PHOTOS: Elliott BROOD and Great Lake Swimmers @ Biltmore Cabaret - October 23, 2025
Elliott BROOD, Great Lake Swimmers
Biltmore Cabaret
October 23, 2025
See Kirk’s review by clicking here.
Great Lake Swimmers & Elliott BROOD @ Biltmore Cabaret -- October 23, 2025
Two Canadian folk rock powerhouses joined forced earlier this month on a jaunt through western Canada for The Ballads and Badlands Tour. And since Elliott BROOD is always a fun, raucous show, and the last time I saw Great Lake Swimmers was more than ten years ago when they played a secret show at the Vancouver Aquarium in front of the beluga tank (no, really!), I wasn’t going to miss it when they hit the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver.
I got to the venue just before Elliott BROOD was supposed to go on, and to my shock a Vancouver show was running early. But luckily it was still their first song, “Need to Know”, as the band joked they were getting a slow song out of the way first. And the trio of Mark Sasso, Casey Laforet, and Stephen Pitkin stuck to that promise, ramping up the energy with “Dig A Little Hole” and hardly looking back.
They hit songs off their recent dual EP project, Town & Country, like “Blueberry Wine” and a rollicking ode to Windsor, Ontario with “Rose City”. As well as digging back to some fan favourites, with people singing (or yelling) along with the breezy “Northern Air”, the soaring “The Valley Town”, and of course, the cacophonous “Write it All Down for You”.
The band whipping the crowd into a frenzy as they wrapped up their set with “Wind and Snow” once more getting everyone clapping along, a dedicated few in the crowd going for the entire song!
After a quick turnaround, Great Lake Swimmers took the stage, singer & guitarist Tony Dekker joined by Ryan Granville-Martin on drums & bass and Colleen Brown on just about everything, both chiming in on backup vocals as well. (I forgot Brown was with the band at the moment, so that was a nice surprise!)
The trio kicked off the set with the first three songs off the newly released Caught Light, starting with the gorgeous harmonies of “One More Dance Around The Sun”, and weaved through most of the album throughout the set; Tony’s soft voice filling the room on the title track and stellar “A Distant Star” being standouts. They also delved into the band’s two-decade history, with “Your Rocky Spine” which recently (finally) went gold, “Still” off the Lost Channels album, and even all the way back to the first release, with Tony playing “Moving Pictures, Silent Films” on his own.
The main set ended off with the classic “Pulling on a Line” and the crowd softly joining in on the chorus. At that point, I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication, but moments after they left the house lights went up… only for Tony to jump back on stage to say they had one more treat for the audience. That being both bands teaming up for a fun cover of “End of the Line” by Traveling Wilburys, which ended the night with one last giant singalong.
Seeing either one of those sets on their own would have been a good night. But putting both bands together, especially with them joining up at the end*, was quite the treat!
*and you know I consider ‘both bands jam together for a cover song’ one of the only acceptable versions of an encore!
Elliott BROOD setlist
Need to Know
Dig A Little Hole
Bird Dog
Owen Sound
Northern Air
Without Again
French Exit
Bluebird Wine
Rose City
C'Mon Let's Go
Stay Out
The Valley Town
The Banjo Song
Write it All Down for You
Wind and Snow
Great Lake Swimmers setlist
One More Dance Around The Sun
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
For You To Come Around
Changing Colours
Everything Is Moving So Fast
Caught Light
Your Rocky Spine
Moving Pictures, Silent Films
Youth Not Wasted
Endless Detours
Still
A Distant Star
Pulling on a Line
(encore; both bands)
End of the Line [Traveling Wilburys cover]
PHOTOS: Great Lake Swimmers @ Biltmore Cabaret - October 19, 2023
Great Lake Swimmers
Biltmore Cabaret
October 19, 2023
Great Lake Swimmers @ Vancouver Aquarium -- 03/26/12
I have to admit, I have never really considered myself a big fan of Great Lake Swimmers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy hearing their songs on the radio, but I've never really delved into their music beyond that. Though when, mere hours before the show, I was offered a chance to see them play an invite-only set put on by The Peak at the Vancouver Aquarium, in front of the beluga tank.... how could I refuse? If nothing else, it would be an interesting setting for a concert.
As the crowd gathered in the depths of the aquarium, Great Lake Swimmers took the makeshift stage for a soft, intimate performance fit the setting perfectly, with blue lights bathing the crowd and stage. Their hour long set consisted of songs from their new album, New Wild Everywhere, a collection of soft yet rich songs.
Front man Tony Dekker didn't say much between songs, except expressing his awe of the setting, but was a captivating lead singer, backed by the lovely voice and violin from the equally lovely Miranda Mulholland. Highlights of the set were the catch first single, "Easy Come Easy Go", the beautiful "Fields of Progeny" and the final song of the hour long set, the upbeat title track, "New Wild Everywhere".
And the belugas definitely seemed into the show, swimming up the the window throughout, seeing what was going on, and "dancing". They were especially interested in drummer Greg Millson, who looked like he was watching the mammals almost as much as he was drumming.
To call it a "once in a lifetime event" is perhaps a bit melodramatically, but it was definitely a special rarity that won't be soon forgotten, and perhaps more importantly, it definitely made me more interested in checking out their new album next week.
setlist
The Great Exhale, Changes With The Wind, Cornflower Blue, Easy Come Easy Go, Fields of Progeny, Think That You Might Be Wrong, Ballad of a Fisherman's Wife, The Knife, New Wild Everywhere.