There is an incredible amount of emerging talent in Canada that deserves attention. By leveraging our resources within the music & entertainment industry, we put artists in front of influential figures. We are the stage for emerging, indie musicians and a voice for the unsigned who want to break out professionally. Not only are we the preparatory gateway for a breakout, we are a community that gets behind the artist helping grow their fan base. Check out some of the artists below who are a part of the Faculty of Sound community.
Bailey Jordan-Neil
Pasadena, Newfoundland
Bailey’s goal is to write, perform and share his music with the world. He taught himself to play guitar after seeing a video of Ed Sheeran and wrote his first song for a high school assignment. Combining his voice and guitar with looping to create dense layers of sound, he crafts original songs that are honest and highly personal. These are pop songs, with strong rhythmic drive, supporting a vocal style that swoops and soars.
Bailey just turned 20, but in the short few years of his career, he has already performed twice at The Gathering, the main stage at the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, and at MusicNL’s Awards Showcase. He was also named a 2017 MusicNL Rising Star and a finalist in Sing NL. In Toronto, you can hear Bailey at open mics, clubs and bars throughout city. He continues to perform at every opportunity he gets and his songwriting skills continue to grow.
Bailey released his first single Lucky with producer Rob Wells and hopes to reach a wider, national audience. Another single and EP are set for release this summer.
The Justin Kelly Experiment
Mississauga, Ontario
As a true artist and free spirit, Justin finds inspiration in everyone and everything around him. His unforgettable adventures have been the driving force behind his music and have, in turn, led to the release of his first studio album “Wanderlost” in September 2018.
With friends and contacts around the world, The Justin Kelly Experiment set out to tour the album at hostels in France, Ireland, Spain, Slovakia, and Portugal. His immersion into new cultures and languages continue to show in his lyrics and everyday life.
The inspiration and energy from travelling has got Justin quickly back to work on his second studio album, set to release in August 2019. Until then he promises fans they will have plenty of content to keep up with, starting with a music video of “Belong” which was released on May 17.
Chris Readshaw
Burlington, Ontario
Growing up, music was a permanent fixture in the Readshaw household. Chris found himself connecting to a variety of music genres from an early age, never isolating his listening habits and always searching for sounds and lyrics that resonated with him.
At the age of 14, Chris would find himself aimlessly writing lyrics in his notebooks, napkins, or anything that was available. The evolution from songwriter to singer-songwriter progressed slowly and it wasn’t until his early 20’s that Chris found his voice and fell in love with performing. He released his first EP Miles in 2013 and subsequently began playing live solo shows across the Greater Toronto Area. As a solo acoustic performer, Chris has found a niche in the art of looping, lending him the freedom to create a unique sound that lends itself to that of a “one man band”.
Today, Chris’ focus is centered around producing his first LP while continuing to enhance and elevate his live performances to create music that leaves his audience wanting more.
Laurent Bergeron
Toronto, Ontario
Laurent was born is Toronto to two Québecois parents, and has been playing guitar for 14 years. But it wasn’t until he went to the university of York that he was truly exposed to everything that music had to offer.
After having to learn jazz in a few months just to be accepted into the music program, he went on to study and compose for a wide variety of instruments and genres. Be it classical string quartets, dust bowl-era blues, electronic music, or even 12-tone serialism. In the end, it all came down to his first love: the guitar, and he would apply elements of all these different styles to his playing and attempt to create music that is still palatable for general audiences.
Laurent is currently working on an album that puts all of his knowledge to the test to make various styles blend seamlessly into one another.