In our second January New Music Spotlight, we’re highlighting three Canadian acts, one Australian act and one American act. Genre-wise we’re recommending some alt-folk, some rock, some folk-pop and a little country music.

In this spotlight, we’ve got five videos with some very different concepts. Sit back, have a watch, and a listen and let us know what you think.

Let’s do this!

Artist: Birds of Bellwoods
Hometown: Toronto
Genre: Alt-Folk
Related: Duncan Fellows, Young in the City, The Corcoran Brothers
Song: Feel It Still – Cover – Portugal. The Man
Notes: One of my favourite Toronto bands. I’ve been talking about their talent for a few years now. Birds of Bellwoods cover Portugal. The Man’s hit, which currenlty sits with over 94,000,000 views on YouTube. It’s a great song and an amazing cover.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Jack White
Hometown: Detroit / Nashville
Genre: Rock
Related Artists: The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, The Black Keys
Song: Connected by Love
Notes: The video, which was released on Wednesday, already has over 500,000 plays. The imagery is visually compelling and the music is dirty, synthy and bluesy all at the same time. Jack White gives us a great emotional performance and delivers lyrics we can all relate to with grace.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Our Lady Peace
Hometown: Toronto
Genre: Rock
Related Artists: Big Wreck, Collective Soul, Matthew Good
Song: Falling Into Place
Notes: Our Lady Peace gives us a great story video. It’s classic sounding OLP with a positive message. I challenge you to watch it and not smile.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Vance Joy
Hometown: Melbourne
Genre: Folk-Pop
Related Artists: Tom Odell, James Bay, The Lumineers
Song: We’re Going Home
Notes: We’ve been fans of Vance Joy since we the first time we heard him. We’re Going Home is from his upcoming album Nation of Two which is out on February 23rd. The instantly recognizable voice is layered with beautiful backgrounds and real people. The chorus is catchy and I’m expecting to hear a lot of this track on the radio.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Wes Mack
Hometown: Calgary
Genre: Country
Related Artists: Jojo Mason, Andrew Hyatt, Petric
Song: House on Fire
Notes: First let us say that we’re very happy that there’s new music from Wes Mack. It’s a fun video, with a boys vs. girls story. House on Fire is fresh and summery and it’s something we can use a big helping of. I’ve already got the chorus stuck in my head and if country music is your thing, I think you’ll really like this one too.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Author profile

Trish Cassling

Writer/Photographer/Editor

Toronto Music Blogger