A Saskatoon native transplanted to the Niagara Region of Ontario, Suzie Vinnick is the proud owner of a gorgeous voice, prodigious guitar and bass chops, and an engagingly candid performance style.

Her career has seen triumph after triumph. Among her most recent successes: being awarded the 2019 Saskatchewan Jazz Festival Special Recognition Award; being nominated for a 2018 Canadian Folk Music Award for Producer of the Year with her co-producer, Mark Lalama. Suzie achieved finalist status in the Solo/Duo Category at the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN; received the 2012 CBC Saturday Night Blues Great Canadian Blues Award and the 2012 Sirius XM Canada Blues Artist of the Year. Suzie has won 11 Maple Blues Awards (she has been nominated for 21 so far!), won the 2011 Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Vocalist of the Year and is a 3X Juno Nominee.

Suzie has toured nationally with Downchild, Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Café and the John McDermott Band, and performed for Canadian Peacekeepers in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. She was also the voice of Tim Horton’s for 5 years.

Suzie’s latest album is a full-band roots and blues extravaganza entitled Shake The Love Around.

Influenced by her love of 90’s country female powerhouse artists like Shania Twain and Martina McBride, Angelica introduced herself to the Canadian country music landscape with her upbeat debut single “Happy Place” in January 2022.The track amassed over 100,000 streams and was also picked up by Top of the Country/SiriusXM (Top 40) and continues to play to date. She continued that success with the release of her EP “A Reason Or A Season” racking in almost 300,000 catalogue streams. Her most notable performances are her sold out show at the Rivoliin Toronto to celebrate the release of her EP, playing the main stage at Boots in the Creek Festival, the Diamonds in the Rough Showcase during country music week, and playing the Anthem Entertainment CCMA After Party. She was a finalist in the 100.1FM The Ranch Spotlight competition and got to perform at their second Birthday Bash. Angelica’s music has showcased on popular Spotify playlists, Equal Canada and Live Country and on Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Country and Just North of Nashville. She is planning for a busy 2024 with new music and lots of shows.

An obvious uniqueness that identifies and sets apart Blackburn Brothers is that they are a band of brothers - literally. Duane (lead vocals, organ, piano), Brooke (guitar, vocals, writing), and Cory (drums, harmony vocals). Oldest brother Robert (guitar, vocal harmonies, writing), and cousin Nathan (bass guitar) can be heard as session players in the latest production of the new release of SoulFunkn'BLUES (fall 2023). All share the Blackburn name, which has become synonymous with Toronto's music history, and their unique familial bond sets them apart in the music industry.

The horn section of the band is comprised of long-time bandmates Neil Brathwaite on tenor saxophone and Ted Peters on trombone. Touring bass guitar is Andrew Stewart. Musically, the Blackburn name has been forever imprinted in our ears by Bobby Dean Blackburn, a veteran R&B artist who gained legendary status in the Toronto music scene, performing the city circuit for over 60 years.

Beyond the music, other history runs deep. The Blackburn Brothers are 4th-generation Canadians, descended of freedom seekers through the Underground Railroad and settling in Southern Ontario. The Blues that the Blackburn Brothers create is part of their inheritance, and always about a message of history, freedom, legacy, family, black unity, and love. The SoulFunkn’Blues album is a tribute to all the trailblazers, all of the ancestors and forgotten tribes who taught the Blackburn Brothers the importance of history, blues, soul, groove, rhythm and life. It is a tribute to 230 years of Canadian Roots and Blues.

Blackburn Brothers received the 2024 JUNO Awards nomination for BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR on their recently released album SoulFunkn’BLUES. The JUNO Awards are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry.

This JUNO nomination is in addition to three 2024 (BMAs) BLUES MUSIC AWARD nominations from The Blues Foundation for: Album of The Year, Soul Blues Album of the Year, and Song of the Year (a new precedent from a Canadian band). The American Blues Music Awards brings together Blues performers, industry representatives, and fans from all over the world to celebrate the best in Blues recordings and performances.

Blackburn Brothers received several 2024 MAPLE BLUES AWARDS. Considered the highest honours on the Canadian Blues scene, Blackburn Brothers collectively earned a record-setting nine nominations in the upcoming 27th Annual Maple Blues Awards including: Entertainer of the Year, Electric Act of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Recording of the Year, Producer of the Year (Howard Ayee), Male Vocalist of the Year (Brooke Blackburn), Guitarist of the Year (Brooke Blackburn), Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year (Duane Blackburn), Drummer of the Year (Cory Blackburn), Bassist of the Year (Nathan Blackburn). Additionally, their father Bobby Dean Blackburn has been nominated for Blues With A Feeling/Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Blackburn Brother's latest album SoulFunkn'BLUES has lead to several international music reviews, and blues music magazines features and covers. More details on this can be found in the NEWS section.

In 2023 Blackburn Brothers were inducted into the Canada South Blues Society Hall of Fame.

Previous achievements include Blackburn Brothers receiving a 2016 JUNO Award nomination for BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR and in 2010 they were the Maple Blues Award Winner for BEST NEW BAND. The band has collectively received multiple Maple Blues Award nominations for Electronic Act of the Year in 2024, 2022, Drummer of the Year (Cory Blackburn) in 2024, 2022, 2020, and Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year (Duane Blackburn) in 2024, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015.

Making a name as the biggest breakthrough artists on the international Americana scene in 2021 with their debut album Go By Feel, Canadian country/roots collective, The Hello Darlins are gearing up to return with an even more ambitious collection of material for 2023.

Led by Romani-Canadian musician, Candace Lacina and world-renowned Keyboardist Mike Little, The Hello Darlins are some of Canada’s most in-demand session musicians who came together to forge a distinct hybrid of country, gospel and blues. In keeping with their spirit of collaboration, The Hello Darlins will again feature many other friends and guests, a trait that has lead the band to earn the reputation as “a rootsy version of Broken Social Scene.”