Tim Baker Announces New Album ‘The Festival’ Alongside Latest Single “Year Of The Dog”

Celebrated Canadian singer-songwriter Tim Baker has officially announced his new solo album The Festival will be out October 7th via Donovan Wood’s label End Times Music. The upcoming record follows his 2019 solo debut Forever Overhead, and continues his refreshing and unique songwriting style. “Year of The Dog” once again has Baker at his best, as he softly croons from behind the piano.

“It’s about living through, and actually being thankful for, difficulty and pain,” says Tim of the new album, “for how they make you grow and appreciate beauty you couldn’t otherwise.”

Embodying both Paul Simon and Billy Joel on the new track, his full band folk rock comes together as the song progresses. Despite Hey Rosetta! being a ghost of the past in Canadian music, Baker’s songwriting keeps the spirit of the band alive on his solo work.

Speaking on the new album, he shares, “Writing The Festival saved my life. I could immerse myself in a different world. It gave me a reason to go on, something to hold onto.”

As the entire world shut down, Tim retreated to the rugged and familiar shores of Newfoundland and Labrador, and reflected on the life he once knew. From his home province, he recalled the blur of stage lights, thousands and thousands of people, colours and urban cacophony coursing through his veins from years of touring. He also meditated on trauma and the ongoing climate change crisis. Admittedly, he felt pretty existential, depressed and defeated at first. 

Tim, like so many of us who faced our own realities, and narcissism (having no one to share a laugh with, or perform for), began feverishly writing. Dozens of new songs came out of him. During the ongoing lockdowns, the only thing that kept him going was the notion of a faraway feeling of someday reconnecting and returning to a form of celebration. Writing and then recording The Festival (with trusted collaborator Marcus Paquin in isolation at The Fogo Island Inn) kept him afloat in a time when the entire world felt adrift.

Label-head Donovan Woods adds, “I’ve been a fan of Tim’s songwriting for what feels like half my life. He’s a writer of uncommon poignancy – always telling you two things at once, always upending language and letting us inspect it from a different angle. His melodies grow on me like no one else’s. I’m honoured that our label End Times gets to play a part in getting Tim’s music into the world. He’s among the best Canada has to offer, and among the best Canada has ever produced.”

Tim has also revealed North American tour dates for this November and December. In partnership with the PLUS1 Climate Fund so that $1 per ticket goes to supporting grassroots organizations working to mitigate the current climate crisis and build a sustainable future for all. Tickets are available via timbaker.net.

Listen to the single below, and check out tour dates just past:

Tour dates:

AUGUST

04 – Sydney, NS @ Makin’ Waves Music Festival

SEPTEMBER

09 – Saint John, NB @ Area 506 Music Festival
10 – Hamilton, ON @ Supercrawl
17 – Nashville, TN @ Americanafest

NOVEMBER

10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Peppermint Club

11 – San Francisco, CA @ Café du Nord

12 – Sacramento, CA @ Old Iron Sides

15 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir

16 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern

26 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street

27 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon

29 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas

DECEMBER

01 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement

02 – Asheville, NC @ French Broad River Brewery

03 – Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse

04 – Washington, DC @ Jammin Java

06 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge

08 – London, ON @ London Music Hall

09 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall

10 – Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre

11 – Montreal, QC @ Le Studie TD