As Grey Cup weekend gets closer and closer every day, just over 18 days for those who are actually counting down, here’s a preview of the 105th Grey Cup Festival’s Alternative Night (November 24) which will be lead by Toronto-based rock quartet Sloan.

Sloan

Sloan performs at the Bell Tower in Fort Erie, ON in 2016 photo by Mike Sansano

Throughout their over twenty-five-year career, Sloan has released 11 LPs, two EPs, a live album, a Greatest hits album and more than thirty singles. The band has received nine Juno Award nominations, winning one. The band is known for their sharing of songwriting from each member of the group and their unaltered line-up throughout their career. Their albums’ success has made Sloan one of the most popular Canadian bands of all time.

Sloan performs at the Way Home Music and Arts Festival in 2015 photo by Trish Cassling

The band was formed in 1991 when Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott met at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax; Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson joined soon after. The band is named after the nickname of their friend, Jason Larsen. Larsen was originally called Slow One by his French-speaking boss which, with the French accent, sounded more like “Sloan”. The original agreement was that they could name the band after Larsen as long as he was on the cover of their first album. As a result, it is Larsen who appears on the cover of the Peppermint EP, which was released on the band’s own label, Murderecords.

Since then the group has gone on to receive 10 Juno Nominations, they won the 1997 JUNO Award for Best Alternative Album (One Chord to Another) and over 30 East Coast Music Award Nominations, of which they won 6; 1996: Won – Alternative Recording of the Year, 1997: Won – Alternative Recording of the Year, Group of the Year, 2002: Won – Video of the Year (“If It Feels Good Do It”), 2004: Won – Video of the Year (“The Rest of My Life”) and 2007 Won – Rock Recording of the Year (Never Hear the End of It). For more about Sloan visit www.sloanmusic.com

Reuben and the Dark

Reuben and the Dark – Image by Daniel Williams Dowling Pictures

Joining Sloan are Canadian indie folk band from Calgary, Alberta Reuben and the Dark. The group makes chilling, emotive folk and soul driven by dark, introspective lyrics that explore the duality of misery and joy.

Boasting a rare chemistry between all members across western Canada, Reuben and the Dark has emerged organically from Canada’s stellar independent scene on the strength of often anthemic compositions that translate the language of emotion into song with haunting clarity.

Their debut album is produced by the UK’s Chris Hayden (Florence & the Machine) and Canada’s Stephen Kozmeniuk (Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and The Game feat Kanye West) and is being mixed by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Adele). Visit www.reubenandthedark.com for more details.

Dwayne Gretzky

Dwayne Gretzky performs at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto (provided photo)

Kicking off the party on November 24 are Dwayne Gretzky is a live music phenomenon celebrating the greatest songs of all time. Transcending both era and genre, this prodigiously talented collective of Toronto musicians captivates audiences with a masterfully curated tour of artists from both the classic and modern pop cannon – from Bowie to Beyonce, Springsteen to Spears, The Supremes to The Strokes. With tasteful precision, chameleonic versatility and a flair for the dramatic, Dwayne Gretzky scratches our collective itch to be surprised by the familiar.

In an increasingly saturated and scattered music landscape defined by predictable playlists and individualized consumption, Dwayne’s high-energy nostalgia trips recall the serendipity of flipping through the radio dial, and the joy of coming together en masse to celebrate and sing along to the best songs ever written. Boasting 100+ straight sold-out shows in their hometown of Toronto and with venue capacities growing into the multiple-thousands, Dwayne Gretzky is shattering conventions and re-defining what people truly want in a live music experience. Find out more at www.dwaynegretzkyband.com

Tickets are on sale now, purchase for the full three day concert series or individually. Visit www.GreyCupFestival150.ca for prices and details. Follow Sound Check Entertainment on all of our socials as we’ll have tickets to giveaway in the coming weeks.

Want to start the party a bit early? We’ve got an exclusive Spotify Playlist for Grey Cup Festival Alternative Night!