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Great Lake Swimmers - Uncertain Country Tour at Meteor - Friday June 21 / $40 / 8pm doors Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals, Great Lake
Swimmers are a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led by songwriter/vocalist Tony Dekker. Based
in Toronto, Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric
albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. The music developed in that pastoral
warmth, performed and recorded in acoustically unique and historical locales with an ever-changing
cast of personnel. They are renowned for their homespun folk and lush, intimate Americana in their
live set.
Great Lake Swimmers celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2023 with “Uncertain Country,” an album
where doubts are followed by discovery, demos end up as finished tracks, and themes of new
beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time form the basis of the eleven
new songs.
It follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Recorded in different locales—and with a variety
of musicians—a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down,
Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: from the climate crisis to the ever-changing political landscape. The
“uncertain country” chosen as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as
humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and
unsettling.
“Moonlight, Stay Above” epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. A 10-voice strong
women’s choir lifts the lonely-sounding and wistful song up. As with that addition, the band on each
album is fluid and always evolving.
Great Lake Swimmers were shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and nominated twice
for Canada’s Juno Awards, with the CBC calling them “a national treasure.”
“Dekker’s preoccupation with the Canadian state of mind flourishes in his lyrics. Few songwriters are
able to convey the country’s harsh beauty as well. …Canadian folk tradition personified in the 21st
century” – Exclaim!
“Dekker has done a masterful job of finding that balance on The Waves, the Wake, which has enough
connections to the past to satisfy long-time fans of Great Lake Swimmers even while the singer looks
to the future and moves forward as an artist.” – The Georgia Straight
“A minimalist, atmospheric compendium of songs with a sonic environment the listener can easily
get lost in.” – The Vue
“Ambient Zen Americana” – Mojo
“A stunning variety of tones and textures… nothing less than both cerebral and sublime” – American
Songwriter, 4/5
“It floats from country to folk to indie rock and back again, painting a sharp-toothed but achingly
beautiful portrait of both the natural world and the human condition” – New Noise Magazine, Best Of
2023
“An ‘elsewhere’ where uncertainties and anxieties are often the most willing to make
waves…Americana which strives to deal with traumas through padded atmospheres” – Rolling Stone
France
“This collection of songs examines the passage of time masterfully… 'Uncertain Country' stands as
some of the strongest & most consistent work by one of Canada’s best bands” – Great Dark Wonder
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Meteor, 138 University Avenue West,Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Tickets