​Fall in love with every side of WILDWOOD! I spoke to lead singer Anne Buckle who has recently been seen performing at the iconic Bluebird Café. Anne with her husband, a producer, released “The Woods” EP, a country, folk record perfect for a rainy day. Listen here. Anne’s inspirations - Adele, Shania Twain, and Taylor Swift. The lead single off “The Woods” titled “Mountain City,” speaks about her favorite childhood memories. Anne spent her summers in the mountains of Virginia with her mom’s family. There she fell in love with music, she the cousin-in-law of the great Johnny Cash. 
 
Anne is also a fiddle player and has toured with Augustana and The Chicks. She is proud to be part of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s nationally acclaimed Words & Music and Songwriting 101 programs at the Taylor Swift Education Center, where she teaches songwriting to hundreds of K-12 students annually. 
 
Stay tuned for a full-length album complete with “the woods, and the wild side!” You can find WILDWOOD at sheiswildwood.com. 

Get to know Kristine Kabbes who released her debut album “Unbecoming” on September 17th. Listen here. The 13-track album reflects her country roots, fans of Patsy Cline, Reba, and Trisha Yearwood will enjoy. The title track “Unbecoming” was written after Kristine was asked “why aren’t you famous?” About fame not being a measurement of success, but rather the ability to do what you love every day, Kristine hopes this message will reach those who feel the same way. She tells us, “I was so tired of trying to make everyone happy, trying to make everyone like me, and trying to be what everyone thought I should be, and just thought ok I’m over it. And this song just poured out. Unbecoming who society thinks you should be and becoming yourself.” 
 
Kristine’s career started at the age of seven when her teacher caught her singing in the bathroom. She soon joined her church’s choir and performed in theater productions at school. Kristine majored in Music Business and Vocal Performance at Columbia College and made the move to Nashville soon after. She writes from personal experience, often a line will come up in conversation and she’ll add it to her notes. Kristine is a regular performer at The Stage on Broadway and performs in her hometown of Aurora, Indiana.  
 
When Kristine is not working, she spends her time outdoors, hiking with her dog, and spending time with family and close friends. You will always find wine in her refrigerator, boots in her closet and music in her heart. Stay in touch with Kristine on her website here. 

​We've got the premiere of Crystal McGrath's latest single! "Back to Never" can be found here. “Back to Never” was written and recorded by all local Calgary musicians and friends of McGrath’s. She wrote the song with Darren Gilbert and Aaron Pollock. Crystal loves to perform because “music is a universal language and a connection. Everybody in the world connects through music”.

The Calgary, Canada born and raised artist had a unique path to music. She was a gymnast as a kid but broke both feet and quit at 12 years old. Crystal put her gymnast training mentality into her music. She joined the Youth Singers of Calgary and performed at Disney World and on cruises. Crystal went to college for marketing but that is also where her music career ultimately started, “I went to school for marketing and sat in class, but I just wrote songs. I left that class early and grabbed local newspaper on way out and saw an ad to make a demo tape”. 
 
Crystal has always loved country music. Her sound is a blend of Pop and country and looks up to female country powerhouses Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, and Kelly Clarkson.  McGrath dreams that one day she will get to step into the circle at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Crystal wants aspiring artists to know that they should “stay focused on what makes you feel good”. Crystal is also the host of two podcasts, “Crushing Chaos” and “The Artists Behind the Music”. She also runs her own marketing company and is a music teacher! 
 
Check out her website for more information on her music. 

​Canadian country artist Lindsay Ell has scored herself 4 Canadian Country Music Award nominations. Ell is nominated for Female Artist of the Year, Interactive Artist or Group of the Year, Album of the Year, Video of the Year for “Want Me Back” and Songwriter(s) of the Year for “Good On You”. Ell’s reaction to this year’s nominations “it is surreal, I have watched the CCMAs since I was a little girl and now, I am here waving my Canadian flags!” Ell now has a total of 16 nominations and three wins. 
 
Her latest album “heart theory” was released in August 2020, and she has not slowed down one bit. She is currently on the road touring with 6x ACM Award winner and 10x CMA Award winner Blake Shelton. “Blake is such a good guy, he’s so down to earth and very supportive”. Ell reflects on her first stadium show in two years by saying “I will never forget walking in to the first arena in Omaha, Nebraska. There is something about arena energy that you cannot forget”. 
 
Although 2021 is almost over, Ell is full steam ahead! She is back in the studio writing and recording and has an upcoming tour. The “Want Me Back” Tour will be Ell’s very first headlining tour in Canada. Ell will be bringing along new artist Robyn Ottolini on tour with her, and you can see the dates buy tickets here.
 
Tune in to the Canadian Country Music Awards on November 29th. 

Entrepreneurial entertainer and independent singer/songwriter Alexandra Kay is excited to release her first-ever party song, “Tall Boys". Written by Kay, Andrew Capra, and Mary Kutter, this track is an ode to the things that make the workweek worthwhile, like good friends and cold beer. The guitar and drum solos with Alexandra’s authentically country voice and undeniably clever lyrics make it a bar anthem for the age. Listen to the modern bop here.

"In true Alexandra Kay fashion, she utilized the demo as a marketing tool to endorse the ['In Real Life'] tour. While promoting her summer tour that proved that you can turn social recognition into an adoring fan base – fans slowly started to learn the lyrics of her up-tempo banger 'Tall Boys'." - Tiffany Goldstein, Country Now

“'Tall Boys' is the crowd pleaser I have always wanted to write. After teasing it on TikTok a few times and watching the amount of views it was getting, I knew I had to put it out. The coolest thing is seeing fans singing the words back to me every night on tour without the song even being released yet! It makes me even more excited to finally have 'Tall Boys' out in the world for people to crack a beer open to and toast to a long day,” says Alexandra Kay.
 
Her viral sound, reminiscent of Dolly Parton, and fun-loving energy easily explains Alexandra’s massive social media following and hundreds of thousands of monthly streams. She captivated audiences with her coffee-making singalong videos, including Tim McGraw, who recently gave her cover of his No. 1 hit “Don’t Take The Girl” high praise in a viral video. Now, Alexandra is proving she can turn her social media recognition into a bonafide and dedicated fanbase. “Tall Boys” has been the crowd favorite at the SOLD OUT shows on her recent “In Real Life” Tour, and Alexandra is looking forward to sharing more about this new music and her journey on the upcoming CMT series ‘Viral to Verified’ airing on September 28. ​