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After Laundry Pile, our quiet little introspective album, we all had a feeling the next thing would be the opposite. That’s how we tend to work. Big Feelings sounds like what the title suggests. It’s big. And it came together quickly. It started with a bold drum loop that Tim made, and was quickly arranged when the band assembled for a session in February. We didn’t go into the studio trying to finish a song, but when you have something with propulsion, you just hang on and try to steer it the right way. Immediately, we understood it would be unruly, and that the spirit of the song was more about the collective unvarnished expression than any conventional “songwriting rules.” The most satisfying songs are often the ones where we surprise ourselves. 

The final product is this big and glossy, spastic thing, but the nuts and bolts are the five of us simply going at once. We worked on the song with the five of us playing in the room together, and then added some sugar at the end. 

There’s no path until you make one. Once we had Big Feelings in our pocket, we had a name for the tour. We had a new song we can play at Budweiser Stage. Who knows what else? 

Get outside and play this one in motion.

Xo Arkells

Arkellians, your patience will be rewarded…!I was scrolling through the photos on my phone the other day, and I realized it will be more than two years (or more) since we last played a lot of these cities. I’m not sure what the appropriate amount of time between visits oughta be, but I can tell you that this tour feels right. Since we last came to some of these towns, we put out the show-stopping pairing of Blink Once and Blink Twice, and singer-songwriter offerings Laundry Pile and Campfire Chords. Many new sing-a-long songs have entered into the set list and joined the rankings of our most beloved and familiar tunes. Our band has always been about the sing-a-long spirit at the show. That’s it. And we plan to make these ones louder than ever. You might even learn the words to a new one… It’s The Big Feelings Tour for all the big feelings we need to let out. Here’s the run:

ARKELLS “BIG FEELINGS” TOUR

Oct 18 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre w/ Joel Plaskett Emergency

Oct 19 – Moncton, NB – Avenir Centre w/ Joel Plaskett Emergency

Oct 24 – Kingston, ON – Slush Puppie Place w/ Poolside

Oct 25 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre w/ Poolside

Oct 26 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens w/ Poolside

Oct 31 – Saskatoon, SK – Sasktel Centre w/ Poolside

Nov 1 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place w/ Poolside

Nov 2 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome w/ Poolside

Nov 14 – Kelowna, BC – Prospera Place w/ TBC

Nov 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena w/ K.Flay

Nov 16 – Victoria, BC – Save on Foods Memorial Centre w/ K.Flay

Nov 28 – Oshawa, ON – Tribute Communities Centre w/ Valley

Nov 29 – Barrie, ON – Sadlon Arena w/ Valley

Nov 30 – Kitchener, ON – Memorial Auditorium w/ Valley

If you’re asking “Where’s Toronto, Winnipeg, St. John’s, or Quebec City,” we’ve already announced those cities and you can find ‘em here. 

Arkells have been busy with much more to come: more dates, a new covers album called Disco Loadout, releasing on May 17th (signed copies are almost sold out!) and even a new single that will be teasing its way into your atmosphere very soon…

Grab your tix and tell us where we’ll see ya!

xo Max, Mike, Tim, Nick, Anthony

Why “Disco Loadout?” 

A disco loadout is a term in our industry that describes a very humbling act. Many bands have experienced this, and we certainly have. Sometimes when you’re on tour you might pull up to a venue to find there is a later show happening the same night. The promoter, looking at his spreadsheet, has decided that it makes financial sense to book two separate shows on the same night. Your band is playing the early show, and when you are finished, you must load your gear down the stairs and out the door while a lineup of people waits to get into the venue for the next show. The later show is usually a cover band, performing songs that everyone knows and likes. 

We have been humbled by this in the past and instead of living with the embarrassment, we have performed and recorded those songs for you. We’re taking the term back. 

Disco Loadout Vol 1 arrives May 17th. Just in time for you to party all summer.

You can pre-order vinyl (and signed vinyl), cds and reissued Disco Loadout tees here. And pre-save it as well!.

Some people are wondering if we are going to perform these songs live anytime soon, and the answer is… we might. You have likely heard some of these covers over the years in our set, and they all belong in the bag of tricks we keep adding to, ready to be pulled out like a magician when the time is right. For now, get ready to enjoy the immaculate songwriting that exists in these timeless songs, and gusto of our interpretation. 

Don’t miss Arkells on tour. Tickets on-sale now!

You know where to find us!

Xo Arkells

The last time we played Budweiser Stage was three summers ago. It was a long-weekend affair, the first shows back after nobody had been allowed to attend a concert in quite some time. They were the most emotional and euphoric shows we’ve ever played, and a truly special return to the stage. But if you know one thing about Arkells, it’s that our goal is to always make each show better than the last. So we’ve hit the ground running, with an aim to build the biggest party of the summer.

Mark your calendars, cause Arkells are BACK for a doubleheader weekend on Friday June 21 and Saturday June 22 at Budweiser Stage in Toronto.

Tickets are on-sale Friday January 26th at 10 AM, with pre-sales starting tomorrow, January 24th at 10 AM. All ticket info can be found here.

Joining us as special guests on Night 1 will be legends TEGAN AND SARA, whose songs we’ve been singing and career we’ve admired since we started our band. If we’re lucky they’ll even agree to sing “Teenage Tears,” our collab from Blink Twice. On Night 2, GROUPLOVE will be joining us on the bill. We’ve never met in real life, but we’ve been fans since their first record, and respect the energy they will bring to a Saturday night. On both shows, Adam Melchor will be opening up. As an excellent singer-songwriter and relentless touring act, he has recently shared the stage with Noah Kahan, Mt. Joy and Laufey.

You can imagine we’re gonna do our best to pull out all the stops and make this weekend as memorable as it should be. We’re going to play all the hits each night, but also make each set unique. Our catalogue is DEEP at this point, and we’re going to pull out some surprises for the day ones. There will be lots of tix for you and your pals who love to party on the lawn, so start ringing the alarm in your group chats.

The only thing we humbly ask is this: tell your friends and everyone you know, and don’t miss the pre-sale, which starts January 24th at 10 AM. If you do those two things, it’ll be the best two nights of your summer.

Once in a lifetime, twice in a summertime. Consider it BOOKED! Get your tix here.

xo

Arkells

Happy new year Arkellians,

We’ve been using our time wisely, catching up on sleep, watching some good flicks, and planning for 2024.

There’s a couple things we can’t tell you about quite yet, but we’re excited about ‘em and can’t wait to share.

Don’t miss out on any of the fun, make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter. When every app eventually goes out of style or gets banned, we’ll still know where to find you.

See you in no time.

Stay warm.

Xo Anthony, Mike, Max, Nick, Tim

It never ceases to amaze me how – and this is the only thing that really ever seems to be true – one thing leads to another. 

Let’s do this chronologically.

In the fall I had a bunch of demos that I was really only writing because it made me feel a bit better. I had never bothered to learn protools or logic, but had a bit of time on my hands and clumsily worked through some home-spun recordings in the basement. It ended up being more fun than I imagined and a good way to use my evenings. 

As I was recording on shoddy mics, barely understanding how any of this equipment worked, I was thinking about those raw ’70s Paul McCartney albums, and Bright Eyes, and Neil Young. Stuff that sounds imperfect but has heart and soul. 

In January the band had some time off and we decided to hang. We had a jam space lined up (we like to work in different environments), but it fell through at the last minute. I started calling around, and realized my neighbour Jim had a music making garage that I walk by every single day. He invited Nick and I over, and low and behold it was the most serene music making space we’d ever seen. Big windows. Nice piano. Some vintage gear. He doesn’t rent it out, but said “it’s for the neighbourhood.”

“The neighbourhood?” I asked.
“Well, I like people in the neighbourhood to use it, and you’re in the neighbourhood, so you can use it.”

At first we were going to do acoustic versions of Blink Once and Blink Twice. It fit the slow vibe of January.  About 45 minutes into jamming an acoustic version of “Liberation” (which sounded quite good I might add), we all agreed it might be more interesting to try something completely new. I had already sent the fall demos around, so we started there. By the end of January we figured we should be responsible and document the material because songs were beginning to take shape. The band was feeling very connected with one another and we were engaged in the work. Everything felt slower. We had no timeline. We had no agenda. It felt very stoned. We didn’t want to pep anything up too much. We weren’t looking to recycle versions of older songs. Together we were living in a world that embraced this new headspace.Early in the process, Mike suggested the goal of the session was to simply have our fingerprints all over the music. Lean into all of our individual musical personalities more than ever before. Musically this effort was the most band-directed thing we’ve done since Jackson Square, and you hear it in the performance. There’s little editing. Many of the final performances were from the first take. You can hear the little ghost-note taps on Tim’s hi-hat and the creaky piano pedals of Tony’s upright at home. There’s a lot of imperfections on the album, which was kind of the point.

During the recording I asked friends for some feedback. I was unsure about how far we should take the new direction. Chase from COIN gave the best notes for the title track. Anytime we were trying something that distracted from the lyric and the sentiment, he said it began to feel “less honest.” Honesty became the policy. I visited Ben from Lord Huron in his studio in LA and sheepishly played some very rough ideas, and he said “the songs are all in there. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect – you gotta trust that people will hear the songs.”

So we kept going. 

To finish the music we brought in our co-conspirators Eric Ratz and Derek Hoffman to keep the train on the tracks. Like any good producer, they understood this particular assignment: honour the songs. Honour the intimacy and the rawness.

Starting a record is one thing, but finishing it and figuring out if it is even worth the trouble of putting it out is another. 

In late March, we went over to our other neighbour Andrew’s garage who lives a few laneways over. Among other things, Andrew is a painter with a vibrant and original style. We asked if he might be able to make an original piece for an album cover. 

“What kind of design are you thinking?” He asked.
“How about a laundry machine, on fire, with a palm tree blowing in the wind and waves crashing against the beach” I replied. 
“No problem. I’ll get on it right away.”

It’s now sweater weather and this album feels just right. Releasing it in the season the songs were conceived. We are excited to put these songs to work and see what happens. With any luck, these intimate little vignettes might be part of someone else’s life. 

Laundry Pile is for the sentimental. It’s about having a wish that you know won’t come true. But all the things you learned along the way end up being the gift you really needed in the first place. 

Enjoy it, and see you on the road. 

xo

Max, Mike, Tony, Tim, Nick

Anyone who keeps a journal will tell you that writing is one of the best ways to work through the chapters of your life. Our new album Laundry Pile is a chapter that documents some of the messy parts that end up teaching you a lot: love, regret, desire, shame, and the longing to get it right. The title track is out first, and it’s a memory honouring the little moments that represent a true partnership.

A brand-new album was not in the works for Arkells. Having been steadily releasing new music over the last few years, we weren’t actively planning the next record to come this quickly. What became Laundry Pile caught us by surprise and began to take shape.

At the top of the year, Arkells got together with a goal to work on acoustic renditions of recent material, jam and hang out, but very quickly started ruminating on other little ideas. I brought in some demos I had been working on – they were little conversations with myself.  I had no expectations to do anything with the material, but then the band came to the rescue. It was very all-hands-on-deck. The more we meditated on the music, the more connected we became to the songs and to each other.

Much of our most recognizable material aims to be spirited and anthemic, but this collection of songs are more personal, pensive, and reserved. It’s the kind of album that is one cohesive listening experience – in keeping with the spirit of the classic singer-songwriter tradition that we also know and love.

After a few weeks, we looked at the white board with the growing number of songs scribbled on it and became excited to share these songs immediately. It was one of the most deeply creative experiences we’ve had as a band so far. It’s important to simply honour the moment you’re in, and that’s what we did.

In the fall of ’21, Tony sent over a Dropbox folder full of instrumental ideas. One of them was called “FrankTurnerFuckAround”. I didn’t think it sounded particularly like Frank – it sounded like Bruce Springsteen, which was just fine with me.

A few months later we were sitting backstage with Wesley and Jeremiah from The Lumineers before we performed together at The Grey Cup. People often think of them as a Denver band, but they’re actually from Jersey. We bonded with the guys talking about our favourite Springsteen songs and how we loved the last Bleachers record, and how that Jersey sound has been influential on Arkells.

A few weeks later we reached out to Wes, asking if he’d want to sing and write on the “FrankTurnerFuckAround” which was now called “Nowhere To Go”. He liked it, but didn’t love it yet. I appreciated his candor: he said that to write his verse and have an authentic connection to the material he wanted me to dig in a little more with my lyrics. I loved the challenge, and I got back with another draft.

He was in.

This is how much of the album came together: simply doing our best to piece together these songs as the world was opening up and shutting down again.

We didn’t know what do with the bridge either – a guitar solo? More lyrics? Since we were channelling Jersey, we figured we could go to the source: let’s reach out to Jake Clemons from The E Street Band. Maybe that could work? Clarence Clemons played the sax with Bruce until he passed, and Jake has since taken over the mantle from his late uncle. And dude can wail.

Jake got right to work and recorded his part from home in Montreal where he lives now. When he sent back his part we knew the song the was done.

Blink Twice is out now and it’s yours to have. Each song on the album has its own story of inception and creation.

Our Blink Once / Blink Twice project was meant to weather to storm of coming back from the pandemic. With the uncertainly of touring and the countless stops and starts, we wanted to make sure we’d have fresh music when we took it to the road; whenever that might be. It’s been a thrill to introduce these songs and to take them to a town near you. In a world of infinite options – playlists, tv shows, scrolling scrolling scrolling – a concert is a choice we make to spend real time with one another. There are not many holy places left like that kind of sanctuary! And that’s what these songs provide. A road to that experience.

See you in real life,

Xo Arkells

Hamilton, all aboard! After the two years of endless hiccups and stops and starts, it’s time we treated ourselves to a big night out. The Rally is ON: June 25th, 2022, and we can’t wait to see you there.

If you bought tickets for the show that was slated in 2020, the same ticket will work as you come through the gates this year. Thank you for holding on to it for so long. It’s literally been years in the making.

If you’re just finding us now, good news: due to overwhelming demand, we’ve worked hard to make the show bigger than ever. We’ve just *ADDED* more floor tickets and opened up additional cheap seats up in the bleachers. Call your friends, this Rally is even bigger than the last.

Our 2018 show at Tim Hortons Field – the inaugural Rally – exceeded our expectations in every way so we knew we had to do it again.

From hand picking the lineup to collaborating with so many different local artists, small biz owners, charitable initiatives and local institutions like the HSR, the Hamilton bike share program, Hamilton Flea, and the Ticats – it was a joy to show off some of the best that Hamilton has to offer.

To our neighbours: if you’re walking, cycling or taking the bus – thank you for helping us host this thing and bringing all the good vibes.

To everyone making the trip to Hamilton: welcome to town! Whether you’re road tripping, or taking the Go Bus or flying in from overseas – we’ve got a good feeling this will be our best one yet.

If the last couple years have taught us something, it’s that we can’t take anything for granted. Nothing replaces *real life* memories. No amount of screen time at home can beat the joy of singing songs, surrounded by friends and new friends.

See you there. This will be the biggest show that’s ever hit Hamilton and we’re so proud we get to do this with you.

Xo Arkells

As we stayed busy making music during the last two years, we always knew we were going to come out of the pandemic with two distinct records. The title of Blink Once was born from the song Reckoning, and the lyric “blink twice, there’s gonna be a reckoning.” If you listen to the outro track of Blink Once – Last Night I Heard Em’ Sing – we hint that there’s more coming. Kind of like a post-credits scene in a movie. Reckoning is the beginning of what’s next.

If we’re being honest, Reckoning is an “eat the rich” song. The song is about privileged people who bury their heads in the sand. It’s also about the admiration for those who lead by example, and want justice for people beyond their own kin.

We wanted the song to be big and cinematic. Something that felt like walking through the streets at nighttime. We were inspired by everything from Justice to Run The Jewels. At this point in our career as musicians, we only wanna go where inspo takes us.

We’re back on the road for our first shows of 2022 in a couple weeks. Get ready to sing this one loud.

Xo
Arkells