THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CONCERT SERIES RETURNS FOR 2019 SEASON

TORONTO (June 6, 2019) – The Canadian Football League (CFL) and Universal Music Canada announced that the Thursday Night Football Concert Series will once again be part of the season this summer.

Additionally, the CFL and Universal Music Canada expanded their partnership to include in-game broadcast music exclusivity and working with individual teams for music-related gameday themes, raising the excitement level of the CFL gameday experience.

“There’s nothing like the energy you feel from a crowd rooting for their team or an audience singing at the top of their lungs during a live show. After a successful partnership during the 2018 season, we’re thrilled to bring another year of electrifying live concerts from our roster of exciting artists to Thursday Night Football fans,” said Kristen Burke, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Universal Music Canada. “We saw increased exposure for our 2018 performers from football fans across the country, and we’re back in 2019 with another not-to-be-missed line-up.”

“The energy surrounding Thursday Night Football has been a resounding success with the addition of live concerts to our game nights,” said Vanessa Morbi, CFL Vice President, Marketing and Digital. “Our fans have responded to the energy and excitement: the CFL saw a 20 percent increase in the 18-to-49 demographic on television and the property has quickly become the highest-rated weeknight on the CFL schedule.”

Fans can find additional information and purchase tickets for Thursday Night Football Concert Series games by visiting www.cfl.ca/tnf.

The Trews will perform at halftime at the 2019 CFL Kickoff in Hamilton on June 13.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CONCERT SERIES ARTISTS:

The Trews | June 13 | Hamilton

With multiple radio hits drawn from six scorching studio albums plus several EPs, a pair of live records, and a retrospective, the Nova Scotia-bred, Hamilton / Toronto -based combo of singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley - songwriters all - have won universal acclaim for both their dazzling live performances and wildly accessible songs.

Their most recent album Civilianaires debuted at #1 on the Alternative Album Chart, was nominated for Rock Album of the Year at this year's JUNOs, and most recently they won Rock Group of The Year at Canadian Music Week's Jim Bean Indie Awards. Civilianaires is the band's most fearless record yet with personal and political lyrics driven by a refreshing new sound. It features production credits from up and comer Derek Hoffman (The Elwins, Seaway) and the legendary Bob Rock. The band also worked alongside Max Kerman from Arkells, who co-wrote and co-produced their second single, " Vintage Love", along with a co-write with Serena Ryder on the title track.

Monster Truck | June 20 | Ottawa

Hamilton, Ontario’s prodigious sons Monster Truck are one of the biggest groundswell stories in Canadian rock in the past few years, with multiple hit singles at Canadian Rock radio a Juno Award for “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” and nomination for “Rock Album of the Year” under their belt. Monster Truck’s unabashed dedication to creating killer riffs and putting every ounce of themselves into their show night after night has created quite an impression not only with fans across the globe, but iconic rock bands as well. The band has been championed by the likes of Slash, Alice in Chain’s Mike Inez and Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. Monster Truck has toured extensively in Canada, the U.S, Europe and the UK, alongside such iconic acts as Alice in Chains, Slash, Rob Zombie, Deep Purple, ZZ Top, Buckcherry, Volbeat, Alter Bridge, Kid Rock, The Sheepdogs, and VISTA CHINO (Kyuss) and has performed at a number of popular festivals including Download Festival, Bonnaroo, Welcome to Rockville, Rock on the Rangeand Edgefest. Monster Truck is Jon Harvey (vocals & bass), Jeremy Widerman (guitar & vocals), Brandon Bliss (organ & vocals) and Steve Kiely (drums & vocals). Their latest album True Rockers including the singles “Evolution” and Denim Danger” is available now.

The Reklaws | June 27 | Winnipeg

The Reklaws are no strangers to the CFL and its fans. They captured audiences’ attention when their anthemic single, “Long Live the Night,” was selected as the theme song for Thursday Night Football on TSN and again when they performed on the Sirius XM Kickoff show at the 106th Grey Cup in 2018. The brother and sister duo, who were raised in rural Ontario, have come a long way since they were first discovered at Boots and Hearts Music Festival in 2013 where they won the SiriusXM Emerging Artist Showcase and they have been on a roll ever since. This year alone the duo have already made some impressive feats: completing a headlining tour, earning their first JUNO nomination for Country Album of The Year for ‘Feels Like That’, and performing to a packed audience at the prestigious nationally-broadcast award ceremony. The Reklaws show no signs of slowing down - their latest song, “I Do Too” was the #1 spot on All About Country in its first week of release and is quickly becoming a favourite among music fans. Stay tuned for much more to come as The Reklaws continue to solidify themselves as the next superstars in country music around the world.

Zach Zoya | July 4 | Montreal

At only 21, Zach Zoya is one of the rising singers, rappers and songwriters that Montreal has to offer. Along with releasing “Superficial”, in Fall 2017, and “Who Dat”, in March 2018, Zach has been making a name for himself on stage, supporting artists such as Bigflo & Oli, Alaclair Ensemble, Craig David, Loud and Jain. He’s also working the music festivals circuit, with notable performances at Festival d’Été de Québec (FEQ), International Jazz Festival of Montreal, FRIMAT, FME and Metro Metro.

Adding to his impressive resume of collaborations with renowned artists and beatmakers of Montreal’s Hip Hop scene, Zach recently teamed up with High Klassified for his new single, ‘1919’, by Fool’s Gold Records. They joined forces once again to release MISSTAPE, an EP created to showcase the talents of these two young and promising Montreal artists. Zach is now hard at work on more music due for release in the coming months.

Tim Hicks | July 11 | BC

Tim Hicks – country music’s blue-collar everyman, building from local acclaim to a nationally recognized name, has cemented his reputation as an elite chart-topping act since making his country label debut in 2013. The platinum selling entertainer’s catalogue of highly praised releases including: “Throw Down”, “5:01”, “5:01+”, “Shake These Walls” and most recently, 2018’s “New Tattoo”, have earned the four-time JUNO Award nominee and CCMA Award winner, two PLATINUM selling singles, 6 GOLD singles, one GOLD album and twelve Top 10 radio hits with his long-time label Open Road Recordings, in addition to multiple sold-out headlining dates and tours across the country and a notable 2018 CCMA Award nomination for Apple Music Fans’ Choice.

Hicks, continues to lead the way, expanding the song-writing, sound and style that helps define today’s country music. The platinum selling entertainer is a “true star on the Canadian country music scene” (GoBe Weekly), “proving he knows how to tailor his songs to his ever-expanding audience” and commemorating his wide-open sound as one of the defining influences on today’s Canadian County Music.

Hicks’ current single “What A Song Should Do” is soaring up the charts as Tim celebrates his 4th JUNO Nomination for 2019 Country Album of the Year.

The Northern Pikes | July 18 | Calgary

The legacy of Canadian rockers The Northern Pikes continues in 2019 with the release of their brand-new ninth studio album, Forest of Love on June 7, featuring the new single "King In His Castle". Arriving as follow up to 2017’s Big Blue Sky (Super-Sized) 30th anniversary reissue and 29-city Canadian tour, Forest of Love marks the first new music from the band in 16 years since their last studio album, It’s A Good Life released in 2003, and the first album to feature new group member Kevin Kane of The Grapes Of Wrath. Kane joins founding members Jay Semko, Bryan Potvin and Don Schmid, the gang responsible for classic hits including, “She Ain’t Pretty”, “Teenland”, “Things I Do For Money”, “Girl With A Problem” and more.

Jade Eagleson | July 25 | Edmonton

Raised on his grandparent’s farm in Southern Ontario, Jade grew up working alongside his father tending crops and raising livestock. Despite making music most of his life, Jade only considered country music as a career when confronted with the challenge of keeping his family farm. He caught his break in 2017 when he earned his way into the Emerging Artist Showcase at Boots and Hearts, where he played in front of more than 20,000 country fans. His timeless voice separated him from the pack and he walked away with top honours. Taking home the title of the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist, Jade was immediately signed to Universal Music Canada and released his debut single, “Got Your Name On It” in May 2018. The debut single recently charted at thirteen on the Canadian country radio charts and continues to climb. The “Got Your Name On It” music video recently hit an impressive 3.5 million views on YouTube and became the first Canadian-signed artist of any genre to be selected as YouTube’s Trending ‘Artist On The Rise’ playlist in the USA.

Jade recently released his debut self-titled EP with four tracks including two versions of the crowd-favourite and top 15 radio hit “Got Your Name On It”, breakup song “Count The Ways” and the timeless love song “Still Gonna Be You”. He is currently on tour with Gord Bamford with 35+ stops across Canada.

Classified | August 1 | Toronto

Juno Award winner and hit maker, Classified, also known as Luke Boyd, has long been making waves at home and abroad with his trademark style and sound. With each release, the rapper-producer elevates his game, sharpens his word play, experiments with new sounds, and perfects his flow. Classified recently brought us a new album "Tomorrow Could Be The Day Things Change", via Half Life Records which featured songs like “Cold Love” featuring Tory Lanez and “10 Years”.

The secret to Classified's success has always been his inherent ability to break down the barrier between the performer and the man. A dedicated family man, Classified's charisma and approachability extends to both his on-stage and off-stage personas that engage even the most discerning hip-hop fans and critics alike.

Chad Brownlee | August 1 | Saskatchewan

British Columbia based country music artist, Chad Brownlee, has drive and motivation like no other. Brownlee spent the past few years pondering life in his cabin near the ocean nestled among the trees where he is comforted by the wilderness around him and his time of reflection has opened a new insight with him. In late 2017, Brownlee made a monumental business decision to have a new start by signing with Canada’s leading music label, Universal Music Canada. Chad Brownlee has embarked on his return, with the release of “Dear Drunk Me” and “Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere” and is currently in the process of finishing off his major label debut album – due for release mid June 2019.

Once a Vancouver Canucks draft pick, now a critically acclaimed country music star, Brownlee holds numerous accolades including a highly coveted JUNO nomination for Country Album of the Year, and consecutive Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA®) Award™ nominations for Male Artist of the Year (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018), Fan’s Choice Award (2017, 2018), Album of the Year (2016) amongst many more. His catalogue includes a number one radio hit, “Forever’s Gotta Start Somewhere” as well as a number of top ten singles, with fan-favourites like, “Hood Of My Car”, “Love Me Or Leave Me”, and gold-certified “I Hate You For It” – proving the steady stream of love for Brownlee’s sound and words.

Crown Lands | August 8 | Winnipeg

Hailing form Oshawa, ON, blistering rock duo Crown Lands brings the classic sounds of psych rock into the modern musical landscape through intense guitar riffs, pummeling drums and howling vocals, while rooted in the sounds of blues influenced by the prog-rock pioneers. Known for their highly energetic live show and incredibly full sound, the band consists of Kevin Comeau (guitar, bass and keys) and Cody Bowles (vocals and drums), they started their band four years ago, having spent much of their career travelling and performing, opening up for major rock acts including Jack White, Coheed and Cambria, and Primus.

Their course took a major change in 2017 when they won the 97.7 HTZ FM Rock Search which lead into the release of their second EP, Rise Over Run. The EP features the single ‘Waterfall’ as well as "Mountain”, which is special song for the duo, representing not only who they are musically, but ideologically as well. Of the track Bowles says, “‘Mountain’ is about the horrors of Canada’s colonization, the mountain that the song mentions is a metaphor a physical manifestation of hope for my fellow Indigenous Canadians”. Their namesake is also steeped in the troublesome history of Canada. “Crown Land is stolen land and we are reclaiming it. We are fighting to have the voices of millions of marginalized people heard,” says Bowles.

The band is currently working on their debut album, with new music planned to release later this year.

About Universal Music Canada: 
Universal Music Canada is Canada’s leading music company, engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Home to the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMC is committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship in broadening opportunities for our artists on both the domestic and world stages as well as creating new experiences for fans.

Universal Music Canada is part of Universal Music Group, the world leader in music-based entertainment.