Last September Stephen Wilson Jr. released his debut double album, søn of dad via Big Loud Records. Family, love, grief, the father-son bond and letting go are all themes present in the ambitious 22-track project. The album is also dedicated to his late father, who passed away 5 years prior.
Big Loud’s rising star Griffen Palmer is giving fans a first taste of his music with his debut album, Unlearn.
For those unfamiliar with Palmer, he’s a songwriter first, with cuts with Jade Eagleson, Keith Urban and MacKenzie Porter. Since signing with Big Loud, he’s released numerous singles, accompanied Lily Rose on her US nationwide tour and performed at the 2023 CMA Fest.
Last April, the singer-songwriter released Unlearn, a record that is best described as encompassing what it means to be young and in your ’20s. Consisting of 10 pop-infused tracks, the record explores relatable themes & experiences such as falling in love with the one, personal growth and more—all while maintaining fresh perspectives.
Lauren Alaina is packing a punch with her latest EP, Unlocked. The 6-track EP is also her first release since signing with Nashville’s Big Loud Records
Calling the province of PEI home is alt-country singer/songwriter Lawrence Maxwell. In June of last year, he released his latest single, “Got U Home”– a song that tells the story of an ephemeral, summer love led by lust.
Hailing from a small town in Ontario, Canada and now calling Nashville home, is country singer-songwriter Jaclyn Kenyon.
Jaclyn was only 3 years of age when she first got into music–attributing much of her musical & songwriting roots to her father. Before pursuing a career in dentistry, her dad was a piano player and an artist. She used to sit at the piano alongside him as he played. She was very young when she composed her first song, the result of playing around with 3 chords on the piano and making some melodies up.
Pop-country artist Jessie T is self-described as “The kind of girl you can take home to mama but who’ll also bring a bottle of tequila to Thanksgiving dinner” (Jessie T).
Hailing from Elk Point, Alberta is pop-country singer-songwriter, Olivia Rose. For those unfamiliar with Olivia, she’s a 2x Edmonton Music Awards’ Rising Star award-winner and has previously opened for country music heavy-hitters such as Brett Kissel, Meghan Patrick and Paul Brandt. Her music has also seen success on both country radio and streaming platforms. Most notably, her 2019 single “Put It Like That” was added to CBC Country/Sirius XM’s regular rotation and surpassed 128K+ streams on Spotify.
In July of 2022, she released her latest single “Truck Boi”– a song she shares is about a hypothetical “Country f-boy who only cares about his supped-up truck and getting ladies” (Rose, Olivia). A song that resonated with her fans, as it has amassed 48K+ streams on Spotify alone.
Multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Roberta Lea is building off the momentum of her last album Too Much of a Woman with the release of her new single, “Somewhere in the Tide”.
Recently, I spoke with Roberta about how she got her start in country music, her latest single and more.
Hailing from the small Canadian province of PEI is the country music industry’s very own “Saltwater Cowboy,” Ben Chase.
For those unfamiliar with Ben and his music, he has already earned more than 2 million global streams, with his single “Call Me Drunk” recently surpassing 1 million streams on Apple Music. The high-energy entertainer has also previously opened for notable country acts such as Zach Bryan, Brett Kissel and Dan + Shay at highly regarded Canadian country music festivals.
In November of last year, Ben released his debut album, That Was Then, This Is Now. The project consists of 20 tracks, including 12 previously released singles and 8 brand-new songs. As a whole, the record explores relatable themes such as dating & relationships, young love, heartbreak and coping with change– all of which draw inspiration from his lived experiences. In many ways, the album is an introduction to Ben himself.
In 2021, multi-platinum country artist & entertainer Chase Rice released his single, “If I Were Rock & Roll”. An updated version of the single is featured on his latest album, I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell– This time produced by Oscar Charles of Broken Bow Records. Below, I discuss the song as a whole as well as compare the two versions.