Tom Barlow, a three-time JUNO Award nominee, is no stranger to the world of performing. 2011 has seen him reconnecting with co-writer/producer Mladen and producer Tawgs to create his sophomore album, Burning Days. This reinvigorated partnership has led to an incredibly strong album that highlights the team’s ability to create socially conscious lyrics within tracks that boast catchy pop melodies similar to the pop-rock hybrid that launched Barlow into the spot light on his debut album.

Believing that music continues to have the ability to inspire and educate, Barlow has recently created the Young Minds on Music program. This program, which sees Tom and Mladen visiting high schools and colleges across the country, discusses the ways in which music improves the lives of all it touches. Each presentation invites youth to challenge their current beliefs of how music affects their everyday lives and how they can leverage a life passion to understand the world around them.

The past success of his self-titled major label debut album – an album that garnered him 2 top-ten radio singles (Walk Away and Married by Elvis) – has earned Barlow a place on the Canadian stage. Not only did his debut album earn him three JUNO Award nominations, it also led him to team up with his favourite Toronto based musicians to form the 60s-Garage rock band The Beautiful Unknown.

If the past few years have taught Tom Barlow anything, it’s that there continues to be a need for socially conscious music. Staying true to their music-making roots, Barlow will be releasing the first single from their sophomore album via viral video in the fall of 2011. Titled “Steal Like A Billionaire,” the track is a reflection of the anger that people around the world have been feeling for a long time toward financial institutions and their inability to lead North America away from financial upset.

Barlow’s global view is largely informed by his touring schedule, having played every where from combat zones in Central America to the tiniest Inuit communities in the high Arctic to the major urban centers of the world. So far in 2011 Barlow has performed in across Canada as well as Ecuador, Greenland, and Baffin Island.

Hoping to increase awareness of important social issues while entertaining those who listen, Barlow will spend the remainder of 2011 working to ensure that everyone has a voice when it comes to issues that are important to them and the communities they live in.