The Strumbellas are a rock band from Lindsay, Ontario, whose music has been described as

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

, indie rock, farm emo, and gothic folk."The Strumbellas - My Father And The Hunter"
'' Exclaim'', February 26, 2012.

History

Formed in 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, the band consists of songwriter Simon Ward on vocals and guitar, David Ritter on vocals and keys, Jon Hembrey on lead guitar, Isabel Ritchie on violin, Darryl James on bass guitar, and Jeremy Drury on drums. Hembrey, James, Drury and Ward are all originally from Lindsay, Ontario, while Ritter and Ritchie joined after Ward posted a call for additional musicians to Craigslist. The band's self-titled EP was released in 2009, garnering numerous positive reviews"The Strumbellas review in Now Magazine"
August 19, 2010. and coverage in many different media outlets; stating them as a band to watch. Their

Southern Souls Southern Souls is a Canadian music website which features high-definition video recordings of musicians (predominantly but not exclusively Canadian) performing live in non-traditional venues."Southern Souls"
May 26, 2010. and awarded them an ongoing Monday night residency at Toronto's legendary

Cameron House Cameron House, located on Loch Lomond near Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, Balloch, Scotland, was first built in the mid-1700s, and later purchased by Sir James Smollett. The modern Baronial stone castle was built by William Spence in 1830 (rebu ...

. In 2010 the band was invited to play landmark venues including Yonge-Dundas Square, the Horseshoe Tavern and the

Peterborough Folk Festival The Peterborough Folk Festival is a three-day music, arts, and community festival in Peterborough, Ontario. The festival is a non-profit organization which receives funding from the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation, The Department of Canadian Herita ...

. Their full-length debut album, ''

My Father and the Hunter The Strumbellas are a rock band from Lindsay, Ontario, whose music has been described as alternative country, indie rock, farm emo, and gothic folk.

'', was released independently in 2012, and recorded at Metalworks Studios in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. It was nominated for a 2013 Juno Award in the Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group category. The band later signed with

Six Shooter Records Six Shooter Records is an independent record label based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that uses an artist-centric business model, focusing on art before commerce combined with extensive touring. Six Shooter Records was founded in 2000 by Shauna d ...

, releasing their second album, ''

We Still Move on Dance Floors The Strumbellas are a rock band from Lindsay, Ontario, whose music has been described as alternative country, indie rock, farm emo, and gothic folk.

'', in 2013. The album was produced by Ryan Hadlock. ''We Still Move on Dance Floors'' won a 2014 Juno Award in the Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group category. After winning the Juno award, frontman Simon Ward expressed his distress after realizing that the live feed of the band's acceptance speech was cut off due to technical difficulties. The Strumbellas Summerfest 2019

The band's third studio album, ''

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

'', was released on April 22, 2016. The first single from that album, Spirits, topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart the last two weeks of May 2016 and also enjoyed significant mainstream radio play in Canada and a number of European countries. On April 21, 2016, the band were featured performers on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, closing out the episode with a live performance of Spirits. They also performed at the

NHL Heritage Classic The NHL Heritage Classic (french: La Classique Héritage de la LNH) is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Unlike the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic and t ...

in Winnipeg during the first intermission on October 23, 2016. The band began an international tour in the summer of 2016, continuing throughout 2017 in Australia, Europe, and North America including festivals such as Bonnaroo and Governor's Ball. The band's song "Spirits" won the 2017

Juno Award for Single of the Year The Juno Award for Single of the Year has been awarded since 1974 for the best single in Canada. It has also been known as Best Single and Best Selling Single. The award goes to the artist. Best Single (1974) Best Selling Single (1975 - 1979) ...

. The band's fourth studio album, ''

Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small anim ...

'', was released on March 29, 2019. On April 3, 2019, the band performed the album's first single, Salvation, on

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

. In September 2019, the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

adopted the band's song "One Hand Up", which originally appeared on Rattlesnake, as their campaign anthem for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's campaign. The deal included the band producing another version of the song in French. The French version was believed by some to have been Google Translated from English to French, and while the band did not confirm or deny the report, they did record a new version of the song. In March 2022, the band announced on Instagram that Ward had transitioned into a behind-the-scenes role in order to focus on his family and songwriting. Jimmy Chauveau replaced Ward as the band's vocalist.
''Instagram'', 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2022-06-03.

Discography

Albums

EPs

*''The Strumbellas'' (2009)

Singles

As lead artist

Promotional singles

Notes

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strumbellas, The Musical groups established in 2008 Canadian indie rock groups Canadian alternative country groups Musical groups from Ontario Kawartha Lakes Musical collectives Six Shooter Records artists 2008 establishments in Ontario Juno Award for Single of the Year winners Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group winners Canadian Folk Music Award winners Glassnote Records artists