Luke Jansen 'A Christmas Gift' Letter from our Editor Candice Anne Marshall to the Music Community

Dear Music Family:

When I was young, the best part about Christmas for my siblings and I wasn’t really the gifts under the tree that made it 'special'. It also wasn’t necessarily the food we ate, or the travelling to our grandparent’s homes to celebrate with our extended family either, (although, those things were all amazing!). It was the very MAGIC of it. Knowing that there was someone out there (the jolly old elf himself) who was thinking of us on that one special day. It’s the thought that this one person was seeing us go about our days all throughout the year and our very merit for receiving a ‘gift’ on Christmas day was a direct result of giving compassion, love, and generosity to others.

How funny life and experiences change us as we become adults. I mean, many of the same children that believed in Santa don’t always realize that everything we do doesn’t have to come with a reward. There are many who still expect something from doing a kind deed, and it’s those people who are missing the point: the very gesture of doing something kind for someone else IS the reward. You have no idea what it’s like to be the recipient of a kind gesture and wish you could give something back but simply lack either the resources, funds, or even the ability. I have been on both sides of this. I have had tough times and I have seen others have tough times too. And, I have seen this at the most inopportune times too, like Christmas. For some of us, the deep-rooted experiences of hardships, losses, and challenges have built and shaped us, but it always has a starting point and it is at these times that our compassion for humanity is most critical. Especially after a loss of a beloved family member, there are the ‘year of firsts’ as I refer to them and it’s that first Christmas, birthday, or any family celebration that is the hardest to endure. 

About six weeks ago, after we were wrapping up our massive Halloween campaign with Starlight Music Chronicles (SMC) and Limehead Radio, I was beginning to think of what would be THE best Christmas story that I could run with this year. As always when I am perplexed, I ask my mom (angel) to bring me a sign for what I need to do. I waited patiently, thinking that it would come in the form of some massive project or event that was happening that we could lend our support on via SMC and Limehead. ‘Or maybe it will be something thematic’, I thought to myself remembering the massive success of the Dacre Stoker interview for Halloween. It was only days later when I received a message in my inbox from a dear friend, that I realized just what would be our Christmas Story.  

I always believe that we don’t meet people by a stroke of luck. I believe that we meet the people we are meant to and in the time that we are supposed to. Krista and I had met, of all places, at a Palaye Royale show here in Edmonton at TheStarlite Room in February. I should have known something magical would come of this - it is how I came up with the name for Starlight Music Chronicles after seeing a magnificent performance by Johnny Marr. It also seemed fitting that we met at a live music performance: music has always brought me closer to my community and the amazing people I have come to know in the music industry in Edmonton. We struck up a friendship immediately and after following a lot of the things I support like Morgan’s Mission Memorial and RichardsLegacy Foundation (to name a few), she felt comfortable in bringing me the ‘Luke Jansen’ story.

Luke Murray Jansen was a young Musician who, at only 22 (and a half) died suddenly in a tragic accident on the morning of October 6^th, 2017. His passing is very recent, and his absence has been felt very acutely in the lives of his roommates, bandmates, friends, and most of all, his family. It has impacted the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada music community greatly, for Luke was not only a very talented Musician and friend, he was also very supportive with mentorship programs as he himself had been the recipient of kindness from others through these same forms of mentorship in his music as well as education.

The following is an excerpt written by his family as per the website, www.LukeJansen.ca:

     “Luke Jansen’s Legacy: Mentoring and Music MakingOur son Luke Murray Jansen had many mentoring opportunities in his life, and they helped him thrive and become the beautiful person we love! Unique, creative, questioning, open to others, willing to risk making the world a better place, and yet being human with strengths and weaknesses like each of us.Luke’s mentoring opportunities started early. In junior high, he had basketball officiating mentors, and this continued through every level of his officiating. These older youth, young and older adults modelled various ways of communicating, handling conflict, engaging people you’ve never met before, and of course specific about the game of basketball.In high school, he had adult mentors in Model United Nations, Facey Leadership Initiative and Creative Music. Here he was given opportunities to create new ideas, projects and music from scratch with mentors who brought out the best in him, encouraged healthy risk and were flexible in ways that encouraged real creativity, real opportunities to flourish.Strathcona County, the community he grew up in, also added to the opportunities. There was the young performers section of Festival Place’s Patio Series, and the career mentoring through the municipality where he mentored an Edmonton lawyer for one day who had an impactful discussion with him on balancing career and family life.Luke grew as a musician. Luke and his North of Here bandmates Ian, Will and Caleb had more gifts of mentorship through musicians, producers and public radio in the Alberta arts community. Alberta Music and School of Song at the Canmore and Edmonton Folk Music Festivals to name a couple provided Luke with so much joy and growth in his music career.Luke grew as a community leader.   His University of Alberta political science degree included many opportunities to talk with and interview other people who cared about community and cared about music. David Shepherd and Myrhe’s Music owners Alfie and Byron all took time with Luke to let him interview them and understand their community leadership and music journeys so he could chart his own path.Any of Luke’s successes were truly many people’s successes.
On October 6, 2017, Luke could describe himself as: 

      ·  a new graduate of the University of Alberta,
·  a new neighbor with three roommates in the Parkallen neighborhood in Edmonton,
·  an Election Assistant training election workers for the October municipal election in Strathcona County,
·  a potential hire within the Alberta legislative system in November when his election contract ended,
·  a member of the band North of Here with a busy practice and recording schedule and two grant applications in for their new album,
·  and a happy and well-loved son and brother looking forward to two Thanksgiving dinners with his family on the upcoming weekend. 

     The results of all these amazing mentorship opportunities, both formal and informal, were beginning to flourish in the person Luke had become.Sadly though, all Luke’s creativity, beautiful voice and dynamic personality were silenced in an instant when Luke died at the end of a morning run before work in a tragic accident. Luke died at 22 ½ years old on Friday October 6, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
We hope Luke's life will continue to bring meaning and purpose to others.Luke’s love of music and community can shine through in thisMentoring and Music Making Memorial.” 

      Brad & Z’Anne Harvey-Jansen"

I recall the classic ‘Grinch Who Stole Christmas’ story and why I loved it so much as a child and even more so today as I sit writing this excerpt. ‘Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps…means a little bit more!’ is what the Grinch surmised. With that, I envision his heart expanding, followed by the epic return to ‘Whoville’ with all the 'Who Villagers' presents and trimmings overflowing from his abundant sleigh. He realized that Christmas, for the Who’s would still come despite what they were missing, simply because they were together at Christmas.

And that’s really just my point: One family in my beloved music community isn’t all going to be together at Christmas, but I do know that the presence of love among them and the legacy their son left behind IS the gift. Despite the sorrow and the pain of this immense loss, this family chooses to rise above and make this first Christmas without their son and brother one to remember by ‘paying it forward’ so to speak.

Here's where all of us come in:

A beautiful website has been created for and by the Harvey-Jansen family in memory of Luke. There are beautiful tributes through written words and photos shared on the site. In addition, the family has begun a memorial fund which is in the form of a GoFundMe campaign they have titled and officially hashtagged: #LukeJansenAChristmasGift. Money raised from this campaign will go right back into the Edmonton community for music-mentorship programs which Luke was grateful to have been a part of. Although the memorial fund is in its’ early stages, the GoFundMe campaign has been up for 2 weeks now and I invite everyone in my music community and beyond to contribute to this fund and help make this a Christmas the Harvey-Jansen family will never forget. Even if you can't afford it, simply spreading awareness of this campaign is spreading the love with knowledge that this program for mentorship can only exist with our help. That’s just what Luke would have wanted.

"Maybe, just maybe, Christmas means something more.

With love, adoration, and respect to my Music Family,

let’s make this happen!

Candice Anne Marshall

Editor | Starlight Music Chronicles

*Please be advised that the GoFundMe Memorial campaign will run up until December 31st, 2017 on the SMC and Limehead Radio platforms. However, this does not mean that the Harvey-Jansen Family will shut the campaign down as this memorial fund will be ongoing into 2018. SMC will continue to support. 

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To hear my exclusive interview with the Harvey-Jansen family on Limehead Radio which aired December 7^th, 2017, (click here)

To donate to the GoFundMe campaign for music mentorship in Luke Jansen’s’ memory (click Here) or simply click on the 'Donate' button below. 

ATLANTIC RECORDS LIFTS CURTAIN ON “THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK”

Hugh Jackman is P.T. Barnum in The#GreatestShowman🎩, in theaters this Christmas.

FEATURES ORIGINAL SONGS PERFORMED BY HUGH JACKMAN, ZAC EFRON AND ZENDAYA AMONGST OTHERS

SONGS WRITTEN BY ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING AND GRAMMY® NOMINATED TEAM OF BENJ PASEK AND JUSTIN PAUL (LA LA LAND, DEAR EVAN HANSEN)

“THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK”

AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE NOW

20TH CENTURY FOX’S THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

OPENS IN THEATRES ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20th 

Warner Music Canada Press Release

Atlantic Records has announced today’s release of “THEGREATEST SHOWMAN – ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK” the official companion to 20th Century Fox’s hugely anticipated new musical film. The album is available now at all music retailers and streaming services; THE GREATESTSHOWMAN opens in theatres on Wednesday, December 20th.

“THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK” features original songs by Oscar and Tony® Award winning and GRAMMY®-nominated duo Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (LA LA LAND, DEAR EVAN HANSEN), including “This Is Me” (performed by Keala Settle; (Listen Here), “The Greatest Show” (performed by Hugh Jackman, Keala Settle, Zendaya, Zac Efron, and ensemble; (listen here on major platforms), and “Rewrite The Stars” (performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya; (Listen Here). The collection was recently named to Oprah’s Favorite Things List 2017, which declared the soundtrack to be “a celebration of imagination,” noting “’This Is Me’ should be everyone’s theme song.”

Tomorrow night, Saturday, December 9th, will see the film honored in New York City with a very special Empire State Building Tower Lighting, the ceremony to be highlighted by a live performance of “This Is Me” from THE GREATEST SHOWMAN co-star Keala Settle.

“THE GREATEST SHOWMAN – ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK” has been overseen at Atlantic Records by GRAMMY® Award winner (five time nominee) and recently appointed Atlantic Records West Coast President Kevin Weaver (FURIOUS 7, SUICIDE SQUAD, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS) and Atlantic Records President, A&R Pete Ganbarg (HAMILTON ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING, DEAR EVAN HANSEN ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING, TWENTY ONE PILOTS).

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is a bold and original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and the sense of wonder we feel when dreams come to life. Inspired by the ambition and imagination of P.T. Barnum, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN tells the story of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a mesmerizing spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is directed by exciting new filmmaker Michael Gracey, with songs by Academy Award winners Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (LA LA LAND) and starring Academy Award nominee Hugh Jackman. Jackman is joined by Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams, Zendaya, Zac Efron, and Rebecca Ferguson.

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For more information, please visit www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-greatest-showman

Olivia Penalva | 'Dream You Home' Single Review by Randy Wayne Belt

by Randy Wayne Belt

I'll admit I love the Hallmark Christmas movies.  There's something about that time of year that makes even the mediocre movies seem good or magical.  But the best ones always have great music behind them. Olivia Penalva's new Christmas song 'Dream You Home' would fit well as a background track for one of the well produced Hallmark Christmas movies, or any other, for that matter. This song is far beyond mediocrity.

Olivia, who hails from Vernon, BC in Canada, has put together quite a gem with this new song.  It has that magical sparkle to it in the underlying arrangements.  It is not as much an in-your-face Christmas song as it is capturing the spirit behind the season, making it perfect for placement in any Christmas or Holiday movie.  The chorus of the song is very memorable and powerful and even having this as a background track would make any movie even better. (Great tracks can MAKE a great movie)

Not only does the song have a great mix of sounds based around a sort of shuffle march type drum beat on the verses but the lyrics are well written and paint a perfect picture of what she is trying to convey.

My favorite lyric in 'Dream You Home' is 'The light in your soul shines brighter than gold in my heart – that’s where you are.'

The images invoked by the song could be any number of situations. It could be a lost loved one or a significant other who is separated by distance or time, or even a soldier gone in a far away land during the Christmas Season and the song is almost like the soldiers’ spouse singing to bring him home even if it's only at home in the heart.

The song does indeed grab your heart and imagination, which is, to me, the ultimate goal of a song - to speak to anyone or everyone in any situation. This is one more thing that makes it an easy shoo in for anyone considering it for a spot in a Christmas movie.

Often, it is this time of year when many find themselves missing a loved one in some capacity, and it isn't always the best time for many, but even still and even if you are not into Christmas or the spirit of it, and even if you are the Grinch himself, this song still weighs in on its own merit as a song with a powerful chorus that demands attention and speaks to the soul.

This isn't Olivia's first Christmas song. I reviewed 'Christmas For Two' which was published in Starlight Music Chronicles' December issue back in 2015 which can be found (here) as well as on my own blog (here). (see video below)

Since that time Olivia has progressed even further as an Artist and has honed even further her vocal and songwriting skills. Recently reaching a million plays on Spotify, her newer music bears out how far she’s grown since then. 

Her voice still has that same special warmth to it but with a sultry yet still innocent sound that will capture your ears, heart, and will leave a memorable impression when you hear it.  I compared her voice before, in a sense to that of Nora Jones, or Colbie Caillat.  In fact, since the last review, Olivia was able to be mentored by Colbie Caillat after winning teen artist of the year in the Starlight Music Chronicles "Artist of the Year Contest" in 2016.

 As a winner, Olivia got to attend ArtistMax an Artist Development program in L.A. in March 2017. Artist Max was dreamed up by legendary Producer and Engineer Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac Rumours) and was mentored there by Ken and Colbie Caillat, and David Foster in L.A.

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Olivia Penalva Social Media Links (click to view)

Website
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

ArtistMax Website

Dream You Home on Spotify
Olivia Penalva SMC 2016 TEEN Artist of the Year

Warner Music Canada PRESS RELEASE | Meghan Patrick's 'COUNTRY MUSIC MADE ME DO IT' to RELEASE Jan 12, 2018

OFFICIAL WARNER MUSIC CANADA PRESS RELEASE

“There’s always a high and lonesome song that keeps on pushing me along.” This line from the title track and lead single of Meghan Patrick’s latest album Country Made Me Do It is classic country and serves notice that she is determined to revive and carry the traditional torch.  Meghan lives hard and loves hard, and her songs reflect this passion. She loves trucks, fishing and hunting, riding horses and a good stiff glass of whiskey, and all of these elements fuel her countrified lyrics.  Think the free spirit of Emmylou Harris from those magical days when she performed with Gram Parsons, combined with the spark and sensuality of Tanya Tucker, the only female to crack the Outlaw genre, and you begin to have some idea of what Megan Patrick is all about.

It’s been a banner year-and-a-half for the Bowmanville native in terms of radio play, live shows and awards ceremonies.  Her debut album Grace and Grit, sprouted four Top 20 singles including her stirring duet with Joe Nichols on the Top 10 hit Still Loving You.  In concert, she’s performed with superstars like Lady Antebellum, Dwight Yoakam, Kip Moore and Martina McBride, peaking with a show-stopping duet with Keith Urban at the Timmins Stars & Thunder Festival.  She topped things off by winning Female Artist of the Year and Sirius XM Rising Star awards at the 2017 Canadian Country Music Awards.

“I did not expect those awards and I was certainly overwhelmed at the time. Now I just feel really appreciative and grateful that my fans and peers felt that I deserved those honours.  In one sense you can say that my career has been kind of short in terms of being in the mainstream and having a record deal, but within the last year the trajectory has been huge.”

Country Music Made Me Do It was produced by veteran Nashville song writer and producer Jeremy Stover, and mixed by studio heavyweight Chris Lord-Alge who has won Record of the Year Grammys for his work with everyone from Alison Kraus to U2. Meghan’s debut record had a potpourri of producers including Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Vince Gill but this time out she was looking for a more homogenous sound and she feels that she struck gold with Stover.

“When we started the project we wrote together, coming up with several songs for the album. Jeremy and I really clicked well and we had great chemistry in terms of writing. We eventually got a large chunk of the songs together through him and some of the other writers in his publishing company. When he said he’d love to produce the album I said, ‘Well yeah, I thought you’d never ask’.”

Meghan, who now lives in Nashville, co-wrote all but one of the 12 tracks on the album. Some of her other co-writers include Kelly Archer (Brett Young, Dustin Moore) and Justin Weaver (Kip Moore, Jason Aldean), who helped pen Walls Come Down, an ominous number about family strife.  Case Of Beer And A Bed, written with Derick Ruttan and J.T. Harding (Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney), is a sentimental song about going back to the basics.  Meghan co-wrote the title track with Stover and roots singer/songwriter Dan Isbell. The singer has recently experienced a lot of highs with the CCMA Awards and chart successes that she has earned, but there have also been a few lows such as the end of a long term relationship.  Country Music Made Me Do It captures some of the peaks and valleys with heartfelt emotion in a traditional country setting.    

“It’s just kind of a thing where music in general has been the driving force behind almost every decision I’ve made in my life. To facilitate my career it’s always been my priority and my number one objective, so you could say that country music made me do a lot of things. I love traditional country music. It’s my passion and my goal has been to bring a little more of that traditional sound into the mainstream country market. A lot of what’s out there right now is more on the pop side of country and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not what I want to do.” 

You can read our last SMC Spotlight Interview with Meghan (here) 

___________________________

Meghan Patrick Biography                                                                                          

by Roman Mitz

“There’s always a high and lonesome song that keeps on pushing me along.” This line from the title track and lead single of Meghan Patrick’s latest album Country Made Me Do It is classic country and serves notice that she is determined to revive and carry the traditional torch.  Meghan lives hard and loves hard, and her songs reflect this passion. She loves trucks, fishing and hunting, riding horses and a good stiff glass of whiskey, and all of these elements fuel her countrified lyrics.  Think the free spirit of Emmylou Harris from those magical days when she performed with Gram Parsons, combined with the spark and sensuality of Tanya Tucker, the only female to crack the Outlaw genre, and you begin to have some idea of what Megan Patrick is all about.   

It’s been a banner year-and-a-half for the Bowmanville native in terms of radio play, live shows and awards ceremonies.  Her debut album Grace and Grit, sprouted four Top 20 singles including her stirring duet with Joe Nichols on the Top 10 hit Still Loving You.  In concert, she’s performed with superstars like Lady Antebellum, Dwight Yoakam, Kip Moore and Martina McBride, peaking with a show-stopping duet with Keith Urban at the Timmins Stars & Thunder Festival.  She topped things off by winning Female Artist of the Year and Sirius XM Rising Star awards at the 2017 Canadian Country Music Awards.

“I did not expect those awards and I was certainly overwhelmed at the time. Now I just feel really appreciative and grateful that my fans and peers felt that I deserved those honors.  In one sense you can say that my career has been kind of short in terms of being in the mainstream and having a record deal, but within the last year the trajectory has been huge.”

Country Music Made Me Do It was produced by veteran Nashville song writer and producer Jeremy Stover, and mixed by studio heavyweight Chris Lord-Alge who has won Record of the Year Grammys for his work with everyone from Alison Kraus to U2. Meghan’s debut record had a potpourri of producers including Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Vince Gill but this time out she was looking for a more homogenous sound and she feels that she struck gold with Stover.

“When we started the project we wrote together, coming up with several songs for the album. Jeremy and I really clicked well and we had great chemistry in terms of writing. We eventually got a large chunk of the songs together through him and some of the other writers in his publishing company. When he said he’d love to produce the album I said, ‘Well yeah, I thought you’d never ask’.”

Meghan, who now lives in Nashville, co-wrote all but one of the 12 tracks on the album. Some of her other co-writers include Kelly Archer (Brett Young, Dustin Moore) and Justin Weaver (Kip Moore, Jason Aldean), who helped pen Walls Come Down, an ominous number about family strife.  Case Of Beer And A Bed, written with Derick Ruttan and J.T. Harding (Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney), is a sentimental song about going back to the basics.  Meghan co-wrote the title track with Stover and roots singer/songwriter Dan Isbell. The singer has recently experienced a lot of highs with the CCMA Awards and chart successes that she has earned, but there have also been a few lows such as the end of a long term relationship.  Country Music Made Me Do It captures some of the peaks and valleys with heartfelt emotion in a traditional country setting.     

“It’s just kind of a thing where music in general has been the driving force behind almost every decision I’ve made in my life. To facilitate my career it’s always been my priority and my number one objective, so you could say that country music made me do a lot of things. I love traditional country music. It’s my passion and my goal has been to bring a little more of that traditional sound into the mainstream country market. A lot of what’s out there right now is more on the pop side of country and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not what I want to do.”  

WARNER MUSIC CANADA CELEBRATES MULTIPLE WINS AT THE CCMAS

Meghan Patrick, Brett Kissel and The Washboard Union take home trophies

Paul Brandt is inducted in to the CCMA Hall of Fame

Warner Music Canada Named Record Label of the Year

Press Release via Warner Music Canada – Monday, September 11, 2017

Wow!  What a weekend for Warner Music Canada and its artists at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  Brett Kissel added three more awards to his trophy case, Meghan Patrick won her very first and second CCMA awards, The Washboard Union repeated as Roots Group of the Year and an old friend and, now, newest signing Paul Brandt was inducted in to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.  To top it all off, Warner Music Canada was named Record Company of the Year!

“This was truly an outstanding weekend,” said Warner Music Canada President Steve Kane.  “It’s an honour  that the artists on our label entrust us with the privilege of bringing their music to the world.  These awards are a testament to their art and the hard work our staff puts in to making sure that their songs are heard.”

The festivities started at the Saturday night gala dinner and awards where Brett Kissel won the award for Interactive Artist of the Year.  Coming off consecutive Top 10 singles, The Washboard Union repeated as Roots Group of the Year.  A little while later Warner Music Canada’s name was called as Record Company of the Year.  It was the first time since the late 80’s that the label had won the award and the first major label named since the early 90’s.

The gala evening ended on an emotional tribute to Paul Brandt who was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.  Brandt was originally signed to Warner in the mid-90’s where he scored major hot singles right off the bat with “I Do” and “my Heart Has A History” which has the distinction of being the most played Canadian country song ever. Paul spent the first decade and a half of the 21st century as a successful independent artist but has since resigned with Warner Music Canada.  His recently released single “The Journey” is a prelude to his new album coming in 2018.

On the nationally broadcast CCMA Awards on Sunday night, Brett Kissel won the evening’s for award as Male Artist of the Year.  Later in the show Brett was called to the stage one more time as the winner of Video of the Year for the emotional “I Didn’t Fall In Love With Your Hair.”  Brett Kissel and his band took to the stage for an electrifying debut performance of his latest single “We Were That Song.”

In an announcement that seemed to delight the audience almost as much as it did the artist, Meghan Patrick was named Female Artist of the Year. This was the first CCMA Award for the singer from Bomanville, Ontario but it wouldn’t be the last.  Meghan also won the prestigious Rising Star Award.  Earlier in the show, Meghan and her band performed a breathtaking version of her hit “Be Country With Me.”

Other Warner Music Canada performers on the broadcast included High Valley who opened the show with the #1 hit “I Be U Be.”  The Washboard Union got the crowd on its feet with a sparkling performance of their latest hit “Shine” and Blake Shelton gave Canadians the world premiere live performance of his new single “I’ll Name The Dogs.”

The Warner celebration didn’t end with the CCMA’s closing credits either.  At an after-show reception, Warner Music Canada President Steve Kane presented Aaron Goodvin his first gold record for the infectious single “Lonely Drum.”  High Valley were presented with a plaque commemorating the fact they are the Canadian country group to have a #1 single in the Nielsen BDS era.  Blake Shelton was handed a gold award for his the 2016 album If I’m Honest and another commemorating 14 consecutive #1 singles at country radio, a feat that is without equal at any format in Canadian radio during the Nielsen BDS era (since 1995). Nielsen BDS creates its charts from monitored radio airplay.

SMC Press Release | Palaye Royale 'Boom Boom Room Side A' Headline Tour hits Edmonton August 8th!

Palaye Royale | (l-r) Remington Leith, Emerson Barrett, and Sebastian Danzig

August 1, 2017 - Edmonton | Starlight Music Chronicles - There have been some serious rumblings since late July 2017 within the Edmonton music community. It is the beginning of what has become known as 'the Palaye Royale storm' that is about to hit the Mercury Room one week from today. The Los Angeles-based Fashion Art Rock Band comprised of Remington Leith (frontman), Sebastian Danzig (Guitar), and Emerson Barrett (drums) have been followed and supported by Starlight Music Chronicles since February 2014 becoming a permanent fixture and part of the SMC Family by way of our SMC SPOTLIGHT Numbered Series (See our first ever feature on the Spotlight here). 

The band has toured non-stop since the release of their album Boom Boom Room | Side A to iTunes in June 2015 landing them tours with Vans Warped Tour, High School Nation, and most recently with Andy Black in February 2017. Their street cred includes winning MTV's Musical March Madness in 2014 (beating out Linkin Park, Coldplay, and Fallout Boy), a Samsung Galaxy Commercial for their song 'Get Higher' (see below), and a contract with Ralph James (Theory of a Deadman, Hedley) of United Talent Agency, showcases at Canadian Music Week (Toronto), and appearances twice now at the Alternative Press Music Awards complete with a generous nod in the AP press release (here): 'Palaye Royale aim to bring back the Rock Star image by Channeling My Chemical Romance.' The band is now signed with Sumerian Records and will be announcing their next big tour in the coming weeks.

The band will arrive in Edmonton August 8th following their performance at Grizfest Music Festival in Tumbler Ridge, BC August 6th and for the bands' Edmonton street team, it couldn't come any faster. Fans, known as Soldiers of the Royal Council, caught wind of their arrival late July and quickly assembled behind the scenes with concrete plans to blast their arrival by peppering event posters throughout the downtown core and surrounding areas (an iconic signature move by their fans globally). News caught on quickly after this and ticket sales continued moving quite rapidly. It is this kind of unity which has earned Palaye Royale a permanent spot in the hearts of their most dedicated fans. Now that the band has been actively touring on Canadian soil, particularly western Canada, a new awakening among the Soldiers of the Royal Council has begun and it shows no signs of stopping. 

We are certain that whether fans want to catch a glimpse of Sebastian Danzigs insanely wicked guitar riffs, Emerson Barrett's heart-pounding drum skills, or Remington Leith's hauntingly beautiful vocals or even his notorious stage theatrics (see photo below), we are confident they are going to get to see the show of a lifetime. In fact, in February 2017, SMC attended their well-received show at the Starlite Room where fans (new and established) clambered for a photo or danced so vehemently we thought the floor would cave! 

We are sure this is going to be the bands best show in Edmonton yet and we look forward to welcoming them here!

General Admission Tickets - (purchase here)
VIP - (purchase here)

All press inquiries/creds for the Edmonton show August 8th, 2017 can be acquired by contacting Starlight Music Chronicles (SMC) at: editor@starlightmusicchronicles.com 

*Please submit for creds as soon as possible so that arrangements for interviews can be scheduled accordingly. 

                   

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Palaye Royale Social Media Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram
YouTube

Spotify
iTunes

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Desperado Pilots | Photo by Jordon Hon courtesy of Desperado Pilots

Opening for Palaye Royale are Edmonton-based Alternative Rock band Desperado Pilots. This band is a new profile to the SMC platform but also a most welcome one - the band has launched their wicked new single 'Bon Voyage' (see below) just in time for next weeks show. We are confident with songs like this, the band is sure to make a lasting impression for our avid indie music seekers who regularly frequent the SMC platform in search of something dynamic and new. 

Desperado Pilots Socials

Website

Facebook

YouTube

Ink361

Spotify

BandCamp

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE | SMC Launches Season II for Artist of the Year 2017

June 24, 2017 - As of 12:01am MST June 25th, 2017 in North America, fans all over the globe will be fastidiously voting for the next Starlight Music Chronicles (SMC) Artist of the Year.  

In June 2016, Starlight Music Chronicles launched the first ever Artist of the Year online voting event in two categories: TEEN and ADULT. This included all Artist of the Month winners from August 2015 to May 2016 and resulted in thousands of fans voting globally. Winners in the Adult category were IAMWARFACE at a whopping 22,000+ votes followed by Olivia Penalva winning the teen category with over 5000 votes. Both Artists have occupied a spot on our website and social media platforms over the last 12 months and they are about to pass the torch onto our 2017 Artist of the Year.

Now in our second season of this competition, the event has most definitely evolved and the stakes are even higher. The winnings, voting panel, and even our Judge panel has amped-up from five to seven prominent and notable music industry peers who possess valuable experience in the areas of Artist development, music journalism, and radio. In fact, one of our Judges is a Grammy Award-winning Artist! (see our Judges bios below)

The Prize Benefits

Our winner will take home a VIP Scholarship with ArtistMax (see details for the next ArtistMax event below), as well as a 12-month promotional period running from July 2017-June 2018. In this time, the winner will be promoted on the SMC website and social media, have three Radio interviews with Limehead Radio (our affiliates in the UK who are streaming live on the SMC SPOTLIGHT website), and have two Social Media Takeover events on the SMC and Limehead Radio platforms. This is our way of helping the Artist promote new music, campaigns, events, and tours throughout their ‘reigning’ year.

Voting

This is a 45% fan voted/55% Judge voted event. On June 25th, a poll will open up for Registered Fan Voting. Because there are three ways of registering a vote (Twitter, Facebook, and G+) Family, Friends, and Fans of the Artists competing can vote a total of 3 times for their fave in the five days of the event. Fan voting begins June 25th @ 12:01pm MST in North America and ends June 20th 11:59pm MST in North America. A link will be posted to the voting poll in a PINNED POST at the top of this event. It will also be shared everywhere on our Social Media.

ArtistMax

SMC is a global media ambassador for ArtistMax and with Olivia Penalva giving rave reviews following her participation at the March 2017 event in Los Angeles, California we are confident that our next Artist of the Year will see great value in this event. In fact, at the March event, Olivia met with legendary Producer Mr. Ken Caillat (Fleetwood Mac), and Grammy Award Winning Composer David Foster. Having a VIP Scholarship available to our winning Artist means huge opportunities to network and develop their music career further.

ArtistMax founders and mentors hold credits for Katy Perry, Colbie Caillat, John Mayer, Jennifer Lopez, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, and so many more. Their mentors and guests have achieved dozens of Grammy awards and have been responsible for over 100 million albums sold worldwide. Each ArtistMax workshop heralds a new celebrity artist and a Grammy-winning Producer.

Today, ArtistMax released this press release to their social media platform:

“Our next ArtistMax will be 4 days long, Fri-Mon over Labor Day Weekend!!!!We have added many new interactive panels to our line-up including group songwriting, social media feedback and break out panel, LETS TALK PRODUCTION (4 of your songs are reviewed roundtable by a group of esteemed industry vets), A Networking Party with some of LA's hottest producers, managers, booking agents, label execs, film directors and more, thrift shop field trip with celeb stylists, and so much more!!!! PLUS... our surprise celeb guests... means this next event will be insane!!!!We would like to welcome back all of our AM Alumni with our new AM Alumni Scholarship. Scholarship has a non-transferable, non-refundable value of $499 off of the normal program price, and cannot be used with any other discounts. From there, those that are fully registered will have an opportunity to submit a one page essay for a full scholarship.We can start a housing thread on here so some of you can share rooms if you like.As most of you know, we work really hard to make sure you guys have an amazingly fun, educational and rewarding weekend. With most of our attendees on some form of scholarship, we rely heavily on word of mouth as our main marketing source. Whether you are able to attend or not, we ask that you please give a shout out to ArtistMax and help us continue to grow this amazingly talented community. We are very excited to present to you, The Future of ArtistMax.”

 Find out more about ArtistMax (here).

Limehead Radio

In April 2016, we added yet another valuable prize to our roster. Limehead Radio in the UK reached out to us to see how they could also become involved with our Artist of the Month and Artist of the Year events by way of supporting our winning Artists on their platform via interviews and radio play of their music. In addition, they have agreed to coincide a Social Media takeover on July 31^st, 2017, the same month we announce our winner and host a Social Media takeover on our own platform (July 15^th, 2017).

Find out more about Limehead Radio (here)

The 2017 Artist of the Year Artist Competitors

HANNAH CLIVE

TAMSYN

LUCIEN DANTE

LIA COLE

_________________________________

The Judges

Candice Anne Marshall CEO/Editor Starlight Music Chronicles (SMC)

Candice Anne Marshall is a Music Journalist from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who began her career by studying Journalism, Photography and Graphic Design at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is the CEO and Editor in Chief at Starlight Music Chronicles Magazine & Entertainment Website interviewing some of the most notable professionals in the Music, Fashion, and Film industries. She has expanded on this career and is working as a Freelance/Contributor on many projects for Artists in the areas of Music, Film, Fashion and Lifestyle. She advocates for Non-Profit Organizations Globally in the areas of Branding, Social Media Campaigns, Biographies for websites, Articles in addition to Photography, Photo Editing and Graphics. (full bio here)

Some of the articles/content/photography/branding for Music Artists that Candice has written for/supported/interviewed are included on several forums including Magazine & Newspaper publications, Blogsites, and Webpages are: Hedley, Theory of a Deadman, The Road Hammers, Rex Goudie (Canadian Idol Fame), The Headpins, Beverley Mahood, Shane Yellowbird, Taylor Swift, Clayton Bellamy (Solo Artist | The Road Hammers), Adam Gregory, Candice Ryan, Rachel Woznow, Tupelo Honey, Bryan Finlay, Palaye Royale,  High Love Band (formerly, REND), Luke Potter, Johnny Marr (The Smith’s fame), Gary Numan, Olivia Wik, Bleu McAuley, Paul Woida, Andrew Scott, Hayley Richman, Little Crow, Jason McCoy (The Road Hammers), Nic Neufeld, Michelle Mollineux, Jasmine Singh, LIGHTS, The Hollywood Vampires, Nim Vind, Shay Esposito, Olivia Rose, IAMWARFACE, Jamie Lawson, Ed Sheeran, Reeve Carney, Scott Patterson (SMITHRADIO), Meghan Patrick, Olivia Penalva, Stuart Epps, Mario McNulty, New Mayans, Mateus Ward, Justin Ward, After The Calm, Lia Cole, Ari Herstand, The Fontaines, Dan Davidson, The 1975, Platinum Blonde, The Standstills, Joshua Shultz (Producer/CEO Bellus Magazine), Chelsea Debo (Actress/Model), Carly Jo Jackson (America’s Got Talent fame), Meresha (Billboard top 40 chart fame), Matt Lande, Narrow Plains, Jet Force Gemini, Christina Taylor, Ships Have Sailed, Ashlinn Gray, Lucien Dante, Dani Rosenoer (Three Days Grace fame), Brielle Von Hugel, The Upset Victory, Tom Bertram, Luke Wade, The Roxy Suicide, Swerve, Radio Drive, Brian Mackey, The Moon Kids, Natalie Jean, Carolina Magnolia, Barley Station, Kaylin, Ryan Inglis, Redvers Bailey, Wall Of Orange, Sallie Mood, John Ferriter  (The Tearaways | The Alternative), TAMSYN, Meresha, Codie Prevost, Luke Wade, Hannah Clive, DaveIt Ferris, Fashion Designer Melany Rowe, and Flash Jam to name a few and it is expanding every day.

Bridget Gardiner | ArtistMax

From Studio Manager of a recording studio for 9 years to Campus President at a recording college for 5 years, Bridge has been instrumental in shaping the next generation of music taste-makers. She is the CEO and founder of Buddha Global Consulting, LLC. Established in 2006, Buddha Global is a global networking and business development company that focuses and consults on project management in the creative and tech industries.

Special Highlights: Published Lupus Author, Elected VP of Industry Relations for Los Angeles Women in Music since 2014. Created and Produced annual star-studded NAMM panel for the last 5 years, ongoing. Created a National Lupus Support Group that has over 1k in lupus followers alone. Currently working to change it to a non-profit status.

Her client /company roster has included Producers, Authors, Videographers, Recording Studios, Music Schools, A record label, A start-up Medical spa, and consulting for various one-off projects, tech firms, events and educational training seminars.

Amrit Sond | Grammy Award Winning Artist

GRAMMY Award Winner & Solid Air Records (USA) Amrit Sond has graced the same billing alongside some of the world’s most renowned Guitarist’s on the scene today; Dominic Miller (STING), Hugh Burns (George Michael), Ronnie Johnson (Van Morrison, Leo Sawyer).

Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, he was exposed to African Folk Music at a very early age, and, being of Asian origin, Indian Music was always the backdrop of his family home life. He later studied Art and his family moved to the Middle East (Kuwait) where he then became interested in Arabic and eastern music. This coupled with the African and Indian Music influences that he grew up with, has helped shape his unique compositions.

His unique contemporary instrumental music draws on elements of World Music, Jazz & Classical all honed into a highly refined and melodically driven compositional approach.

Michael McKenna | Retired Radio & Club DJ

Voting Member at Neilsen Ratings

Voting Member at Josie Music Awards

Owner-operator at McKenna Reviews

Judge/Contributing Writer at Starlight Music Chronicles

Studied Journalism at Univ of Maine -Kittery

Studied Business Administration & Accounting at Commonwealth of PA

Mark Richards | CEO | Limehead Radio

Mark started the road to radio as many presenters do, by being the singer in a band. Way back in 2006 when he sported dyed black hair in a ponytail and enough eyeliner to color in the moon Mark discovered what it was like being in an unsigned band, making music and struggling to find a platform for it. This is what eventually led to Mark and a group of like-minded friends launching Limehead Radio. Mark founded Limehead Entertainment in 2010 as a live events company, holding their first gig in Portsmouth which was a huge success. Eventually Mark saw the potential audience of an online radio station and decided in 2011 to pursue that avenue. Since then Mark has been working with the Limehead team and all the amazing people he has met along the way to grow the audience for the music he plays.

Mike Lang | Radio | Music Director

Mike has over 25 years-experience in every facet of the radio industry, most recently several years as Music Director and mid-day host at 106.9 The Wolf in Nanaimo, BC. 

He has also had stints as booking agent/media liaison for a handful of known and lesser known artists.  In addition to that Mike is a sound engineer and has been known to perform as well. 

 

Pursuing his own dreams, he has recently quite literally sold his possessions in order to travel the world.

Carol Kaplan | SMC Contributor | Communications Consultant for Creatives

Owner/Founder of C A Kaplan Independent Services

Communications Consultant for Creatives, Small Businesses, Consultants, Entrepreneurs, and Non-Profit Organizations

Background in Advertising, Marketing, PR, Sales, Social Media Promotion.

Freelance Writer specializing in the Arts, Music, Creativity, Personal Growth & Development.

Freelance Photographer & Artist

Contributor for Starlight Music Chronicles

BFA in Graphic Communications/Journalism from University of Houston, Texas, USA

Follow the Artist of the Year Event (here) & be a part of SMC history by voting in our next AOY Winner. Our Voting Poll will be posted as a LINK in the event at 12:01am MST in North America. Full Rules are listed in the 'about' section of the event. 

Good Luck to ALL of our EXCEPTIONAL Artists!