winona, ON June 28, CRIR Festival - Strathmore, AB June 30, Abbotsford Centre - Abbotsford, BC July 25, Spencerville Stampede - Spencerville, ON July 30, Cedarcreek Winery - Kelowna, BC August 14, Arnprior Fair - Arnprior, ON
Grammy Award-Winning Country Artist
Kristian Bush
Plays Two Canadian Dates & Releases
New Single "Light Me Up� Kristian Bush, half of the Platinum-selling, Grammy Awardwinning Country duo Sugarland will release his latest solo single "Light Me Up" (Big Star Recordings) to Canadian country radio. "Light Me Up" along with Bush's Top 20 hit "Trailer Hitch" can be found on his 12-track album Southern Gravity, released this past spring to rave reviews from outlets including USA Today, Rolling Stone, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Boston Globe and Country Weekly, who called it the "feel -good album of the year." Bush describes "Light Me Up" as, "the first time in my country music career I am getting to sing a love song directly to my fans. I've spent the better part of 12 years being aware that the songs I wrote with Sugarland were going to be delivered by a woman, and there are certain things I wanted to say as a man that didn't quite fit in that context. 'Light Me Up' is about how I feel when I am loved. When someone loves you, it changes you forever. I decided to write a song to celebrate that." The heartwarming anthem of the album, "Light Me Up" was written and produced by Bush, in collaboration with Jesse Rice, one of the songwriters behind Florida Georgia Line's smash hit "Cruise" - the best selling country digital song of all time. "Light Me Up" echoes the same style that Sugarland is known for, with Bush stepping to the forefront to capture a
true Southern-infused spirit. The Atlanta-based artist has been leaving his mark on music for more than two decades. He is a multi-award -winning singer, songwriter, producer and instrumentalist who started his career with folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim in the early '90s. He and partner Andrew Hyra released a much-lauded pair of albums for Atlantic Records (1994's self-titled debut and 1995's Bloom), earning multiple Top 5 singles on the AAA charts, rotation on VH1 and a reputation as dynamic live performers. Bush founded Sugarland in 2002; which by 2014 surpassed sales of over 22 million albums worldwide, achieved five No. 1 singles and earned numerous awards, including multiple Grammys, AMAs, ACM Awards, CMT Music Awards and CMA Awards. In October of 2012, Sugarland was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Bush will support his new single on the road with two highly anticipated Canadian performances this summer at Bud Country Fever in Grande Prairie, Alberta on June 27 and Prince Edward Island's Cavendish Beach Music festival on July 11. For more information and tickets please visit www.kristianbush.com. Kristian Bush Show Dates:
June 27 - Bud Country Fever - Grande Prairie, AB July 11 - Cavendish Beach Music Festival - PEI
Under the Radar with Danielle Marie Q: You are nominated for the 'Artist to Watch' at this years Edmonton Music Awards, is this your first Edmonton Music Award nomination? A: Yes this is my first EMA nomination. I grew up in the Morinville area so this is truly an honour to be in this category alongside so much talent! Q: Why music? What drive you to perform? A: Music has always been the biggest part of my life. Ever since I was a little girl you always knew I was in the room because I was constantly singing... And still am! Just ask my family ;) I never shut my mouth. I love being up on stage and sharing my passion with everyone, and my ultimate goal is to inspire people to do what they love and follow their dreams. There is nothing else I would rather be doing. Q: Best advice you始ve ever received from another artist? A: A big influence in my music career lately has been Karen Lee Batten. She really has my best interest at heart and gives some very insightful and helpful advice. She told me that when I'm up on stage that it's MY stage, and whatever happens, happens. It's my moment and just go up there and rock it! Who cares what anyone else thinks!! :) before I step on stage, or in front of a mic, I just tell myself "This is my moment, now go out there and play like this is your last chance to show the world how much you love what you do"
Q: Any hidden talents? A: One of my hidden talents is the fact that I can imitate any voice...Shakira, Cher, Brittney Spears, Luke Bryan, you name it!!! I love doing it!! I often catch myself talking in random accents through out the day as well :p my favourite voice to imitate is "The Grinch". Q: What is the last concert that you saw? A: The last concert I saw was One Republic. It was totally last minute and I wasn't a huge fan to begin with, but I'm SO happy I went. Ryan Tedder is an amazing writer and artist. It was very inspiring to watch him in his element, I left the arena speechless, that's the great thing about music! Q: Summer plans? A: My summer is going to be music, music, and more music!! I will be kicking off July with a Canada Day performance in Langley, BC then I'm back to Edmonton for a couple of National Anthems for the Edmonton Prospects. I recently competed for a place in the top 10 of the BC Country Music Assoc Artist Development Project and MADE IT!! The Top 10 will attend a 2 day music business boot camp, followed by live performances at Rockin始 River Music Festival in Merrit, BC. The program is designed to offer aspiring country artists education, showcase opportunities and funding, to build and nurture their careers. The winning artist will perform at the BCCMA awards, and participate in a 10 week Artist Entrepreneur Program at Coalition Music in Toronto, and take home over $10,000 in cash and prizes. My band and I are so excited.
In the Kitchen with
Stacey Lee Guse,
The key to a happy band is a well-fed band. Most of the boys are fond of pork in any form, so there is usually some element that is pig-derived in every meal we share together. Thankfully we don't eat together every day, or it might work against our girlish figures. Here is a favourite, inspired by our Bassman, Matthew Lima and his Portugese roots. Delightful little pork sandwiches that are just perfect for a big day at the studio, as they can be made ahead. For the Pork 10-12 pork chops, ( thinner fast fry loin chops work great as they are lean and cook quickly) 1-2 Tbsp pesto 1 jar of sweet pimento a couple tablespoons of veg oil for frying. For the Onions 3-4 medium sized onions, sliced thinly 1 bottle of beer. 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp butter
The Western Swing Authority Ideally you will want to marinate the pork over night in the sweet pimento and pesto! After fully marinated, place vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and fast fry the chops to seal in the goodness. Place seared chops in an ovenproof dish and bake at 325F until thoroughly cooked. (Time will depend on how thick your chops are) While the pork is finishing in the oven, you should definitely make some caramelized onions to go with the sandwiches. The combination of the sweet onions and the salty savoury pork are divine! Slice onions thinly and place in a non-stick pan with butter and oil. As the onions cook slowly, de-glaze with the bottle of beer. “Whatever is left of it anyway, we are cooking here, I usually work in thirds, 1/3 of the bottle for each de-glaze minus the sips I take along the way! Serve on buns of your choice, with onions and hot banana pepper rings. And then go thank someone who is Portugese for thinking up this lovely, tasty idea!
Beauty Tips from
Stacey Lee Guse
First off, you should make sure you are the only girl in the band, it usually secures you a single room. (Unless you are married to the band leader like Stacey).
Secondly, you NEED to take care of your skin first. Excellent skin care is a must, plus, it gives the perfect canvas for any look you want to achieve. I use Arbonne Re9 anti-aging skin care and makeup. It's all botanically based, cruelty/harmful toxin free, and absolutely result-driven, my skin has never looked better. My "can't miss" product that I never go without on a show day is Arbonne's makeup primer. Silky smooth and gives a perfect flawless base, I have never had a show that couldn't stand up to this makeup primer and mineral foundation...even in 90 degree heat!. Lastly, don't EVER leave your makeup on at bedtime. Your skin ages 4 days every single time you do it, trust me, you won't regret taking good care of your skin it's the only skin you've got!
Shania Kids Can Shania Twain visited Hjorth Elementary School in Surrey to open her latest clubhouse called Shania Kids Can.
“If I’d had this program when I was a kid, who knows where I’d be right now,” Twain laughed. “In saying that there’s a lot of irony there, I was just one of the lucky ones. I just made it by chance. Regardless of how much talent you have, you need support.” Shania says she lived through many tough times as a child and promised if she became successful when she grew up that she would try to give back to society. Hjorth Elementary is the first school in British Columbia chosen to house the Shania Kids Can Club and it is the sixth program Shania has opened in North America. The support staff at the clubhouse will offer everything from nutritious food, to life skills training to help with homework. It is the kind of support Shania says she often needed when she was growing up in Timmins, Ontario.
“I changed schools 17 times during my childhood, for various reasons. Either we had to leave the town because we couldn’t pay the bills and we had to just move or my dad had to get a new job… for various reasons, we moved around a lot.”