GEORGE CANYON
In 2004, George Canyon competed in Nashville Star 2, the search for the next country music superstar. He was the runner-up in the competition, but became very well known in Canada and garnered much support, being the only Canadian to make the cut for the competition. After the competition ended, he received many accolades from fans and the industry alike. These include the top 5 hit ‘My Name,’ a Juno Award for Best Country Recording of the Year (for his album ‘One Good Friend’), and, four Canadian Country Music Awards Nominations (CCMAs) including Male Vocalist of the Year and the Fan Choice Award.

He is also well known for his support of Canada’s Armed Forces. After a handful of visits to Kandahar, Canyon was made an Honorary Colonel by Canadian defense minister Peter MacKay and Gen. Rick Hillier (it was for his involvement in these areas that he received a Humanitarian Award from the Canadian Country Music Association). One of the most striking tracks on his album ‘What I Do,’ a piano-led weeper of a duet with Crystal Shawanda called ‘Back In Your Arms,’ forms a companion piece to ‘I Want You to Live,’ in that it addresses once again the human stories behind the conflict.

THE MUDMEN
Have you heard the theme to Hockey Night in Canada? Well then you’ve heard Robby and Sandy Campbell, the bagpipe-playing brothers who bring their version of Celtic rock to The Mudmen. The Campbells are the lone remaining original members of the six-man Mudmen, who got their name from the brothers’ previous job – they mixed mortar and carried bricks for bricklayers.

The band's music has been featured in popular culture – their single ‘Lost’ was featured in a promotional video for the NBC television show The Black Donnellys, and their single ‘Animal’ was featured in the soundtracks of the video games Burnout 3: Takedown and MX vs. ATV Unleashed. In 2008 Robby and Sandy were called in to help out in CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Anthem Challenge, in which they played the bagpipes on Colin Oberst’s ‘Canadian Gold,’ the winning entry.

MIKE PLUME BAND
Although they might be best known by most hockey fans for ‘More Than a Game,’ the song featured on a CTV special about the building of Canada’s 2010 Men’s Olympic Team, the Mike Plume Band has been around since the mid 1990s and has released seven albums – most recently ‘8:30 Newfoundland,’ which hit stores in June 2009.

After playing more than 1,200 shows in eight years, with a variety of line-ups, the band went their separate ways in October of 2002. But a reunion show in Bonnyville, Alta., in 2004 reignited the passion for the music, and led to 830NFLD, their first studio album in five years and a return to the road.