Bird City (of Jenny Omnichord, Barmitzvah Brothers) is venturing out of her hidden musical home life to hit the road to the east with Guelph’s best all-star-under-the-radar heartbreaking band Shopkeeper. Shopkeeper is fronted by songwriter Scott Haynes and surrounded by Steph Yates (of Esther Grey) and Alanna Gurr (of Alanna Gurr and the Greatest State) They will have a brand new record for the road and they are honestly one of the most amazing bands you almost definitely haven’t seen yet. Bird City has pulled together a 16 song 14 year retrospective collection of bedroom recordings, new unreleased material, and tracks of Bird City-like moments from previous projects. They’ll have these albums for sale, and probably other magical merch. There are about eighteen shows in 16 days, stretching from Southern Ontario to Newfoundland and back again. Some of these folks have never played some of these cities so we reallllly hope you can make it out. Here are the shows so far (all are Bird City and Shopkeeper unless otherwise stated. Other bands mentioned are additional to Shopkeeper and Bird City):
Saturday November 8th: The Tranzac, Toronto Ontario w/ Jose Contreras!!!
Sunday November 9th: Wasted Space, Oshawa (Next Winter Festival)
Monday November 10th: Grumpy’s, Montreal – Chick pickin’ Mondays (Note: This show is Bird City, Alanna Gurr and Steph Yates but NOT Shopkeeper)
Tuesday November 11th: House show, Rothesay NB
Wednesday November 12th: Jazz Guys, Sackville, NB w/ Julie Doiron!!!
Thursday November 13th: Gus’ Pub, Halifax NS, w/ Cactus Flower and Nap Eyes!!!
Friday November 14th: Prescott St. House show – Shopkeeper, Jenny Omnichord and Max
Saturday November 15th: Early evening show at Fixed St. John’s, NL – solo performances by Scott Haynes, Jenny Mitchell, Steph Yates and Alanna Gurr
Sunday November 16th: The Ship, St. John’s, NL w/ Alanna Gurr backed by Green and Gold!!! w/ Bird City, Rube and Rake and Lady Brett Ashley
Monday November 17th: The Rose and Thistle St. John’s, NL w/ “Imposter Grey” – a special St. John’s version of Esther Grey!!! Ilia Nicoll and Shopkeeper!!
Tuesday November 18th: The Levee, St. John’s NL, w/ Bird City, Shopkeeper and Green and Gold!!!
Thursday November 20th: The Capitol, Fredericton, NB w/ CFL Sessions (Henry Svec)
Friday November 21st: Le Cagibi, Montreal, QC w/ Swag Train (Renee Deschenes)
Saturday November 22nd: Raw Sugar, Ottawa ON, w/ Richard Laviolette!!
Sunday November 23rd (MATINEE): The Garnet, Peterborough ON w/ Nick Ferrio
Sunday November 23rd (evening): The Cornerstone, Guelph ON
To keep updated as to any amendments or additions you can follow the event on face book at https://www.facebook.com/events/767925283269265/?ref=br_tf
Shopkeeper
Shopkeeper is a band of song singers assembled in the Ontario music hub of Guelph, Ontario. Scott Haynes (Bill Killionaire, Dutch Toko) formed the group in the fall of 2013 to showcase sets of minimal folk rock songs he had composed the previous summer. Steph Yates (Esther Grey, ex-Hinidar) was recruited to play the drums, and Alanna Gurr (Alanna Gurr & The Greatest State) was added on bass.
Bringing compelling vocals and emotive instrumentation to Haynes’ songs, these three musicians have built Shopkeeper into a powerful live act, drawing emotion and engagement from audiences in their short time as a band. Songs of love, loss, and longing are brought to light not with dreary seriousness to reinforce the gravity of the material, but with a triumphant spirit. Feelings of helplessness seemingly near breakdown give way to exuberance and epiphanies throughout.
Shopkeepers debut album will be released on Label Fantastic! and Little Room Labs on November 18th!