Yesterday’s News, Bruce Coughlan
The Story behind the Song: Yesterday’s News
Pacific Canadian songsmith Bruce Coughlan is celebrating 50+ years as a performing songwriter.
The streets of Vancouver in the 1970s were a much kinder place. Bruce made his way busking on street corners, while haunting all the “Hippy Havens” of the day: Wreck Beach, Kitsilano & Gastown, where song circles, and drum circles were commonplace, and Folk Clubs proved a learning ground for the fledgling artist.
At 14, after quitting high school, he struck out on his own with nothing but a guitar and a pack on his back, to tackle life as a balladeer.
It was at that time when he penned the song “Yesterday’s News” a Blues song which recently caught the attention of Music in Motion Canada’s judges and garnered him *third place. (*announced Dec 12th, 2025).
Today, Bruce is engaged in “Stirring Up Ghosts” a three-decade long initiative to preserve a measure of Pacific History & Heritage in song & story.
Preserving history in song is a timeless practice in many cultures. Preserving Arts, History, Heritage & Culture in today’s media-driven society requires a contemporary and dynamic approach. Enter the “Songumentary”
A “Songumentary” is a unique new (self-styled) media format: A series of virtual walk-throughs and archival image montages help provide context and a contemporary connection to an historic tale portrayed in song. The songs and stories can also be linked to related museums, archives and heritage sites.
Bruce’s musical journey has been a very colorful one. An outline can be found on
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