SWOMP

Sommo Festival is set to deliver one of the biggest weekends of the year as seven-time GRAMMY Award winner Alanis Morissette and GRAMMY-nominated superstar Hozier headline the 2025 edition, returning September 13–14 to Prince Edward Island’s picturesque coastal resort community.

SWOMP caught up with Ben Murphy, the CEO of Whitecap Entertainment, for an interview to discuss how the third edition of the festival will be the East Coast’s most sought-after ticket of the summer, pairing world-class music with an unmatched culinary experience.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Alanis Morissette to the island this summer,” Murphy said. “Alanis is a legendary Canadian icon and we know that her fans across Atlantic Canada are going to be buzzing with excitement to see her bring her biggest hits to life on stage this September. When we asked the fans who they would most like to see in year three the resounding response was Hozier — and we can’t wait for his Sommo debut.”

Morissette will take the main stage Saturday, Sept. 13, performing hits from her extensive catalogue. Since the release of Jagged Little Pill in 1995, she has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, earned seven GRAMMYs, 15 JUNO Awards, and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 2023, she received the inaugural Billboard Canada Icon Award. Beyond her music, Morissette is an advocate and activist, known for her work in female empowerment and wellness.

Her influence stretches beyond albums and arena tours. In 2019, Jagged Little Pill: The Musical opened on Broadway, earning 15 Tony nominations. More recently, she released her ninth studio album Such Pretty Forks In The Road (2020) and her meditation album The Storm Before The Calm (2022), followed by sold-out arena tours around the globe.

Diamond-certified Irish singer-songwriter Hozier will headline his first-ever Atlantic Canadian performance at Sommo. Best known for the 13x Platinum anthem Take Me To Church, which remains one of Spotify’s Top 30 most-streamed songs, Hozier has amassed more than 14 billion streams and sold over a million concert tickets worldwide, including sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and The Hollywood Bowl.

His most recent album Unreal Unearth debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, solidifying his reputation as a globally acclaimed artist unafraid to pair poetic songwriting with social commentary.

Sommo Festival is more than a music event — it’s a celebration of food, drink, and East Coast hospitality. This year’s Taste of Sommo will feature 31 food and beverage vendors alongside a curated menu created exclusively for the weekend.

Festival-goers can expect everything from indulgent classics to creative twists, including Crabless Cakes (hot for food), campfire Banana Boats (Old Time Hawkey), Italian Beef Sandwiches (Adam Loo), Garden Rainbow Bowls (Chef Seth Shaw), and Parmesan Wheel Pasta (Chef Kaela Barnett). East Coast favourites such as Lobster Rolls (Chef Ben Schmidt) and Donair Poutine (Big Cheese Food Truck) will also be on offer, along with gourmet cookies, Mexican Elotes, and wood-fired pizza.

VIP pass holders will have access to an exclusive menu from Chef Kyle Campbell of The Barrington Steakhouse & Oyster Bar. To complement the food, beverage experiences include a tequila bar, whisky bar, martini bar, and bubbly bar, each with non-alcoholic options.

Chefs and culinary personalities such as Old Time Hawkey, Lauren Toyota (hot for food), Andrea Buckett and Chef Michael Smith will also be featured.

Since launching in 2023, Sommo has quickly become a marquee event in the Atlantic Canadian festival scene, produced by the team behind the award-winning Cavendish Beach Music Festival. Past performers have included Mumford & Sons, Noah Kahan, Maggie Rogers and Greta Van Fleet, while past culinary guests have featured Gail Simmons, Amanda Freitag and Mary Berg.

This year’s combination of powerhouse headliners, world-class chefs, and coastal charm is expected to draw thousands to Cavendish.

Tickets are on sale now at sommofest.com.

Canadian country music singer-songwriter Kelsi Mayne performed at Boots and Hearts on Saturday, August 9, 2025.

Reporter Whitney South caught up with her at the festival.

Whitney, along with photographer Sofia Jardine, captured these images from Kelsi's Boots performance.

Formerly a nationally ranked sprint hurdler, Kelsi Mayne has seamlessly transitioned into one of Canada's fastest-rising independent artists.

With over 3 million streams under her belt and a track record of performances alongside industry heavyweights, the 3x CMAOntario award nominee, SiriusXM Top of the Country finalist, and 2024 International Songwriting Competition winner is just hitting her stride.

Kelsi enthrals audiences with her infectious melodies, high energy, and powerful stage presence — gracing major festivals like Boots and Hearts, Calgary Stampede, and Cavendish Beach Music Festival, national television, stadiums, and has supported theatre tours with Meghan Patrick and Russell Dickerson.

Drawing inspiration from her Detroit Music City roots, her eclectic style blends notes of hip hop, r&b, Motown, rock & pop with Country.

Follow her at https://kelsimayne.com/.

Warkworth, Ontario country music singer and songwriter Sacha performed at the Boots and Hearts Music Festival on Friday, August 8, 2025.

Reporter Whitney South caught up with her the following day at Boots. 

A trailblazer in country music, Sacha blends heartfelt storytelling with an infectious energy that captivates audiences. Since releasing her debut EP The Best Thing, she has quickly risen as one of the genre’s most exciting new voices. Named iHeartRadio’s “Future Star” and a member of CMT’s prestigious Next Women of Country Class, Sacha has achieved numerous milestones in her burgeoning career.

Sacha’s certified platinum hit “What the Truck,” with The Reklaws, became the fastest Canadian country song to achieve platinum status in the streaming era. The viral sensation earned Sacha a CCMA Award for Top Selling Canadian Single, the same year she won SiriusXM's Top of The Country contest and toured the U.S. with Maddie & Tae.

Sacha continued to build momentum by singing the Canadian national anthem at the NHL All-Star Game and performing at major events like the UK’s Long Road Festival.

Last fall, she hit the road opening for the likes of Tenille Townes and then Owen Riegling, further cementing her place as a must-see performer in country music. She is a frequenter of all the major red carpets from the CMAs, CMT Awards, and CCMAs. 

On May 30, 2025, Sacha released her debut full-length album Woman In The Mirror, a bold and introspective collection that highlights her growth as both a songwriter and storyteller. The album includes Sacha’s hit single, “Hey Mom I Made It,” a heartfelt anthem that has garnered over 8 million combined streams globally and climbed into the Top 10 on the Canadian country radio chart. A deluxe version came in early summer, featuring "Shooting Star", her duet with one of the hottest groups out of Nashville, Restless Road. The song is a soul-stirring reflection on a love that slipped away—anchored in the hope that a single wish might bring it back. With soaring harmonies and gut-punch lyrics, the song showcases both artists at their most vulnerable and vocally dynamic.

Sacha has performed at top-tier festivals this summer all across North America, including CMA Fest, Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Boots and Hearts Music Festival, and LASSO.

She will close out the summer performing for the second time at the CCMAs, where she has three nominations including Female Artist Of The Year.

Follow her at https://www.iamsacha.com/.

CCMA Award-nominated independent artist Paige Penney shares her most personal song to date with the release of “Carhartt to Heart,” a fresh and heartfelt nod to working-class love.

Paying tribute to the kind of relationships she grew up surrounded by, “Carhartt to Heart” is rooted in honest storytelling, mixed with modern country-pop beats and marks the second release from Paige's highly anticipated sophomore EP, due later this year.

SWOMP caught up with Paige for an interview, just prior to release day for her new track.

Co-written by Paige alongside Matt McCartney (W/FRNDS, Engineering credits: Morgan Wallen, Hardy), Michael August (Aaron Goodvin, Tenille Townes, Craig Morgan) and Kirk Penney (Serena Ryder) the track blends an upbeat, modern country production with a sincere love story at its core.

The single celebrates the kind of steady love that shows up after a long day's work — dirty Carhartt jacket, boots and all.

Paige captures the warmth, grit and familiarity of a relationship built on effort, comfort and the simple joy of being together.

“I am so excited to finally share “Carhartt to Heart” with the world,” shares Paige. “I actually took inspiration from my grandparents for this song. My grandfather owned a service garage back home in Newfoundland, and my grandmother used to tell him not to come in the house with his work boots on. But sometimes, she'd let it slide—because she just couldn't wait to see him. That memory always stuck with me. I wanted to write about that kind of love—the kind that's a little messy, completely honest, and totally real.”

At just 20 years old, Paige is already carving out her place in the Canadian country music scene.

Originally from Newfoundland, she moved to Nashville at 18 to pursue her dream of becoming an artist/songwriter.

Since then, she's earned multiple accolades including two MusicNL Award nominations, five Canadian Folk Music Award nominations, won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and was crowned the iHeart Radio Future Star and Acadia Broadcasting's Breakout Artist earlier this year.

Just last month, Paige also landed her first CCMA nomination for “Innovative Campaign of the Year” for her single “SOUTHERN DRAW(L)” which went top 40 at Canadian country radio and has amassed over 400k+ streams.

A gifted multi-instrumentalist and compelling live performer, Paige brings banjo, guitar and piano to life on stage.

She has already opened up for Canadian icons like Johnny Reid and Alanis Morissette and has performed on legendary stages including The Bluebird Café, The Listening Room Café, Iceberg Alley Performance Tent and Churchill Park Music Festival.

Her sound, which is equal parts fresh, emotional and boldly modern, resonates with fans drawn to her vulnerable lyrics and contemporary country-pop edge.

Her latest single “Carhartt to Heart” marks a bold new era for Paige, one that is deeply personal and unmistakably her own.

As she gears up to hit the road in the coming year, fans can expect more heartfelt stories, unforgettable performances and music that continues to push boundaries while staying true to her country roots.

Follow Paige at https://www.paigepenney.com/.

Photo Credit: Ryan Kelso

Styx will hit the Budweiser Stage in Toronto tonight, August 13, and Pine Knob in Clarkston, Mich., on Saturday, August 16, 2025 as part of their “Brotherhood of Rock” tour with The Kevin Cronin Band and special guest Don Felder.

The dates come as the band releases its 18th studio album, Circling From Above.

SWOMP caught up with keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan to discuss the new album and tour.

The 13-track album, released July 18 on Alpha Dog 2T/UMe, blends themes of technology and nature in a 41-minute set that draws on contributions from all seven members: James “JY” Young, Tommy Shaw, Chuck Panozzo, Todd Sucherman, Gowan, Will Evankovich and Terry Gowan. It’s the third consecutive Styx album to earn praise as a “masterpiece,” following Crash of the Crown (2021) and The Mission (2017).

The lead single, “Build and Destroy,” features Gowan on lead vocals and an AI-concept video that has passed 111,000 views on YouTube. Gowan said the title came from a melody that reminded him of a “Star Trek” or “Twilight Zone” motif, and the song was finished in a day and a half with Shaw and Evankovich.

Produced by Evankovich, the record was written by the trio of Shaw, Gowan and Evankovich, who Gowan describes as working in a “strange three-way democracy” that keeps the focus on the institution of Styx. The songs range from muscular rockers to theatrical and introspective moments, reflecting the full sweep of the band’s sound.

Styx and The Kevin Cronin Band launched the tour May 28 in Greenville, S.C., after sold-out residencies at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas, where Styx performed The Grand Illusion in full for the first time in their 50-plus-year career.

Later this year, the band will headline “Rockin’ in Paradise: Styx + Friends,” a three-day festival Oct. 9 to 11 in Miramar Beach, Fla., featuring two special performances by Styx, including the final 2025 full-album performance of The Grand Illusion. The event will also feature Gowan’s solo band, Collective Soul, Loverboy, Cheap Trick, 38 Special, John Waite and Edwin McCain.

Follow the band at https://styxworld.com/.

Photo credit: Jason Powell

The Steven Page Trio are set to perform a free show in downtown Wallaceburg, Ontario on Saturday, August 9, 2025 as part of the annual Wallaceburg Antique Motor and Boat Outing (WAMBO) event.

Led by the former member of the Barenaked Ladies, the show will start downtown at 8:30 p.m.

SWOMP caught up with Steven Page for an interview.

A Canadian singer/songwriter with a warm tenor croon, vocalist Steven Page is best known as a founding member of the Barenaked Ladies.

From 1992 to 2009, Page shared lead vocal duties with Ed Robertson in the Barenaked Ladies, and wrote or co-wrote many of the group's songs.

After parting ways, Page kept himself busy with several projects, including writing and performing the music for the stage production Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy in the New World, which premiered at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in the summer of 2009.

In 2010, Page released two albums: the covers album A Singer Must Die and the full-length original studio effort Page One.

In 2022, Page released another solo album entitled Excelsior.

Follow Steven at https://www.stevenpage.com/.

Montreal artist Renon caught up with SWOMP to discuss her upcoming hometown gig, as she prepares to perform at Osheaga 2025 on Sunday, August 3.

Trained jazz musician turned popstar, Montreal artist Renon has perfected her sound with synth-heavy dark-pop full of jazzy inflictions and stellar vocal control.

Renon lives in a campy, gothic, pink and black, vulnerable world and invites you to join her.

Featured on several editorial playlists such as “Night Pop”, “New Pop Picks”, “Obsessed”, “Salt”, "Fresh Finds Pop", “Fresh Finds Canada”, “Fresh Finds Jazz”, and "Orbit”, Renon has accumulated over 800K streams on Spotify alone.

She has been featured by Dicover Nu, Exclaim!, Canadian Beats, with radio play from CBC, CKUT, and Future Hits Radio (UK).

Her latest project TOO FAR mixes pop and alternative easily with catchy hooks over heavy hitting instrumentals, impressive vocals, and jazz-inspired chord progressions.

Follow her at https://renonmusic.com/.

Ahead of the release of their ninth studio album, Qualifying Miles, We Are Scientists frontman Keith Murray spoke with SWOMP to discuss the new material, along with the history of their band.

Murray says there is an emotional push-and-pull behind the band’s new material and life sometimes writes the lyrics before you do.

“One problem with constantly mining your own personal life for lyrical inspiration is that you sometimes catch yourself experiencing personal interactions through the lens of your own future lyrical depiction of the moment,” Murray said in a recent interview. “We hear a lot about artists coping with difficult emotional experiences by hashing them out in their work; much less is said about how the anticipation of doing that artistic hashing plays in at the actual moment. Like, ‘Oh, geez, I’m in trouble now—here comes a good song!’”

That sentiment takes centre stage on “The Big One,” the band’s emotionally raw new single and final preview of Qualifying Miles, which arrives Friday, July 18 via Grönland Records.

“There’s a scene in Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming where a couple, fresh out of undergrad, are fighting over who gets to ‘use this material in a story,’” Murray said, referencing the 1995 indie film. “As a referendum on artistic solipsism, it haunts me to this day. I guess ‘The Big One’ is about those moments when things go so awry that that sort of in-the-moment arm’s-length analysis is no longer a possibility. Now you’re just in it. It also has maybe my favorite guitar solo ever, so, yeah.”

“The Big One” follows three emotionally charged singles that have reintroduced We Are Scientists as sharp, guitar-forward and emotionally expansive: the aching “Please Don’t Say It,” the shimmering “I Could Do Much Worse,” and the melancholic “What You Want Is Gone,” which was accompanied by a fan-shot tour video leaning into themes of memory and longing.

Together, the tracks paint a picture of a band looking back without being stuck in the past. Qualifying Miles is a stripped-down record that captures Murray and bassist Chris Cain embracing the ’90s guitar rock influences that first lit the fuse in their early Brooklyn days, while pushing toward something more instinctive and immediate.

Tracks like “Dead Letters” and “At The Mall In My Dreams” explore impermanence and the ache of lost connections, while flashes of wit and melodic swagger keep the record from veering too far into despair. The album title itself, Qualifying Miles, plays like a wink to the band’s two-decade journey—one that began with their 2005 breakthrough With Love and Squalor—but the songs crackle with a vitality that suggests a new chapter rather than a retrospective.

Recorded with a “band in a room” energy, the album trades polish for presence, capturing the urgency of a band rediscovering its core after years of refinement.

We Are Scientists will mark the release with a short East Coast tour this fall, including a stop in Toronto on Sept. 13. A sold-out album release show at Union Pool in Brooklyn is set for July 30.

Tour dates:

July 30 – Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool (SOLD OUT)

Sept. 4 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s

Sept. 5 – Amherst, PA – The Drake

Sept. 6 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

Sept. 9 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Café

Sept. 10 – Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag

Sept. 11 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle

Sept. 13 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern

Follow the band at https://wearescientists.com/.

Photo credit: Sari Murray

Lindsay, Ontario indie rockers The Strumbellas headlined the second night of the Revelree Music Festival in Sarnia, Ontario on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Prior to their set, Jon Hembrey (guitar) and Isabel Ritchie (violin) caught up with SWOMP backstage for an interview.

Ever since forming in 2008 and releasing their debut album, 2012’s My Father and the Hunter, two-time JUNO award-winning alternative group The Strumbellas have steadily released follow-ups containing every ounce of stomping, hand-clapping, alt-country gusto, from 2013's We Still Move on Dance Floors to 2016's Hopeto 2019's Rattlesnake.

Now with Jimmy Chauveau on board as lead vocalist, The Strumbellas continue their long-standing tradition of blending anthemic, brightly coloured compositions with yearning, contemplative lyrics.

“I think people often feel like things are escaping them, or they're trying to grab on to something —happiness, gratitude, professional or personal goals —and for some reason, they just can't get there,” says David Ritter, who handles piano, organ, percussion, and vocals. “Even if they get the thing they want, it doesn't feel the way they thought it would.”

Follow the band at https://thestrumbellas.ca/.

Canadian rockers Bedouin Soundclash performed on the second night of the Revelree Music Festival in Sarnia, Ontario on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Prior to their set, frontman Jay Malinowski sat down with SWOMP backstage for an interview.

Watch for a full photo gallery on SWOMP soon!

Follow the band at https://www.bedouinsoundclash.com/.