Canadian vocal powerhouse Suzie McNeil is celebrating her roots with the release of Line 49. Produced by acclaimed hitmaker Marti Frederiksen alongside Evan Frederiksen, the album transforms some of Canada’s most beloved songs into soulful, vibrant reinterpretations infused with pop and reggae influences. Inspired by a promise to her late father, the project showcases McNeil’s remarkable vocal range while honoring the songwriters who helped define Canadian music.
In addition to fresh takes on classics from artists such as Glass Tiger, Joni Mitchell, The Tragically Hip, and Alanis Morissette, Line 49 features the long-awaited recording of “Soul Life,” a song originally introduced during McNeil’s memorable run on Rock Star: INXS. We caught up with Suzie to discuss the inspiration behind the album, revisiting her past, and celebrating Canadian music through a soulful new lens.
Line 49 is a deeply personal project inspired by a promise to your late father. Can you tell us about that promise and what it means to finally bring this album to life?
It happened pretty organically to be honest, my dad was bugging me to create an album of all Canadian songs for years, he wanted me to call it “Canada Rocks”… I never really wanted to do it, but in 2021 we played the city of Branford Canada Day celebration, and I wanted to rearrange a Canadian song into a soul feel for that show. My husband suggested the tragically hip song “Bobcaygeon”, and it turned out so well we recorded it a few years later.
My dad passed after that, and I decided to keep recording songs for the record, and finally create the album that always wanted me to.
What inspired you to reinterpret these iconic Canadian songs through the lens of soul music, and how did that approach help you connect with the material in a new way?
Soul music has always been my number one love, ever since I was younger, I went to Humber college for jazz, and I always loved blues, soul and jazz.
In 2018 I decided to stop chasing the pop music carrot and dive into a style of music that I had always loved, and that I could grow old with, through its timelessness.
Performing soul music ever since, I rearranged some of my old radio hits into the style as well.
When I decided to record this album, soul arrangements were the obvious choice.
It was a really neat experience, rearranging all of these songs and trying to give them a new voice and feel.
The album spans several decades of Canadian songwriting. How did you go about selecting the songs that ultimately made the final track list?
It actually happened very organically, I was basing my song decisions more on which song would lend itself to a great rearrangement.
I did decide though that I would need a modern song, and then I knew I would need sort of a 1960s song, but most of them ended up being either 1980s or 1990s, which makes sense because that was kind of my era!
Working with Marti Frederiksen and Evan Frederiksen must have brought a unique energy to the project. What was the creative process like in the studio with them?
I’ve worked with Marti Frederiksen for 20 years, I’ve done all of my recordings with him except for one album, so we work very well in the studio together. Evan is his son, so he has mentored him and kind of taught him everything he knows, so they have a similar style.
Their recording and production style is fast, and that’s how I like it lol because you can sit in the studio for hours and days and weeks, and it gets pretty tedious haha
They are amazing musicians in their own right, they played the drums on every song as well, but they just have such a natural ear for what works and what doesn’t.
Fans will be excited to hear “Soul Life” finally receive an official studio recording. Why did now feel like the right time to revisit that song and include it on Line 49?
A) It is the 20th anniversary of the show rockstar:INXS that I was on where I wrote the song “soul life”, so I just thought it was perfect to include on this album. To celebrate the 20th anniversary, and the feel just matched the style of the album so well too.
Looking back 20 years after Rock Star: INXS, how do you feel that experience helped shape the artist you’ve become today?
I’m not sure it helped shape the artist that I am today, but it definitely helped shape my business sense, and the desire to persevere, make and create everything on my own.
Being in the Public eye on that show, and then being released into the world and having to make something happen out of it, it was a really big learning curve, and ultimately, that show really did change my life trajectory. I’m very thankful for the experience.
Songs like “Blinding Lights,” “Bobcaygeon,” and “Both Sides Now” are beloved in very different ways. Were there any tracks that proved particularly challenging—or rewarding—to reimagine?
I think the easiest one to reimagine was Bobcaygeon for some reason, I guess because the original already lends itself to a little bit of a soul feel. It was the first song ever recorded in this project, and I still think it’s probably my favorite. The process in which I would go about reimagining the styles was: I would think of a song to cover, and then I would think of a soul song to try and make it feel like, so for example I thought of “blinding lights” and that it would likely work well over the groove of the song “land of 1000 dances”. I would put the old song on and sing the Canadian song over it, to see if it would work. It was a pretty fun experience.
Since embracing soul music in recent years with projects like The Chain Reaction, how has your artistic vision evolved compared to your earlier pop-rock recordings?
My artistic vision is a lot more timeless now. I’m not so eager to play the game of Radio play and Chase the string-pulled carrot. I think that happens with age naturally, and it’s a nice, grounded place to be. I feel like I have less to prove now, which makes the experience of doing all of this a lot more enjoyable to be honest. Plus the music we’re making is so much fun! The band is so big, the horns are so loud and the songs are so groovy! It’s just such an exciting experience all round!
You’ve built a career that spans television, theatre, touring, and recording. How have those diverse experiences influenced your approach to performing and interpreting songs today?
I definitely feel like I am finally a pro in my field. I feel the confidence, I feel like I have the knowledge and a lot to bring to the stage and into the recording studio. It just feels like breathing to me now, so natural, so right, so streamlined. So timeless!
With Line 49 arriving on June 26 and several live dates already announced, what are you most looking forward to sharing with audiences as they experience this new chapter of your musical journey?
I’m excited to be proud of my fellow Canadians. We have such great music that comes out of our country, and we need to make sure we form a circle of pride around it, at the very least every year around Canada Day!
The show I created around this album is really fun and intimate, we dive into the stories behind the music and how they were created. I hope to have other Canadian musical guests join me on future shows, and keep celebrating what we do best up here!
