Well hello there, my friends. Welcome to the 50th post in my series called The Great Canadian Road Trip. It has been an amazing journey so far. I am happy to have had so many of you come along for the ride. In addition to today’s post about Kingston, Ontario’s own The Glorious Sons, I will also be publishing a second post which will be a checklist that contains links to all fifty posts so far. If you missed any of the previous forty-nine posts and wish to catch up, then the links will all be there at your fingertips. If you simply want to go back down Memory Lane for a while, you can do that as well with this easy and organized checklist. All in all, it has been a lot of fun talking about music that has come from all parts of this great land that we call Canada. I can’t wait to see what the next fifty songs bring. I hope you will continue on this journey with me. It is always more fun to have a little company. For today’s post, let’s head to The Merchant Tap House in Kingston, Ontario. The house band is set to take the stage. Here we go!!!
The Glorious Sons is a five piece band that formed in 2011. The band consists of singer Brett Emonns, guitarists Jay Emmons and Andrew Young, bassist Chris Huot and drummer Adam Paquette. Not unlike another five-piece KIngston band called The Tragically Hip, the members of The Glorious Sons were all friends and classmates who grew up together in the Kingston area. Their families were all close and often socialized together. So it was not surprising that these five young men, who would grow up in each other’s company, would end up taking that friendship in one unified direction or another. In their case, that direction focussed on music. Specifically, rock music.
The Glorious Sons were fortunate that they were able to pursue their love of music in a city such as Kingston, Ontario. For eight months of the year, Kingston is very much a university town. Queen’s University is one of Canada’s oldest and biggest universities. During the school year from September until the end of April, Kingston’s population grows by more than 35,000. The other four months of the year (May-August), Kingston becomes a summer tourist destination. In either case, these young students and carefree vacationers both have been known to enjoy a party or two. In response, enterprising business owners have taken advantage by opening several great bars and taverns across the downtown core. It was in this atmosphere of youthful exuberance and debauchery that the members of The Glorious Sons got their start. Like many bands that formed while its members were still teenagers, The Glorious Sons began their musical career with more enthusiasm than they did musical chops. With music, as with most things in life, improvement comes through practice. So, The Glorious Sons began writing their own material and playing anywhere they could get a gig. One of those venues that welcomed them to their stage was The Merchant Tap House. The owner of The Merchant, as it is known, liked what he saw and heard from this band and made them an offer to become his in-house band. The boys agreed. So they were playing for packed houses of rabid, alcohol-fuelled university students or sun soaked summer tourists looking for a good time on a Friday or Saturday night. Needless to say, The Glorious Sons were astute enough to tailor their sound so that their music held more of a rock n’ roll, dance party vibe. As such, The Glorious Sons honed their skills and became a great live band who knew how to put on a show, not unlike musical influences such as KISS, The Arkells and Nickelback.
Word soon spread that this great live band was rocking The Merchant each week. This brought record label executives sniffing around. Soon enough, The Glorious Sons signed with influential indie record label, Black Box Records out of Toronto. The band’s debut album, The Union, was released in 2014 and ended up being nominated for a Juno award for Best Rock Album of the Year. The album was mixed by Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar fame. *(I wrote a previous post about him that you can read here). This was just the first of many Juno nods for the band. In 2018 and 2020, they won the Best Rock Junos for their albums Young Beauties and Fools and The War on Everything, respectively. Along with those accolades, The Glorious Sons reached all the way to #1 on the rock charts in the U.S. and in Canada with their songs “S.O.S (Sawed Off Shotgun”, “Panic Attack” and most recently in 2021 with “Hold Steady”. As I type these words, The Glorious Sons are putting in the work by touring all over Ontario and eastern Canada. The very same energy and talent that they honed on The Merchant’s small stage has transitioned to hockey arenas in towns and cities all over the country. Same band. Bigger show. A fun time promised for all who come to their shows.
Because this post may be your introduction to The Glorious Sons, I have opted to go with a song that has a great live official video. The video for “S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)” showcases the band at their live best. The easy rapport they have with their audiences is evident from the very first note. Not only that, the strong level of audience energy and participation indicates that the music of The Glorious Sons is enjoyed by many and that their fanbase is strong and still growing. While not exactly like Nickelback, I still get the vibe that The Glorious Sons are poised to become Canada’s next big populist band. And that’s OK. There is nothing wrong with carrying on the great Canadian tradition of filling hockey rinks on cold winter nights with the sound of rock n’ roll done well. From the fist pumps and head nodding going on in this video, I would say that the evidence is clear that The Glorious Sons are well on their way to becoming Canada’s next big thing. They have gotten off to a terrific start with their Juno wins and #1 hit songs. Their future is very bright, indeed. I am looking forward to watching it all unfold. I hope that you will, too. Here are The Glorious Sons with their first #1 hit “S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)” live. Enjoy.
The link to the video for the song “S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)” by The Glorious Sons can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.
The link to the official website for The Glorious Sons can be found here.
The link to the official website for Black Box Records can be found here.
The link to the official website for The Merchant Tap House in Kingston, Ontario can be found here.
The link to the official website for Kingston, Ontario can be found here.
***As always, all original content contained within this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2023 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com
Great intro to a band who is all new to me. I continue to be amazed how much music is coming out of Canada!
Trying my best to wave the musical flag.
I listened to four songs from them…. They scare me
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They are not really my cup of tea either. But they are arguably one of Canada’s hottest acts right now so there is that, I suppose. Have a great day, my friend.