Happy Labour Day! We hope your weekend has been full of family, fun and rest. And from our little corner of the world, we want to bring you a little artistic love.
{Photo Credit: Marina Manushenko}
Masses, meet the Great Lake Swimmers
This month for the Artist Spotlight, we are so excited to feature these talented artists. They are quirky, fun and definitely passionate about their music. If you haven’t heard of them yet, please take the time to check them out, we will provide all of their links at the bottom of this post.
Since Great Lake Swimmers debuted over a decade ago they’ve released five albums, taken home the award for favourite folk/roots artist/group at the Canadian Indie Awards, were shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2009 and were on the long list for 2012, received nominations for Juno Awards in 2010 and 2013 for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year – Group, and a Canadian Folk Music Award. With a sixth album due out next year, the band is happily showcasing new material for eager fans.
Great Lake Swimmers’ lead singer Tony Dekker has spent the last decade entrancing listeners with his unforgettable voice and compelling songwriting. The Toronto group has long been a word-of-mouth favourite in Canada. They’ve been regarded as a national treasure by the CBC, with Lost Channels (2009) topping the charts at CBC Radio 3 and on the iTunes Singer/ Songwriter Chart. In the United States, Lost Channels debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and was a favourite among influential bloggers and NPR staff. The band’s 2012 release, New Wild Everywhere, was followed by extensive tours of Canada, the United States and Europe. The band has received public endorsements by the likes of Feist, Robert Plant, and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. The latter has raved about the band on his personal website; the former have handpicked the band to open shows and whole tours. Josh Groban has been known to open his show with a Great Lake Swimmers cover.
The current lineup features Dekker on vocals and guitar, along with Erik Arnesen on banjo and guitar, Miranda Mulholland on violin and backing vocals, bassist Bret Higgins, and Josh Van Tassel on the drums.
Upcoming Show Dates:
September 20 – Morrisburg ON @ St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage http://www.st-lawrencestage.com/shows.html
http://www.greatlakeswimmers.com/