MAGI MERLIN’S DEBUT ALBUM, POWER HOUSE, OUT TODAY

MAGI MERLIN’S DEBUT ALBUM, POWER HOUSE,
OUT TODAY VIA BONSOUND

WATCH / SHARE “pixxxie” HERE

PRE-SAVE BUY / STREAM POWER HOUSE HERE

“Magi Merlin Is All Things All the Time on 'POWER HOUSE'" Exclaim!

“Welcome to Magi Merlin’s House” RANGE

“So Smart is a sweet love letter to oneself; a reminder to be kind and gentle. ...ethereal yet empowered." CBC Music ‘Songs You Need To Hear’

“‘So Smart’ maps out a constellation of radical empathy in a world that practices individualism and narcissism.” Clash Magazine

LISTEN TO MAGI MERLIN TALK ABOUT “POPSTAR” AND POWER HOUSE ON CBC Q WITH TOM POWER

Photo Credit: Sophia Perras // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

With her debut album POWER HOUSE, Magi Merlin said screw the soft launch. Built from layered, distorted production and vocals that resist form, it's an exploration of the internal architecture we all inhabit: the conflicting rooms of anger, fear, vanity, and ultimately, a reclaimed sense of power. It is a recognition that each person contains multitudes, and they can all live in harmony at the same time.

Written from her bisexual/ENM perspective and her broader experience of existing as a woman in systems designed to flatten her, the album navigates the contradictions of seeking validation in both platonic and romantic contexts, deconstructing the "plastic confidence" we're taught to wear. POWER HOUSE isn't just an album. Merlin operates as co-producer and creative director—ensuring the visual world with high-concept cinematography and armoured aesthetic—mirrors the music's refusal to soften. It's designed as a ‘living universe’ where every element, from sound to image to performance, is intentional and self-defined. This is her philosophy: real change starts small but sounds immense.

Throughout POWER HOUSE, Magi refuses to be flattened. She buries self-kindness under distorted synth. She won't resolve tension into a chorus. The armour she wears is declaration, not defence. Her music splinters—jungle breaks bleeding into futuristic synth, '90s house fractured by raw vocals. Her visual world is industrial, deliberate, refusing the consistency that makes things recognisable. She operates entirely outside of categories, including the alternative ones. POWER HOUSE is what it sounds like when someone refuses every uniform.

In addition to being available on all platforms, POWER HOUSE will be released on vinyl in five different versions: the Magi Merlin edition (Bandcamp), Rough Trade (USA & UK), HHV (Germany), and the Bonsound edition, all available for pre-order now.

WATCH / SHARE “pixxxie” HERE

WATCH / SHARE “SO SMART” HERE

The road to POWER HOUSE began with "POPSTAR", followed by the visceral choreography of "SpiceKick", its video directed by Félicie Diaz and Noshirt, then "So Smart". Culminating with "pixxxie", a liberation of women from the male gaze sung ironically from the perspective of the "manic pixie dream girl". These singles have garnered international acclaim from BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, Clash, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, KCRW, KEXP, Wonderland, Libération, France Inter, FIP, CBC, Radio-Canada, Exclaim! and RANGE. This June also saw Magi as one of the cover stars for Glamcult’s Noise Issue.

There's a special kind of kindred spirit that Magi Merlin makes music for; her fellow obsessives. Magi sings directly to the listener, face pressed up against the other side of the screen's glass. Through her propulsive, avant-garde form of pop and "Broken" R&B, she explores life's deep existential truths, tearing through imagination and genre like outfits ripped off a garment rack.

WATCH / SHARE “SPICEKICK” HERE

WATCH / SHARE “POPSTAR” (VISUALIZER) HERE

Over the last few years, she has written and co-composed largely alongside Funkywhat, a collaborator with whom she has built a shared musical language. Her 2022 EP Gone Girl sent her on tour with Noga Erez and on an electric performance in Mexico City in support of Omar Apollo. 

A surprise EP in 2025, A Weird Little Dog, brought a deepened emphasis to her experimental style and gave rise to "Broken R&B", a genre she named and owns entirely. Since then, she opened for Nubya Garcia across the US, with festival appearances at Osheaga, Festival d'été de Québec where she opened for Ty Dolla $ign, and a European support run with Yaya Bey. Outside of music, she made her acting debut in 2026 with Chandler Levack's Mile End Kicks, alongside Barbie Ferreira, Devon Bostick and Juliette Gariépy, which screened at TIFF and SXSW.

Magi Merlin will be touring both Europe and North America this summer and fall, with headline dates in London (UK), Montréal, Toronto (CAN) and a performance at Rock En Seine sharing the Wednesday line-up with Sombr and Tyler The Creator.

LISTEN TO MAGI MERLIN TALK ABOUT “POPSTAR” AND POWER HOUSE ON CBC Q WITH TOM POWER

TOUR DATES
Sat, Jul 11 - Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, FR - Pete The Monkey Festival
Fri, Jul 17 -  Dour, BE - Dour Festival
Sat, Jul 18  - Belval, LUX - Flow Festival
Sat, Aug 22 - New York, NY - Bryant Park Emerging Music Festival
Wed, Aug 26 - Paris, FR - Rock En Seine Festival 
Sat, Sep 12 - Burlington, VT - Otis Mountain fest 
Thu, Sep 17 - Montréal, QC - Les Foufs
Wed, Oct 14  - Toronto, ON - Adelaide Hall 
Thu, Oct 22 - La Rochelle, FR - Swim Festival
Wed, Oct 28 - London, UK - Colours 
Sat, Oct 31 - Bruxelles, BE - Weekender Festival
Thu, Nov 19 - Chicago, IL - Sleeping Village

BUY / STREAM POWER HOUSE HERE

LP Artwork Credit: Sophia Perras // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

POWER HOUSE TRACKLIST
01 Welcome Home 
02 SpiceKick 
03 EAT!ME!OUT! 
04 So Smart
05 Thank You!!!
06 WHIP
07 Crawl
08 pixxxie
09 Workout
10 Salt
11 POPSTAR
12 Wtvr

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ALLISON RUSSELL’S NEW LP OUT TODAY, SHARES NEW VIDEO FOR “SEARCHLIGHT”

ALLISON RUSSELL’S THIRD STUDIO ALBUM, IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS, OUT TODAY FROM FANTASY RECORDS

WATCH / SHARE “SEARCHLIGHT” FT. KASHUS CULPEPPER HERE

BUY / STREAM IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS HERE

ALBUM FEATURES NORAH JONES, BRITTNEY SPENCER, DEVON GILFILLIAN, SARA WATKINS, JOY OLADOKUN, KARA JACKSON, KASHUS CULPEPPER, DENITIA, JULIE WILLIAMS, RUBY AMANFU, KYSHONA, AHYA SIMONE, CHIBUEZE IHUOMA, AND MORE

ON TOUR NOW WITH SARAH MCLACHLAN

“a duet of comfort, affirmation, praise and solace...The song recognizes opposition and the need to stay defensive, but it’s determinedly optimistic.” - The New York Times re: “Black Lavender”

"Allison Russell is one of those performers who smile as they hypnotize. She lulls you into a delighted state and then all of a sudden, you realize her talent has wrapped itself around you, and there is no escape" - American Songwriter

“In the Hour of Chaos testifies to the power of resilience and unity in the face of the political, social, economic, and personal chaos we face daily in these times...Russell creates an ebullient community of song." - No Depression

“Russell's voice, ringing clear and stronger than ever, glides atop a grooving bassline to reveal magic in each corner — if only you remember where to look.” CBC Music re: “Rainbows”

“Allison Russell leans into the healing power of music on ‘Cold April’... With voices lifted together, Russell channels resilience, community, and the strength to keep moving forward.” - KCRW re: “Cold April”

"arriving directly from the magical musical cosmos is a new track from the ethereal Allison Russell… a song about extending grace, comfort, and care – and the importance of community to lift each other up" - The Bluegrass Situation re: “Black Lavender”

Today, GRAMMY Award-winning musician, poet, and actor Allison Russell releases her third studio album, In The Hour of Chaos, via Fantasy Records. Produced by Russell and Dim Star, the album is a fervent plea for connection in this time of alienation, isolation and dread. It’s an album that is meant to make you feel GOOD and, in these times, feeling good is a radical act. She also shares the Athena Kulb-directed video for the album’s focus track, “Searchlight” featuring Kashus Culpepper, who adds grit and swagger to the track. 

WATCH / SHARE “SEARCHLIGHT” FT. KASHUS CULPEPPER HERE

BUY / STREAM IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS HERE

The songs on Allison Russell’s In the Hour of Chaos are meant to reverse the tides that pull us farther and farther apart, even from ones we love the most. It’s only fitting that Russell leaned into her vibrant and ever expanding community of artists and friends to create a collaborative song suite that goes far beyond a succession of features. 

These songs unfold like a series of one act plays with Allison, who joins with an artist(s) from her rainbow diaspora, many from her adopted home in Nashville. Tactile, vulnerable, raw, soothing, sensual, and sad, each is a little capsule of humans being fully human and fully present. Allison Russell curates her collaborators with care including Norah Jones’ intimate ease on “Really Real” and Ruby Amanfu’s vulnerable grace on “Just Like Saturday”, both serve as portals into our flawed, fantastic, interconnected lives.

Early releases from the album include her Juneteenth single ft. Brittney Spencer “Black Lavender”, a celebration of sisterhood; “No Springtime” featuring Joy Oladokun and Julie Williams; and “Cold April”, a track showing intergenerational depth by featuring her tourmate Kara Jackson who is a recent collaborator of the Gorillaz and formerly the U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate, Denitia, and a CMT Next Women of Country selection who was also featured in Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony. The track also includes the Explore! Pop Choir featuring Russell’s daughter, Ida.

WATCH / SHARE “COLD APRIL” HERE
FT. KARA JACKSON, DENITIA & EXPLORE! POP CHOIR

WATCH / SHARE “BLACK LAVENDER” FT. BRITTNEY SPENCER HERE

Elsewhere, Devon Gilfillian brings effortless warmth to “Love is a Golden Lion”, Chibueze Ihuoma adds an otherworldly tenderness to “Two Stars”, and Ahya Simone’s incomparable harp closes the circle with the haunting “Good Omens”. Across these songs, Russell holds the center effortlessly, while illuminating the voices of her chosen family. She turns these throughlines into golden thread, strengthening as she weaves, the only protection she knows against the chaos of this hour.

Community has deep importance to Allison, as evidenced in her recent conversation with community leader Rep. Justin Jones (TN-52) and moderated by singer-songwriter Ruby Amanfu at The National Museum of African American Music in Nashville where they discussed ways to remain strong and create joy during tumultuous times; in the midst of targeting, how to find strength in ourselves and for our neighbors. See select photos HERE. 

Russell also took the stage at the JUNO Awards earlier this year to pay tribute to fellow Canadian, Joni Mitchell with a duet between her and Sarah McLachlan. Russell is currently on tour throughout North America with McLachlan – see a full list of her tour dates below. 

WATCH ALLISON RUSSELL & SARAH MCLACHLAN AT THE 2026 JUNO AWARDS

WATCH / SHARE “NO SPRINGTIME” FT. JOY OLADOKUN & JULIE WILLIAMS HERE

Allison Russell just completed her second run on Broadway as Persephone in the 8x Tony Award winning musical Hadestown. She took over the role in November 2024 initially, after spending much of that year opening for Hozier on his Unreal Unearth Tour supporting his arena run on all US dates and throughout Europe. She made her Billboard Hot 100 debut thanks to their duet “Wildflower & Barley”.

The accolades for Russell have been immense. Last year she was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and named Billboard Women In Music Canada’s “Breakthrough Artist of the Year”. She has had 8 GRAMMY Award nominations and one win, earned three 2022 Americana Award nominations and a win for Album of the Year with subsequent nominations in 2023 and 2024, two International Folk Music Award wins, a 2022 JUNO Award nomination for Songwriter of the Year, and her first-ever JUNO Award win for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. Russell won three Canadian Folk Music Awards, two UK Americana Music Awards, and more. 

BUY / STREAM IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS HERE

Photo Credit: Mason Poole // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT ALLISON RUSSELL
Montreal-born, Nashville-based Allison Russell is a GRAMMY, JUNO, Americana, SOCAN, and Folk Award–winning artist and Polaris Music Prize–shortlisted singer-songwriter, producer, author, actor, and human rights advocate.

Her acclaimed solo debut Outside Child (2021) was followed by The Returner (2023), released via Concord/Fantasy. Prior to her solo work, she co-founded and toured internationally with Po’Girl, Birds of Chicago, and Our Native Daughters, and remains an active collaborator with OND and a member of Joni Mitchell’s Joni Jam.

Her forthcoming memoir will be published by LittleBrown, and her third album is slated for release in 2026.

ALLISON RUSSELL TOUR DATES
Jul 10 – Leader Bank Pavilion – Boston, MA*
Jul 12 – BankNH Pavilion – Gilford, NH*
Jul 14 – Artpark Mainstage Theater – Lewiston, NY*
Jul 15 – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill – Sterling Heights, MI*
Jul 17 – Acrisure Amphitheater – Grand Rapids, MI*
Jul 18 – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island – Chicago, IL*
Jul 19 – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park – Indianapolis, IN*
Jul 21 – PNC Pavilion – Cincinnati, OH*
Jul 23 – Saint Louis Music Park – Maryland Heights, MO*
Jul 24 – Starlight Theatre – Kansas City, MO*
Jul 26 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX*
Jul 30 – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre – West Valley City, UT*
Aug 01 – Toyota Pavilion at Concord – Concord, CA*
Aug 02 – The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park – San Diego, CA*
Aug 04 – Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA*
Aug 07 – Hayden Homes Amphitheater – Bend, OR*
Aug 08 – Chateau Ste Michelle Winery – Woodinville, WA*
Aug 09 – Chateau Ste Michelle Winery – Woodinville, WA*
Oct 15 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
Oct 22 – Massey Hall – Toronto, ON
Oct 23 – Theatre Beanfield – Montreal, QC
Oct 24 – Imperial Bell – Quebec City, QC
Oct 25 – National Arts Centre - Southam Hall – Ottawa, ON 
Oct 27 – Higher Ground The Ballroom – South Burlington, VT
Nov 01 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Nov 03 – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Nov 05 – Winspear Centre – Edmonton, AB
Nov 06 – Grey Eagle Resort & Event Centre – Calgary, AB
Nov 09 – Chan Centre for the Performing Arts  – Vancouver, BC
*supporting Sarah McLachlan 

ALBUM ART // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS TRACKLIST
1. Rainbows
2. No Springtime ft Joy Oladokun & Julie Williams
3. Cold April ft Kara Jackson, Denitia & Explore! Pop Choir
4. Black Lavender ft Brittney Spencer
5. Really Real ft Norah Jones
6. Just Like Saturday ft Ruby Amanfu
7. Chaos Theory ft Kyshona & Sara Watkins
8. Love is a Golden Lion ft Devon Gilfillian
9. Searchlight ft Kashus Culpepper
10. Two Stars ft Chibueze Ihuoma
11. Good Omens ft Ahya Simone

ALLISON RUSSELL ONLINE:
WEBSITE
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DANA LEE ANNOUNCES NEW LP, BIG TIME, SHARES NEW SINGLE

DANA LEE’S UPCOMING ALBUM, BIG TIME, OUT OCTOBER 15, 2026 VIA RAM ON RECORDS

LISTEN / SHARE “A SONG ABOUT PLAYING POOL” HERE
BUY / STREAM “A SONG ABOUT PLAYING POOL” HERE

PRE-SAVE BIG TIME HERE

TOUR DATES BEGIN JULY 31

Photo Credit : BNB Studios  // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Dana Lee’s got the perfect recipe for hard-hitting country-folk confessionals. The Nelson B.C. singer-songwriter mashes old-time country and indie rock into gripping, heartfelt reflections on coming apart while trying to get it together. On her latest album Big Time, out October 15, 2026 via Ram On Records, Dana Lee twists these big emotions into authentic reflections and cheeky musings that capture the reckonings of her roarin’ twenties.

Produced by Liam Duncan (Boy Golden) and Austin Parachoniak (Del Barber, Leith Ross), Big Time is a dirt road country record that draws as much from Big Thief and Wednesday as from John Prine and Gillian Welch. “The vision was for the album to encapsulate all the genres that inspired it,” Dana explains, and she deftly threads the needle of these eclectic inspirations throughout. This sound is informed by Dana’s early musical experiences: playing in an old-timey bluegrass band; participating in break-out jam sessions with her deeply musical extended family; and honing her powerful voice by singing Mennonite hymns in three-part harmony at church.

Having already shared “Leave A Trace”, today Dana Lee is unveiling another album track, the Patsy Cline-inspired “A Song About Playing Pool”. “This is a song about finding my footing,” she explains. “It’s an homage to three things that have kept me grounded and loose in the last couple years: friends, writing music, and playing pool. One bar in town takes one toonie per game, and the other bar takes two loonies. The tune is a hug between the traditions of my childhood, and the rituals of my adulthood.”

LISTEN / SHARE “A SONG ABOUT PLAYING POOL” HERE
BUY / STREAM “A SONG ABOUT PLAYING POOL” HERE

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

MORE ABOUT BIG TIME
Big Time jives, sways, and thrashes through Dana Lee’s journey as a “big time lonely small-town girl.” The title track sets the scene, with a teenage Dana looking out into the prairie horizon beyond her hometown of Steinbach, Manitoba, preparing for an abrupt, and permanent, departure. The songs that follow see Lee moving to Winnipeg, capturing “exactly what my twenties were like.” For Dana, this meant chaos, connection, partying, depression, breakups, and redemption—all while immersing herself in the city’s legendary music scene.

These songs brim with immediacy, as Dana breaks apart while trying to make sense of it all. One minute, she’s making “a damn circus out of my heart,” the next she’s wondering if she’ll get her smile back, or if it’s “gone forever.” Dana’s savoury vocals and timeless lyrics shine on the “A Song About Playing Pool”, which finds her starting to find peace in creating her own daily routines, while “I’m So Down”, a playful track led by fiddle, mandolin, and suitcase percussion, captures self-doubt creeping back in, as she sings: ‘I got so low that I saw heaven / made it back in time for 7 / now I’ve got all night to think about / all the ways I’m missing out’. 

“Cry Tears Sad”, which Dana had written as a mournful solo ballad in her downtown Winnipeg apartment a decade ago, becomes a raucous, electric waltz on Big Time, while the trotting “Leave a Trace” sums it all up heartbreakingly well: ‘Should I find my roots and settle down / or keep on rolling with this train? / Been so good to me some days / but it’s been so hard for me today’. 

WATCH / SHARE “LEAVE A TRACE” HERE
BUY / STREAM “LEAVE A TRACE” HERE

Big Time sounds like a Winnipeg record not just because it was recorded in that city with some of its finest musicians; the record, and Dana Lee’s work, embody the city’s DIY, grassroots spirit. The songs for Big Time emerged over years of back-and-forth songsharing between Lee and producer Liam Duncan (“What a dream,” Dana ponders, “to have friends who you can process life with through songwriting together”). Dana raised funds for the album by screenprinting and selling t-shirts that read: “I bought this shirt to help Dana Lee make an album. “And they’re strategically designed for crop possibilities” Dana explains, smiling: “if you want to keep it vague, it can just be ‘I bought this shirt to help Dana Lee’, and you can keep me out of it and make it read ‘I bought this shirt’!” Lee also designed the album cover and single artwork for Big Time, and with a history of handmaking CD cases, the DIY approach is imbued across her artistic process.

The closing track on Big Time finds Dana Lee finding peace, entering a new phase of life. “Through all these certainties and uncertainties,” Dana explains, “it’s a song about just being present in the moment, finally making peace with the chaos.” Dana is currently thriving as part of the fringe country scene in Nelson, BC, an outpost of Canada’s rural honkytonk renaissance. “It’s community building through dream-making, with so much excitement, support, and the sense that we’re doing this ourselves.” With the wind at her back and the sun shining her path, Dana Lee is set to keep singing her truth.

PRE-SAVE BIG TIME HERE

TOUR DATES
Jul 31 - Westwold, BC - Westwold Hall
Aug 01 - Prince George, BC - Prince George Legion
Aug 06 - Whitehorse, YK - The 98' Hotel Lounge
Aug 18 - Fort St. John, BC - Chilli Cookoff House Show
Aug 19 - Edmonton, AB -  Bent Stick Brewing
Sep 01 - Slocan, BC - The Shop
Sep 02 - Nelson BC - The Royal

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BIG TIME TRACKLIST
1. Big Time
2. Big Time Reprise
3. Circus
4. When I Get Drunk
5. A Song About Playing Pool
6. That's Not Working For Me Today
7. I'm So Down
8. Cry Tears Sad
9. Leave A Trace
10. Big Ball

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