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 neighbors 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, Noeline Hofmann taps into her tougher side on “The Bullfighter,” a bold ballad about grabbing life by the horns. Recorded live with producer Patrick Lyons, the track feels intimate and immediate, offering a glimpse of what fans experience at Hofmann’s dynamic live shows—fittingly, she released “The Bullfighter” to coincide with a busy season of touring, which includes her first headline run in April, dates with Turnpike Troubadours, and festival stops at Stagecoach, Boots and Hearts, and more. Hofmann tells Apple Music that the song, written by the beloved late singer-songwriter Luke Bell, has “become a personal mantra of courage, grit, perseverance, and the cowboy spirit” and allowed her to pay tribute to Bell’s memory. “It goes without saying that Luke and his music meant a lot to a lot of people,” Hofmann says. “Recording this cover is my way of honoring his legacy, honoring the good that this song has brought into my life, and, hopefully, sharing the strength Luke’s music has brought me with others.” Listen to it now and add Canada’s Country to your library to stay up on the songs shaping the future of country music.