For many of us of a certain age, Stars — along with Arcade Fire and their Arts & Craft labelmates Broken Social Scene — formed a loose triumvirate as the pillars of Canadian indie rock. As part of Stars’ East Coast tour, Shivering Songs are hosting them in a double bill alongside Halifax’s Jenn Grant.
For those less familiar with Stars, the band’s JUNO-nominated third album, Set Yourself On Fire, received critical acclaim and set them on the path to becoming one of Canada’s most popular bands. They’ve since stood out as a forerunner of the genre, combining horns and strings and whatever it was that allowed us to dance along to our hormone-driven introspection in a way that John Williams could never give us.
Shivering Songs are largely known for their mid-winter festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but have been known to branch out for special occasions. In January, the organization partnered with Saint John’s Area 506 to bring in Saskatchewan rockers The Sheepdogs.
“Our community has always had this incredible appetite for live music, which gave us cause to adapt from a weekend-long January festival to a year-round promoter. Our mandate is to present renowned artists in historic and intimate spaces, but it doesn’t say anything about the time of year we do that in,” says Brendan MaGee of Shivering Songs (but also of Brookside Mall).
“With Stars, a band that means so much to us and our festival-goers, of course it’s a no-brainer to get them back here, especially where they’ve hinted this might be their farewell tour. Add in Jenn Grant, and you’ve got a really remarkable double bill, a perfect excuse to shake off the last of winter and enjoy a fun night out on the town.”
The two New Brunswick shows take place Thursday April 12th at the Tide & Boar Ballroom in Moncton and Saturday April 14th, 2018 and at the Fredericton Boyce Farmers’ Market. Tickets for the shows are currently available online.