Well…I don’t know what it’s like where you are today but it’s a pretty cold a crummy day here. So today seems like a good day to publish a blog post.

I cannot even begin to express the amount of fun I had during CCMA Week in Calgary this year! No, I didn’t have a media pass but I went, saw old friends, made new ones and best of all… collaborated. THIS is what makes CCMA week. Not the photos, or the interviews or seeing artists. Although, yes that’s TONS of fun! For me it’s seeing people, running ideas past them, getting feedback. And sometimes you get one or two people who say, “WE NEED TO DO THIS!”

Well, that’s what happened this year for me. While a podcast was something I had always thought about doing, I didn’t think I’d be any good at it. After having some discussions with some friends, and having some friends REALLY interested in wanting to try it out with me, The Red, White and Country Podcast is born! With a special “Back 40” section of the interview where it’s no holds barred, both barrels….who are we kidding; basically, we are gonna curse and probably talk about drinking…plan to be entertained in a brand new way by some of your favourite and possibly NEW favourite artists.

We’ve been REALLY busy Interviewing some phenomenal females over at Aunt Linda’s Country TaleGate. Linda had a great visit with Alberta artist, Krissy Feniak, What a firecracker! I ran into her over the weekend a couple of times over the weekend in Calgary and she is simply a delight. 

Highly decorated, having some ACMA’s and some Pigeon Ford Awards under her belt, her latest single Better Left Unsaid is a testament to why she is raking in the hardware.  This bluesy, smokey love song, is a great fit for Feniak’s sweet voice. 

While she may be young, she has performed on some of North America’s most esteemed stages; The Bluebird Cafe and The Commodore in Nashville. I guess she was making herself comfortable because she plans to move there sometime this fall with best friend, BC artist (and Croc afficionado) Beamer Wigley.

While all of this is happening, Krissy assures us that there is new music on the way, 2 new singles specifically.  This girl is a lot of fun so make sure you follow her socials to find out when that will be:

WEBSITE: https://krissyfeniak.com/home
FACEBOOK: https://m.facebook.com/officialKrissyfeniak/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/krissyfeniak?s=09
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/krissyfeniak?igshid=1ivwd7wlzgn7l

Here for you to check out is Better Left Unsaid by Krissy Feniak:

We had 2 female artists each present a song and give us some background about the song.

First up was Alexis Taylor. She shared her single Bend The Truth. Written while laying on the living room floor (where most of her writing occurs apparently lol), this song is the ‘inner dialogue’ of what your heart’s telling you when your head is telling me something else.


Alexis is an extremely talented artist from Hunstville Ontario. Be sure to look into her socials:

WEBSITE: http://www.alexistaylormusic.com/bio
FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/alexistaylormusic/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MissTaylorMusic?s=09
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/alexistaylormusic?igshid=l1ld4la6gzs2

In the meantime, here’s Bend The Truth by Alexis Taylor:

The second artist to share was Brenda Dirk,  who drove both her Dad and Bobby Cameron “nuts” until she got Killin’ It just right.

If you’ve ever met Brenda, you’d a agree that she is like a burst of sunshine when she walks into the room. She’s talented and exuberant. It’s no surprise that she would want to write a song that was an anthem to lift people’s spirits. “This song is dedicated to all the people who have been down; who are working hard and feel like they aren’t getting anywhere.”

Why don’t you go get some of the Brenda Dirk positive energy on her socials:

WEBSITE: https://www.brendadirk.com/
FACEBOOK : https://m.facebook.com/brendadirkmusic/
TWITTER : https://twitter.com/brendadirkmusic?s=09
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/brendadirkmusic?igshid=vcx7kbge3orb

While you’re at it, why don’t you listen to her fantastic and inspiring single Killin’ It:

One of the 3-ways we had was with one of my favourite people. Sadly we didn’t run into each other in Calgary. TOTAL bummer. But Ajaye Jardine was hard at work playing at Diamonds In The Rough and promoting her brand.


About 2 years ago, she moved to Nashville and has been writing and performing tirelessly. She feels that there’s a new breed on country on the horizon and she’s excited to be a part of it. With songs like Midnight And Bourbon, it’s easy to get wrapped up in Ajaye’s voice.

In a new age where “content is queen or king”, she is currently in the process of releasing some new music online. If you become a member of ‘Team Jardine’, you’ll become the first to receive new music or music she hasn’t released at every membership goal that’s reached!

Make SURE you go and check out her socials! She constantly has a positive message! And if you join Team Jardine, she emails them to you! Umm… TOTALLY DID THIS and LOVE IT!:

WEBSITE: https://www.ajayejardine.com/
FACEBOOK: https://m.facebook.com/ajayejardinemusic/
TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/ajayejardine?s=09
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/ajayejardine?igshid=y2354218fdz0

Ajaye really does have a fantastic voice and this is probably my fave song of hers! Here’s Midnight And Bourbon:

The other female we had a 3-way with was Kalsey Kulyk! So. Much. Fun! And it was great to run into her and fiance country artist Eric Ethridge in Calgary! They met while Kalsey was in the Discovery Program in 2017 (which she won) and got engaged this past summer. Planning a date for this dynamic duo is a bit tricky, so nuptuals will have to be worked around their busy schedules.


The same year that Kalsey won the Discovery Program contest, she also won the Ole On The Spot Contest. Since then, she has signed with Anthem (the former Ole) and has been writing even more. Kalsey was already living in Nashville trying to find out who she was as an artist. Coming from Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, Nashville offered a bit more of a creative environment (but she’s still a big perogie fan. Hello….look at that last name 😉 ).

Her latest self-titled EP was released on August 30th and was on a radio tour when we chatted. Her latest single from that Bad Liar has been doing GREAT on the CMT musc charts. The song is really fantastic!

I caught Kalsey’s performance at the Sakamoto Agency Mixer in Calgary and she absolutely DAZZLES live!


Keep up with Kalsey, her new music and what’s going on with the upcoming wedding on her socials:

WEBSITE: https://kalseykulyk.com/mystory
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kalseykulyk/
TWITTER : https://twitter.com/KalseyKulyk?s=09
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/kalseykulyk?igshid=nc7on57rrx9

And make sure you check out her latest single Bad Liar:

So. Is there a reason I featured all females this week? Damn straight there is!!

Welcome to the very first, the INAUGURAL, if you will, podcast for Red, White and Country featuring Nicole Rayy!!


Nicole is a kick-ass female artist from Ontario with strong Manitoba roots. I ran into her at a party in Calgary, told her about the podcast and she was totally on board! It happened to coincide with a cross-country radio tour promoting her latest single Unfinished. The timing worked out and….uh…..a podcast was born! I don’t want to give away to much but we had a hell of a good time. We talk about her new single, unfinished business and discuss what the hell is up with men!! LOL!!

Please make sure you check in to all of her socials:

WEBSITE: https://nicolerayy.com/nashville-new-music/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/NicoleRayyMusic/
TWITTER: Take a look at Nicole Rayy (@NRayy): https://twitter.com/NRayy?s=09
INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/nicolerayymusic?igshid=1trbtk9fykiu6

She also made a great video to go with this so you have to take a look at that! Here is Unfinished By Nicole Rayy:

You can also find Unfinished along with all of the other songs mentioned here…with maybe a couple of goodies on the Spotify Playlist to accompany this Podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/user/redwhiteandcountry/playlist/2HWzMGaOZa8xSaVlCOoksI?si=MKVKa3qGRd6WdNEV7QA9JQ

So, buckle up and enjoy Episode 1 of the Red, White and Country Podcast! It may not be Star Wars, but it’s GOTTA be better than THEIR Epsiode 1! Please enjoy the theme song I used! It’s Bird Creek by Hooky with Sloane.

You can find the podcast on both the Podbean and Soundcloud Apps. (You’ll have to excuse both sites, I haven’t had an opportunity to work on them yet. This all happened pretty quick! LOL!) BUUUT, to make things easy for you, I can leave this heeeeere……