New Music: Joel Plaskett

Audrey Hobert got her start co-writing massive hits with her best friend Gracie Abrams. It inspired Audrey to launch her own solo career with her debut album, Who’s the Clown? Audrey joins Tom Power in-studio to talk about writing for others, the moment she realized she wanted to be an artist, and writing songs about struggling with your self-image and learning to love yourself. 

Joseph Kidney is the 2026 recipient of the Canadian First Book Prize, handed out each year by the Griffin Poetry Prize for an outstanding first collection of poetry by a Canadian author. Joseph speaks to Tom Power about what that recognition means to him, as well as reads from his now award-winning collection, Devotional Forensics.

Broken Social Scene is back with a new album, Remember The Humans. Founding members Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin reflect on their early days making music as a loose collective of friends, and talk about why 2026 felt the right time to reunite and release new music.

Halifax’s Wintersleep introduces their new song, Gale, in Q’s recurring New Music segment. The band’s new album, Wishing Moon, is out now.

Boi-1da is a Canadian producer who has found massive success all over the world crafting hits for the likes of Drake, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Eminem and so many more. He talks to Tom Power about teaming up with Nelly Furtado, The Tragically Hip, Alessia Cara, AP Dhillon and more Canadian icons for What If It All Goes Right, a collaborative record to support the youth organization, Canada Soccer.

Montreal band Bye Parula introduces their new song, Quand vient le soir, in Q’s recurring New Music segment. The band’s new album, Something Out Of Nothing, is out now.

Behind movies like The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember and Hairspray (2007) is the director Adam Shankman. This June, Adam’s back with a campy comedy starring RuPaul and Drag Race alumni called STOP! THAT! TRAIN! What sets his latest film apart from his previous work is that it’s his first time, as a queer director, directing an entirely queer-led cast. Adam stops by Q to talk about his love of “stupid” comedy, why STOP! THAT! TRAIN! deserves to be seen in theatres, and what it means to him to finally direct a movie led by queer actors. 

Juno Award winner Divine Brown is giving flowers to one of her heroes, Minnie Riperton. Divine’s live concert stage show, Lovin' You: The Minnie Riperton Story, is coming to Toronto’s Luminato Festival this month. Though Minnie Riperton died when she was just 31, Divine tells Tom Power how the five-octave range singer was still able to make such an important impact on music, one that stretches right through to today.

Abel Selaocoe has been redefining the sound of the cello. The South African cellist and singer was in Canada recently, playing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He joined Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about blending African and classical sounds, and why he thinks music has the ability to destroy the idea of time. 

Canadian music legend Joel Plaskett introduces his new song, Fill in the Blanks, in Q’s recurring New Music segment. The song marks the 20th anniversary of his band, The Joel Plaskett Emergency.