On October 15 the Recording Academy is recognizing the people Behind The Record and giving credit where credit is due! Join me in celebrating the many talents behind my record I Will Stand. It was a true gift to work with such an amazing team of creators! Hill Kourkoutis Phil Demetro Mastering, Christine Parker Music, Selby Copeland, James Linderman, Ingrid MacDonald, David Keeble, and Aphrose! #wearemusic
I was thrilled to be asked to return as host of the 2021 OMA Awards at the Biltmore Theatre in Oshawa, and was honoured to win the 2021 OMA for Songwriter of the Year award. If you missed the big show, you can catch the replay here on YouTube.
Planks and Marietta, was also nominated for Durham Song of the Year, and can be found on my new EP I Will Stand, out now!
Excited to announce that I will be the Host for the 2021 OMA Nominee Announcement, proudly presented by the Durham Region Economic Development and Tourism (@durhamtourism, @investdurham).
The 2021 OMA Nominee Announcement event will be a virtual broadcast available to watch on the OMAs’ YouTube channel on Tuesday, July 20, 2021 at 11 am EST. Viewers can head over to the official Facebook event page for full updates, links, and exclusive sneak peaks before the announcement.
photo credit: Tracy Walker @tracywalkerphoto
So grateful for all of the support the kind folks at Eat North have shown to all of the new music so far! Check out the write up and save the playlist on Spotify to enjoy homegrown talent in the comfort of your home!
“Produced by Hill Kourkoutis, the ballad commands your attention from the get-go and leaves you hypnotized by Joy’s vocals paired with a cinematic and dramatic sound.” – Eat North
When Alan Cross gives you a list of 5 Songs You Must Hear This Week, you listen! Well… ‘Blink’ was one of those songs this week. And it’s going to take me a YEAR to recover from this one. (see the full list)
Incredibly astounding to believe that “Blink” was welcomed with open arms to American Songwriter, and included in their Daily Discovery column. I will be forever grateful for all who believed in this song and helped it into being.
One more sleep till “Blink” is available worldwide on all streaming platforms! In the meantime a HUGE thank you to Americana UK for the lovely review and the exclusive premiere of the song and video!
Michel and Barbara’s moVirtual House Concert with Jeff Eager and Tania Joy
April 25, 2021 8 PM – 9 PM ET
Each of us will perform 3 songs, and there is a tip jar which will be shared amongst the performers. Read more about the lineup below, and click here to sign up for the Zoom code: https://forms.gle/8aGDHhSnfT1b6KdQ9
Our Host: MICHEL NERAY
is 1/5th of Jacques Russell Trio. JRT is always a bunch of fun, with eclectic mix of blues, jump blues, trucker blues, jazz and pop, and some quirky originals thrown in for good measure. As a solo artist, he writes singer-songwriter songs full of angst, emotional conflict, evocative imagery, and all kinds of good things.
JEFF EAGER
Jeff has performed on stage with rock icon Lenny Kravitz, accompanied The Voice France winner Yoann Freejay on tour, and worked with Canadian stars like Jully Black and Arkells. He’s toured the continent from Hollywood to Halifax, and did a European tour opening for Rick Astley. He’s also performed his original music at the TD Jazz Festival, Burlington Sound of Music Festival. Versatile through soul, rock, jazz, pop, funk and more… he’s one of Toronto’s most dynamic musicians.
This is the unreleased demo video for ‘Blink’. Guitar and vocals were recorded in a dorm room circa 2015, and producer Allister Bradley took those tracks away and worked his magic on them.
Fast forward to 2018 – I’d never made a music video before, and thought it might be fun to give it a go with the demo recording, and videographer Luke Camozzi. We shot two different versions in a friend’s Heritage home in downtown Uxbridge, and this version was done in one seamless take at the end of a long shoot day! If you haven’t seen the original demo video you can check it out here.
The official release of ‘Blink’ is coming 04.29.21 on all streaming services along with a rad new music video. Can’t wait to share!
For a song with a central storyline around life changing in an instant, ‘Blink’ sure took a long time to be fully realized. I first put pen to paper after a period of writer’s block, and willed it into existence after giving myself permission to write a song that sucked. That song (about losing a dirty sock in the the dryer) cleared the cobwebs for what was to become ‘Blink’.
Once the first draft was in decent shape I brought it into a writing session with songwriter James Linderman, where we discovered the walking baseline that grounds the song. Next up… the demo.
Blink will be released on all streaming platforms April 29! Presave here: https://show.co/TVjBs4o