Halifax's Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers are set to reveal their debut full-length In the Time of the Great Remembering. Dubbed "a bridge between the blue solace of life in the Maritimes and the stomping rigs of traditional soul and folk," the self-release is due out October 18.
For the album, Caplan roped in a series of backing players, including Ron Hynes (Keith Mullins) on contrabass and David Christensen (Hawksley Workman, Classified) on clarinet, sax, and flute. Speaking of the band's lineup, Caplan said in a statement, "I'm a songwriter spoiled by excellent musicians. We're usually a five-piece, but we have gone as big as 11. I live to perform with people who can play their asses off, so bringing together a group of the best talent I could find was top priority."
Along with the new album, Caplan and co. will be embarking on a series of Canadian tour dates, including stops in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. From there, they will travel over to the Netherlands for a series of European stops before returning to Canada for the Halifax Pop Explosion.
You can pre-order In the Time of the Great Remembering here and see the tour schedule below.
Tour dates:
9/2 Halifax, NS - Seahorse Tavern
9/3 Halifax, NS - Elephant & Castle
9/7 Woodstock, NB - 167 Connell St.
9/8 Moncton, NB - Plan B
9/9 St. John's, NL - Pepper's Pub
9/10 Fredricton, NB - The Capital
9/12 Toronto, ON - Mitzi's Sister
9/16 Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge
9/17 Hamilton, ON - The Pearl Company
9/18 Toronto, ON - Press Club
9/10 Kingston, ON - The Mansion
9/21 Montreal, QC - The Landing Pad
9/23 Hamburg, Germany - Canada House (Reeperbahn Festival)
9/25 Horst, Netherlands - Cambrinus
9/28 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Rotown
9/29 Haarlam, Netherlands - Patronaat
9/30 Utrecht, Netherlands - Db's
10/1 Nijmenen, Netherlands - Merleyn
10/2 Middleberg, Netherlands - Kaffee 't Hof
10/6 Eindhoven, Netherlands - Cafe Alstadt
10/20 Halifax, NS - The Bus Stop Theatre (Halifax Pop Explosion/CD Release Show)
11/3 Yarmouth, NS - Haley's
For the album, Caplan roped in a series of backing players, including Ron Hynes (Keith Mullins) on contrabass and David Christensen (Hawksley Workman, Classified) on clarinet, sax, and flute. Speaking of the band's lineup, Caplan said in a statement, "I'm a songwriter spoiled by excellent musicians. We're usually a five-piece, but we have gone as big as 11. I live to perform with people who can play their asses off, so bringing together a group of the best talent I could find was top priority."
Along with the new album, Caplan and co. will be embarking on a series of Canadian tour dates, including stops in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. From there, they will travel over to the Netherlands for a series of European stops before returning to Canada for the Halifax Pop Explosion.
You can pre-order In the Time of the Great Remembering here and see the tour schedule below.
Tour dates:
9/2 Halifax, NS - Seahorse Tavern
9/3 Halifax, NS - Elephant & Castle
9/7 Woodstock, NB - 167 Connell St.
9/8 Moncton, NB - Plan B
9/9 St. John's, NL - Pepper's Pub
9/10 Fredricton, NB - The Capital
9/12 Toronto, ON - Mitzi's Sister
9/16 Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge
9/17 Hamilton, ON - The Pearl Company
9/18 Toronto, ON - Press Club
9/10 Kingston, ON - The Mansion
9/21 Montreal, QC - The Landing Pad
9/23 Hamburg, Germany - Canada House (Reeperbahn Festival)
9/25 Horst, Netherlands - Cambrinus
9/28 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Rotown
9/29 Haarlam, Netherlands - Patronaat
9/30 Utrecht, Netherlands - Db's
10/1 Nijmenen, Netherlands - Merleyn
10/2 Middleberg, Netherlands - Kaffee 't Hof
10/6 Eindhoven, Netherlands - Cafe Alstadt
10/20 Halifax, NS - The Bus Stop Theatre (Halifax Pop Explosion/CD Release Show)
11/3 Yarmouth, NS - Haley's