Our 'CASUAL COVER MONDAY' feature comes from an artist we recently came across on Instagram..he's JR Charron and he hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba and he has a brand new sing out called 'Song For You' which was written with his Dad in mind. Growing up in a musical household, JR's parents stressed individuality and creativity from a young age. Writing music since his early teens, JR has had the opportunity of performing on Songwriters stages in Nashville TN. You could say music has been ingrained in him since before birth. He has an EP coming out this Friday October 23rd called 'IMPRESSION' which will be available on Spotify! If you get a chance go check out his new video for 'Song For You' on Youtube!! Enjoy his cover is Dallas Smith's single 'Autograph'!
Youtube link--> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EEk_rSDNvU
Spotify link---> https://open.spotify.com/album/6PcnWbC4EXQaswx1ukZuIVre.
Here's a special treat for your Thanksgiving holiday! For this week's 'CASUAL COVER MONDAY' we've gone to the archives to dig up a really cool version of Suspicious Minds that Leah Daniels covered 9 years ago!! Her and her long time love Tim Deegan got married this past Saturday! Wishing them much love and happiness!! She's one of our favs and we're very thankful for her music and her beautiful voice! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Barrie, ON-based country singer-songwriter John Anderson Music initially grew up with a passion for baseball, until one day he picked up a guitar and learned the song, “Thinking Out Loud”. He sent it to his mother, an elementary school teacher, who listened to it with her students, and they loved it. John then started entering and winning contests, including Magna Hoedown Showdown in Aurora, Ontario.
Anderson's music has been described as upbeat Country, with rock & pop influences, and some classic rock splashed in! He loves performing and has opened for some big artists like James Barker Band, Tebey & Blue Rodeo. John’s fan base continues to grow with every performance he does!
Check out his awesome cover of Chris Stapleton's hit 'Millionaire' for our 'CASUAL COVER MONDAY' feature! Have a fantastic week everyone as we head into a long Thanksgiving weekend!!
This week's 'CASUAL COVER MONDAY' spotlight artist is from rural Ontario but is now Nashville based and is starting to make a lot of waves there! Madison Kozak is not only a country singer but a musician and songwriter. Growing up the seventh child in a family of eight siblings, Kozak's father taught her everything she knows and loves about country music. At just 10 years old, Madison was selected to perform at the Havelock Country Jamboree, a music festival drawing an audience of 30,000 people. At only 22, Kozak is primed for a big future. At 14, she convinced her parents to move to Nashville where she continued to hone her skills as a vocalist and also learned that she wanted to write songs — a discovery she made while studying music business at Belmont University.
When she first moved to Nashville, she kept hearing one piece of recurring advice, which was that was that ‘three minutes can change your life' and that's exactly what happened to her!. Madison was discovered when she performed ‘First Last Name’ for a panel of publishers that Belmont put together to critique the students’ work. There were four publishers on the panel, including Big Loud. By the time Kozak finished singing the first chorus they were all weeping.
It wasn’t long before she found herself opening for Willie Nelson and Morgan Wallen, as well as performing at Nashville’s legendary The Bluebird Cafe and CMA Fest. Kozak is also a newly minted recording artist — the first signed to Songs & Daughters, Big Loud's new female-focused joint label venture with award-winning songwriter Nicolle Galyon. The company’s mission is to be a music house for female creatives and address the gender disparity in country radio by nurturing female artists.
We came across Madison on Youtube covering Morgan Wallen's recent hit 'More Than My Hometown'. Remember her name..big things from her will be coming our way very soon!!
This week's 'CASUAL COVER MONDAY' features Country Music Association of Ontario Rising Star Nominee Dustin Bird who is pushing the boundaries of modern country music. In the past 12 months, he has achieved five top 100 singles on the Canadian Country Airplay Chart as an artist, songwriter, and producer. Building off of the success of ‘Together We're Strong’ a charity single he produced and co-wrote featuring artists such as Aaron Pritchett, Jason McCoy, and Alee, Dustin will be releasing new music in the fall of 2020, along with his debut record "The Hard Way" in early 2021. The project, which was recorded in a Live Off the Floor format with his five band members at the famed Catherine North Studios in Hamilton, ON. will feature four new songs written and produced entirely by Bird, with the lead single ‘Falling’ originally recorded by Harry Styles setting the pace for the project. Enjoy this hauntingly beautiful cover by Dustin and have a great week everyone!
For our 'CASUAL COVER MONDAY' feature this week we'd like to showcase one of the standout performers from last weekend's ' Diamonds in the Rough Virtual 2020 online event. At only 15 years of age Martina Dawn is showing us what music talent is all about. In the past year, she's performed on numerous stages, including Calgary’s Country Thunder Music Festivals, The ACMA at CCMA Showcase stage, The Horizon Stage at Big Valley Jamboree, and the KDays Talent Competition, to name a few.
Audiences adore her natural and humorous personality on and off of the stage. Martina is able to entertain large crowds with just her and her guitar, but also likes to rock it out with a full band, and can do so with extreme confidence. The future of this young star is definitely a bright one! Enjoy Martina's cover of Maddie and Tae's single 'Die From A Broken Heart'!
On this Labour Day holiday Monday we're thrilled to share a great cover of a band we saw perform live at Crooks Rapids Country Fest this past weekend. Big City Lights are our 'Casual Cover Monday' feature performing the Zach Brown band's huge hit 'Keep Me In Mind'. We loved what a wonderful job they did with opening up the festival that day!
These guys are a 4 piece band from Toronto composed of Mekeli Villamor (Lead Vocals) Keith Dean (Lead Guitar, Harmonies) Johnny Gregson (Bass & Harmonies) & Kevin Ferguson (Drums). Their energetic live show and stunning mix of three part harmonies led Fairhurst Music Management 's Doug Oliver (Cold Creek County, My Darkest Days) to sign them on the spot, orchestrating a showcase that had booking agents battling to add Big City Lights to their rosters to light up the summer concert tours. Featuring an eclectic mix of styles and influences spanning from Marvin Gaye to Chris Stapleton, Big City Lights are chasing their big city dreams all the way to Nashville.
Hope you're all enjoying this wonderful long weekend!! 🍻🥂.
Country singer and songwriter, Cole Bradley, is a rising star in the North American music scene. Growing up listening to the likes of country music Bradley first graced the stage at the young age of five. Since then, Cole has fostered a passion for performing and sharing his music with others. “As an artist, it is important for me that people connect and relate to my songs”.
Much like Cole himself, his songs are upbeat, positive and full of life. He is a natural entertainer with an infectious energy. His unique vocals and his edgy country sound, make his music fresh and original. Bradley has had the privilege of working with world class producers and writers in Canada, Nashville and Los Angeles and has opened for various country music entertainers including Thomas Rhett, High Valley, LANCO, and Brett Kissel. Since his move to Nashville in 2016, Bradley has continued to work on the craft of songwriting while playing at local venues including the historic The Bluebird Cafe where he made his debut in September 2017 and has since returned numerous times!
We had the opportunity to see him perform for the first time a few nights ago at Countryfest Productions's 'Drive In' style concert opening for David Boyd Janes in Barrie, Ontario. We were very impressed with his voice and stage presence and how he connected with the crowd. We'd like to share a cover he did for our 'Casual Cover' Monday feature. Enjoy his version of Kenny Chesney's 'Beer In Mexico! Have a great week everyone!
Few can say their love for music came to them through an air vent. Canadian Country singer/songwriter Danielle Todd can. Growing up in Guelph Ontario, in her childhood bedroom, Danielle would fall asleep to the sound of her father’s music coming through the air vent from his basement studio. Watching him work his magic she would marvel at the way he could make a song come together, until one day, her dad just needed her out of his hair. As Danielle fondly recalls, he handed her a CD with Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams of You” on it and said, “Don’t come back until you’ve learned it.” Much to her father’s surprise, a mere hour later, four year old Danielle had returned, singing with the gusto of Patsy herself.
From that moment on, Danielle was head over heels for the country croonings of female powerhouses like Patsy, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, and Faith Hill. When it came time to find a job in her teenage years, Danielle walked into bar after bar, convincing them to give her a regular slot to sing— even if that slot didn’t yet exist. “The bar owners would be like, ‘Sure, send us a CD.’ I just responded, ‘I don’t have one, and I’m here right now so I’ll just sing here.’” And that was that.
Enjoy her hauntingly beautiful version of Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)'s timeless single ''Landslide'. You'll agree it's a beautiful way to start your week! Shoot her a follow at Danielle Todd on Facebook & www.instagram.com/danielle_todd/ on Instagram!
Strumming Stories Band began in the fall of 2019 when a group of friends from the Kingston area came together as a band. By the end of 2019 things were falling into place, and they developed a blue jean country / rock sound that falls evenly between Jason Aldean and Randy Houser.Their songs are pumping and the wheels are trucking along at 100 miles per hour, with authentic accounts of what it’s like growing up in small town life with influence from the close big city lights.
Making the semi finals of Ontario’s The Next Country Music Star, Strumming Stories launched into 2020 with a fresh new single, “Like That”. Setting their sights on fall and winter Strumming Stories is cranking up the heat with a new single set for release August 28. Packing in every bit of high energy from the Strumming Stories live show into one song “All My Friends” is the next big happy drinking tune that is ready to be consumed. Written with easy to remember sing along lyrics, aggressive rock guitars and fiddle added as the country cherry on top.“All My Friends” was written about a good night out with your best friends and going to hit up that local dive bar and just letting loose.
Don’t miss out on the action, visit and follow them on their socials. They pride themselves on building good relationships with their fans, so reach out on any of the platforms anytime!!
Check out their amazing cover of Tyler Joe Miller's #1 Canadian hit 'Pillow Talkin'! Bet you'll agree the lead singer's voice could label him the Canadian Lee Brice!! Enjoy and have a great week!!k!!T.