Wednesday night’s UnderDogs Across Borders benefit concert brought an array of memorable performances to the stage from the start, and all the way to the finish.
Closing out the night? Da’ Healerz, who ended their set by sharing some new music they’ve been working on. “Guidance” — in collaboration with Guidance Whiskey — made its live debut with us on Wednesday night and got the whole room moving, ending UnderDogs Across Borders Vol. 2 with a bang!
The countdown is on! In just seven days, the Georgian Bay Steam Show Grounds will come alive with the sound of guitars, drums, and thousands of happy festivalgoers as Gussapolooza Music and Arts Festival kicks off August 22–24.
This year’s lineup features powerhouse performances from Bleeker and Kasador, plus local Alliston fan favourite Grant Boyer, alongside dozens of emerging artists ready to make their mark. Add industry workshops, camping under the stars, mouthwatering food trucks, and activities for the whole family — and you’ve got one unforgettable weekend.
Festival Director Valerie Robson says, “Gussapolooza is where music and community come together. The energy is electric, the connections are real, and the vibe is absolutely unmatched. Whether you’re here to discover new talent, support your friends, or just soak up the atmosphere, you’ll leave feeling like part of the family.”
Tickets are going fast, so grab yours now and be part of one of Ontario’s most unique summer weekends.
TONIGHT! We’re going live from 7-9 p.m. for UnderDogs Across Borders Vol. 2. Tonight, we place a spotlight on pop, hip hop, and R&B artists from within the Underground Music Collective community.
By supporting UnderDogs Across Borders, you are empowering UMC to open the gateway to even greater collaboration. Your support bolsters UMC’s presence at major conferences and festivals in North America and Europe, while helping us build a stronger, more sustainable music industry that is ripe with fresh opportunities for our artists.
Electric Lemonade fascinates me. Based in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, the trio made of Sarah Murphy, Hannah Mazurek, and Rob Jones prove the fact you don’t need to be in large, oversaturated music markets like New York or L.A. to be worthy of coverage. Electric Lemonade proves that musicians who focus on their own communities and stories tend to be among the most authentic, interesting artists.
From the very first drum beat, their song “You’re Watching Me” pulls you into this organic spacious jam which highlights the band’s excellent musicianship – while reminding us that rock is far from dead. Lyrically, “You’re Watching Me” is the story of the end of a relationship, and the decision to move forward through the pain, choose yourself, and embrace who you are.
“You’re watching me, I see you in the list of viewers On my Instagram story, you know that I can see you. I believe that mistakes lead us to places that we’re bound for. Can you let me go? Can you let me go?”
Those are my favorite lyrics from this song, as they highlight an absolutely modern phenomenon of the online interactions and algorithms we share with people. Personally, I haven’t had the experience of breaking up with someone and have them still watch my Instagram stories. How awkward that must be…
On the song, the band states: “We wrote this one in the studio when we were working on our upcoming EP. It started out with a version of the lyrics and some musical ideas we had floating around for a while. We came up with a rough version to play for our producer (Jordy Walker) and tweaked it a bunch, but really, the bulk of the song was written over one jam session.”
I hope to find myself walking the streets of Whitehorse one day. It’s an amazing city nestled in brilliant mountain wilderness, and judging from what I’ve heard from Electric Lemonade, I bet its music scene is mature. I imagine hiking around the area, getting some food, and then heading to a show. Hopefully, that would mean I would be lucky enough to catch Electric Lemonade play their music. For now, I’ll be listening on repeat moving forward.
Tonight, our friends at Your Next Favorite Band will host the fourth annual Musikfest Exordium — a live broadcast in preparation of Musikfest, the nation’s largest free non-gated music festival in our hometown of Bethlehem, PA.
Join the broadcast live from The Flying V Poutinerie for a stacked program of interviews and live performances:
ArtsQuest Chief Programming Officer Patrick Brogan gives us his “must see” bands and Best Day of the Fest.
EPAWA Founder & Chief Meteorologist Bobby Martrich will provide early weather prognostication.
Lehigh Valley News Director John Moser will share his thoughts and reminisce about prior years.
Founder of Underground Music Collective and Musikfest North Side Sheriff Gerard Longo will catch us up in his latest and how things are progressing for the festival
Flying V Poutinerie owner Matt Vymazal will let us know about their delicious spuds and if we have any potato famines to worry about.
Lehigh Valley Girls Rock Board President and Compliance Advisor Jennifer Alpha will share the latest of from LVGR and preview their Musikfest set.
Heartbreak, as painful as it is to experience, oftentimes allows us to evolve and grow into a newer, fuller version of ourselves. There are people among us in this world that experience heartbreak while also being gifted artists. These people can channel their heartbreak into something of substance for the rest of us to rely on when we are eventually met with our own heartbreak.
Bri Aspen is one of those gifted artists.
“Wearing White” is a song where Aspen explores that heartbreak of watching the person you love be in love with someone else. This song is an impressive showcase of Aspen’s voice, which is accompanied by a piano and a string section.
“Sometimes, you introduce your soulmate to someone else – and then stand beside them on their wedding day,” Aspen said.
That’s a feeling no one should have to go through, but oh my, if you do… at least you have “Wearing White” for emotional support.
“I wrote this song with Alex Lomartire and Jaan Harrison Kohm — (it’s) our third project together, and just the beginning of what I know will be a great creative partnership. I came into the session with the line, “I’m standing by your side, but I’m not wearing white,” and within a few hours, the full story had unfolded. Once we shaped the narrative, built out the characters, and found the right words to bring it all together, we knew we had something special. Jaan took it from there and produced the track in a way that truly brought the emotion and storyline to life.”
She explains further, “I learned throughout this writing process that sometimes, love means setting aside your own emotions, so that those you care about can find the happiness they deserve—even if that journey doesn’t include you.”
I am now a fan of Bri Aspen, who’s got more music coming out this year, and who you can catch playing all around Nashville. You’ll be a fan, too, once you check out “Wearing White” below!
For the season finale of Da’ Healerz Circle, we decided to do something special: invite Da’ Healerz themselves to share about the depth of their individual healing journeys.
And so, I volunteered to put my interviewer hat on to sit down with each Lord Goldie and Foundation Mecca, as they shared the details of their individual upbringings, the evolution of their healing journeys, and the changing narrative of hip hop.
In case you couldn’t tell, we’re already more than a little excited to be back in the Big Easy for this year’s edition of NOLA MusiCon, taking place October 28-30 at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center in New Orleans, LA.
From now through the conference, enjoy 25% off your conference badge when you enter the coupon code UMC25 at checkout. We’re grateful to NOLA MusiCon for offering this special deal to our UnderDogs and all those close to the UMC community, and we look forward to hanging out with you in New Orleans this spooky season!
As announced on last night’s edition of Have You Met…?, we’ll be back at Helping Our Music Evolve on Wednesday, August 13 with an all-new lineup for Volume 2 of our UnderDogs Across Borders benefit concert series.
The concert — supporting our UnderDogs Across Borders campaign, designed to open the gateway to even greater collaboration for our community of creatives across genres, disciplines, and geographic boundaries — will once again be hosted on our YouTube channel, with those local to Nashville invited to attend in-person. Hosted by Jazzy the Uncontrolled Goddess, this fantastic evening will welcome a diverse lineup of artists from across our community, including:
We’ll return to the stage at Helping Our Music Evolve this evening at 7 p.m. CT for another all-new edition of Have You Met…? — featuring all-new UnderDogs!
Join host Jazzy the Uncontrolled Goddess as she sits down with some of the most recent additions to our UnderDogs community, including:
E.T., renowned Nashville-based hip hop artist and host of Music City’s longest-running hip hop radio broadcast.
You can tune in below! Or, if you’re in Nashville, come on out to 615 Main St., Suite G1 in Nashville. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and it is 100% FREE to attend!
