Artist of the Week: The Prairie States

CountryTown in partnership with iHeartCountry Australia is proud to announce The Prairie States as our Artist Of The Week, following the release of their EP, Every Little Town.

Mixing the cadence and rhythms of 60’s soul and 70’s rock with modern country, The Prairie States was born out of a desire to put a fresh touch on a classic design. As seven time Country Music Alberta Award recipients, including the 2018 ‘Rising Star’, 2019 ‘Horizon Group/Duo Of The Year’, and 2020 ‘Songwriters Of The Year’, as well as 1st place in the 2018 ‘Project Wild Artist Development Program’, it’s proof that this Edmonton-based band is moving in the right direction. 

Mat Cardinal, Jeff Dick, Mike Nash, Doc deGroot, and Jay Der formed The Prairie States in 2017 and immediately started writing songs for their full-length album, Lost In The Right Direction. Independently released in June 2018, it was nominated for the CMAB ‘Album Of The Year’ and included three radio singles, which all broke the top 100 Mediabase Canadian Country Chart. Since then, the band has released two more singles, Every Little Town and Low Life, both of which also cracked the top 100. They’ve also shared stages with Aaron Goodvin, Clayton Bellamy, and most recently Brothers Osborne and Canadian legend Charlie Major.

Their current single, Fall Asleep Alone is a power ballad about missing the one you love back at home while out on the road chasing your dreams (and just quietly, it's also our Song of the Day!). Fall Asleep Alone is the follow up to their euphoric country rocker, High That I’m Riding. The music video for the track highlights the void left by the loss of live music during the COVID-19 pandemic and is a call to raise awareness and donations for the Unison Benevolent Fund, a music industry charity that provides counseling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community in times of hardship or difficulties.

They say, “We miss live music so much. Through this pandemic, venues have been forced to close and stages have gone dark. While we have all been starving to see our favourite artists perform, music industry professionals have been without work for a very long time. This video, shot by Travis Nesbitt, not only showcases how much we miss the feeling of a live concert, but also how dire the situation is for independent venues and music industry professionals.”

Keep up to date with The Prairie States on their Facebook page here.

For more Artist Of The Week features, including The Prairie States, check out here.

Image: Supplied