Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band from

Wainfleet, Ontario Wainfleet is a rural township in southern Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. There is a small and growing tourist industry, near and on Lake Erie at the southern area of Wainfleet called Long Beach. Wainfleet is also the home of the Marshville He ...

, and currently based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The current touring line-up is Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

, Ryan Granville-Martin on drums and backing vocals, Bret Higgins on

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

and Kelsey McNulty on keyboards and backing vocals. Past members included

Julie Fader Julie Fader is a Canadian musician, songwriter and visual artist best known as a keyboard player and backing vocalist for Sarah Harmer, Chad VanGaalen and Great Lake Swimmers. In September 2009, she released ''Outside In'', her debut album as a ...

on backing vocals,

Sandro Perri Sandro Perri is a musician and producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His music has been called post-rock, electronic, experimental, ambient, folk among others. He has been producing, mixing and mastering records for other artists since 2003. ...

on guitar, and Greg Millson and Colin Huebert on drums. The band's style has been compared to

Red House Painters Red House Painters were an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988, before relocating to San Francisco, California in 1989. Originally formed by singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek and drummer Anthony Koutsos, the pair were soon joine ...

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

Iron & Wine Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live alb ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

, as well as

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

(

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

) and

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

. Dekker has cited influences including

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973), known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. He recorded with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds, and the Flying Bu ...

and

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

History

The band released two albums, ''

Great Lake Swimmers Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto. The current touring line-up is Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and Pump o ...

'' in 2003 and ''

Bodies and Minds ''Bodies and Minds'' is the second studio album by Canadian folk rock group Great Lake Swimmers, released in 2005. ''Bodies and Minds'' was recorded in a lakeside church in Wainfleet, Ontario, continuing the emphasis on atmosphere from the debut ...

'' in 2005, on the independent label (

Weewerk Weewerk, stylized as (weewerk), is an independent folk, roots, bluegrass, country record label and artist-management company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2002 as an art-and-music salon series in the apartment of Teenage USA ...

) before signing to the larger

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

in 2007. The band released its third full-length album, '' Ongiara'', on March 27, 2007 in Canada and in May for the rest of the world. Although signing to Nettwerk early in 2007, Great Lake Swimmers continue to be managed by (

). In September 2007, (weewerk) released a limited edition vinyl version of ''Ongiara''. It was available in Australia through native indie label Speak N Spell. Their fourth album, '' Lost Channels'', was released on March 31, 2009. It was shortlisted for the

2009 Polaris Music Prize The 2009 edition of the Canada, Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2009 in Toronto

, and was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

, in the category of Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group, and a

Canadian Folk Music Award The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards pr ...

. In 2009 Great Lake Swimmers took part in an interactive documentary series called ''

City Sonic ''City Sonic'' is a documentary series about Toronto-based musicians and the places that influenced their music.http://radio3.cbc.ca/blogs/2009/8/Watch-This-City-Sonic-Film-Series The first five ''City Sonic'' films were previewed at Toronto's 2 ...

''. The series, which featured 20 Toronto artists, had Tony Dekker talk about his daily underground commute along Toronto’s subway system. In 2011, Dekker participated in the documentary series ''

National Parks Project The National Parks Project is a Canadian music and film project. Released in 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the National Parks of Canada system,Cape Breton Highlands National Park Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a Canadian National Parks of Canada, national park on northern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The park was the first national park in the The Maritimes, Atlantic provinces of Canada and covers an ar ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

with filmmaker Keith Behrman and musicians Daniela Gesundheit and

Old Man Luedecke Old Man Luedecke () is the recording name of Canadian singer-songwriter and banjo player Christopher “Chris” Rudolf Luedecke of Chester, Nova Scotia. He is most noted as a two-time Juno Award winner for Roots & Traditional Album of the Yea ...

. The band's fifth studio album, '' New Wild Everywhere'', was released on April 3, 2012.Great Lake Swimmers: "Easy Come Easy Go"
. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', January 9, 2012. The band also composed an instrumental soundtrack for photographer Ian Coristine's ''One in a Thousand'', an e-book of photography from the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

region of Ontario, also released in April 2012. Dekker released a solo album, ''Prayer of the Woods'', in October 2013."Great Lake Swimmers Frontman Tony Dekker Goes Solo for 'Prayer of the Woods'"
''

'', August 13, 2013. The album includes eight original songs as well as covers of

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

's " Carefree Highway" and Human Sexual Response's "Land of the Glass Pinecones". In 2014 he followed up with ''Sings 10 Years of Zunior'', an album of covers of other Canadian artists — including

Chad VanGaalen Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician, animator, and artist from Calgary, Alberta. Career ''Infiniheart'' Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released '' Infini ...

Christine Fellows Christine Ann Fellows (born 1968) is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. History Born in Windsor, Ontario, and raised in France and Kelowna, British Columbia, Fellows lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Guelph and Montreal ...

Ohbijou Ohbijou was a Canadian indie pop band that was based in Toronto, Ontario. The music of Ohbijou draws on pop, folk and bluegrass influences. History Ohbijou began as the solo project of Brantford singer-songwriter Casey Mecija.Sayej, Nadja. "U ...

Rae Spoon Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician, composer, producer, performer, and writer from Calgary, Alberta. Their musical style has varied from country to electronic-influenced indie rock and folk punk.Matt Mays Matt Mays (born August 10, 1979) is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and was the lead singer of Matt Mays & El Torpedo, a rock music group based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and New York City. Previously, Mays was a member of a Canadian i ...

Martin Tielli Martin Tielli is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was a member of the Rheostatics, and has also released material as a solo artist and with the side project Nick Buzz. As well, he has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Barenaked Ladies, K ...

Jennifer Castle Jennifer Castle is a Canadian singer-songwriter, based in Toronto, Ontario. Born in Toronto, she was raised in Mississauga and Orangeville, Ontario, Orangeville,

and

Cadence Weapon Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, better known by his stage name Cadence Weapon, is a Canadian-American rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Pemberton released his first album, '' Breaking Kayfabe'', in 2005 with posit ...

— released to mark the 10th anniversary of Canadian web music store

Zunior Zunior.com is a Canadian online independent record label and music store founded in 2004 by Dave Ullrich, formerly of The Inbreds.A Forest of Arms'', was released on April 21, 2015. In 2017 they followed up with the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

-themed EP ''They Don't Make Them Like That Anymore''. In February 2018, the band released the single "Falling Apart"/"The Talking Wind", as an advance preview of the forthcoming album ''The Waves, the Wake''. Their eighth album, ''Uncertain Country'', was released on April 28, 2023. In 2024, they appeared on several tracks from Abigail Lapell's album ''Anniversary''.

Discography

Great Lake Swimmers at the Peterborough Folk Festival 2014 04

Studio albums

* ''

'' (weewerk, 2003) * ''

'' (weewerk, 2005) * '' Ongiara'' (Nettwerk, 2007) * '' Lost Channels'' (Nettwerk, 2009) * '' New Wild Everywhere'' (Nettwerk, 2012) * '' A Forest of Arms'' (Nettwerk, 2015) * '' The Waves, the Wake'' (Nettwerk, 2018) * ''Uncertain Country'' (2023) * ''In Pieces: An Acoustic Retrospective'' (2024)

Acoustic albums

* '' The Waves, the Wake (Acoustic)'' (Nettwerk, 2019)

Cover albums

* ''When Last We Shook Hands: Cover Songs, Vol. 1'' (2020)

EPs

* ''Hands in Dirty Ground'' (weewerk, 2006) * ''Swimming Away'' (2016) * ''They Don't Make Them Like That Anymore'' (2017) * ''Side Effects'' (2018)

Live albums

* ''Live at the Church of the Redeemer'' (Nettwerk, 2007) * '' The Legion Sessions'' (Nettwerk, 2009) * ''Live in Ottawa at the 27 Club, October 3, 2019'' (2020) * ''Live at the Redeemer 2007'' (Weewerk, 2021)

Singles

Compilations

* '' See You on the Moon!'' (2005): "See You on the Moon!" * '' The Sound the Hare Heard'' (2006): "Where in the World Are You" * '' Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young'' (2007): "Don't Cry No Tears" * ''Peace on Earth'' (2007): "Gonna Make It Thru This Year" * '' Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest'' (2008): "Your Rocky Spine" * ''(weewerk) is 6!'' (2008): "Song for the Angels (Miracle Version)", "Gonna Make It Thru This Year". (Dekker also appears as a guest musician on tracks by Audiotransparent,

and

United Steel Workers of Montreal United Steel Workers of Montreal (or USWM) were a six-piece alternative country ensemble based in downtown Montreal, Quebec. The band members included Gern F (vocals/acoustic guitar), Felicity Hamer (vocals/accordion), Sean "Gus" Beauchamp (vocals ...

.) * ''

Friends in Bellwoods II ''Friends in Bellwoods II'' is a compilation album, released in 2009 by Out of This Spark as a benefit for Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. The album is a sequel to the 2007 compilation '' Friends in Bellwoods''. Where the original album was, in ...

'' (2009): "Send Me a Letter" * ''Introducing Townes Van Zandt via the Great Unknown'' (2009): "Our Mother the Mountain" * ''A Country Blues Christmas: The 2010 Zunior Holiday Album'' (2010): "When the Snow Starts to Fall" * ''Paint it Black: An Alt-Country Tribute to the Rolling Stones'' (2011): "

Before They Make Me Run "Before They Make Me Run" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1978 album '' Some Girls''. Written by guitarist Keith Richards, the song is a response to his arrest for heroin possession in Toronto in February 1977 ...

" * '' Have Not Been the Same - Vol. 1: Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die'' (2011): "What Was Going Through My Head" (

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...

cover) * ''My Name Is Mathias'' (2014): "The Things That People Make (Part 3)"

Soundtrack

* ''This is not like home'' (Silver Road, 2007) * ''Your Rocky Spine'' (Weeds, 3x06 Grasshopper, 2007) * ''Passenger Song'' (Numb3rs, 5x08 Thirty-Six Hours, 2008) * ''Song Sung Blue'' (original film score, weewerk, 2008) * ''There Is a Light'' (The Light of Family Burnam, 2008) * ''I Could Be Nothing'' (Personal Effects), 2010) * ''Leave It Behind'' (Personal Effects), 2010) * ''Imaginary Bars'' (Out of Place: a Portrait of Surfing in Cleveland, Ohio, 2010)

Other

In 2006, the band released a "digital box set" on

Zunior Zunior.com is a Canadian online independent record label and music store founded in 2004 by Dave Ullrich, formerly of The Inbreds.USB flash drive A flash drive (also thumb drive, memory stick, and pen drive/pendrive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. A typical USB drive is removable, rewritable, and smaller than an optical disc, and u ...

. In 2008, Dekker appeared on

Jenny Omnichord Jenny Mitchell, better known by the stage name Jenny Omnichord, is a Canadians, Canadian indie rock musician. She has released three solo albums and an extended play, EP as a solo artist, and also records and performs with the bands The Barmitzvah ...

's album ''Charlotte or Otis: Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too'', performing a duet vocal on the song "Do You Know Karate". In 2009 the band released a limited double 7" vinyl split single with the Dutch band Audiotransparent. This release includes a cover of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

classic "Don't Be Cruel" and the original song "Send Me a Letter". Dekker and Arnesen also appear on the Audiotransparent song "You Are a Movie". In 2010, the band contributed four tracks to the online music community Swim Drink Fish Music, including live versions of their songs "Your Rocky Spine", "I Could Be Nothing" and "Everything Is Moving So Fast" and a previously unreleased track, "Ballad of a Fisherman's Wife". The songs “I Became Awake” and “Various Stages” are heard in the 2010 independent Canadian horror film '' The Corridor''. The song "Moving Pictures Silent Films" was featured in the August 8, 2011 episode of ''

Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executively produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Des ...

'', entitled "3...2...1..." In 2012 the band contributed the Christmas song "Hang a String of Lights" to ''Paste'' magazine's annual online Holiday Sampler music collection.

Awards

Canadian Indie Awards

, - , 2010 , , Great Lake Swimmers , , Favourite Folk/Roots Artist/Group , ,

References

External links

Great Lake Swimmers
official website
Great Lake Swimmers on (weewerk) Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Lake Swimmers Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups from the Regional Municipality of Niagara Musical groups from Toronto Canadian folk rock groups 2003 establishments in Ontario Canadian indie folk groups Nettwerk Music Group artists