Canadian Americana duo HILLSIDE OUTLAWS release latest single, “So Long” today on Royalty Records
Canadian country/Americana duo Hillside Outlaws are kicking off 2025 on a strong note with their latest single “So Long,” another prime example of Louis Bigras and Langley Jackson’s distinctive blend of modern melodicism and classic heartbreak. It follows the pair’s 2024 single “Ring On Her Hand,” which has added to over 250K streams they have racked up to date, helping to further expand their growing fan base at home and abroad.
Co-written with Juno Award-nominated and Canadian Country Music Award-winning producer Jeff Johnson, “So Long” is a song about letting go and finding yourself again when the time comes to say goodbye to what could have been. More specifically, Louis Bigras says, “‘So Long’ is definitely a more mature song for us. We are typically the life of the party that gets everyone up dancing but I think this song was inside me just waiting to burst out. It’s definitely new territory to put out such a vulnerable song but I think writing this song together helped us both find some peace with our own unique situations and I think that maybe it can do the same for others out there too.”
Since forming in Penticton, British Columbia in 2018 and releasing their debut EP Country Jukebox that same year, Hillside Outlaws have consistently delivered fresh sounds and put on captivating live shows at prestigious venues such as Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, as well as the Sunfest Country Music Festival in B.C.’s Cowichan Valley. It’s led to multiple BC Country Music Association Award nominations and five chart-topping hits, including “Beer Is Essential,” “Buckle Up” and “Didn’t Have Dirt.” With this unstoppable momentum, Hillside Outlaws attracted the attention of long-established Alberta-based country label Royalty Records, which signed the group in 2023.
The spark that set off the creation of Hillside Outlaws actually came much earlier when Bigras won first prize in a karaoke competition that set him on the path to becoming a solo singer/songwriter. He began forming alliances with other musicians, including Langley Jackson, who quickly became Bigras’s primary collaborator.
Together as Hillside Outlaws, they get their musical inspiration from Canada’s wide expanses, adapting that sense of place to a rustic, raw sound that appeals to the untamed spirit within all of us. Lyrically, Hillside Outlaws songs run the gamut of emotions from love to sorrow, and the daily problems everybody faces in between. It’s all delivered in a package that appeals to modern sensibilities, yet still reminiscent of vintage country greats.
Indeed, Hillside Outlaws have deep roots in the rich tradition of country music that they build upon to offer a new perspective. Their music deftly combines elements of folk, rock, and blues to produce moving narratives with just the right amount of grit to find a place within the burgeoning Americana scene.
Now with “So Long,” Hillside Outlaws continue to prove they are a powerful force in the world of Canadian country music. With their relentless commitment to their profession, Louis and Langley are gearing up for a new year in which they’ll once again be giving their passionate following in both small towns and big cities a show they will never forget.