SonReal's infectious blend of rap and pop has propelled him up the Canadian charts. The Vernon, BC native's most recent single "Can I Get A Witness" was just certified-Gold. He has been nominated for multiple Juno and MuchMusic Video Awards, but he's most well known for his hilarious, dark and larger than life conceptual videos.
More info & tour dates: iamsonreal.com
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Management: Byron Wilson
Label: Black Box
Publicity: Karim Khan at Lucid PR
Booking: Adam Sylvester at United Talent Agency
She grew up thinking that hearing music in colour was normal. It wasn’t until she was explaining the colour of a song to her mother at age 11 that Willa was told that in fact, it was not normal. Funnily enough, her uncle, the man who taught her to play piano also had synesthesia; a cross sensory condition which allows those who have it to experience things with more than one sense.
Whether having synesthesia is a leg up or not, Willa can confirm that the upcoming singles she’s written over the last year are a brand new colour from her previous release, Criminals and Dreamers, which accumulated nearly of 11 million streams. Still inhabiting the cheeky dark side of those previous songs written with Vancouver’s Ryan Guldemond, there’s a soft sparkle to the new songs that Willa found after taking this last year to find her voice with new collaborators in her new home; the vibrant gem of Toronto, Canada.
More info at willamusic.com
Management: Ian Stanger
Label: Black Box
The Glorious Sons' second full-length album, Young Beauties & Fools, is all about honesty.
More specifically, it's about exploring the adventures (and frequent misadventures) of main songwriter Brett Emmons in the truest way. It's also an album where The Glorious Sons — rounded out by Brett’s older brother Jay Emmons (guitar), Chris Koster (guitar), Adam Paquette (drums) and Chris Huot (bass) — capture all the listlessness and confusion of young adulthood in 10 doses of modern rock.
Glorious Sons’ hardscrabble tales come naturally. A high-spirited rock band with blue collar roots, they truly found themselves when Brett quit school in 2013 to join them as lead singer. Subsequent years of hard touring and hard partying — sometimes in places so sketchy, as Brett puts it, “There was no electricity in the building” — provided fuel for the songs on Young Beauties & Fools.
Whether it’s the rock 'n' roll bender “My Poor Heart,” the not-so-classic boy-meets-girl story of “Josie,” or the deeply embarrassing punch-up at a wedding tale “Everything Is Alright,” Brett’s songwriting deftly explores the imperfect humanity of both himself and the many characters he introduces over the course of the album.
It wasn’t easy to capture that realness. The band wanted to range further, to grow and evolve from the successes of 2014’s The Union album. That record was an immediate hit on the Canadian radio rock landscape. Glorious Sons scored seven consecutive Top 10 rock radio tracks, won two SiriusXM Indie Awards (Group of the Year and Rock Group of the Year) and received a Juno Award nomination in 2015 for Rock Album of the Year.
More info & tour dates: theglorioussons.com
Management: Black Box
Labels: Black Box (CA) / Earache Records (UK/JPN), BMG (US/AUS)
Publicity: Charlotte Thompson (CA) / Nathalie Rubin (US)
Booking: Tom Kemp (CA) / David Ball (EUR) / Mike Marquis (US)
The OBGMs are a punk rock quartet from Toronto Canada. Formed in 2008 by vocalist and songwriter Densil McFarlane and drummer Colanthony Humphrey, they were joined by Joseph Brosnan on bass and Jemuel Roberts on keys in 2011. Their blend of thrashy punk rock, rock and roll, break-beat and hip-hop influence make them one of the most unique bands Canada has to offer. Their self-titled album was recently remixed by Dave Schiffman and is slated for release via Black Box later this summer.
More info & tour dates: theobgms.com
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Management: Ian Stanger
Label: Black Box
Publicity: Jake Whitener at Big Hassle (US), Sarah Maynard at Major Transmission (UK)
Booking: Zaed Maqbool at United Talent Agency
Classified is one of Canada's most well-known and beloved songwriters and musicians. Hailing from Enfield, Nova Scotia, he's had a number of gold and platinum certified singles including "Oh...Canada", "That Ain't Classy", "Higher" ft B.o.B, "3 Foot Tall" and the best-selling Canadian rap song of all time, the 5x Platinum single "Inner Ninja". His latest release, "Greatful", is his fifteenth studio album.
More info & tour dates: classifiedofficial.com
Management: Jason Murray & Ian Stanger
Label: Half Life Records/Universal
Publicity: Stephanie Mudgett
Booking: Tom Kemp at The Feldman Agency
Originally from Las Vegas, Joey Resly is a musician, writer and producer based in Los Angeles. His eclectic production style has landed him cuts with label-mates SonReal, Lisa Scinta, Livy Jeanne and most recently LYON. He also moonlights as the touring guitarist for SonReal.
Management: Jason Murray & Ashley Amir
Northcote is the moniker of Nanaimo BC based singer/songwriter Matthew Goud. With three full lengths under his belt and tours alongside genre mainstays such as The Gaslight Anthem, Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause and more, Northcote has become entrenched as Canada's strongest contribution to the 'Revival' punk community. Whether he's playing solo, duo or full band, audiences are in for an intimate, positive exchange of creativity and music.
More info & tour dates: northcotemusic.com
Management: Ian Stanger
Label: Black Box (Canada) & Xtra Mile (Europe & Australia)
Publicity: Jen Cymek at Listen Harder
Booking: Adam Kreeft at United Talent
Alan Frew is familiar to fans around the world as the lead singer of Glass Tiger. His is one of the most iconic voices of the 80's. In recent years, Frew has been writing solo material including "Believe", the theme for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games performed by Niiki Yanofsky.
In the fall of 2015 while preparing to release his album "80290 Rewind", Frew was struck down by a stroke. He has made a full recovery and returned to the stage this past April to debut songs from that album. Alan has dedicated himself to spreading awareness on behalf of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
More info & tour dates: alanfrew.com
Management: Jason Murray
Label: Black Box
Publicity: Samantha Pickard at Strut Entertainment
Booking: Tom Kemp at The Feldman Agency
