Tim Baker, Eric Slick

×

Expand

Teresa Freitas

Tim Baker

$20.

media release: Tim Baker is excited to announce the new album The Festival, due out October 7 via Donovan Woods’ new label End Times Music (Pre-Order). The new LP follows Tim’s acclaimed 2019 debut solo album, Forever Overhead (voted “Folk Album Of The Year” by Exclaim! And Album of The Year in 2019 by CBC Music). The internationally celebrated singer/songwriter, award winning indie-rock band-leader (Hey Rosetta!), and 2020 JUNO award ‘Songwriter of The Year’ nominee, is also sharing the new single “Year of the Dog”. “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.”

LISTEN + SHARE the new single “Year of the Dog”: ​​https://orcd.co/yearofthedog-tb

“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.” - Donovan Wood

Tim has also announced North American tour dates throughout this November and December. In partnership with Plus1 Tim will donate $1 from each ticket sold to support grassroots organizations working to mitigate the current climate crisis and build a sustainable future for all. Tickets are available via timbaker.net.

“Writing The Festival saved my life,” says Tim. “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. Deflated, troubled and sheltered in place on a far-flung island in the North Atlantic, 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 recording The Festival kept him afloat in a time when the entire world felt adrift.

Against all odds, Tim remains a prolific wild-eyed dreamer. In 2022, he has returned with The Festival, a sonic embrace, a call in for love, and a cry out for connection. He wants us to bring our pain and suffering, and align it all with melody. The Festival is a kaleidoscopic view in these complicated times.