PRODUCED BY GRAMMY-NOMINATED PRODUCER RYAN HADLOCK
SARAH VANDERZON JOINS JOHN MUIRHEAD ON “THE NEVER ENDING ROAD”
CROSS-CANADA TOUR NEXT WEEK
Listen to “Red Label Bourbon” HERE
Download Media Assets HERE
16 OCTOBER 2026 (TORONTO, ON) – Folk-Americana singer-songwriter Sarah Vanderzon releases her most personal songwriting to date with “Red Label Bourbon”, out today via Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. Caught in the tension between loving someone and holding them accountable for the hurt they’ve caused, she writes through the regret, anger, and pain that can exist alongside love.
Vanderzon brings that tension into focus, making conflicting emotions tangible through sharply visual songwriting, from old tapes packed away in a dusty brown box to a script with one name scratched out. As “Red Label Bourbon” unfolds, she turns the scrutiny inward, confronting her own pain and regret.
“I want to be as vulnerable and as transparent as possible,” shares Vanderzon. “As a listener, I love it when artists bare their entire soul. I want to be able to talk about the heavy stuff even though it’s hard to write about it and even harder to admit it and put it into the world.”
Anchored by her acoustic guitar, “Red Label Bourbon”pairs direct storytelling with a full folk-Americana instrumental palette. Pedal steel, bass, drums, electric guitar, piano, organ, and tambourine create an emotional backdrop for her hurt to unfold, while keeping the song rooted in the plainspoken force of its writing. “I wanted the most authentic, organic sound – live recording, no melodyne on my vocals,” Vanderzon says.“At my core, I’m singer-songwriter folk – my storytelling is really through my voice and guitar.”
Watch the “Red Label Bourbon Visualizer HERE
“Red Label Bourbon” marks Vanderzon’s third release this year produced by GRAMMY Award-nominated producer Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Zach Bryan), following “Oh My Child” and “Being Free”. Together, the songs introduce a more vulnerable chapter in Vanderzon’s writing, one that turns increasingly inward without sacrificing the loose immediacy and physicality of her live performance. That sound took shape at the storied Bear Creek Studio outside Seattle where Vanderzon and Hadlock retreated to record what she calls “a collection of songs that feels like an invitation to my core, what I don’t show anyone.” Surrounded by woods and the studio’s vintage ’70s memorabilia, Vanderzon found the distance and solitude to turn inward. “There was some kind of comfort there — maybe it was the space, maybe it was because there was room to breathe — it felt like I was stepping back in time while also stepping out of my own life and just being free,” she shares. That introspection carries directly into “Red Label Bourbon”. Bringing private thoughts into sharply observed songwriting, Vanderzon’s storytelling carries echoes of Noah Kahan’s lyrical clarity and Brandi Carlile’s vocal conviction, giving conflicting emotions room to coexist, suspended alongside one another without easy resolution.
Sarah Vanderzon will bring her increasingly personal body of work to the stage this fall. Beginning October 21, she joins Toronto singer-songwriter John Muirhead for over 20 dates on The Never Ending Road cross-Canada tour. See Sarah Vanderzon’s 2026 tour dates below.
Upcoming Sarah Vanderzon Tour Dates:
Oct 23 – Harmony Hall – Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON*
Oct 25 – Stockey Centre – Parry Sound, ON*
Oct 29 – The Broom Factory – Kingston, ON*
Oct 30 – Club SAW – Ottawa, ON*
Nov 3 – Knox Hall – Greater Sudbury, ON*
Nov 4 – The Loft – Sault Ste. Marie, ON*
Nov 5 – Imperial Hall – Thunder Bay, ON*
Nov 6 – Sidestage – Winnipeg, MB*
Nov 7 – Capitol Music Club – Saskatoon, SK*
Nov 8 – The Exchange – Regina, SK*
Nov 10 – De Winton United Church – De Winton, AB*
Nov 13 – Festival Hall – Calgary, AB*
Nov 15 – Varscona Theatre – Edmonton, AB*
Nov 18 – The Hub On Martin – Penticton, BC*
Nov 19 – Creekside Theatre – Lake Country, BC*
Nov 21 – Fox Cabaret – Vancouver, BC*
Nov 22 – Lucky Bar – Victoria, BC*
Dec 12 – The Mod Club (Formerly Known as The Axis Club) – Toronto, ON*
Mar 12, 2027 – W.H. Collins Centre – Elliott Lake, ON
Mar 13, 2027 – Classic Theatre – Cobalt, ON
*Support for John Muirhead
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ABOUT SARAH VANDERZON:
Sarah Vanderzon writes music the way some people tell the truth – carefully, and with an incontestable conviction that compels you to lean in. Rooted in a reflective strain of Americana, the Québec-born singer-songwriter turns life’s in-between moments – uncertainty, devotion, the push and pull of love – into something intimate and immediate. Her sound is shaped as much by intuition as experience, grounded in a creative life that began on the outskirts of Montréal, where music was less a career path than a steady, private companion.
Raised on a quiet stretch of road, Vanderzon gravitated early toward songs as stories, developing a songwriting approach built on emotional clarity and narrative detail. Winning the Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase in 2024 marked a turning point for Sarah and soon after, an offer from Universal Music Canada accelerated a long-building trajectory.
Following the release of her 2025 major label debut EP, Fortune Teller, Vanderzon travelled to Seattle to work with GRAMMY-nominated producer Ryan Hadlock, best known for his work with The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, and Zach Bryan, spending several weeks at the storied Bear Creek Studio. Recording live-off-the-floor, she preserved the raw emotion of her vocals and the electricity of the musicians playing together in the room to create music that feels both intimate and expansive – deeply personal songs built to fill a room. For Vanderzon, Americana is a feeling of proximity – music built on restraint, intention, and emotional truth. Increasingly, her focus has turned toward music built for performance and connection. Sarah Vanderzon’s sharply observed folk-Americana songwriting turns the things we struggle to say out loud into songs that stick.
