Not much news in the world of rock, except that of Burn The Ballroom who is carrying the progressive rock flag. Known for their explosive live show and hefty touring schedule, the DC rockers are touring Russia in support of the yet-to-be released  album Ghost Notes.

The new album was recorded in Cleveland at Standby Records Studio with Don DiBiase, and is the follow up to the 2014’s Melodies For Outsiders which was produced by Forever The Sickest Kids’s Austin Bellow.

Big melodies, guitars, breakdowns accompanied with some screams, Oh! and performing in front of big crowds describes this 5 piece alternative rock act.
jack.ivins@gmail.com

Ontario female fronted indie act Basement Revolver are showing off their indie chops with their latest debut EP. The EP was produced by Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell (The Dirty Nil, City and Colour, Memoryhouse) and features the track Johnny which was surpassed 100k Spotify Streams.

My personal favorite track is the edgy post punk Words with its crushing guitars and haunting vocals. The three piece alt rock act which is made up of lead vox Chrissy Hurn, bass/synth Nimal Agalawatte and drummer Brandon Munro could be compared to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Raveonettes.

“These songs were all written at a point in my life where I was experiencing a change in identity,” says Chrisy Hurn.  In this case, change is good!
basementrevolver@gmail.com

UK soul artist Caitlyn Scarlett channels Kate Bush in her new track Rust. And it’s off to a great start entering the Spotify UK Viral Chart at 35 and support from BBC Introducing.

Scarlett notes, “Writing Rust was therapy for me. It’s about that very sad point that some relationships reach, where both people grow in a separate direction and things become beyond repair. Especially if there’s been a betrayal of trust.

The self taught guitarist and pianist began writing songs at age 9 and took off the to the UK at 17. With a wide range of influences the latest track was produced by Jack Gourlay (Tom Odell).
ferociousjonny@gmail.com

Check out the just released EP As You Wish by Toronto dream pop duo Babygirl. The kick off single Overbored is a slow grower, but with a few listens, it will make it on top of your playlist. And it already has received plenty of shoutouts.

The single made Spotify’s Fresh Finds playlist which clocked over 80,000 streams in a month and was featured on 102.1 The Edge as a yet-to-be-discovered gem – while Exclaim! premiered the EP landing in the Top 21 Trending for the day.

Kirsten Clark and Cameron Breithaupt are the wizards behind Babygirl. The project was formed out of the love for early 2000’s radio music and the craft of songwriting.

The duo notes, “At its core, it’s a pop record. With a splash of angst. We love working as pop songwriters. But there are limitations as to what that can mean for our output sonically. We wanted to put together a project that was a love letter to bands like Alvvays, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine. Bands that wouldn’t necessarily fit on contemporary hits radio.”
heybabygirlband@gmail.com

Forbes has released its annual Electronic Cash Kings list of the top-earning DJ’s. How did these EDM artist collectively generate over $250 million? They generated the millions through music, gigs and brand endorsements.

Calvin Harris who is on top of the list and gets paid more than $400,000 per Vegas gig, told Forbes several years ago “I want to be the number one songwriter-producer guy of all time.”

Calvin Harris – $63 million
Tiesto – $38 million
David Guetta – $28 million
Zedd – $24.5 million
Steve Aoki – $23.5 million
Diplo – $23 million
Skrillex – $20 million
Kaskade – $19 million
Martin Garrix – $16 million
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike – $15.5 million