roots
JJ Shiplett, A Walk Through Time Album Review
March 29th, 2024 by Joshua Murray and 📸 Trish CasslingJJ Shiplett has long been one of my favourite voices in roots/americana/country music. And with his newest release, A Walk Through Time, the Canadian singer-songwriter has caught me again. The album follows 2020’s Fingers Crossed and Crossed Fingers – and continues to highlight the way JJ tells stories, dives into emotional wells, and shares it […]
2023 CMW Jim Beam INDIES Awards Nominees – Voting Now Open!
May 13th, 2023 by Joshua MurrayCanadian Music Week is coming (June 5-10, 2023) and with it comes the INDIES (thank you Jim Beam). For the 22nd year, the INDIES will be presented to talented, deserving, awesome Canadian artists. This year’s list of nominees is quite frankly, fantastic. We’ve got big names we’ve known for years, up-and-comers that you’re going to […]
New Music Spotlight with Chris Stapleton, MacKenzie Porter, Danielle Bradbery, Donovan Woods ft. Katie Pruitt, and Don Amero
September 25th, 2020 by Joshua MurrayNew Music from Chris Stapleton, MacKenzie Porter, Danielle Bradbery, Donovan Woods ft. Katie Pruitt, and Don Amero The New Music Spotlight is here with another new edition, and this time around we’ve got a country and roots feel from start to finish. With artists from both sides of the border, there are big stars and […]
New Music Spotlight with Dean Brody, JJ Wilde, Donovan Woods, Roman Clarke, and Madison Olds
August 21st, 2020 by Joshua MurrayNew Music from Dean Brody, JJ Wilde, Donovan Woods, Roman Clarke, and Madison Olds The New Music Spotlight is back with an All-Canadian edition to kick off your weekend. We’ve got country, roots, rock, and pop from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario for your ears – so let’s get to it. Hit play on the […]
Joshua’s Live Music Memories (part 1)
May 12th, 2020 by Joshua Murray and 📸 Trish CasslingIt might be a while before we’re all packed back into a concert venue or at a festival in a field somewhere watching live music. And that sucks. But one thing this layoff has given me the chance to do is think about some of the awesome shows I’ve seen over the years and the […]
JJ Shiplett, Fingers Crossed EP Review
March 20th, 2020 by Joshua MurrayCanadian roots-country singer-songwriter and all-around good guy, JJ Shiplett‘s new EP, Fingers Crossed is officially available now. The seven-song release hit the streaming world on Friday morning, bringing new songs and stories to music fans that had already listened to Waiting On The Rain and Freeman in anticipation. That anticipation was well-earned too with just […]
5 Quick Questions with JJ Shiplett + Self-Isolation Playlist
March 19th, 2020 by Joshua Murray and 📸 Trish CasslingJJ Shiplett‘s new EP, Fingers Crossed, is set for release on March 20, 2020, and it’s time to get ready with a little bit of extra fun. We caught up with JJ for our first round of 5 Quick Questions since September 2016 AND Mr. Shiplett also put together a playlist of songs he loves […]
International Women’s Day 2020 Playlists
March 7th, 2020 by Joshua MurrayCelebrating Excellence by Women in Music March 8 is International Women’s Day, and we decided that it was an excellent opportunity to share big playlists full of great songs by women. We’ve built two playlists, putting Pop, Rock, R&B, and Hip Hop on one list, and Americana, Country, Folk, and Roots on the other. There […]
JJ Shiplett Releases New Single, Waiting On The Rain & Announces New EP, Fingers Crossed
February 22nd, 2020 by Joshua Murray and 📸 Trish CasslingAlmost four years ago, in a late-night, sweaty, packed Dakota Tavern we saw JJ Shiplett play a 2016 Canadian Music Week set on the recommendation of people whose taste we trust. They were right, JJ crushed it. We’ve been excited for each chance to see him live and every new release since then. And now […]
2020 JUNO Award Nominees Announcement
January 28th, 2020 by Joshua MurrayOn Tuesday morning, the nominees for the 2020 JUNO Awards were announced, bringing with them a lot of excitement for artists and fans alike. Alessia Cara (who will host the show) leads all artists with six award nominations. Next, close behind her, is Tory Lanez who picked up five nominations, with seven artists racking up […]
thereviewsarein.com 2019 Year in Review!
December 7th, 2019 by thereviewsarein2019 was a big year for music. There were big releases in all genres. Great memories of new records and live shows. And photos from opportunities to see artists on stage and interview them backstage. Check out our 2019 Year in Review posts listed here to see what we were listening to, what we loved, […]
Oh Susanna with Mo Kenney at Longboat Hall for NXNE 2019
June 8th, 2019 by Trish CasslingOh Susanna aka Suzie Ungerleider, was our first NXNE headliner of the year. It was a beautiful choice. Mo Kenney Opening up the set for Oh Susanna was Mo Kenney. Personally invited by Suzie, we found out very quickly why. The native Nova Scotian is mesmerizing. The singer-songwriter is quiet in manner, low key, but […]
New Music Spotlight with Thomas Rhett, X Ambassadors, Ken Stead and More
May 31st, 2019 by Trish CasslingNew Music from Thomas Rhett, X Ambassadors, Ken Stead, The Chainsmokers + Bebe Rexha and Lauv In this late Friday edition of the New Music Spotlight, we’re bringing you music from Canada and the USA. We’ve got some country, some rock, some pop, with a dash of roots and EDM thrown into the mix. There’s […]
New Music Spotlight with Glorious Sons, Hawksley Workman and More
January 18th, 2019 by Trish CasslingNew Music from The Glorious Sons, Hawksley Workman, MIKALYN, Amanda Rheaume, and Defying Decay I’ve got another Friday edition of the New Music Spotlight. Some days there’s so much great stuff to share that we need to do a second New Music Spotlight. Today my picks are from multiple genres including rock, pop, a combo […]
Deserts: Dom Fricot Album Release in Toronto
March 12th, 2018 by Trish CasslingSitting along the wall at Burdock, sipping on a kombucha, Dom Fricot was anything but what I was expecting. I’d received an email from Dom in mid-February, introducing a video for his second release Help is Needed, from his new album Deserts. I wasn’t prepared for what followed. I watched the video, and it touched my […]
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