My favourite new discovery of the Vancouver Folk Fest this past year had to be Wallis Bird, who I saw perform a workshop with perennial favourite Skye Wallace. Since then, I’ve been keeping an ear out for new music, so I was happy to see “The Ocean” pop up.

The song is also accompanied by a video that is a “love letter” to the global LGBTQ+ community. Wallis says “We would love for this film to reach our LGBTQ+ family in the 72 countries where being gay is still illegal so we can try to shine a light on the darkness by giving a voice to the LGBTQ+ voiceless. In doing so, we're showing that, while we’re divided by social, religious or cultural barriers, we’re all bound by our aspirations towards true love.”