Few artists on the Canadian folk-roots scene can claim the longevity and consistency of the winner of the 2025 Penguin Eggs Roots Music Canada Critics’ Poll.
Stephen Fearing has earned the honour for his phenomenal 14th solo album, The Empathist.
It comes 39 years after the release of his debut cassette, giving Stephen the longest recording career of anyone to top the critics’ poll in its 25-year history – longer even than Robert Plant, who appeared on Led Zeppelin’s debut album in 1969 and topped the poll in 2007 – for a span of 38 years.
Born in Vancouver and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Stephen has seldom been out of the spotlight since that first cassette, releasing 13 other solo albums, two albums with Irish singer-songwriter Andy White and nine as a member of supergroup Blackie and the Rodeo Kings with Tom Wilson and Colin Linden.
- Find full coverage of the Critics’ Poll, including the individual top 10s, HERE.
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- The 2025 overall critics’ top 10
- Past years’ winners and new discoveries of the year
He’s earned a Canadian Folk Music Award, a Juno Award and four other Juno nominations.
The Empathist grew out of an unexpected collaboration with Ken Coomer of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco, and it showcases all the qualities that have contributed to Stephen’s staying power: his talent and versatility as a songwriter; his skill as a guitarist; his emotion-filled vocal performances; and his penchant for choosing collaborators who bring out the best in his work.
Highlights of the album include the sprightly, brass-enhanced “Bring this Song,” which sounds to all the world like it could’ve been written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin; the angry anti-oppression anthem “Far from the Middle” and the tender cover of Daniel Lanois’ “Where Will I Be.”
Virtually every artist who has topped the Penguin Eggs Critics’ Poll has been at the peak of their powers as an artist at the time.
But few have stayed at that peak as long as Stephen.
The man is a true icon of Canadian folk.
About the critics’ poll:
Every year for 20 years, Penguin Eggs magazine invited music journalists, radio hosts, folk club and folk festival artistic directors and other “taste makers” in our genres to send in their top 10 albums of the year and their favourite new discoveries.
The magazine gave artists a point for each list they appeared on and tallied them up to get a final Top 10. It also published the top three new discoveries.
Penguin Eggs ceased publishing in 2021, but this annual tradition continues here at Roots Music Canada with publisher Roddy Campbell’s blessing.
This year, we made a change to the methodology – also with Roddy’s blessing – giving participants the opportunity to add an asterisk to up to five titles on their top 10.
Albums with asterisks received two points in the tally instead of one.
It was both a way to acknowledge that some albums stand head and shoulders above the rest and a means to try and reduce the number of albums that tie.
Having said that, the top three positions in this year’s critic’s poll would not have changed had we used the old methodology.
Albums ranked lower would’ve ranked in a different order but there is virtually no difference in the specific titles on the list.
