We Speak Folk

Shane Pendergast Releases Reflective Fifth Album Jack Pine

Published

3 hours ago

November 1, 2026

Shane Pendergast. Photo via @shanependy.

Prince Edward Island singer and songwriter Shane Pendergast has released his fifth album, Jack Pine, a thoughtful collection of folk songs exploring history, nature and the ever changing cycles of life.

The album arrived on October 23, 2026 and holds twelve songs running about forty three minutes. Led by the focus track The Maiden Voyage, the record captures the uncertainty of new beginnings while reflecting on the connections between past and present. To preserve the honesty of that song, Pendergast and engineer and co producer Mark Westberg recorded it solo and live off the floor, allowing the lyric and the performance to speak for themselves.

The title track draws on Pendergast long fascination with jack pines, hardy and unconventional trees that can grow in barren and unforgiving ground. The song finds beauty in adapting to difficult surroundings without losing sight of who you are, and its roots reach back to the work of Prince Edward Island poet Milton Acorn, whose writing about the tree resonated with the singer. Acclaimed singer and songwriter Catherine MacLellan contributes backing vocals to the title track, adding another distinctly Island voice to the recording.

Much of the album was tracked over five days with the band camped inside a rural Prince Edward Island church, a setting that kept the performances close and communal. Drawing on Eastern Canadian folk traditions, Pendergast continues to explore the natural world, the sea and the passage of time through his songwriting.

Pendergast also hosts the Jack Pine Folk Club on the Island, a gathering dedicated to folk music and poetry, and he was recently nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the 2026 Canadian Folk Music Awards. With its stripped back arrangements and heartfelt storytelling, Jack Pine is a beautiful reminder of why traditional folk music continues to resonate.

We Speak Folk

Raven Reid Releases New Album Stages of Gold

Published

3 hours ago

November 1, 2026

We Speak Media

Raven Reid. Photo via @ravenreid007.

Saskatoon based Indigenous singer and songwriter Raven Reid has released her new album Stages of Gold, a ten song collection that arrived on October 30, 2026 and opens a fresh chapter in her recording career.

The album was introduced by the upbeat single Too Late, which gave listeners an early taste of the project. Where her earlier work often stood on spare and intimate arrangements, Stages of Gold presents Reid with a fresh full band sound, and the bigger setting suits the confidence in her writing.

Recorded at Gold Standard Recorders in Toronto with engineers Ron Skinner and Paul Phelan, the album marks an important creative milestone for Reid. It was her first experience recording live off the floor with a full band, a process that brought guitarist Kevin Laliberté and drummer Dani Nash into the sessions and gave the songs a warm and immediate feel.

Reid describes herself as an Indigenous folk singer and songwriter with ancestral connections to the Mikisew Cree First Nation in Alberta, and she was born in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Her songs draw on personal storytelling and on the experiences of her community, told plainly and without decoration.

Stages of Gold follows her 2024 album Waiting for Change and continues the line that record began, pairing resilience and healing with melodies built for the stage. Today Reid is a full time artist based in Saskatoon, performing at festivals throughout Saskatchewan and sharing her experiences through both music and public speaking.

With ten songs and an expanded musical presentation, Stages of Gold is the sound of a writer trusting her own story and a bigger room at the same time. The album is available now, and Too Late remains the natural place for new listeners to start.