John Axford updates ultimate Canada Day Weekend playlist

An injury has kept veteran reliever John Axford from appearing in any games for the Toronto Blue Jays so far this season, but that hasn’t kept the 35-year-old Simcoe, Ontario native from doing his part to entertain fans in his home country.

With Canada Day long weekend upon us north of the border, Axford has come out of the bullpen for his country for the third year in a row, dropping the 2019 edition of his ultimate Canadian music playlist.

The playlist now stands at 546 songs, weighing in at a whopping 34 hours and 38 minutes of non-stop CanCon.

Axford’s playlist is a very comprehensive collection of Canadian artists, with clear efforts made to tackle as many genres and eras as he can. The listening experience resembles taking a road trip and flipping through local radio stations that are in the process of filling their mandated 60% homegrown content regulation.

There were 469 songs on the 2018 version of the playlist, meaning 77 new tracks made the Ax man’s cut this year.

Among the new songs added to the roster this year are cuts from: Triumph, Propagandhi, Stampeders, Marianas Trench, Three Days Grace, Saint Asonia, Cancer Bats, Danko Jones, Cowboy Junkies, Tokyo Police Club, Tory Lanez, Thornley, Arcade Fire, A Tribe Called Red, The Band, Bedouin Soundclash, Bran Van 3000, Bruce Cockburn, The Guess Who, July Talk, Wintersleep, PUP, Drake, and Alexisonfire.

Axford is currently rehabbing from an injury he sustained in spring training, and is signed to a minor-league contract in the Blue Jays system. The latest update on his status was that he had progressed to long toss drills.

Even through injury, Axford still comes up clutch for his country in a high-leverage spot. As Canadian as it gets.

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