Category: Music

🎤 Where Are They Now? Brian Fuente – From The Voice to Nashville Entrepreneur

Published on September 25, 2025, By John Phillips

Brian Fuente posing in a leather jacket, showcasing a stylish and confident look.
Image Credit: Jackson Free Press Source: Jackson Free Press article

Brian Fuente blends Southern grit with soulful vocals and a modern rock polish — a sound that’s matured into something uniquely his.

Brian Fuente appeared on Season 2 of The Voice, joining Team Blake Shelton. His standout moment came with a fiery rendition of “Paris (Ooh La La)” by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. This performance showcased his raw vocal edge. It also highlighted his stage presence. Though he exited during the battle rounds, Fuente left a lasting impression.

🌟 Life After The Voice

“Whoever you are, I hope you find your way.” — Brian Fuente

After the show, Fuente planted roots in Nashville, both musically and entrepreneurially. He married fellow Voice alum Jordan Pruitt (Season 3), and together they launched Aero Bar, a mobile cocktail experience that’s become a local favorite. Their ventures expanded into electric RVs and lifestyle branding, blending creativity with business savvy.

Musically, Fuente’s solo work reflects a mature voice — emotionally resonant, grounded in Americana, and unafraid to explore vulnerability. His songwriting invites listeners into stories of reflection, resilience, and quiet triumph.

🎶 Highlights from Their Musical Journey

🎵 Whoever You Are 💬 A melodic invitation to self-reflection, wrapped in warm instrumentation and lyrical sincerity.

🔗 Listen on Apple Music

🎧 Albums & EPs Fuente’s catalogue includes heartfelt singles and EPs that explore themes of identity, love, and reinvention. His sound bridges Southern rock and indie soul, with standout tracks that reward repeat listens.

🌍 Where to Follow Them

💬 Final Thoughts

Brian Fuente turned a brief moment in the spotlight into a multifaceted career. He’s created soulful tracks. He has also pursued entrepreneurial ventures. He’s carved out a lane that’s both grounded and evolving. Fans have plenty to look ahead to.

🎤 Where Are They Now? Angela Wolff – From The Voice to Soulful Storyteller

Published on September 10, 2025
By John Phillips

A woman with long brunette hair smiles confidently, wearing a black leather jacket and a grey scarf against a vibrant red background.
Image Credit: The Voice Wiki – Fandom

Angela Wolff first captured hearts during Season 1 of The Voice, delivering a powerhouse rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” that left audiences stunned. But her journey didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling—in fact, it was just beginning.

🌟 Life After The Voice

“Angela’s voice doesn’t just sing—it speaks to the soul.”

Since her time on Team Adam, Angela has carved out a niche as a deeply emotive vocalist and songwriter. Her collaborations with cellist Bryan Gibson have become a signature sound—cinematic, intimate, and hauntingly beautiful.

🎶 Highlights from Her Musical Journey

🎵 Song💬 Description🔗 Link
Rolling In The DeepHer breakout moment—raw, fierce, unforgettable.Watch
Unchained MelodyA tender, haunting duet with Bryan Gibson.Watch
You’ll Never Walk AloneA powerful anthem of hope and resilience.Watch
EverythingA poetic, introspective single released in 2024.Listen

🎧 Albums & EPs

Angela’s 2015 EP Surrender & Release is a masterclass in emotional storytelling. Tracks like “Armour,” “Honeybee,” and “Holding Hearts” reveal her depth as a songwriter and her ability to turn vulnerability into strength.

🌍 Where to Follow Her

💬 Final Thoughts

Angela Wolff may have started as a contestant, but she’s grown into a true artist. Her music is more than entertainment—it’s an invitation to feel deeply. Stay tuned for more updates in this series as we continue to spotlight past contestants who are still making waves.

Jill Barber: Canada’s Cosmopolitan Crooner

By John

Album cover for Jill Barber's 'Chances' featuring the artist with curly hair and a purple dress, looking thoughtfully upwards against a light pink background, with a list of song titles on the right.
Album cover: Chances by Jill Barber. Image via Wikipedia.

Jill Barber is not just a singer-songwriter—she’s a genre-defying, language-leaping artist whose voice evokes smoky jazz clubs, Parisian cafés, and heartfelt folk stages all at once. With a career spanning over two decades, Barber has carved out a unique space in the Canadian music landscape, blending vintage charm with modern sensibility.

From Folk Roots to Jazz Royalty

Barber’s early work leaned into folk-pop, with introspective lyrics and acoustic textures. But it was her 2008 album Chances that marked a dramatic shift. Trading her guitar for a velvet microphone, she embraced the lush orchestration of vocal jazz, channeling the glamour of the 1940s and ’50s. Collaborating with Ron Sexsmith and producer Les Cooper, Chances became a breakout success, earning her a Juno nomination and a devoted new audience.

A Love Affair with French Song

Barber’s artistic curiosity led her to the South of France, where she immersed herself in the language and culture. The result was Chansons, a French-language album featuring covers of classics by Édith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, and Charles Aznavour. Her sultry, expressive delivery resonated far beyond Canada—Chansons became her most streamed album globally, with over 120 million plays.

Her latest release, ENCORE!, revisits this territory with fresh interpretations of timeless French songs. It’s not just a tribute—it’s a celebration of cross-cultural artistry.

Accolades and Artistic Integrity

  • Three Juno Award nominations
  • SiriusXM Jazz Artist of the Year
  • Western Canadian Francophone Album of the Year

But beyond the awards, it’s her commitment to reinvention and emotional honesty that keeps fans coming back. Whether singing in English or French, Barber’s voice carries a timeless elegance and vulnerability that feels deeply personal.

The Family Album and Beyond

In 2016, Jill teamed up with her brother Matthew Barber for The Family Album, a heartfelt collection of duets that explored themes of kinship and memory. It was a reminder that music, for Barber, is both a personal and communal experience.

Her songs have also found their way into pop culture, appearing in shows like Orange Is the New Black, further cementing her place as a versatile and resonant artist.

Final Notes

Jill Barber is more than a voice—she’s a storyteller, a cultural bridge, and a master of reinvention. Whether crooning in French or serenading in English, she invites listeners into a world of romance, nostalgia, and fearless artistry.

And for your listening pleasure, Jill Barber!

A Series On The Voice

Logo featuring silhouettes of three musicians with microphones and a guitar, surrounded by a blue circle and text that says 'LET'S CATCH UP'.

I will pursue a series of follow-ups with past contestants on The Voice. The plan is to pick a singer from each season in rotation randomly. This is the first post in the series. I will try to contact each choice and do a quick interview if they are willing. The interview will not include their time on the show. Instead, it will focus on their career since then. It will also cover what is happening now and into the future.

Once again, wish me luck. If there were a contestant you’d like me to contact, send me an email at johnlorieh@gmail.com and I will see what I can do

The Harmony Chronicles

Artistic illustration representing music with various instruments like a guitar, trumpet, and keyboard, surrounded by musical notes and a prominent 'MUSIC' text.
Created by me. Not for commercial use.

Here is a story. I once edited and wrote for a short time for a now-dormant online magazine, The Harmony Chronicles. It was a magazine dedicated mainly to independent artists of any genre, recipes, self-help, and anything else we considered interesting. We, as several partners, willingly gave our time. We aimed to make a go at a collective dream. We wrote about what we loved.

It was a good time for all, but it became all-consuming. We wore ourselves out editing, interviewing, and creating material. We hoped this material would interest the public. It basically fell apart from there.

Enough maudlin! I recently felt the urge to start something like this again. I initiated contact with my friend Don (more on him later). The website for his online radio group was active (obviously). Luckily for me, the blog we had started to help out the magazine still existed.

With his and Sam’s (more about him later) permission, I again have access to that website and will begin writing again on various subjects that I love, not just music, but slanted in that direction.

I hope to start churning out some new material very soon, and I will post here and there simultaneously. All articles here will be mirrored on the Kat Radio Group site at HARMONY CHRONICLES

At this point, I am calling any musicians or groups that would be willing to interview for some free publicity. Send your request to johnlorieh@gmail.com

In addition to interviews, I am working on several new recurring series and resurrecting some old ones. Stay tuned.

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #98

At 98 is a signature song from former Sweeney Todd singer, Nick Gilder. The track is Hot Child In The City. Nick was born in London, England in 1951 and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia.

His music career began as the singer for a group called Sweeny Todd and had a major hit while with them, “Roxy Roller”. After that success, Nick left the band, going solo and signing a record deal in the USA. In a strange twist, when Nick left the band, his replacement was a young Bryan Adams. That deal spawned the featured song, “Hot Child In The City” which hit number 1 in both Canada and the USA.

Riding the success of his new solo career, he won 2 Juno Awards (Canada’s Grammys), Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year. He also won a People’s Choice award in the USA. Other than North America, the song did not have much success internationally and did even chart in the United Kingdom.

This song was the high point of his vocal career. He never again charted in the USA and had only a few songs chart in Canada.

He did have success as a songwriter as well, penning hits for diverse artist as Pat Benatar and Bette Midler. He is still touring in Canada and now lives back in Vancouver.

The Best Cover Song Of All Time – Round 1

It’s time for a new series, the greatest cover song of all time, and you get to pick it. This will take a while, based solely on the vast amount of existing covers. After extensive research, I have developed a list that will keep us on track, create some surprises and greatly expand our respective musical IQs. How this works is I will pit 2 cover songs against each other. You pick the one you like best, and the winner will move on to the next round. On to the music!

Fiona Apple’s iconic cover of the great Beatles song from 1969. Her version was recorded in 1998 as part of the soundtrack for the motion picture “Pleasantville”.

Skinny Love is a cover of Bon Iver’s original from 2007. She recorder her version in 2011.

Both songs are excellent, this should be a close one.

The Voice – A New Series – The Intro

Have you ever wondered what happened to that voice, the one you liked in season something? Did they continue their careers, or fold their tent and join the labour force? In this series, we will touch on some of the over 1000 contestants that have appeared in this franchise, at least the American version. I hope you find this interesting. I follow independent artists and offer support wherever I can. Most of these artists, who have continued, are basically independents. I found a list on Wikipedia and will use a random number generator to tell me which artist I will follow up with. I will also attempt to make contact and hopefully produce an interview. There should be some interesting conversations.

Canada’s All-Time Top Songs – #99

After a Visitor break (some old friends from Saskatchewan on their way to the Chepe Express) and a bit of a cold, maybe CoVid, I will continue to move forward to where I left off; here is 99 on the top 100 list. I have also added a few notes as an upgrade. I think I was in a hurry when I did this one. As for the Chepe Express, we plan on that one next year.

At 99, we present “We Run” by Strange Advance. A Vancouver new wave band, they formed in 1982 and were almost immediately nominated for a Juno (Canada’s Grammy) as the most promising band in 1983. We Run was taken from their album, “2WO”, and released as a single in 1985. It reached number 28 on the RPM pop chart. The band never made strides outside of Canada. In addition, they were mostly a session band and apparently had never played live before 1985.

They released 3 albums overall and essentially went dormant after releasing the 3rd in 1988. There is talk about a new album being released shortly.

There is more information on that release and the band overall at their website.

https://www.strangeadvance.com/

Canada’s All-Time Top Songs – #100

I’m revisiting a few old posts to kickstart a series I never finished. As a lover of Canadian music, I found a list of the top 100 Canadian hits. The song holding down the 100 spot is by Honeymoon Suite. The original post continues with a few tweaks below.

Back in the hair band days of the 1980s, Honeymoon Suite was a card-carrying member of the genre. Formed in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 1981, they had a string of hits on Canadian radio and had some success in the USA market. The band’s name and the place they formed share a connection, which is very witty. Their big highlight was performing the title track for the movie Lethal Weapon.

Love Changes Everything was released in 1988 and is on their album Racing After Midnight. The song reached number 9 in Canada, 13 on the US Rock and 91 on the US chart, all by Billboard. The band is still recording, and its latest release was in 2019, with a new album coming on February 16, 2024. The album title is “Alive”.

Get ready to rock to a live version of the tune; live is always the best.

Remember to support independent artists; you never know what you will find.

To see and learn more about this icon of Canadian rock, hit the link. https://honeymoonsuiteband.com/