Enter the competition

Ash Ravens

Established 18+ · Season 1 artist

Competition tracks

About

Ash Ravens is a Bangladeshi-Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Ottawa, known for guitar-driven hybrid rock that pulls from indie, world, and blues traditions. Trained at the LA College of Music, Ash brings an informed musician's ear for structure to songs built around vivid imagery, memory, and emotional precision, treating every lyric as an integral part of the song rather than an afterthought layered on top of the melody. Ash seldom writes the same song twice. Across a catalogue that spans instrumental guitar work and full singer-songwriter records, his music is an exploration about how a lyric can hold contradiction: tenderness beside grit, humor beside ache, plain talk beside something stranger underneath. That range comes from a life lived across three continents, childhood in Bangladesh, formative years in Los Angeles, time in Melbourne, Australia and now a forever-home base in Ottawa, a path that surfaces in the code-switching, imagery, and unexpected turns of phrase running through the work. For Ash, a lyric is never decoration. It's the load-bearing wall of the song. Whether writing about distance, identity, or the strange math of leaving and staying, Ash treats every line as a chance to say something that couldn't be said any other way, and to say it in a voice that's unmistakably his own. Ash's most recent single, "Last Letter from an Alien," continues that pattern, pairing plainspoken narrative with a deeper emotional register. Earlier releases include One Way Ticket (2024), Joyride Blues (2025), and Side A (2025). Ash's music has earned two Capital Music Award nominations, including a Newcomer of the Year nod, two City of Ottawa Arts Grants, and a performance slot at RBC Ottawa Bluesfest. Press coverage includes features in Tinnitist, Roots Music Canada, and Rock Era Magazine.

This stage could be yours

Lyrics4Life is a not-for-profit organization — proceeds from the competition support CHEO.

Got a song in you?

Enter yours before November 8 — one token, one shot at the live final.

Submit your song

Love the music?

Join the newsletter for finalist reveals, live-final news, and the occasional behind-the-scenes note. No spam — just songs for a good cause.

Join the list

Want bigger impact?

Sponsor the season and put your name beside every song — in support of CHEO.

Become a sponsor

Like this track?

Sign up to like it and stay looped on all things L4L. No sign-up forms, no passwords — enter your email and the six-digit code we send you, and you're in.

Sign in / create account