It's taken a while for the Strumbellas to make it to Minnesota. "We've heard that Minnesota has a very Canadian vibe," says the Strumbellas' Simon Ward. "I don't know why we haven't come till now; we've almost hit every other state and city."

Although they're based in Toronto, Ward describes the Strumbellas as "road dogs" who have been touring so much, they've only been home for about 10 days over the past six months. The Strumbellas' tour has brought them to the Twin Cities, where they'll play a Monday-night show at the Fine Line in Minneapolis. Before the gig, the band stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Mary Lucia.

In their song, "Shovels and Dirt," the Strubellas sing such lines as, "It ain't worth living if you don't get hurt" and "I've got a headful of darkness and darkness is good." That song is just one example of the band's lack of trepidation for plumbing the darker corners of the human condition in their lyrics. Despite their darkness, the songs' sing-along or stomp-along quality resonate with fans, resulting in unexpected yet welcome fan interactions from listeners saying the songs have helped them through hospital stays, deaths, PTSD and other difficult times. "I've had hundreds of people emailing the band," Ward says. "It's so cool to see you throw a little pain in the world and people are like, 'Oh yeah, I'm feeling pain, too'."

Use the audio player above to listen to the entire session with the Strumbellas.

Songs Performed

"We Don't Know"
"Shovels & Dirt"
"Spirits"
All songs from the Strumbellas' 2016 album, Hope, available on Glassnote Records.

Hosted by Mary Lucia
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark and Jalen Russell
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor

Resources

The Strumbellas - official site

Gallery

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