Made in Manitoba

"It's a long labour of love," says Larry Kunkel after working on his new album, Lost & Found, for the past two decades. 

20 years ago Kunkel released his first album called Good News, which is a collection of folk, country, and bluegrass songs that share the good news of Jesus Christ. 

"Good News took 10 years to prepare. I have been working on this [new] album for the past 20 years."

Made in Manitoba artist Jordan Janzen has announced he will be becoming a dad for a second time come April. 

The Color's lead singer announced on social media Saturday that he and his wife, Gwendolyn, are expecting their second child.

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April 2021. We are so excited to meet this little one ❤️. God is good!!

The Color is finding a new way to choose which songs will go on their newest album, and it includes a panel of fans.

Posted to their Facebook page, the band poses the question, "If we created a panel of people to help us pick our album, would you want to be on that panel?"

In a clarifying comment on the thread, the reason for this interesting approach is the fact that they have too many songs to choose from. A good problem for any band to have.

A music video for a song written two years ago amidst a season of darkness is now released at the perfect time to offer others a glimmer of hope.

Bold As Lions is made up of husband and wife duo Sean and Karli Quigley. While 2020 has been hard on musicians across the country, the couple is choosing to take a positive outlook.

Life looks a little different for musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

James Shiels of The Color explains spring and fall are traditionally their busiest seasons. Their last show was March 8, before 70 shows eventually were cancelled because of the on-going health situation.

"Everything just looks a lot different," he says, adding they don't have a clear timeline as to when concerts will resume. 

A worship leader at Springs Church in Winnipeg is releasing her fourth single, this one on identity, in early September. 

Carine Bado worked in collaboration with Manitoba artist Jaylene Johnson to co-write this new single, available on September 4, 2020.

This song is the first on an EP Bado hopes to release soon. This will be Bado's first recorded album. 

"The first song is called "Perfectly Made". It is affirming our identity, how God sees us as humans. It's empowering people and affirming their identity in Jesus."

A local artist and worship pastor says he hopes a brand new song will encourage people facing difficult times.

Bomba released his latest single, 'Come Alive,' on Friday, August 28. He says the inspiration came from difficult experiences.

"A couple of years ago I went through what I call the darkest season of my life, and at that time things felt really, really, bleak, and the words of 'Come Alive' came to me at that point," he says. "The words that I felt like God was speaking to me was 'it won't stay this way forever.'"

Worship leader Laurina Joyce is releasing her first album, Selah, produced by Christian artist Fresh IE. 

Her first single shares the albums title and was released earlier this month. The EP, which includes four additional tracks, is set to be released in the next couple weeks, according to the singer.

Joyce says, "Selah means to take a breath, take a pause. With COVID, we're all in a kind of forced 'Selah'. It's what we do with it that's important."

The style for this single is contemplative and worshipful. 

Jordan St. Cyr says he's ready to get back to performing in front of a live audience, and he's found a unique way to do it.

St. Cyr has recently enjoyed success not only in Canada but also in the U.S. with his new single 'Fires.' The hit song has seen the Niverville, Man., native appear on Billboard's Christian AC New and Active chart. The chart follows the latest songs to be picked up by radio stations across the U.S. and St. Cyr saw his name on the list for a few weeks surrounded by others such as Austin French, Cochren & Co., and Rebecca St. James.

A Winnipeg Spiritual Health Practitioner (AKA Chaplain) has recently written a moving song about people who die in a hospital bed alone. 

Gord Johnson is familiar with seeing people pass away, but it takes a new toll when anyone dies without someone nearby. 

The song "Eleanor May" was birthed from this idea, and in light of the pandemic and people not being able to visit their loved ones in the hospital, it is more relevant than ever. 

"Last fall I just got this line in my head and it came out as the first chorus," says Johnson.