Kentucky Releases New Single “In Kingston Tonight,” a Tribute to The Tragically Hip and a Call to Carry Canada Forward
Kentucky, the musical project of Almonte, Ontario-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jordan Holman, releases his stirring new single “In Kingston Tonight,” a song that arrives as both a love letter to one of Canada’s great music cities and a deeply felt call to every Canadian to take what The Tragically Hip gave us and carry it forward. Written, recorded, engineered, produced, mixed, and mastered entirely by Holman at his home studio The Kentucky Bend, the single is his most passionate and fully realised work to date, and its release was timed with a headline performance at the municipal Canada Day celebrations at Hardy Park in Brockville, Ontario.
The song grew from a real and specific moment: a Filipino girl at a Kingston bar singing traditional Irish songs and eating poutine, the kind of quietly extraordinary Canadian scene that holds a whole country’s story in a single frame. “There’s music outside / In Kingston tonight / In the square where we prayed, cried, and stayed,” Holman sings, before the lyric opens up into something larger, reaching toward the night of August 20th, 2016, when The Tragically Hip played their final show in Kingston and an entire nation gathered around screens and in public squares to witness it together. “So here we are / And now we’re the stars / Now we’re the stars” is not a boast but an inheritance, a recognition that the torch has been passed and the only question is what we do with it.
Kentucky’s sound occupies a space he has carved out entirely on his own, a genre he and his listeners have taken to calling Northern Americana, rooted in rock, folk, blues, and ambient music but shaped by the landscapes, stories, and spirit of Canada in a way that places him in natural company with Gord Downie, Tom Petty, Patti Smith, and Brian Eno all at once. Holman plays and sings everything on his recordings, a one-man orchestra of soaring melodic vocals, dynamic acoustic and electric guitar work, bass, drums, piano, keys, and percussion, all of it recorded and produced in-house with a precision and warmth that belies the solo nature of the enterprise.
His story is as compelling as his music. After triumphing over a near-death battle with drug addiction in 2020, Holman embraced his second chance at life as a second chance at music. His debut solo album ‘Second Chance Music,’ released in 2025, chronicled that transformation with gritty honesty and enduring hope, and was followed by a live album, a string of standalone singles, several music videos including one banned by TikTok, and a documentary of his 2025 Tour-By-Boat of the Rideau Canal. He has played more than 250 shows across Canada in the past three years, building a devoted audience that spans generations, drawn to his unfiltered storytelling and captivating, improvisational stage presence.
The remainder of 2026 is one of the most ambitious and uniquely Canadian touring programmes any independent artist has announced this year. Following the Canada Day release show in Brockville, Kentucky embarks on “The Canadian Promise: A Toonie Tour of Royal Canadian Legions” across Ontario, a Tour-By-Boat Part 2 along the Trent-Severn Waterway in September, a monthly residency at the legendary Cove Inn in Westport through October, and a capstone run as Via Rail’s Artist-on-Board aboard The Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver, December 12 to 17.
Hi, Kentucky! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Yes, thank you, hi – I am Kentucky. I’m Alberta-raised and Ontario-living, and I write, record, produce, mix, and master my music at my studio in Almonte, ON, which is called The Kentucky Bend. I got the nickname Kentucky from my wife, but that’s a story for another time. After another lifetime fronting rock bands here and in the USA and UK, followed by a break where I fell apart and put myself back together again, I came into existence as Kentucky 3 years ago, in which time I’ve released my first album, a live album, a bunch of singles and music videos, played a few hundred shows across the country, and now here I am with this Canada Day single called “In Kingston Tonight”.
You describe “In Kingston Tonight” as a song inspired by a single moment—a Filipino woman singing Irish songs while eating poutine in Kingston. What was it about that scene that made you think, ‘That’s Canada in one picture’?
I was sitting at the bar, at a bar, in Kingston, waiting for my soundcheck while on tour a couple summers ago, writing in my lyric book. I was remembering the first time I played in Kingston at The Mansion…remembering the miracle that got me a single ticket the the last Hip show…thinking about the Headstones and Hard Core Logo and Savannah Shea and Frank Ryan and Kasador and Miss Emily and on and on and on…and I looked up and I saw this scene that I describe in the first verse, as well as the dialogue I heard followed by my processing it all in the second verse. I walked outside for a moment to get my thoughts together, and sure enough there was music outside in the square where all those people gathered who couldn’t get in to the final Hip show. Abby Stewart was cutting it up with her band, and I just watched her and drank all my feelings about Kingston and Canada and The Hip in, and then went back inside and wrote the song at the bar right then and there. So many different types of people. So many different cultures, foods, traditions, religions, ideas, ideals…..and the one and only thing that absolutely every one of us share in Canada is the land. This amazing land. And that’s where that line in the song comes from: “Canada’s on tap…but the land is the door.” It’s the one thing that can keep us all connected, taking care of it, travelling it, letting it shape us. And hopefully move all of us forward together with the gifts and the spirit of Kingston and beyond in our hearts.
The song references The Tragically Hip’s final concert in Kingston, but it isn’t really about nostalgia. It’s about inheritance. What do you think Gord Downie and The Hip left unfinished that your generation of Canadian musicians now has to carry forward?
You got it and I’m glad you get it – it’s got nothing to do with nostalgia. The Hip (and Gord Downie)…I think they did MORE than finish their business. I think they did all they could and then some. But even when you are in The Tragically Hip, you’re still part of a greater whole. A river of people mixed and mingled together constantly fumbling their way through life and music and art and expression, and creating Canada all the while, like we all are…whether we accept that fact or not. I think what The Hip did is give us a gift. Instead of telling us, they SHOWED us. They showed us the power of a group made up of very different types of people sticking together no matter what troubles come. They showed us the power of highly original music. They showed us the power of dedication and commitment. Of vitality and energy. They showed us what can be accomplished if we work together yet remain who we are while doing it. To me, it just reeks of Canada – in a good way! That’s exactly the kind of way of living that can keep our country closer to togetherness than to the alternative. And while I’m at it, I want to point out that there’s been a lot of harm done to different peoples, at different times, on this land. There is harm being done today. BUT, here we all are, now. Here we are. I want to make the absolute best of what I have been born into, for everyone in this country, starting with those who have the least. As The Hip sang, “Isn’t it amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t let the nation get in your way?” And above all, I want to say that I’m not speaking for The Hip, ever. I’m speaking for myself, in my voice, in my style, influenced and inspired by them of course, along with many other musicians and poets and artists. JUST LIKE THEY DID.
Your tours are unlike almost anyone else’s—you’ve toured by boat, you’re playing Royal Canadian Legions for a toonie, and you’ll soon be performing aboard a VIA Rail train crossing the country. What draws you to these unconventional stages instead of the traditional touring circuit?
Part necessity, part boredom, part imagination, part age, part culture. I’m not 22 anymore. My friends don’t go out anymore, and when they do, they’ve got to drop a huge amount of money on a concert by an artist that they’ve been in love with for 20, 30 years. Especially with the amount of reunion tours and legacy tours and (excellent) cover bands and tribute bands. I want to give those people an alternative where they don’t have to drop a ton (or sometimes anything) to see me play, especially as I’m building my name and reputation as Kentucky…I haven’t been at this as Kentucky for 5, 10, 20 years. It’s only just been 3 years. Another factor is boredom – I’m not popular enough yet to book theatres or headline clubs on my own, but I am too old and have too much experience and (I hope) quality to bang my head against the wall playing in a corner of a pub or a restaurant while people are just trying to talk and eat dinner and enjoy each other. Lastly, I just have all kinds of ideas all the time. Usually too many to enact! I just like being able to ramble my ides out to my wife while we are on the road, and then hear her say, “That’s a great idea, let’s do it!”
If someone who had never heard your music—or even heard of The Tragically Hip—listened to “In Kingston Tonight,” what do you hope they would understand about Canada by the time the song ends?
That’s a tough one to answer but I appreciate the question. I think I would hope that the song makes them curious. About me, about Kingston, about The Hip, about music, about Canada….and get up and go discover everything they can about these things. We live in a cool place, relatively speaking. It’s not perfect, but I’ve been to and lived in enough countries to know that things are very cool and very calm here compared to almost anywhere else. Yeah, I hope people become curious. And then discover. And maybe even want to get more involved in shaping this place. But….I also hope they love the song and just want to rock and have it make their day that much better. Thanks for the interview.
Upcoming Shows:
Jul 17 — Almonte, ON — Almonte Legion (100th Anniversary of the RCL)
Jul 18 — Almonte, ON — The Almeda (Municipal Event)
Aug 12 — Toronto, ON – The Local
Aug 28 — 1000 Islands, ON – The Ivy
Aug 29 — Port Hope, ON — Port Hope Legion (Toonie Tour of Royal Canadian Legions)
Sep 11-18 — Trent-Severn Waterway — Tour-By-Boat (locations forthcoming)
Sep 19 — Westport, ON — WestPORCH Festival
Oct 5 — Westport, ON — The Cove (Monday Musical Resident)
Oct 9 — Burks Falls, ON — Burks Falls Legion (Toonie Tour of Royal Canadian Legions)
Oct 12 — Westport, ON — The Cove (Monday Musical Resident)
Oct 19 — Westport, ON — The Cove (Monday Musical Resident)
Oct 26 — Westport, ON — The Cove (Monday Musical Resident)
Dec 12-17 — Toronto to Vancouver — Via Rail Artist-in-Residence aboard The Canadian
Connect with Kentucky:
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