Canadian Folk and Rock Stars Surprise Joel Plaskett With Tribute Album 'Songs From The Gang'
Arkells, Alan Doyle, Sloan, City and Colour, Jenn Grant, Julian Taylor and many more are putting their spin on the east coast songwriter's vast body of work.
Joel Plaskett
Canadian musicians are celebrating an influential east coast songwriter.
Joel Plaskett is a Juno-winning musician whose prolific releases have made their mark on the Canadian songbook across three decades. Now, Canadian folk and rock artists are celebrating the Halifax artist and former Thrust Hermit frontman with a double album tribute for his 50th birthday, Songs From The Gang.
The 22-track release features Canadian stars like Great Big Sea frontman Alan Doyle; Hamilton rockers Arkells; roots musician Julian Taylor; and fellow Nova Scotian group Sloan. City and Colour, Bahamas, Jenn Grant and Mo Kenney also appear.
The album was recorded across a year in secret, unknown to Plaskett himself.
Plaskett found out in a surprise reveal at Victoria, B.C.'s Ditch Records, where he thought he was meeting up with his manager Sheri Jones for dinner.
The album includes covers of some of Plaskett's best-loved songs like "Drunk Teenagers," off 2007's Ashtray Rock, and the highly catchy "Nowhere With You," already a popular song for Canadian acts to cover.
Songs From The Gang is available for purchase. Find the full tracklist below.
Tracklist
1 You're Mine - Frank Turner
2 Come On, Teacher - Arkells
3 I Love This Town - Sloan
4 Down At The Khyber - The Sheepdogs
5 Drunk Teenagers - 45 Portland Street Band (feat. Eric Stephen Martin, Alexander Gallant, Aquakultre, Sarah Swire)
6 Lying On A Beach - Jenn Grant
7 Hey Moon (A Campfire Song) - Alan Doyle
8 Happen Now - David Myles
9 Harbour Boys - Jah'Mila
10 Wishful Thinking - Reeny Smith, Haliey Smith, Micah Smith
11 Natural Disaster - Matt Andersen
12 Compete With Loneliness - Julian Taylor
13 Deny, Deny, Deny - Two Hours Traffic
14 Beyond, Beyond, Beyond - Peter Elkas
15 Please Don't Return - Bahamas
16 Lonely Love - Mo Kenney
17 Nowhere With You - Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers
18 All The Way Down The Line - City and Color
19 Nothing More To Say - Rose Cousins
20 Face Of The Earth - Shotgun Jimmie
21 Light Of The Moon - Jill Barber & Matthew Barber
22 Absentminded Melody - Steve Poltz
23 Old Friends - Erin Costelo
Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance of Bob Moses at the W Toronto in September, 2025.Lane Dosey
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