Bio

Edmonton, AB

Innovative, uplifting, rebellious: since deciding (at the age of 35) to embrace singing as the panacea to complete her self-healing journey, D’orjay has become an indestructible musical pioneer. In a relatively short amount of time, D’orjay’s Black queer flow has carved out deliciously novel terrain in the traditionally staid country for (and of) old men. D’orjay’s voice has heart, soul, yearning, and is undisputedly authentic. Her grandparents were inspirations: rural Albertans who loved playing instruments and connecting over music. D’orjay also credits Grandma Luvy with helping her understand the lasting impact of community, unconditional love, mutual aid, and family. So much so, that D’orjay now has her own band of Luvies, and her online following who she calls her “luvies.” D’orjay’s music is a new take on classic country. The new take? D’orjay’s background in shamanic practices, her belief that music can heal traumas, and her keen interest in unearthing and exposing the Black history of country music. As a performer, she is warm, confident and present (much like her silky, caramel-covered voice). D’orjay and the Lovely Luvies Fam are thrilled to bring you into the fold.

Are country music lovers the world over ready for this new kind of outlaw? Damned straight we are.

Chantal Vitalis

Bio

Toronto, ON

Charlotte Cornfield is a songwriter’s songwriter. Not just a storyteller, Cornfield weaves wakeful words and worlds into conversational and comprehensible slices of life. Her lyrics find her skateboarding, playing Pac-Man, or going to see The Magnetic Fields in Montreal. Her catalogue is immensely rewarding to attentive listeners, as is her live performance. Cornfield warmly wraps listeners in lyrics like the perfectly seasoned chicken inside of a roti from Jerk King on Bloor and Dufferin. 

Her previous recording, the elegantly Canadian title High in the Minuses, was an indie rock safe haven, placing Pavement-era guitar jangle next to kitchen-piano belladry, and the recording before that, The Shape of Your Name has an Albertan legacy, with half of the record recorded at the Banff Centre with ‘Berta producers Graham Lessard and Shawn Everett. Her latest is Could Have Done Anything, a ruminative but sure-footed entry in her oeuvre. Working with Josh Kaufman, a central figure in the indie supergroup Bonny Light Horsemen, the two adorned the songs with a higher-fidelity dressing, pianos, synths, organs, and scratchy guitars. It’s an elegant addition to an already stacked catalogue. 

A new parent, we can’t wait to see how her songs continue to speak true to the newness and nuance of life and culture. Supported by some of the freshest tastemakers in music including Polyvinyl, Double Double Whammy, and Next Door Records in Canada, Charlotte Cornfield is an artist whose vinyl will impress your friends sitting on side B on your record player, and whose catalogue you might want to start investing in now while it’s still a manageable size, because you’ll want to own them all.

 -Liam Prost

Bio

Ottawa, Ontario/St. Petersburg, Florida

Kathleen Edwards’ path to the present wavered between the exotic and mundane. Having a diplomat father meant a youth partly spent in Korea and Switzerland. At age 5, she took classical violin plus listened to her brother’s Bob Dylan and Neil Young records. She discovered Whiskeytown as a gateway drug to alt country via a corporate playlist while working at Starbucks.

When she released her first album, Failer, in 2002 with a spin through SXSW and a trip to Letterman, Rolling Stone branded her one of the year’s most promising new artists. Her lyrics are like experiencing neighbours’ lives through an open window, with glimpses perfectly articulated in the vulnerable, messy moments. In 2012, Edwards released her fourth album then, racked with depression, vanished from music and opened the coffee shop Quitters in 2014.

Thankfully, she re-emerged with 2020’s Jim Bryson-produced Total Freedom, the luscious Lucinda twang fully intact in her voice, heart and stories. Edwards has stated that writing songs helped her save lots of money on therapists during her first 20 years as a songwriter. Lucky for us, she’s resilient enough to remain lyrically vulnerable while her songs are awash in mighty melody.

MLW