JUNO nominated and Maple Blues Award winning artist Spencer Mackenzie returns with the third single from his forthcoming studio album Empty Chairs. The new single Frozen Hearts is available on all streaming platforms from Friday November 21st, accompanied by an official lyric video.
Frozen Hearts stands as one of Mackenzie’s most personal and emotionally charged works. “Emerging from the depths of grief and resilience, I wrote Frozen Hearts as a personal tribute honouring the victims of residential schools,” Spencer explains. With soulful vocals, searing guitar work and a rhythm grounded in sorrow and defiance, the song grew into what he calls a “memorial in sound”, created to ensure that the lives lost and the voices silenced are not forgotten.
Spencer goes deeper into the song’s emotional weight: “Writing Frozen Hearts meant confronting the painful legacy of children taken from their families. Children whose laughter was silenced, whose lives were cut short, whose culture and identities were stripped away. Through every chord and lyric, I tried to transform that mourning into remembrance. This song is my promise to remember them with love, respect and truth.”
Frozen Hearts offers a first glimpse into the tone and depth of Mackenzie’s new album Empty Chairs, set for release on February 20th, 2026 through Gypsy Soul Records. The album is produced by two-time JUNO nominated producer, mixer and engineer Ross Hayes Citrullo, who also records and performs with The Commoners.
Empty Chairs captures Spencer’s continued evolution as he draws from the foundations of blues history while echoing the bold, modern energy of contemporary blues rock. The album blends electrifying guitar, gritty riffs, Hammond organ, soaring vocals and a driving rhythm section, all while staying true to the introspective storytelling that has become Mackenzie’s hallmark.
With every release, Spencer Mackenzie cements his place as one of the most expressive young voices in the modern blues world. Frozen Hearts is not only a musical statement but a deeply human one, carrying forward a truth that demands to be remembered.
