The Olympic Symphonium regroup for a series of East Coast dates.
It’s been a while since The Olympic Symphonium have taken to the stage, and even longer since they have played to a hometown crowd. But the group’s unplanned hiatus will end this week as they head out for a quick jaunt to get reacquainted with audiences throughout New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
“I’m pumped,” said the band’s Graeme Walker. “We haven’t played in nearly six months. Everyone has been busy doing different things. Our last album came out almost two years ago and the cycle has run its course. So, we’ve decided to regroup and figure out what to do next. We know we want to make a new album so this tour is a good opportunity to get together, play some music and make a plan.”
The band’s last release, Chance to Fate (2014), was the group’s most successful to date, winning Music New Brunswick’s 2014 Recording of the Year award and receiving a 2015 East Coast Music Award nomination for Album of the Year.
Although exactly when a new recording will surface has yet to be decided, the members of the band each have new material in the works and will be using this series of shows to test some new songs in front of an audience.
“We’ve got three or four new songs ready to go and I think we’ve got another batch brewing,” said Walker. “We’re going to dust off some songs from the older albums and take a stab at some new material. I’m looking forward to it.”
This four date mini-tour was also planned with the intent of playing house concerts and smaller venues, a forum Walker and his bandmates feel bests suits the group’s music and their core audience.
“The idea behind this tour was do to a series of really intimate shows,” he said. “For those who know the band, we play some of the most mellow music that exists so the environment needs to be right. We really wanted to play to small rooms – listening rooms – and we’ve had good luck with house concerts in the past.”
Looking to the months ahead, the members of The Olympic Symphonium will soon direct their collective energies on producing the sixth edition of their curated festival, Shivering Songs, an event that has become a mid-winter staple for Fredericton music lovers. Through the festival, the members of the band have been able to introduce some of their favourite songwriters to Fredericton audiences without necessarily concerning themselves with a performance of their own.
“I’d like to see us play Shivering Songs in some capacity because it’s been a while since we’ve done a set completely on our own,” said Walker, “but we’re still finalizing a lot of stuff for the festival, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
The Olympic Symphonium on tour:
October 1 – Charlottetown, PEI: Marc’s Lounge
October 2 – St. Andrews, NB: House Show
October 3 – Fredericton, NB: House Show
October 4 – Saint John, NB: Bourbon Quarter (matinee)
Detailed show information available here.
