About The Strumbellas
The Strumbellas are a Canadian rock band from Lindsay, Ontario, formed in 2008. Their music has been described as alternative country, indie rock, and gothic folk.
Formed in 2008 in Toronto, Ontario, the band's original lineup consisted 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 and coverage in many different media outlets; stating them as a band to watch. Their Southern Souls video by Mitch Fillion received attention from many bloggers and awarded them an ongoing Monday night residency at Toronto's Cameron House.
In 2010 the band was invited to play landmark venues including Yonge-Dundas Square, the Horseshoe Tavern and the Peterborough Folk Festival. Their full-length debut album, My Father and the Hunter, was released independently in 2012, and recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario. 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, releasing their second album, We Still Move on Dance Floors, 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 band's third studio album, Hope, 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 in Winnipeg during the first intermission on October 23, 2016.
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