To learn more about Peter’s work as a keynote speaker and facilitator, click here.
While many artists are chasing algorithmic success, Peter Katz is quietly proving there’s another way. The JUNO and Canadian Screen Award–nominated songwriter has built a thriving career by doing what machines can’t — connecting with people, one story and one song at a time. His new album, Everything Unfolding (out November 7, 2025), is both a reflection of that philosophy and a record born entirely outside the conventional music playbook.
Katz’s music now lives in unexpected places — boardrooms, retreats, conference halls, and traditional theatres alike — all connected by a single idea: in an age of AI-everything and highly disposable entertainment, real human resonance endures much longer than the digital and traditional reach he had been chasing previously.
Outside of the Algorithm
After years of relentless touring across North America and Europe, Katz began to feel that something was missing. The shows were big, the travel exhilarating, but the connection he sought, that exchange between artist and audience, had felt distant and incomplete. Rather than chase the next stream or sync, he pivoted to something radically simple: keynote concerts. Half concert, half conversation, they invite audiences to reflect on their own lives through music and storytelling. “It stopped being about performing for people,” Katz says. “It became about performing with them.”
That shift has since led him to stages of thousands, and not as a pop act, but as a facilitator of shared emotional experience using music. His work has resonated across industries, from major corporations to wellness communities, creating a new hybrid lane between live performance, mindfulness, and leadership.
Music Mindfulness
One of the album’s tracks, “Keep Breathing,” recently found an unexpected second life when a renowned breathwork facilitator used it to guide a 1,000-person session in Las Vegas. The crowd literally breathed in time with the music. It was an experiment in collective calm that left the room visibly transformed. That moment has since evolved into a co-created live experience premiering in San Diego this January. “That was the first time I truly saw how a song could move through people — not just emotionally, but physically,” Katz recalls.
At another event, he premiered “Completely” in front of 2,000 people and received a standing ovation. These moments are reminders that his music, rooted in empathy and introspection, is built for connection, not consumption.
Katz describes the process:
“Without overthinking it, I intuitively approached my speaking work in the same way I have approached my songwriting my whole career: with deep curiosity, great care, and an authentic desire to capture stories that celebrated the human experience. And so, every time I’ve given a keynote concert over the last decade, I have interviewed several of the attendees in advance as part of my preparation, so that their stories could be front and centre.
The net result of that is I’ve had the privilege of getting to interview thousands of people from all walks of life. I have been inundated with stories that no one would have heard about, but because of my assignment, I had the privilege to surface them and pull them into the light. That changed me; it made me love human beings even more deeply at a time when all around us, human beings are seemingly so destructive. I got to have my finger on the pulse of who we really are, and what’s actually possible for us when we’re in connection. It made me want to write love songs to being a human in a way, songs that could be of service to all the people I was in service to every day through my work. I wanted to soundtrack their stories, and I feel like that’s what this record is. And now that it’s out in the world, I already see it serving people in all kinds of ways I never could have imagined.”
A Career Built on Connection
Katz’s slow, steady approach is paying off. Though he admits it’s not about streams, nevertheless, his streaming audience has quadrupled in six months, climbing to more than half a million streams from the new singles — without a label, compound play listing, or traditional marketing push. The growth has been organic, one listener at a time widely driven by these connections made in real life.
His reputation as a speaker and storyteller continues to grow as well. Katz has been invited to perform for organizations including SickKids, Rogers, Johns Hopkins Hospital, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, and the House of Commons of Canada. Blending song and story in ways that defy easy categorization.
About Peter Katz
Peter Katz is a JUNO Award and Canadian Screen Award–nominated singer-songwriter with more than 35 million streams worldwide. He’s performed in over a dozen countries, shared the stage with Glen Hansard and Garth Hudson (The Band), and has been praised by CBC’s Tom Power as having “one of the most heartfelt, beautiful, and vulnerable records of the year.” His music has appeared in Lethal Weapon, Heartland, Sullivan’s Crossing, and the Rio Olympics broadcast on CBC. His work — whether on stage, screen, or in conversation — reflects a career built not on hype, but on heart.
Peter’s acclaimed 2015 album We Are The Reckoning was hailed by CBC q Radio host Tom Power as “one of the most heartfelt, beautiful and vulnerable records of the year.” Toronto audiences agreed, crowning Katz as Best Male Vocalist in that year’s NOW Magazine reader’s poll. The albums lead single ‘Brother’, a duet with Royal Wood, was a certifiable hit, reaching #3 on the national public radio charts. The accompanying video reached more than a quarter million viewers in its first week of release alone. In 2017, the album was re-released in French as “La somme de tous nos efforts” and the French version of ‘Brother’ (this time as a duet with francophone star Rémi Chassé) reached Top 10 with francophone audiences at commercial radio in Peter’s birth province of Quebec.
Press Quotes:
- “One of the most promising songwriters of our time” B.Y.E Magazine Germany
- “Paper Thin” is a silky, soft new track that revolves around Katz’ raspy, yet powerful vocals, floating atop synth lines and a soft beat.” – Indie 88
- “The song (I Will Never Leave You) is melodic and catchy” – Exclaim
- “He returns with an extremely pretty and very vulnerable single (Paper Thin) that offers insight to his upcoming album” – Alan Cross
- “Well-crafted pop of a high order (Like We Used To Be). Katz’s warm vocals are framed by lush production, and the catchy chorus doesn’t hurt.” – FYI Music News
- “The strength of the song (Like We Used To Be) – and that of the equally excellent ‘Paper Thin’ and ‘Book Of Truths’ – proves that you don’t need to compromise songwriting integrity in order to have mass appeal.” – RedGuitarMusic
- “This ambient rock-pop song of sorts by Peter Katz keeps us coming back for more. Originally a folk artist, this singer has clearly been moving in a new direction and ‘I Will Never Leave You’ is just the tip of the iceberg” – EatNorth.com
- “If talent alone ensures success, then Peter Katz will soon be a name on everyone’s lips” The Record
- “Try listening without getting goosebumps” London Free Press
Accolades and Quick Facts:
- JUNO-Award Nominee for Music DVD of the Year: Peter Katz – Live at The Music Gallery
- Canadian Screen Awards Nominee for ‘Achievement in Music: Best Original Song’ for ‘Where The Light Used To Be’ from the movie ’88’
- Winner of the Best Male Vocalist in the NOW Magazine Best-Of-Toronto reader’s poll (readership of ½ million)
- ‘Halo’ video at over 20 million views
- ‘Brother’ reached #3 on the CBC Radio 2 top 20
- Winner of the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award
- Shared the stage with such notable artists as Glen Hansard, Paolo Nutini, LP, Joel Plaskett, Bahamas and Dan Mangan
Peter Katz is available for media interviews, including scheduling in-person opportunities in Toronto. For additional information on Peter Katz, artist interview, album requests, or for any specific requirements, please contact:Stephen McGrath stephenmcgrathpr@gmail.com
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