Suzie McNeil honours Canada’s musical legacy with the soulful reinterpretation of beloved classics on Line 49.
JUNO Award-winning artist Suzie McNeil has never been one to shy away from reinventing herself, but Line 49 may be her most meaningful project yet. Inspired by a promise to her late father, the album reimagines beloved Canadian classics through a soulful lens, blending Northern storytelling with Southern soul and touches of pop and reggae. Produced by Marti Frederiksen and Evan Frederiksen, the collection celebrates Canada’s rich songwriting legacy while showcasing the powerful voice and emotional depth that have defined McNeil’s career.
Ahead of the album’s release, we caught up with Suzie to talk about honouring some of Canada’s most iconic songs, the personal journey behind Line 49, collaborating with the Frederiksen team, and why this project holds such a special place in her heart.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
I am Suzie McNeil, and I’ve been a professional musician for 30 years!
I would list all of my accolades, but I don’t like to brag lol
Line 49 reimagines iconic Canadian songs through a soul-inspired lens. What sparked the idea for this project?
In 2018, I decided to transition my Music style back into the music that I love the most; Soul music.
When I started my career, and even when I went to Humber College for vocal music, I always loved soul. The second album I created years ago was soul style, the song I wrote on the reality show I was on rockstar INXS was called Soul Life, I’ve always just loved it.
Since 2018, I have rearranged all my pop radio songs into a soul style, we’ve performed our shows with horns and usually an 8 to 10 piece band.
During Covid, we recorded a Canada Day show for the city of Branford and I was talking to my husband about which Canadian song we could rearrange into a soul style, and he thought of the tragically hip Bobcaygeon. We performed at that show, and it sounded so good. We decided to record it as a single!
After my dad passed, I thought this would be a great way to round out this sort of album, and the idea for Line 49 was born!
Why was it important for you to celebrate Canadian songwriters on this album?
I think it was mostly because of my dad, that’s where the idea started, but also lately it’s been nice to celebrate Canada’s strength, so I think this album is especially important in today’s climate.
How did you decide which songs made the final track list?
It was a pretty organic process. I kind of made a list of my favourite songs, but then I would have to think about which ones could be rearranged into a different style. I would think of old vintage soul songs and sing the Canadian songs over that arrangement to see if it could work. That’s pretty much how I came up with all of the beginning ideas for the rearrangement on this record.
For example, I thought the Weeknd song “Blinding Lights” might work really well over the groove of the Wilson Pickett song “Land of 1000 Dances”
They all started with song style inspiration like that.
You’ve described Line 49 as one of your most personal projects. Can you talk about the promise you made to your late father and how it shaped this album?
My dad was always bugging me to release an album of Canadian songs, and I never really wanted to. Sadly, he passed away and after he did, I decided to finally make that album for him.
It all just kind of made sense, after I recorded and released Bobcaygeon, I thought I would round out the idea into a full album.
What was it like collaborating with Marti Frederiksen and Evan Frederiksen on this album?
I’ve worked with Marti Frederiksen on all of my albums except for one since I started my recording career! I love that we are still working together. We are such great friends, we have so much history, and he works so fast, which I absolutely love as well, because the studio can be a pretty monotonous place! Lol.
Evan is his son and he is so talented, the two of them can play every instrument, Marti has trained Evan into being such a great producer in his own right, it really felt relaxed and like a family affair! I thoroughly enjoyed the process.
Looking back, how do you think your experiences on Rockstar: INXS helped shape the artist you are today?
Rockstar INXS definitely changed my life; it propelled me into a place where I had to have a certain level of professionalism, and it gave me a lot of opportunities that I’m still reaping the benefits of even to this day.
It allowed me to become good at high-pressure situations and singing in front of a bunch of people. It made me look at myself in a deeper way and learn how to live in a place of confidence instead of insecurity
With the album arriving on June 26, what are you most excited for audiences to hear?
I’m most excited for people to get a good vibe from the record, I feel like it could be a good addition to people’s playlists every summer, as Canada Day rolls around and we all hit Cottage country!
I’m excited for people to hear how I have rearranged the songs, I hope it can spread some joy and perhaps even some dancing into people’s lives!