NEW SINGLE, “COUNTRY MUSIC BREAKS MY HEART” ARRIVES WITH SHORT FILM DIRECTED BY FOREIGNERZ + RAE SPOON
CANADIAN TOUR DATES BEGIN APRIL 12, 2026 | TICKET AND INFORMATION HERE
RAE SPOON’S 13TH ALBUM, ASSIGNED COUNTRY SINGER AT BIRTH, DUE OUT APRIL 10, 2026 VIA COAX RECORDS
WATCH / SHARE “COUNTRY MUSIC BREAKS MY HEART” SHORT FILM BY FOREIGNERZ
BUY / STREAM “COUNTRY MUSIC BREAKS MY HEART” HERE
PRE-SAVE ASSIGNED COUNTRY SINGER AT BIRTH HERE
"Returning to country music for their 13th solo album, the pathfinding Calgary-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist eschews the songs about loving trucks and beer pervasive to the genre, reminding us that it's as expansive as the people who connect to it by tackling topics like trans rights, disability, religious trauma and colonialism." Exclaim!, Most Anticipated Albums of 2026
“Thankfully, Spoon is fully returning to their country roots with Assigned Country Singer at Birth ...a stretching of the country canon that we desperately need.”
CBC Music, Albums We Can't Wait To Hear in 2026
"A long-awaited return to country music for Rae Spoon is news enough to lead me to believe that 2026 will be alright. Assigned Country Singer At Birth feels like the album that could finally give them the mainstream attention they deserve. If you don’t know the name Rae Spoon already, that’s ok because luckily for you, we’re all about to be talking about them." Atwood Magazine, 2026 Artists To Watch
Photo Credit : Laurence Philomene // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Recently, Rae Spoon announced their new album, Assigned Country Singer At Birth, an album that is equally subversive and relatable, a testament to the fact that country music is as expansive as the people who are connected to it. Songs about trans folks, harm reduction, disability, inclusion, religious trauma, solidarity and opposing colonial land occupation may seem antithetical to traditional country, but they are as much a part of Spoon’s experiences as love songs, trucks and beer.
Today, they share the first song they wrote for the album, “Country Music Breaks My Heart”. “I wanted to encapsulate the feeling of both belonging and not belonging that I felt when I decided to leave country music almost twenty-years ago,” explains Spoon. “I no longer wanted to perform in spaces where many of my friends may not feel safe and included.
“I have since met many people from lots of backgrounds who feel connected to country music. The song turned out to be an invitation for country music to be open to anyone who it resonates with. If you look at gender, race and sexualities of award nominees at the CCMA's or the Country Album Of the Year at the JUNO Awards, the country music establishment in Canada still has a long way to go as far as inclusion.”
The new single is also accompanied by a short film from FOREIGNERZ and Rae Spoon. “In the film, the mechanical bull is symbolic of the precarious dissonance I feel as a disabled, trans person from a working-class Alberta background (with respect for 2S trans and/or non-binary elders and consideration for the ongoing colonial legacy that I benefit from as a white settler),” explains Spoon. “Staying on the bull is representative of the enduring truth that gender diverse people have always and will always be present. I wanted to create something that folks younger than me could witness. I came out as trans twenty-five years ago when visible elders were not as common. The current provincial government and geo-political attacks on human rights for gender diverse people are not new. There is no possible way to stop gender diverse people from existing. We will fight to take care of each other as we always have.
“I've been a huge fan of FOREIGNERZ for years. It was important to me that it was made with other people from Treaty 7 territory who prioritize expressing the experiences of under-represented people on the prairies. Their community building approach made filming ‘Country Music Breaks My Heart’ feel wonderfully collaborative. Their world-class production team encapsulated what I was hoping to portray with astounding imagery."
WATCH / SHARE “COUNTRY MUSIC BREAKS MY HEART” SHORT FILM BY FOREIGNERZ
BUY / STREAM “COUNTRY MUSIC BREAKS MY HEART” HERE
MORE ABOUT ASSIGNED COUNTRY SINGER AT BIRTH
Their thirteenth solo album, Assigned Country Singer At Birth, marks Spoon’s return to country music. It’s arguably not any safer than it was in the early 2000’s to be a transgender country singer, but there's no room for doubting their connection to it when you hear them sing.
WATCH / SHARE “CAN’T FAIL ME” FT. CASSIA HARDY HERE
BUY / STREAM “CAN’T FAIL ME” FT. CASSIA HARDY HERE
On Assigned Country Singer At Birth, Spoon’s musical influences from traditional country, to pop, gospel, bluegrass, electronic and experimental coalesce into unique combinations. Producer and drummer, Alaska B producer of Yamantaka Sonic Titan and Pantayo (both short-listed for the Polaris Prize twice). Collaborators are Robyn Grey, Evelyn Charlotte Joe, Laurie Torres, Thanya Iyer, Christine Bougie and Gambletron deliver nuanced performances that gel seamlessly with Rae's humour and heartbreak. Vocalists Lydia Persaud, Kimmortal, Cassia Hardy, Theodore Walker, Louie Sanchez, Rosina Kazi, Kue Varo, Lianne Hall and Stewart Legere form a chorus of vocal support that illustrate the visceral power of people coming together to sing for change.
PRE-SAVE ASSIGNED COUNTRY SINGER AT BIRTH HERE
TOUR DATES
Apr 12 - Toronto, ON - It’s Okay Studio w/ Lee Waylon and Louie Sanchez | Tickets HERE
Apr 25 - Thunder Bay, ON - The Foundry
Apr 29 - Winnipeg, MB - WECC w/ Tofu Smell and Keri Latimer
May 01 - Winnipeg, MB - AANM Gallery Show Opening
May 03 - Saskatoon, SK - Art Bar (Matinee) w/ Kue Varo and Pink Snail
May 07 - Regina, SK - The Cure
May 08 - Lethbridge, AB - Theoretically Brewing
May 09 - Calgary, AB - Loophole w/ Pink Snail
May 10 - Edmonton, AB - The Aviary (Matinee) w/ Cassia Hardy and Pink Snail
May 15 - Vancouver, BC - Green Auto w/ Hyaenas and Pink Snail
May 17 - Victoria, BC - Coda w/ Pink Snail
May 23 - Galiano Island, BC - Oxeye
Jun 05 - Smithers, BC - Smithers Pride
Jun 06 - Smithers, BC - Smithers Pride
Jun 14 - Montreal, QC - Turbohaus (Matinee)
ASSIGNED COUNTRY SINGER AT BIRTH
1 Country Music Breaks My Heart
2 Assigned Country Singer At Birth
3 Pray
4 Last Cigarette
5 Can't Stop Lightening (feat Kimmortal, Louis Sanchez)
6 All Drugs Safe Legal And Free
7 Ostomy Cowboy
8 Not Too Sick To Love
9 Can't Fail Me (feat Cassia Hardy)
10 Hyper Country (feat Theodore Walker Robinson)
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