Citywide Blackout

Ottawa-based hard rock band The Space Between recently released a new single, “Weapon of Choice,” from their forthcoming album, “Dying Sun,” and I for one cannot wait to hear the rest.

Band members Maryn Pegan and James Shaheen join us to talk about working with producer Brian Moncarz at Noble Street Studios and how this offered a brand new experience for the band.

We go into the themes and story behind the single and their vintage...

Awhile back, we featured the single “Comets” by the Boston alt-rock duo Arrows of Athena as part of the Blackout Collection. Now, Scott Lerner and Jac-Lyn Gibson join me to talk about the 19th century story that inspired it.

We also dive into their new album, “Daydreaming,” which came out on April 3. We talk origin stories, being live on stage for the first time in awhile and what's next for Arrows o...

With her new EP, “Between Then and Now,” 19-year-old fiddler, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Irish Millie captures the space between two chapters of life and the quiet realization of how much growth happens in the in-between.

In this episode, we talk about that time and the different stories that the album covers, including a powerful dedication to her fiddle teacher. Millie also shares how she first found the fiddle and what ab...

Picture this—an island paradise, cut off from all the craziness that we see in the world today. A perfect society, where nothing can go wrong….until it does.

Author Mia Dalia joins me to talk about her new book, “Beautiful, Once,” out through Crystal Lake Publishing. Here’s a look at the story:

When a controversial tech billionaire retreats from society, he constructs a private island designed to be the ultimate controlled experime...

JUNO Award-winning blues artist Crystal Shawanda’s new album “Sing Pretty Blues,” has earned her a 2026 JUNO Award nomination for Blues Album of the Year. It’s a real powerhouse of an album, with a range of music that doesn’t hold back.

In this interview, Crystal talks about what it means to receive this nomination and her reaction on getting the news. We talk about her many years in music and the di...

Between winning awards and releasing a new album, Boston’s Elisa Smith has a lot to talk about, so kick back and enjoy the stories!

Back in November, Elisa was at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to accept the Female Country Song of the Year at the 2025 Josie Music Awards. To describe the venue as legendary would be a tremendous understatement, and Elisa shares how it felt stand on that stage. She tal...

Who’s ready for a quest?!

Comic creator/writer DM Ray joins us to talk about his debut fantasy comic series, “The Madcaps,” being published by Philbo Entertainment. It’s a medieval fantasy mini-series about the reunion of four friends interrupted by a local drug problem.

Ray, Curtis and Max talk about the making of the four main characters—Dunnan, Sarlac, Chasgo and Medrakus. We dive ...

Founded in 2021 by Shawn Hainsworth, SHP Comics is a blend of different styles and stories, from children’s imagination to horror set at Woodstock. Shawn joins us to introduce the company and how it came to be, as well as the different titles they’re working on.

One of those is “Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King,” out on April 14. Deep underground, Zicky plunges into the lair of the Rat King—a tyrant amassing an army of rodents to invad...

Victoria Dillon’s new novel “Ava” (She Writes Press, March 3) asks a pivotal question: What if the only way to reclaim reproductive freedom was to rewrite the very nature of birth itself? 

Ten years after Roe v. Wade is overturned, 22-year-old comparative biologist Larkin finds herself unexpectedly pregnant in a country where choice is no longer an option. Initially uncertain, she embraces motherhood—until a devastating diagnosis c...

Kimberly Behre Kenna has become a familiar name on this show, having been featured twice already. So of course, I knew we had to have her back on for the third book in her Brave Girls Collection, “Lola Gillette and the Summer of Second Chances” out on March 3.

In this episode, Kimberly talks about the theme of second chances and how it’s featured in the book. We’re introduced to Lola, who’s desperate to complete their treasured Per...

Some of it comes from real life, some of it from her imagination. The result—the Carolina Crossfire Mystery series, now two books in….and more to come!

In this episode, author Wendy Gee joins us to talk about her newest addition, “Side Hustle,” and you’re going to love the story.

Charleston’s top investigative TV reporter, Sydney Quinn, lives to expose the city’s darkest secrets. So, when a former firefighter takes two paramedics h...

From years spent as a backup singer for the Moody Blues, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, and Janiva Magness to releasing her albums “Redeemed” and “Walking Around This Town,” Bernie Barlow has had quite the music career.

In this episode, we dive into her time with these musical legends and how this influenced her as an artist. She talks about her recent release, “Walking Around This Town,” and the people she worked with to make...

Horror author John Ward is back, but instead of killer clowns, we’re talking about dark entities in his new book, “A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul,” now out through Crystal Lake Publishing.

John Tinsley’s life was shattered as a child when he lost his mother in a tragic car accident—but that was only the beginning. From that moment, a dark entity marked him, one intent on destroying everything and everyone he loves. Haunted by ...

After a decade of working in Hollywood on shows like “Arrested Development” and a project with Danny DeVito and Jeff Goldblum, writer Jake Korell took what started as a “truly awful adult animated TV pilot,” then transformed it to a podcast series and finally into his first novel, “The Second World.”

“Mars has declared its independence from Earth. But building a country takes more than a new flag, an arena-worthy anthem, and naming...

On her 18th birthday, Sandy Netburn marked the occasion with the release of her 14-track debut album, “Issues.” Soon after, she released the music video for the single “I’ve Got Issues,” she also directed. And that’s just the beginning!

Sandy joined us to talk all about the different themes she takes on in “Issues,” including politics and what it means to be human. She shared the creative process of ...

Welcome to the first Citywide Bytes for 2026! Joining me is Toronto-based singer-songwriter Henry Lees to talk about his new single “Smoke,” which he co-wrote and produced with Sean Thomas, a Vancouver-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. In this interview, Henry talks about the origin of the song, the creative process with Sean, and what he has planned for 2026. 

Closing out ...

Over the years, Citywide Blackout has featured music, books, film and comics—but how about a musical audiobook. Join us as we talk with writer Jeff Flaster for his new musical audiobook, “Following Jimmy Valentine,” out on Feb. 2.

Based on the story “A Retrieved Reformation” by O. Henry, the story blends jazz music, noir comedy and a timeless tale of redemption.

At the heart of the book is reformed jewel thief Jimmy Valentine, a ma...