Whenever a band announces an extensive tour, there’s bound to be fans who feel left out when their hometown is excluded. Take a look at most artists’ social media accounts and you’re sure to see comments from fans asking the performer to visit their neck of the woods. While many groups are often unable to add more shows to an already jam-packed schedule, Kingston’s The Wilderness took up the call.

After announcing a lengthy Canadian tour, a fan in Labrador beckoned the band to the east coast. While many Ontario-based bands may not see value in playing such a remote part of Canada, members of The Wilderness saw it as a unique opportunity.

“Basically, we announced a tour going across Canada… and [one] particular person [commented] ‘You can’t say that because you’re not coming to Labrador.’ So, we [wrote] back ‘Okay, how do we get there?’ And sure enough, a couple of days later, they had emailed us with directions and recommendations for venues,” said Nick Lennox, who plays saxophone and provides support on vocals, guitar, keys, and percussion for The Wilderness.

That set the stage for The Wilderness' return to the ‘big land’ in May 2023, where they performed twice in both Labrador City and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, where the band had played during their first trip to Labrador in June 2022.

While playing in a new part of the country for the first time can be daunting, Lennox said the band was well received by locals. “We were welcomed with open arms. In Labrador City we played at a brewery and they were very surprised when an out of town band reached out to them. I guess touring artists on our level don’t drive out that way very much,” he noted.

Despite the remote nature of the gigs in Labrador, the experience allowed The Wilderness to play for audiences who may have never heard their music before. “I find that playing in smaller communities, for us, is really beneficial because it means that we get to build stronger connections with people. I would rather play an intimate room that’s packed to the rafters than a huge hall that’s sparsely [attended],” Lennox remarked.

After making their first visit to Labrador last June, Lennox said the crowds were noticeably bigger the second time around. “The first time we got a few people out and we were kind of taking a chance because… why would anyone from Labrador know who we are, except for this one person who happened to be from Kingston originally,” he noted.

“This time, we saw a bunch of familiar faces, and they brought friends. When we played… in Goose Bay, they told us almost everybody who came last time came back, and we had twice as many people,” Lennox added.

As for how the audiences out east compare to those back home, Lennox said the crowds in Labrador enjoyed what The Wilderness had to offer. “I love Labrador. Holy smokes! They are just so excited, and so kind, and so into the music… Seeing people really resonate with your music is nuts to me and I’m constantly amazed that it’s a real thing.”

While the performances in Labrador were memorable experiences for The Wilderness, the band had to spend more than 30 hours on the road getting there. With cellular data sparse in that part of the country, members found creative ways to pass the time.

“You learn to keep yourself entertained on the road,” explained Lennox. “We started creating themed playlists for really long drives… like ‘every song has to have the name of an animal in it and we need eight hours of songs.’ So, we got to keep it very broad.”

When they’re not driving to remote parts of the country, members of The Wilderness have spent the last few months working on material for their sophomore album, which is set to be recorded this June. The band even debuted a number of new songs at their recent performance at The Ale House for Spring Reverb.

“We’ve written [the record]. We just performed 85 to 90 per cent of it at Spring Reverb, and we are going to go cut it [mid-June]. By the time you’re reading this, we’re probably in the studio recording,” Lennox said of the new material.

For a band that has been releasing music since 2018, Lennox said the new songs “represent a lot of growth for the band musically, compositionally [and] emotionally. We just want it to be the best thing you’ve heard from us to date.”

Fans who want early access to The Wilderness’ new music can find demos of most tracks on the band’s Patreon page. web link Posted: Jun 10, 2023 Originally Published: Jun 10, 2023