The Strumbellas Announce Canada-Wide Rattlesnake Tour

By FYI Staff

The Strumbellas are getting ready to shake, rattle and roll across the country, with the announcement of their Rattlesnake winter Canadian Tour. The trek opens at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, Jan. 10, closing out at Sherbrooke's Theatre Granada on Feb. 15.  

To celebrate their 10th anniversary of playing live in Toronto, the group has come up with a highly original scheme, booking shows in five very different, but equally important, live music venues in the city in which the group first made a splash in.

 Between Jan. 21 and 26, the Strumbellas play The Cameron House, Dakota Tavern, Horseshoe Tavern,  Phoenix Concert Theatre, and Danforth Music Hall.

Except for these Toronto shows, Halifax duo Neon Dreams is the tour support.

Tickets for all shows are on sale at 10 am local time, Friday, September 13.

The Strumbellas released Rattlesnake in Canada on the band’s imprint, Underneath A Mountain Records, under exclusive license to eOne Music Canada; and internationally with Glassnote Records, on March 29th. All of the band's albums have been on their own label, and are owned by the band and licensed.

 Produced by Tim Pagnotta (Elle King, Walk the Moon), co-produced and engineered by Brian Phillips, Rattlesnake was recorded on the band’s home turf, at the legendary Bathouse Recording Studio outside of Kingston, ON and at Revolution Recording in Toronto, ON.

In a press release, leader and primary songwriter Simon ward explains that "This album is about one main character: this guy, me, who's out there following his dream to have his music heard, but at the same time, he's just trying to get home." Continuing,  "The reason it's called Rattlesnake is because it's about him facing his fears head-on. Shedding his skin, evolving, and realizing he's got these three kids that he's responsible for. Little humans, they're more important than anything. They have a way of really anchoring you."

The album has been termed a musical step forward from the to-the-rafters scrappy folk aesthetic of their earlier work. For the recording, The Strumbellas, made up of Ward (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), David Ritter (keys), Jeremy Drury (drums/percussion), Isabel Ritchie (strings), Jon Hembrey (electric guitar) and Darryl James (bass), sought to capture the energy of their live show with a decidedly more stylistic upbeat bent.

Upon the release of Rattlesnake, The Strumbellas toured throughout Europe in the spring, then had a 25-date run across the US in May, followed by the summer festival circuit in Canada. EU dates are coming this fall, followed by US shows in November and December, and more touring worldwide in 2020.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES:

January 9, 2020 – Victoria, BC – Royal Theatre *

January 10, 2020 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore*

January 14, 2020 – Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium*

January 15, 2020 – Edmonton, AB – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium*

January 16, 2020 – Saskatoon, SK – Coors Event Centre *

January 17, 2020 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre*

January 21, 2020 – Toronto, ON – Cameron House ^

January 22, 2020 – Toronto, ON – The Dakota Tavern

January 23, 2020 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern

January 25, 2020 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix

January 26, 2020 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall

January 30, 2020 – Kitchener, ON – Centre in The Square *

January 31, 2020 – London, ON – London Music Hall *

February 7, 2020 – Peterborough, ON – Peterborough Memorial Centre*

February 14, 2020 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial Bell*

February 15, 2020 – Sherbrooke, QC – Theatre Granada*

* w/ special guests Neon Dreams

^ win to get in (details to come)