“Lawrence Maxwell’s ‘Ballad of Miles’ is the first great Canadian alt-country album of 2022.”
-Roots Music Canada
Press photo 1
Photo by: Stewart MacLean
press photo 2
Photo by: Stewart MacLean
“There’s something refreshingly genuine about Lawrence Maxwell’s poetic brand of country”
- The East
Bio:
Lawrence Maxwell cut his teeth on beer caps, rough waters, and country music. His latest album, Ballad of Miles was nominated for seven Music PEI Awards in 2023, and in 2024, he received the award for Music PEI’s ‘Entertainer of the Year.’ His songs have received airplay on: Sirius XM’s ‘Top of the Country,’ Country Hits Radio UK and CBC ‘Q’. With its neo-traditional production, and comparisons to both John Prine and Merle Haggard, Roots Music Canada has dubbed the record “the first great Canadian alt-country album of 2022.” His music video for "Back to Cape Breton" was a finalist in the Canadian Independent Music Video Awards and his song "Better You" was selected in the Top 100 for CBC/Toyota Searchlight in 2022. As an ECMA award nominee and two-time Music P.E.I. award winner, this Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter will tell it to you like it’s folk, and sing it to you like it’s country.
Maxwell hails from Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province but one with a rich country music history based on every citizen’s relationship to the land and sea. In fact, before launching his musical career, Maxwell served in the Royal Canadian Navy upon graduating high school where, during downtime aboard his warship, he would compose thoughts that would lay the groundwork for his 2018 debut album Not Your Outlaw.
That record immediately put him on the Country Music map and earned him his first Music P.E.I. Award. Maxwell followed it up in 2020 with Almost Natural, which further displayed his skill at blending the traditional sounds of folk and bluegrass with modern themes and production values. It garnered Maxwell his first East Coast Music Award nomination and an AmericanaFest-UK showcase in 2021, while proving his music’s ability to unite fans of both the old and new. Now with his latest album, Ballad Of Miles, Maxwell is poised to expand his audience even further.
If Merle Haggard’s blue-collar poetry could be combined with George Jones’ voice and Sturgill Simpson’s boundary-shattering brashness, the result might just be Lawrence Maxwell’s Ballad Of Miles. As an album steeped in love, heartbreak and laughter, it is the perfect soundtrack for these times, when every day brings a new set of challenges and unexpected gifts.
In addition to his original music, Maxwell performs with the ‘Band of Fugitives’ as they present “Poet of the Common Man: A Tribute to Merle Haggard” - a show that features trailblazing songs and poignant stories from turbulent and triumphant life of ‘The Hag.’ The show has seen great success with performances in theatres and venues across the maritimes in 2023 and 2024.
Live performance video with band @ The Guild - Charlottetown, PE
Video from “Poet of the Common Man: A Tribute to Merle Haggard” live at Harbourfront Theatre - Summeside, PEI
Music video for “Back to Cape Breton”
Latest Album, Ballad of Miles
Awards
2024 Music PEI Award- Entertainer of the Year - Won
2023 Music PEI Awards - SEVEN-time nominee (Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Musician of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Roots Recording of the Year, Album Artwork of the Year)
2022 CBC/Toyota Searchlight - Top 100 Artist for song “Better You”
2022 CANADIAN INDEPENDENT MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS - Country Music Video of the Year (Back to Cape Breton) - Nominated
2021 ECMA - Country Recording of the Year (Almost Natural) - Nominated
2021 Music PEI Awards - Album Artwork of the Year (Almost Natural - designer: Aidan Searle) - Won
2021 Music PEI Award - Contemporary Roots/Country Recording of the Year (Almost Natural) - Nominated
2021 CBC Toasties Award - Right Good Record of the Year (Almost Natural) - Nominated
2021 Canadian Country Artist Discovery - Artist of the Month (July)
2019 Music PEI Award - Country Recording of the Year (Not Your Outlaw) - Won
Notable Performances
2024 Mariposa Folk Festival - Orillia, ON - July 2024
2023 Tønder Festival - Denmark - August 2023
2023 Americana Fest UK - London, UK - January 2023
2023 Cavendish Beach Music Festival - Cavendish, PEI - July 2023
2023 ECMA - Export Buyer’s Showcase Artist - May 2022
2023 Showcase PEI - September 2023
2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards - April 2022
2019 Bluebird Café - Nashville, TN - September 2019
2019 Folk Music Ontario - Mississauga, ON - September 2019
Music Catalogue
Ballad of Miles (2022)
Almost Natural (2020)
Not Your Outlaw (2018)
Reviews
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