Category: Interviews

INTERVIEW: Hunter Jordan Discusses His New Country Summer Anthems and Announces Opening for Platinum-Selling Artist Tyler Farr at Buffalo River Jam

Nashville-based country artist & songwriter Hunter Jordan is a name you should know.⁠
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Hunter Jordan is an example of an artist who is determined to make his dream a reality and doesn’t shy away from investing the time in developing his craft required to make it happen. Earlier this year, he hit the ground running with his solo project with the very successful release of “Dark,” which he then followed up with “Something To Pray About,” just in time for Mother’s Day. On June 28th, the rapidly rising artist released his “surprise 3-pack” of summer singles consisting of “REDNECK WHITE & BLUE,” “THROWIN’ SHADE” and “DOWN FOR THE GET DOWN” –with the 3rd track marking his 5th release this year.

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INTERVIEW: Music PEI’s “Entertainer of the Year” Lawrence Maxwell Discusses His Artistry, Benefit Fund for Touring PEI Musicians and Upcoming Ontario Tour

Calling the small province of PEI home is award-winning singer-songwriter, Lawrence Maxwell.

For those who are unfamiliar with Maxwell and his artistry, his lyrical style is self-described as “blue-collar poetry,” paired with an instrumental blend and sound that draws upon bluegrass, folk, Canadiana and neotraditional country. His latest album, Ballad of the Miles, earned 7 nominations at the 2023 Music PEI Awards. This year, he took home the title of Music PEI’s “Entertainer of the Year”. In addition, his music has received support from both Canadian and UK country radio.

His pursuit of music began in high school, where he would write raps. After graduating, he served in the Canadian Royal Navy, which led to his first public performances.

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INTERVIEW: Bar Jay Bar Discusses Brand-New Single, “Ain’t No Friend Of Mine” and Summer Tour

Calling Sheridan, WY home is adventurous touring musician and vegetable farmer, Joey Berglund (AKA Bar Jay Bar).

Known for his wild acrobatic routines, fiddle sawing skills and high-energy live shows, Berglund is quickly making a name for himself in the neotraditional country, roots/Americana scene.

Today (July 1st), the musician is following up his poignant track, “The Leather Man,” with his brand-new single, “Ain’t No Friend Of Mine”.

While he was out in the middle of Trout Lake, WA, I caught up with Berglund to discuss his new single and his summer tour.

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INTERVIEW: Nashville’s Own “Street Cowboy” Hunter Jordan Discusses Upcoming Single, “Something To Pray About,” Solo Project and Touring with HARDY

Calling Nashville, TN home is the music industry’s own “Street Cowboy”, Hunter Jordan.​

Faith, family, friendship, personal growth and authenticity are all core pillars for this country artist, songwriter and performer.

Earlier this year, Hunter kicked off his solo project with the release of “Dark”. Within the first weekend, the track was featured on UPstar Music’s “New Music Friday” playlist and gained over 40K digital streams on Spotify alone (with over 100K digital streams on Spotify at the time of writing). As a songwriter, he’s written numerous tracks with some of Music City’s finest songwriters including Erik Dylan, Reid Isbell and CJ Solar. As a performer, Hunter has been a direct opener on tour with Big Loud’s own hitmaker HARDY. He’s also opened for other notable country stars, including Riley Green and Mitchell Tenpenny.

On May 10th, the rising indie artist is set to release his follow-up single, “Something To Pray About”.

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INTERVIEW: Shawn Austin Discusses Tour Life, Being a First-Time Dad and His Brand-New EP, Words

Calling Vancouver, BC home is country singer-songwriter, Shawn Austin.​

For those unfamiliar with the Local Hay Records’ flagship artist, he has amassed a collective 30M+ global streams and earned himself a gold-certified hit with “Tailgate To Heaven (feat. Chris Lane)” — which held the title of the No.1 most played country song for 5 weeks in a row. Also known for his high-energy performances, he’s toured with notable country acts such as Dallas Smith and Old Dominion.

On April 5th, the rising country star released his latest 6-track EP, Words.

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INTERVIEW: MacKenzie Porter Discusses Her New Record, Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart, Being a First-Time Mom and Her Upcoming Debut Performance at LASSO Festival

Raised on a bison and cattle ranch in Medicine Hat, Alberta, MacKenzie Porter lived a true country lifestyle prior to moving to Nashville, TN to pursue a career in country music.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Canadian country star, She’s grounded, authentic and very passionate about all that she does. She also fosters a deep love for music and appreciation for the people she works with. According to her, “It’s the people that make it (the journey) all worth it” (Porter). As an artist, she has earned herself more than 900 million global streams and a 6-week No.1 platinum hit alongside Dustin Lynch for “Thinking ‘Bout You” at U.S. country radio– and that’s not even scratching the surface of all she’s accomplished. No stranger to the stage, she’s also previously opened for notable country stars such as Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Jordan Davis and Dallas Smith.

On April 26th, Porter is set to release her upcoming record (at the time of writing), Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart. The 19-track project is also her debut release via Big Loud Records and introduces this new chapter in her career.

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INTERVIEW: Griffen Palmer Discusses His Debut Album, Unlearn

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.

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2022 IN REVIEW: Jaclyn Kenyon Discusses How She Got Her Start in Country Music, Songwriting & Her Single, “My Heart Says No”

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.

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2022 IN REVIEW: Olivia Rose on Her Single, “Truck Boi”

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.

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