Formed in early 2007, La Strada has quickly made a name for itself with raucous, foot-stomping shows. The quintet—James Craft, Devon Press, Ted Lattis, Brady Miller, and Daniel Baer—sports a grand yet playful sound, and the live lineup follows suit, expanding to include additional strings and horns. Recorded at Miner Street Studios in Philadelphia and The Buddy Project in Queens, the band’s debut LP, New Home, features 13 tracks of raw emotion channeled into well-crafted pop songs. It’s no surprise that Craft, the band’s primary songwriter and multi-instrumental front man, has lived all over the world, including France, Romania and, since 2005, New York City. With influences ranging from ancient music to modern indie rock, the band has garnered comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, and Arcade Fire. New Home explores the band's love of many genres, and its lyrics reflect Craft's life in Brooklyn and the path that led him to play in one of the most unique-sounding outfits making music today. As anyone who has seen the band's shows can attest, La Strada is starting to write the book on lighting up stages with a spectrum of international colors. The group has already toured much of North America with the likes of the Bowerbirds and Canada's Hey Rosetta! and Cuff the Duke. With the release of New Home, La Strada is ready to personify its name and take to the road.

Having spent several years carving their teeth on the road with the likes of The Sadies, Sloan, Hayden, The Weakerthans, Calexico and Nick Cave, Toronto's Cuff the Duke are poised to make the jump from indie-scene-darlings to bona-fide Canadian music icons. Their new album, Way Down Here was co-produced by Blue Rodeo's Greg Keelor at his beautiful barn studio in rural Ontario and features the band's most mature, captivating and impressive collection of songs to date.

Cuff the Duke started out in Oshawa before making the move to Toronto in 2002. Their debut album, Life Stories for Minimum Wage was released on Three Gut Records, at the time one of the most exciting indie-labels in Canada. Their second and third albums, Cuff the Duke and Sidelines and the City respectively, were both released on Hardwood Records alongside label mates Basia Bulat and Hayden.

Last year the band won accolades backing Hayden on his Canadian and North American tours.

With several national tours and over 300 shows under their belts, (including performances alongside Ladyhawk, Black Mountain and Women), Alphababy packed their bags and moved from Kelowna to Vancouver.

Big changes lead to new beginnings - so the band changed: Yukon Blonde signed with Toronto-based Nevado Records (Bahamas, Fox Jaws), parked the van and set out to write all new material. With deference to the best, the band took inspiration from 60’s rock harmonies, thick yet simple hooks, and depression-era furniture upholstery. The resulting set of 14 songs, recorded in Vancouver with producer Shawn Cole (Bend Sinister, You Say Party! We Say Die!), has brought them being comparisons to The Band, The Byrds, Grizzley Bear and CSNY.

Four of these songs became “Everything In Everyway”. Yukon Blonde’s debut EP was released on Nevado Records in Canada and internationally (digital) October 2009, introducing the new band, the new songs and the new name with great results. Big changes sometimes lead to dissent - but this is not happening. The quality of the songs seems to be actually strengthening the band’s relationship with long-time fans while bringing in a wave of new.

Old friends of long stretches of highway and sleeping on floors, the band set-out, in the fall of 09, for a 37-date tour across Canada including POP Montreal, Halifax POP Explosion and CMJ, picking up rave reviews along the way. The tour ended - almost two months later - with a triumphant return to their original home town of Kelowna on November 8th 2009. The success of the EP, the tour, and the festivals attracted the attention of Bumstead Records (k.d. lang, Two Hours Traffic, The Trews) who is now set to release the remaining 10 songs as Yukon Blonde’s self-titled debut LP on February 9th 2010 across North America. The band plans to tour extensively in the US and Canada in the months following the release and tour dates will be announced soon.

Beat Circus was formed in 2002 by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brian Carpenter. In Summer 2006 Beat Circus began recording Dreamland, the first part of Brian Carpenter's "Weird American Gothic" trilogy, with producer Martin Bisi. Dreamland is loosely based on historical events associated with turn-of-the-century New York and Coney Island, and saw a January 2008 release on Cuneiform Records.

In Summer 2007 Brian Carpenter spawned the third incarnation of Beat Circus to develop Boy From Black Mountain, fiery songs about family and fatherhood in the tradition of Southern Gospel music and Southern Gothic literature. Boy From Black Mountain was released on September 29, 2009 on Cuneiform Records.