Matt Andersen, Julian Taylor

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Tom Terrell

Matt Andersen sitting at a bar.

Matt Andersen

Madison is the penultimate stop on Juno Award-nominee Matt Andersen’s tour in support of his new album, The Hammer & The Rose. For this record, the Canadian singer-songwriter/guitarist left behind the horns and backing singers that made 2023’s rollicking The Big Bottle of Joy such a, well, joy. Instead, the new stripped-down songs reveal more of Andersen’s soulful side, blending rock, blues and gospel and delivered with a warm and laid-back vibe. He even covers J.J. Cale’s timeless “Magnolia.” Fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor opens.

$30 ($25 adv.).

media release: Acclaimed Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist Matt Andersen has released a stunning version of J.J. Cale’s timeless song “Magnolia”. The track is the lone cover that appears on his forthcoming studio album, The Hammer & The Rose (out April 25 on Sonic Records).

Recorded at the cozy Rooms Coffee in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the timbre of Andersen’s vocals creates a warm and immersive ambiance where the space is as captivating as the performance itself. The subtle and moving arrangement features Afie Jurvanen (guitar) and Christine Bougie (lap steel) from Bahamas, Chris Kirby (keys), Kyle Cunjak (acoustic bass), and Joshua Van Tassel (drums).

“When the band first arrived at the studio, we got set up and just started jamming a bit,” says Andersen. “We needed to make sure everything was working before we started recording the next day. We gave ‘Magnolia’ a go and settled into a groove pretty quickly. On the last day of recording, we had some time and decided to lay this one down for real. I’ve always loved this song, and it fit right in with the vibe of the record.”

Known for his prolific songwriting, powerhouse vocals and riveting live shows, The Hammer & The Rose may be the most intimate and nuanced album in Andersen’s celebrated body of work. The lower register, nuance and texture of Andersen’s voice is upfront throughout the album, which was the vision of producer Joshua Van Tassel. The result is an enchanting and deeply soulful 10-song offering that blends elements of folk, blues and gospel delivered with a heartfelt and relaxed vibe.

The Hammer & The Rose is the follow up to the aptly titled 2023 Juno-nominated album The Big Bottle of Joy. The project featured a full band complete with horns and backup singers, and garnered high praise by the press in Canada, the US, and Europe. No Depression stated, "This is music that spurs elation, songs that reinforce the love of listening and living," while Glide Magazine said, “Andersen has delivered as uplifting an album as you’ll likely hear this year or any year...”

Whether fronting a band or accompanied only by acoustic guitar, Andersen’s commanding vocals combined with the charisma he exudes is completely mesmerizing. He has spent decades cutting his teeth in dusty clubs, dim-lit bars, and grand theatres all over the world, delivering memorable performances that run the gamut from intimate to wall-shaking. His multi-faceted and poignant body of work has led him to amass over 33 million streams on Spotify and 30 million views on YouTube. He has headlined or performed at festivals, clubs and theatres throughout North America, Europe, and Australia.

Americana/folk singer-songwriter Julian Taylor will be hitting the road in the US soon with Matt Andersen. "I’m beyond thrilled to be joining the amazing Matt Andersen on tour," says Julian. "Matt is a powerhouse performer, and it’s an absolute honor to share the road with him. If you have the chance, catch one of these shows—it's going to be something special." 

Julian Taylor's latest album, Pathways, was released on September 27, 2024, by the Howling Turtle, Inc. label. The album followed on the heels of his most recent solo LPs, 2020’s highly acclaimed, award-winning album, The Ridge (which garnered Taylor’s anointing as Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards) and 2022’s equally lauded album, Beyond the Reservoir (nominated for two Juno Awards and three Canadian Folk Music Awards), as well as his 2023 career retrospective release, Anthology Vol. 1.

Besides the first single, “Weighing Down,” which was released in April 2024 and just cracked the CBC Radio Top 10, Taylor released three additional singles from Pathways, including “Running Away” (May 2024), “Ain't Life Strange” (July 2024), and the title track, “Pathways” (featuring Allison Russell) (August 2024). 

The journey of life puts us all on our own respective pathways to find out who we are and how we can strive to overcome any of the inner doubts and struggles we all experience. Since the outset of his career, acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor has been on his own never-ending quest to answer such big questions in his music — and his latest album, Pathways, candidly captures how he approaches handling his own litany of ever-lingering burdens.

“When you feel heavy, you’ve got to get things off your chest,” believes Taylor, “and Pathways reflects the way I was feeling while I was writing it and making it. What any of us are going through at any particular time acts as a stamp, or an imprint, of what we’re battling and trying to heal within ourselves. I’ve been going through it myself — I’m still going through it — and I’m trying to work through a lot of the pain I’ve caused myself and others.” The eight concise tracks that comprise Pathways found Taylor looking even further inward than ever before to corral a succinct song cycle that attempts to come to grips with the throes of strife that wrack us all, yet somehow find a way to power through it all. 

Pathways was co-produced by Taylor and Colin Linden (Emmylou Harris, Bruce Cockburn, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings), mixed by Colin Linden, and mastered by Greg Calbi. The album was recorded in two key locations: Jukasa Studios at the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, and Linden’s own Pinhead Recorders in Nashville.  

Even when he’s recording and touring, Taylor remains busy with his long-running, weekly, three-hour radio show, “Julian Taylor’s Jukebox,” which is distributed by Native Voice One (NV1), the Native public radio distribution service which links over 200 stations across North America to Native radio programming, from reservation and village-based stations to top-market urban radio stations. The radio show is a genre-defying musical journey, focusing on BIPOC and independent artists like Taylor himself. The concept for “Julian Taylor's Jukebox” came from the Rowe AMI vintage jukebox in Taylor’s home, inviting listeners to hear what he would play for them if they were hanging out with him in his living room. It won a 2024 CRABO Award from the NCRA - National Campus and Community Radio Association for Best Syndicated Show.

Toronto-based Taylor has been part of the musical fabric and landscape in Canada for two decades. He enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2020, when his second solo acoustic album, The Ridge, earned more than five million plays on Spotify, praise from press worldwide, and airplay from America to Australia to the U.K. Loaded with soulful Americana and country twang, the album was produced by Taylor himself and Saam Hashemi, and was recorded at The Woodshed in Toronto. In addition to winning Taylor Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, The Ridge was also nominated for: two Juno Awards (Contemporary Folk Album of The Year, Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year), the Polaris Prize Long List, a Summer Solstice Indigenous Award (Contemporary Folk Album of the Year), a Canadian Music Week INDIES Award (Indigenous Artist of the Year), and an additional Canadian Folk Music Awards nomination in the English Songwriter of the Year category. The nominations and awards kept coming in 2022, with Taylor winning best male artist in the International Acoustic Music Awards and scoring five Native American Music Award nominations. In 2023, Taylor received a nomination in the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards in the Roots Artist of the Year category, and a further nomination for a Juno Award in the Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year category.

Taylor is a major label veteran, Toronto music scene staple, and musical chameleon. His versatility as a songwriter is signature; one minute he’s onstage playing with his band spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’s featured at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set. Formerly associated with the band Staggered Crossing, he has continued to record and perform as a solo artist and has released 12 studio albums since 2001. With his songs being placed in such TV shows as “Haven,” “Private Eyes,” “Kim’s Convenience,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” and “Elementary,” his versatility as a songwriter is signature. He has had four albums on the long list of the Polaris Prize in Canada and has charted on several Canadian and Indigenous Music Charts. Two songs from The Ridge album, the title track “The Ridge,” and “Human Race,” went to #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown, while the Julian Taylor Band song “Back Again” hit #3 on the same chart.

Taylor is as explosive and captivating a live performer as you’ll ever see. Taylor has toured Canada and the U.S. countless times, sharing the stage with the likes of Serena Ryder, Blue Rodeo, William Prince, AHI, Rodney Crowell, Keb’ Mo’, and has performed at the Festival d’Été de Quebec, the Mariposa Folk Festival, Ottawa BluesFest, and more. Taylor was extremely honored to perform at not one but two Olympic Games, in Salt Lake City and Vancouver.

Press praise and support for Julian Taylor's latest studio album, Pathways:

Americana UK - "...simply gorgeous... something truly special... absolutely sublime... His deeply reflective words are direct yet sensitive, life-affirming and thought-provoking..."

CBC Music - "...a calming presence, almost meditative... "

Roots Music Canada - "It’s no exaggeration to say that 'Pathways' is Julian’s personal equivalent to John Lennon’s 'Imagine.'"

KLOF Mag - "...with Pathways, Julian Taylor ranks alongside fellow Canadian folk music luminaries Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Joni Mitchell."

Underground Music Collective - "...like a comforting embrace..."