Cameron Whitcomb might not be a name you’ve heard too much of yet — but with 835 million global streams, five JUNO Award nominations, a sold-out Australian and New Zealand tour and a new EP dropping April 17, that’s probably about to change. The Nanaimo, BC-born singer-songwriter is 22 years old and is currently moving at a pace that would exhaust most established artists twice his age.
His story is one worth knowing. He left home at 17 to work on a pipeline, discovered music along the way, and channelled a turbulent journey through addiction and recovery into his songwriting. His 2025 debut album The Hard Way— raw, personal and completely unsparing — debuted at number one on the Country Albums chart in Canada, went Gold, and surpassed 500 million streams. Tracks like ‘Quitter’, ‘Fragile’ and ‘Medusa’ built him a fanbase that is genuinely devoted, and for good reason. This is not music that hedges its bets.
2026 has picked up right where 2025 left off. He’s been touring North America as special guest on HARDY’s THE COUNTRY! COUNTRY! TOUR!, performed at the JUNO Awards in Hamilton — his first appearance at the ceremony, nominated in five categories including Fan Choice, Single of the Year and Breakthrough Artist — and is currently midway through his own Fragile Egos Tour headline run, with multiple dates already sold out including Irving Plaza in New York and Citizens House of Blues in Boston. He’s also just dropped a cover of Tyler Childers’ beloved ‘All Your’n’ as an Amazon Music Original, which tells you something about where his musical heart lies.
The new single ‘Kingdom of Fear’ — out now and the lead track from his upcoming EP Deep Water, arriving April 17 — is a high-energy, hard-driving burst of folk-rock that signals a slightly different gear from the more vulnerable moments of The Hard Way. It follows ‘You and Me’, which Billboard called “an emotional, heartfelt folk-rock song characterized by his soft, weathered vocals and a stomp-clap rhythm” and which debuted on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. He’s working again with producer Jack Riley and his trusted songwriting collaborators Cal Shapiro and Nolan Sipe, so the pedigree is solid.
If you’re in New Zealand, his Auckland Powerstation show on May 5 is already sold out — as are both Melbourne Forum dates, both Brisbane Tivoli dates and both Sydney Roundhouse dates. Additional shows were added in some markets due to demand. He’ll be joined by special guest Lewis Love across the Australian and New Zealand run.
Whitcomb himself put it best when describing getting back into the writing process for Deep Water: “It’s like having sex with your ex. Something familiar, comfortable, but also refreshing about it.” Honestly, that’s a pretty good line. Which is probably why he’s at 835 million streams at 22.
Deep Water EP is out April 17. ‘Kingdom of Fear’ is out now.
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