Canada’s Country

Though Nashville remains the cradle of country, Canada has a pretty long history with it too, taking the styles and sounds of its Southern neighbours and applying its own rustic, regional spin. Honky-tonk, outlaw ballads, beat-driven pop crossovers—these songs represent a cross-section of Canada’s best modern country. This week, Bradley Hale reconnects with his roots on “Back 40 Bible Verse”, a new song off his recently released EP County Line Five. Already a personal tune, “Back 40 Bible Verse” was created with the help of two important people in Hale’s life: Fellow artist and close friend Sully Burrows co-wrote the track, while Hale’s own father, Frederick Hale, produced it. He tells Apple Music the song is about being able to “reset and find peace in familiar places”. “No matter where you are from, the city or the country, there is always something about where you grew up that gives you that feeling of home,” he tells Apple Music. “For me, it’s back on my grandparents’ farm, where I spent so much time growing up. From the ‘old Ford tractor tearing up ground’ to the ‘back-row pew at a hilltop church’, it’s a reflection of how I grew up and a representation of who I am.” Listen to it now and add Canada’s Country to your library to stay up on the songs shaping the future of country music.