Canadian Stars Take To The Road In 2020
North of the 49th, lost record sales and the advantage of playing to homegrown audiences are strong factors spurring Maple musicians to hit the road. The result is the appearance of a bumper crop of Canadian headliners at festivals, amphitheatres and auditoriums this year.
By FYI Staff
Opportunity and a reversal of fortunes could be two key indicators driving heavy traffic onto the tour market highways across North America in 2020.
The opportunity lays in the fact that a large segment of the younger audience has all but given up on saving enough to make a home purchase, resulting in more disposable income that they are spending on travel and entertainment.
The reversal of fortune is an acute result of lost revenues from record sales for a great number of acts that aren’t hitting the billions of streams threshold.
North of the 49th, lost record sales and the advantage of playing to homegrown audiences are strong factors spurring Maple musicians to hit the road. The result is the appearance of a bumper crop of Canadian headliners at festivals, amphitheatres and auditoriums.
What follows is not intended as a definitive tour guide, but rather a teaser look at upcoming shows with a Maple Leaf imprint.
Fans of '90s era CanRock are already excited about the just-announced Saints and Sinners 2020 tour, featuring Big Wreck, Headstones, Moist and The Tea Party out on a 17 city tour with arena and festival dates. The roadshows open at Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre on June 26 and end July 30 on The Rock at the St. John’s George Street Festival. FYI broke the tour news on Monday morning to a feverish response ( over 3.3K FB shares in two days). Check the sked here
Barenaked Ladies recently announced an extensive Last Summer On Earth tour of North America, one featuring fellow '90s pop-rock faves Gin Blossoms and Toad The Wet Sprocket in support. it currently features one Canadian date only, at Toronto's Budweiser Stage on July 23, with Kim Mitchell in support. Dates here
Another superstar Canadian band set for a major summer North American tour but with only one Canadian show is Nickelback. The group will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its diamond-certified, #1 album All The Right Reasons by performing the album in its entirety on the amphitheatres and arenas tour, running June 19 to Oct. 3, with some dates featuring Stone Temple Pilots. The only homeland show is at Toronto's Budweiser Stage on July 8.
Yet another star whose world-touring only includes one Canadian stop is Alanis Morissette, at (where else?) Toronto's Budweiser Stage on July 11, as part of her 25th-anniversary tour to celebrate Jagged Little Pill. On May 1 she releases Such Pretty Forks in the Road, her first album since 2012.
Vancouver rock veteran Matthew Good plays a 31 date headline tour with his band. The current slate of shows begins on March 4 in Pictou, NS, and will bring Good across Canada with stops in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver and more. The tour will also take Good to the US, for a few solo acoustic dates. Sked here
Veteran pop troubadour Ron Sexsmith heads out on a seven-date Canadian tour in May, supporting new album Hermitage. Tix went on sale at ronsexsmith.com yesterday (Jan. 21), and fans who purchase a ticket to the show will receive a link to download the new record.
Multiple CCMA-winning country siren Meghan Patrick begins an extensive cross-country theatre and auditorium tour on Jan. 30 at Brampton's Rose Theatre. The 25 dates combine Patrick’s headlining tour shows and her opening dates for Old Dominion. Patrick has just released a new single, Things I Shouldn’t Say.
After winter dates in Asia and Europe, Quebec star Bobby Bazini has shows set for Toronto's Paradise (May 5) and Montreal's Theatre Outremont (May 7), followed by two Quebec shows in September.
Two of Canada's most critically lauded singer/songwriters, Sarah Slean and Hawksley Workman, will soon release a joint EP of newly recorded material, to be followed by a tour of Ontario theatres. Billed as A Musical Evening With Sarah Slean and Hawksley Workman, it runs from Feb. 27 to March 14, taking in nine Ontario cities.
Toronto indie rock faves Born Ruffians release new album JUICE on April 3rd, followed by five Ontario dates in March and May.
Edgy Toronto rock band Holy Fuck begins international touring in March, promoting new release Deleter. There are early April shows in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, followed by June dates in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. itinerary here
Polaris shortlisted singer/songwriter Andy Shauf releases a new album, The Neon Skyline, on Jan. 24, and his international touring includes Canadian shows. He has five Western shows, Feb. 29 to March 4, then concerts in Toronto (April 24) and Montreal (April 25).
Toronto rockers Courage My Love and James Blonde team up for a six-date March Ontario and Quebec tour. Dates here
Fast-rising Montreal pianist/composer Alexandra Stréliski has sold more than 71,000 copies of her latest album, INSCAPE, one that brought her multiple Felix awards. She is touring extensively in 2020, with all her recent Quebec shows selling out. Some just-added new dates include Feb. 13 at Montreal's Théâtre Maisonneuve, May 23 at CNA in Ottawa, and May 25 at Toronto's Paradise Theatre.
