Steve Marriner Releases 'Hear My Heart' Album

 

Acclaimed Canadian blues artist Steve Marriner is back with the new single "Straight Line," the third release from his solo album Hear My Heart, out now via Cordova Bay Records. Following the swaggering success of his first single — a blues-soaked reinvention of Genesis’s “I Can’t Dance” and “I Don’t Know What To Say.”

 

With over twenty years of relentless touring and recording, Steve Marriner has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s most versatile and hard-working musicians. Nicknamed "The Swiss Army Knife" for his multi-instrumental talents, Marriner is a celebrated harmonica player, baritone guitarist, soulful vocalist, and creative producer.

 

As a co-founder and frontman of the acclaimed blues-rock band MonkeyJunk, Marriner has won two JUNO Awards for Blues Album of the Year and became part of Canadian blues history when MonkeyJunk became the first Canadian band to win a Blues Music Award in Memphis. His 2021 solo album Hope Dies Last earned a 2022 JUNO nomination, cementing his place as a powerhouse solo artist.

 

Beyond MonkeyJunk, Marriner has collaborated with legends including Buddy Guy, Colin James, and Blue Rodeo, as well as produced two albums — Yeah! by David Gogo and This Old Life by Big Dave McLean — both nominated for Blues Album of the Year at the 2025 JUNO Awards.

 

With Hear My Heart, Marriner continues to evolve, bringing new emotional depth and musical grit to his work — and solidifying his status as one of the most compelling voices in modern blues.

Bluesy R&B Unfiltered: Tribz Bring Southern Heat & Indigenous Power With “Long Black Cadillac”

Sometimes the funkiest, fiercest music comes from the most unexpected places — like a garage jam during COVID that led to Long Black Cadillac, the newest release from Indigenous Bluesy Rock collective TRIBZ. This tight four-piece unit is more than just a band — they’re a genre-melting powerhouse of lived history, raw groove, and unshakable heart. And in an industry that still doesn’t know where to place bands like them, TRIBZ is carving out their own lane — with whitewall tires and a V8 engine.
 
Composed of Errol Starr Francis (vocals), Earl Johnson (guitar), Donny Hill (bass), and Dave Davidson (drums), TRIBZ blends their deep roots in Six Nations and Hamilton with decades of blues, Motown, southern rock, reggae, and R&B lineage. Juno winners and nominees, Indigenous trailblazers, and genre-defiers — they’ve shared stages with everyone from King Biscuit Boy to AC/DC, Big Sugar to Blue Rodeo. But their most important legacy is the one they’re building together, now.
 
The single Long Black Cadillac is as much a statement of intent as it is a sonic ride. “We want the listener to come for a ride in our Long Black Cadillac,” the band says. It all started with Earl’s riff in Dave’s garage. “We jumped into the groove,” they recall. From there, the lyrics took shape — fun, soulful, and drenched in southern imagery. Lines like “Silky black stockings be lookin’ so fine, I can’t hide what’s on my mind” and “Since the day you came around, my bad boy image came crashing down” marry cheeky nostalgia with heartfelt confessions.
 
The track pulses with sweat and swagger, pulling listeners into a world where moss hangs from trees, stilettos click down humid streets, and love rides shotgun in a long black Cadillac. Errol’s smooth-as-honey vocals glide across the beat, channeling his Juno-winning soul/R&B chops with a gospel-tinged grit. “Errol takes us to places where Georgia peaches grow and that Southern Belle is waiting for us to get back to where we used to be,” they explain.

Each member brings their own fire:

Errol Starr Francis (Adopted ASMINTI Metis member) is best known for the Soul/R&B hit “Angel,” and delivers every note like it’s a sermon.
Earl Johnson (Six Nations Tuscarora) cut his teeth with King Biscuit Boy and Moxy, and his blues-rock attack is fierce and fluid.
Dave Davidson (Hamilton native) toured globally with The American Rogues, anchoring every beat with the depth of four decades.
Donny Hill (Six Nations Mohawk) has played with Murray Porter and the cast of RUMBLE, his fretless bass laying down seismic soul.
 
TRIBZ is fiercely proud of their Indigenous heritage. “Earl and Donny are Six Nations tribe members. Errol is an adopted member of ASMINTI,” they affirm. “We were all born on Turtle Island.” Their work doesn’t just entertain — it uplifts the power of Indigenous music in the present, outside the boxes and expectations.
 
Why are people falling in love with TRIBZ? Because their sound defies categories. Because their funk is raw, their stories are real, and their spirit is unstoppable. And it’s catching on — one groove at a time. As they put it: “Take me home, Long Black Cadillac.” This band is on the move — and the world is along for the ride.

STEVE MARRINER SHARES NEW SINGLE “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY” AHEAD OF ANTICIPATED ALBUM HEAR MY HEART

Acclaimed Canadian blues artist Steve Marriner is back with the heartfelt new single "I Don’t Know What To Say," the second release from his upcoming solo album Hear My Heart, out June 6 via Cordova Bay Records. Following the swaggering success of his first single — a blues-soaked reinvention of Genesis’s “I Can’t Dance” — Marriner now turns inward with an emotional ballad that showcases his vulnerable songwriting and soulful vocals.
 
Anchored by a tender melody and raw lyricism, "I Don’t Know What To Say" reflects on regret, forgiveness, and the longing for redemption:
 
The thought of losing you grips like an iron glove
I’m only half a man without your love...
If I paid my debt, tell me, can you live?
If you can’t forget, can you forgive?
 
The track captures the emotional honesty Marriner is known for — a signature that has made him one of Canada's most respected blues musicians over the past two decades.
 
"I always try to write songs that let people know they aren't alone," says Marriner. "Everyone struggles to find the right words sometimes, especially when it matters most. 'I Don’t Know What To Say' is about that struggle — and about holding onto love, even when you're not sure how to."
 
With over twenty years of relentless touring and recording, Steve Marriner has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s most versatile and hard-working musicians. Nicknamed "The Swiss Army Knife" for his multi-instrumental talents, Marriner is a celebrated harmonica player, baritone guitarist, soulful vocalist, and creative producer.
 
As a co-founder and frontman of the acclaimed blues-rock band MonkeyJunk, Marriner has won two JUNO Awards for Blues Album of the Year and became part of Canadian blues history when MonkeyJunk became the first Canadian band to win a Blues Music Award in Memphis. His 2021 solo album Hope Dies Last earned a 2022 JUNO nomination, cementing his place as a powerhouse solo artist.
 
Beyond MonkeyJunk, Marriner has collaborated with legends including Buddy Guy, Colin James, and Blue Rodeo, as well as produced two albums — Yeah! by David Gogo and This Old Life by Big Dave McLean — both nominated for Blues Album of the Year at the 2025 JUNO Awards.
 
With Hear My Heart, Marriner continues to evolve, bringing new emotional depth and musical grit to his work — and solidifying his status as one of the most compelling voices in modern blues.

Emma Rush Illuminates 19th-Century Guitar Pioneer With “The Life and Times of Catharina Pratten” Album

Acclaimed classical guitarist Emma Rush, hailed as “one of Canada’s premier classical guitarists” (Vivascene Magazine), brings a forgotten icon to vibrant life with her latest album The Life and Times of Catharina Pratten, available everywhere now. With a rare blend of historical depth, expressive mastery, and curatorial brilliance, Rush presents the first-ever album dedicated to 19th-century virtuosa Catharina Josepha Pratten, a woman whose legacy she is determined to restore.
 
“Pratten was so prolific as a performer, composer, educator, and publisher,” says Rush. “She taught Queen Victoria’s daughter, invented new music notation, and even tuned her guitar down to D—a hundred years before Black Sabbath did!” But despite her influence, Pratten has been “largely excluded from guitar history,” Rush notes. “I intend to set the record straight.”
 
The album features seven previously unrecorded works by Pratten alongside first recordings of music by her father Ferdinand Pelzer, her husband Robert Sidney Pratten, colleague Leonard Schulz, and student Frank Mott Harrison, and works by her contemporaries Francisco Tárrega, Giulio Regondi, and Ernest Shand. “I wanted an album that showed Pratten’s work in context—to give a picture of the guitar scene in London in the 1800s,” says Rush.
 
Rush recorded the album using two historically significant guitars associated with Pratten: one bearing Pratten’s personal signature, and the other a Boosey and Sons “Pratten model” from the 1850s, effectively making them the first-ever signature series guitars. “To hold and play instruments that she herself endorsed—it’s like reaching through time,” Rush reflects.
 
Highlights include “Absence,” which Rush calls her personal favourite: “It is a technically rich piece, but has such emotional depth and I find it really moving.” The single “Evening Song” showcases Pratten’s lyrical sensitivity and harmonic flair, demonstrating her gift for writing compact yet profoundly expressive works.
 
Rush is no stranger to uncovering hidden voices. Her 2020 release Wake the Sigh featured rare music by 19th-century women composers, while her 2023 album A Dream of Colour commissioned new works inspired by Canadian painter William Blair Bruce. With The Life and Times of Catharina Pratten, she extends her mission even further - connecting the dots between performance, research, and advocacy.
 
Rush’s international reputation continues to grow, with past performances at the Altamira Shanghai International Guitar Festival, Future Echoes in Sweden, and a cross-country tour aboard The Canadian. Her 2025–26 touring schedule will take her across Canada and into Europe, including the prestigious Iserlohn International Guitar Symposium in Germany and a U.K. tour.
 
A sought-after lecturer and festival director, Rush is Co-Director of GuitarFest West (Calgary), Director of Pigeon Lake Guitar Retreat and Hamilton Guitar Day (Ontario), and a collaborator with Wakefield Guitar Festival (Québec). Her work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and FACTOR.
 
The Life and Times of Catharina Pratten is not just a tribute—it’s a reclamation. “She really defined the guitar in Britain for most of the 19th century,” says Rush. “And now, finally, she can take her rightful place in our musical memory.”