Great Lake Swimmers
ca | Label: Pheromone Recordings
Europe/UK (Agent) Dieter Craeye Europe/UK (Agent) Steven Thomassen

Upcoming shows

22.04.2026
Meetfactory - Prague (cz)
24.04.2026
Lutherse Kerk - Groningen (nl) + Portland
26.04.2026
Hotel Cecil - Copenhagen (dk) + Portland
27.04.2026
Monument - Gothenburg (se) + Portland
28.04.2026
SALT - Oslo (NO) + Portland
29.04.2026
Kollektivet Livet - Stockholm (se) + Portland
01.05.2026
Annelundsgarden - Malmö (se) + Portland
02.05.2026
BETTY - Hamburg (de) + Portland
03.05.2026
Mezz - Breda (nl) + Portland
04.05.2026
dB's - Utrecht (nl)
06.05.2026
The Hope & Ruin - Brighton (uk) + Portland
07.05.2026
Exchange - Bristol (uk) + Portland
08.05.2026
Nice 'N Sleazy - Glasgow (uk) + Portland
09.05.2026
YES - Manchester (uk) + Portland
10.05.2026
100 Club - London (uk) + Portland
11.05.2026
Cactus Club - Brugge (be)
13.05.2026
Bogen F - Zurich (ch) + Portland
14.05.2026
Manufaktur - Schorndorf (de)
15.05.2026
Haus der Musik - Vienna (at) + Portland
17.05.2026
Paribu Art - Istanbul (tr)
18.05.2026
Dürer Kert - Budapest (hu) + Portland
20.05.2026
Beatpol - Dresden (de) + Portland
21.05.2026
Frannz Club - Berlin (de) + Portland
Click here to see past shows...

Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals, Great Lake Swimmers are a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led by Tony Dekker. Based in Southern Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. The music developed in that pastoral warmth, performed and recorded in acoustically resonant and historical locales with a revolving cast of personnel. They are renowned for homespun folk and lush, intimate Americana in their live shows.

Their newest album, Caught Light, out Oct 10, 2025, is their most immediate and instinctive album to date. Recorded in just five days in Ontario’s Ganaraska Forest with producer Darcy Yates (Bahamas) and engineer Jimmy Bowskill (Blue Rodeo), it draws warmth from early ’70s folk-pop while embracing a new spontaneity and directness in Dekker’s songwriting.

Great Lake Swimmers have been shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and nominated twice for Canada’s Juno Awards, with the CBC calling them “a national treasure.”

“A stunning variety of tones and textures… nothing less than both cerebral and sublime” – American Songwriter, 4/5

“It floats from country to folk to indie rock and back again… a sharp-toothed but achingly beautiful portrait of the natural world and the human condition.” – New Noise Magazine

“Dekker’s preoccupation with the Canadian state of mind flourishes in his lyrics. Few songwriters are able to convey the country’s harsh beauty as well. …Canadian folk tradition personified in the 21st century” – Exclaim!

Video's

Releases

Caught Light
Pheromone Recordings(2025)
Uncertain Country
Pheromone Recordings(2023)
Waves, The Wake
Nettwerk(2018)
A forest of arms
Nettwerk(2015)
New Wild Everywhere
Nettwerk(2012)
Lost Channels
Nettwerk(2008)
Ongiara
Nettwerk(2007)
Bodies and Minds
Fargo(2005)
Great Lake Swimmers
Misra(2003)