SAKAMOTO AGENCY SIGNS SINGER-SONGWRITER KYLE MCKEARNEY

For Immediate Release, March 3, 2023: Sakamoto Agency is pleased to announce the signing of Alberta-based artist Kyle McKearney to the national roster, with President and Operating Partner Paul Biro as Responsible Agent. A break-out artist of 2022, Kyle earned two Western Canadian Music Award nominations, was named a SiriusXM Top of the Country semi-finalist, placed second in Alberta Music’s Project Wild, and received a Canadian Country Music Association award nomination for Alternative Country Album of the Year for his debut solo album Down-Home. During the same time, he’s also shared stages with The Black Crowes, Kip Moore, Our Lady Peace and Dean Brody, all while racking up over a million global streams.

Kyle hasn’t wasted any time building on that momentum, and is set to release his sophomore album, A Traveler’s Lament, on March 31st. Fans have already been treated to a preview, with the singles “Mercy,” “River Rain” and “Grandfather” displaying Kyle’s maturation as a songwriter, while still showing off his powerful voice; and his evolving collaboration with Juno Award-winning producer/guitarist/songwriter Russell Broom.

Sakamoto Agency is excited to put Kyle on stages across the country, with President and RA Paul Biro commenting, “We have collectively been fans of Kyle’s for sometime, and our team felt that working with an artist possessing such talent, uniqueness, and depth was too good an opportunity to pass up! The way that Kyle as been able to engage not just the country music scene but the Americana, roots, and folk markets and industry, is something we do not see every day. In some ways I am reminded of artists like Corb Lund or Johnny Reid who certainlycut their own path in country music, and could not necessarily be held to the confines of one genre. We are excited to work with both Kyle’s creativity and Jeff’s (Ojeda) management skills and could not be more pleased to welcome them into the Sakamoto Agency family.”

PRE-SAVE “A Traveler’s Lament” out March 31

MORE ABOUT KYLE MCKEARNEY:
Honesty and authenticity have formed the bedrock of every song Kyle has written to date, a reflection of being born and raised in small-town northern British Columbia, and his family’s Metis heritage. Kyle grew up listening to country and bluegrass, both of which sparked his interest in music. He would later explore rock and pop sounds with various projects, including playing guitar in the band that accompanied the touring production of QUEEN’s We Will Rock You.

With the onset of the pandemic, Kyle was left virtually back at square one, although in some ways it became a blessing in disguise. Returning to his country roots, Kyle quickly found his voice and hasn’t looked back since. Having now made a significant impression with Down-Home, he is ready to take the next major step forward with A Traveler’s Lament, an album that celebrates the importance of family and friendship, two things that have been crucial to helping Kyle get to this point, and beyond. With Kyle’s sound encompassing not only country, but blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll as well, he exemplifies everything the Americana genre represents: music for anyone who appreciates pure heart and soul. Get more at imkylemckearney.com and on all social platforms @imkylemckearney.

MORE ABOUT SAKAMOTO AGENCY
Sakamoto Agency is an award-winning booking, talent buying, and event programming agency in Canada. With over 100 years of combined music industry experience among staff including booking, talent buying, management, radio promotions, publicity & marketing, and project management, Sakamoto Agency is an industry leader, named CCMA Booking Agency of the Year in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Along with 25+ years of various nominations, President and Operating Partner Paul Biro has also won CCMA’s Ron Sakamoto Talent Buyer or Promoter of the Year four times, from 2019 to 2022.

Sakamoto Agency has also received award nominations from the Canadian Live Music Industry Awards, and Western Canadian Music Awards (BreakOut West), for their 100 Homes: Concert Connections project, which provided over 300 personalized recorded concerts to care homes across Canada during the covid pandemic. Sakamoto Agency expanded its business in 2021, creating radio promotions subsidiary GPS Promotion in partnership with GrassRoots Promotion in Nashville. In 2022 Sakamoto Agency launched label subsidiary Sakamoto Music, distributed by Warner Music Canada.