Pull out your calendar to follow closely: this October marks 30 years since Blue Rodeo delivered their acclaimed fifth album Five Days in July, and the Canadian country rock legends have lined up a pair of vinyl reissues to mark the occasion.
Arriving October 27, two new pressings of Five Days in July will arrive on "cobalt blue" and "neon orange" coloured wax, and as former Record Store Day ambassadors, you best believe the band have packed in some extras for their most dedicated listeners.
The latter edition, billed as a "super-deluxe" package, features additional liner notes from guest collaborators Sarah McLachlan and Anne Bourne, engineer Doug McClement and Blue Rodeo. A limited number of these deluxe editions will be signed by the band.
Both vinyl editions of Five Days in July are now available for pre-order. The album made its debut in the format with a standard, black vinyl pressing in 2015.
Certified six times platinum in Canada, Five Days in July features beloved hits like "5 Days in May," "Cynthia," "Bad Timing" and the Exclaim! dock rock anthem "Hasn't Hit Me Yet." The effort remains Blue Rodeo's most commercially successful album.
"We can't believe it has been 30 years since we gathered at [Greg Keelor's] farm all beat up from endless touring and began to make Five Days In July," Jim Cuddy shared in a release. "The whole experience was a joy. The recording, the fellow musicians all lending a hand, our favourite restaurant owner cooking and the beautiful summer evenings made it an unforgettable time."
Drummer Glenn Milchem adds, "As novel as the making of the record was, the real reason Five Days in July has endured is because it's a collection of great songs by two writers who had both reached a new level of maturity and depth in their work. These songs have a timelessness that still makes them a joy to play and listen to today."
Bassist Bazil Donovan recalls, "You could wake up in the morning, head downstairs, have coffee and someone would be playing or recording. We would play all the time and sometimes we would hit record and it would all materialize before our eyes. It was a beautiful thing."
Blue Rodeo will also celebrate the album's milestone anniversary on the road, with festival and headlining shows in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Find the band's itinerary below.
Blue Rodeo 2023 North American Tour Dates:
07/28 Mattawa, ON - Mattawa Voyageur Days
07/29 Oka, QC - Blue Mountain Music Festival
08/15 Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre
08/16 Saskatoon, SK - Bess Gardens/Delta Bessborough Hotel
08/18 Salmon Arm, BC - Salmon Arm Roots and Blues
08/20 Grande Prairie, AB - Bear Creek Folk Festival
08/22 Edmonton AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
08/23 Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
08/26 Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
09/04 Vancouver, BC - PNE Fair
09/08 Orono, ON - Orono Fairgrounds
Arriving October 27, two new pressings of Five Days in July will arrive on "cobalt blue" and "neon orange" coloured wax, and as former Record Store Day ambassadors, you best believe the band have packed in some extras for their most dedicated listeners.
The latter edition, billed as a "super-deluxe" package, features additional liner notes from guest collaborators Sarah McLachlan and Anne Bourne, engineer Doug McClement and Blue Rodeo. A limited number of these deluxe editions will be signed by the band.
Both vinyl editions of Five Days in July are now available for pre-order. The album made its debut in the format with a standard, black vinyl pressing in 2015.
Certified six times platinum in Canada, Five Days in July features beloved hits like "5 Days in May," "Cynthia," "Bad Timing" and the Exclaim! dock rock anthem "Hasn't Hit Me Yet." The effort remains Blue Rodeo's most commercially successful album.
"We can't believe it has been 30 years since we gathered at [Greg Keelor's] farm all beat up from endless touring and began to make Five Days In July," Jim Cuddy shared in a release. "The whole experience was a joy. The recording, the fellow musicians all lending a hand, our favourite restaurant owner cooking and the beautiful summer evenings made it an unforgettable time."
Drummer Glenn Milchem adds, "As novel as the making of the record was, the real reason Five Days in July has endured is because it's a collection of great songs by two writers who had both reached a new level of maturity and depth in their work. These songs have a timelessness that still makes them a joy to play and listen to today."
Bassist Bazil Donovan recalls, "You could wake up in the morning, head downstairs, have coffee and someone would be playing or recording. We would play all the time and sometimes we would hit record and it would all materialize before our eyes. It was a beautiful thing."
Blue Rodeo will also celebrate the album's milestone anniversary on the road, with festival and headlining shows in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Find the band's itinerary below.
Blue Rodeo 2023 North American Tour Dates:
07/28 Mattawa, ON - Mattawa Voyageur Days
07/29 Oka, QC - Blue Mountain Music Festival
08/15 Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre
08/16 Saskatoon, SK - Bess Gardens/Delta Bessborough Hotel
08/18 Salmon Arm, BC - Salmon Arm Roots and Blues
08/20 Grande Prairie, AB - Bear Creek Folk Festival
08/22 Edmonton AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
08/23 Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
08/26 Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
09/04 Vancouver, BC - PNE Fair
09/08 Orono, ON - Orono Fairgrounds
