Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar return with A Beautiful Buzz, a new live album released on May 22, 2026 via Gypsy Soul Records. Captured during the band’s Love Is All Around tour across Western Canada in 2022, the album documents the raw power, sweat, soul and communal energy that have made the group one of Canada’s most electrifying live acts.

For listeners of BluesWave Radio, this is exactly the kind of record that deserves attention: not a polished souvenir from the road, but a full-blooded live statement. A Beautiful Buzz lands somewhere between a soul revue, a gospel-fired blues show and a roots-rock celebration, carried by a band that sounds fearless, road-tested and completely alive.

At the centre of it all is Samantha Martin, a two-time JUNO Award nominee and one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Canadian roots music. Her voice has often been placed in the lineage of great soul singers, but what makes her stand out is not imitation — it is force, conviction and emotional precision. The official biography describes Martin as the lead singer, songwriter and focal point of the group, with a voice capable of summoning “tidal waves” of emotion.

Delta Sugar give that voice the ideal setting: deep grooves, gospel harmonies, horns, blues guitar, organ colour and a rhythm section that pushes the whole thing forward. The band’s sound draws from soul, blues, gospel and rock, but it never feels like museum music. It is classic DNA delivered with modern urgency.

The live album was recorded on November 26, 2022, at the A.C.T. Theatre in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, during a tour that carried extra emotional weight. The shows had originally been delayed during the final wave of COVID-era disruptions, and when the tour finally happened, Samantha Martin was six months pregnant. A 13-person touring party crossed Western Canada in winter conditions, turning the run into something more than a normal tour: a moment of resilience, transformation and release.

That background gives A Beautiful Buzz its emotional core. This is not just a live document; it is the sound of a band pushing through uncertainty and arriving at a moment of joy. In Martin’s own words from the press material, the album captures the “magic” she felt during that tour and stands as a testament to resilience, love and the power of music during life’s transformations.

The album features 13 tracks, including originals such as “Love Is All Around,” “Don’t Have To Be,” “Good Trouble,” “All Night Long,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “Loving You Is Easy” and “Pass Me By,” alongside powerful interpretations of Robbie Robertson’s “The Shape I’m In,” Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes,” and the Rolling Stones’ “Loving Cup.” The Apple Music listing also confirms the album as a 2026 live release by Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar.

One of the key moments is “The Shape I’m In,” featuring special guest Steve Marriner, who also appears on “Them Changes” and “Loving Cup.” His presence adds another layer of Canadian blues and roots authority to a record already overflowing with vocal strength and instrumental fire.

The album was mixed by Renan Yildizdogan and Ross Hayes Citrullo at RHC Music in Toronto, and mastered by Phil Demetro Mastering. The result is a live recording that keeps the heat of the room intact: horns up front, vocals full of grit and soul, and a band that sounds like it is feeding directly from the energy of the audience.

The spirit of A Beautiful Buzz has been compared in the press material to Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen — and that comparison makes sense. This is big, communal, revue-style music: horns, backing vocals, grit, gospel, blues and sweat all colliding in real time. It is the kind of album that reminds you why live records matter when the band is truly on fire.

For BluesWave Radio listeners, A Beautiful Buzz is a reminder that modern blues and soul are not only alive — they are loud, physical and urgent. Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar do not simply recreate old Southern soul and blues traditions. They push them forward with volume, conviction and a voice that can lift a room by itself.

With a new studio album already in development for 2027, A Beautiful Buzz feels less like a pause between projects and more like a defining statement. It captures what has made Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar essential in the first place: the power of the stage, the force of a great band, and a singer who can turn every note into a moment of truth.