Homegrown Hamilton 27 King William Street
Toronto band The Box Tiger were due for a Hamilton show and I was pleased to hear they chose Homegrown this time around. When the band asked me to team up with them to present the show, I didn’t miss a beat in rounding up the dynamic duo of Redanda and The Great Machine to add to the bill. The Box Tiger also brought along friends Heavy Hearts, from Niagara. It shaped up to be a rockin’ Wednesday.
I dubbed it “Redanda Week” because Corey, Connor, Curtis, and Chris were also set to play the rooftop of Dr. Disc a couple days later (another “I Heart Hamilton Presents” show!).
Redanda has been working on some new material and recording at Threshold Studio. They debuted some new tunes at the show and I was really impressed. They’re finding their groove and it’s exciting to see them develop as a band. They still have that reggae tinge to their music but I hear a lot of other influences too.
The Box Tiger were positioned right in the middle of our hometown bands. I was really excited to see them play again, since I go a few months in between their shows. They’ve been touring quite a bit lately and are also set to release their debut album, Set Fire, on August 6th.
Sonia, Jordan, Ben, and Marcus have a great chemistry on and offstage. Sonia’s powerful and unique vocals always take me aback; it’s something that sets them apart from other bands. Their live show is tighter every time I see them. We’ve been joking that I need to make cameo on the tambourine – maybe next time!
Set Fire is available to pre-order now. It sounds fantastic – the band has found their sound and hit their stride.
This was my first time seeing The Great Machine with their new drummer. Whoa! Homegrown could barely contain the sound of the trio. I think we were drowning out Absinthe’s Motown across the street. That, combined with Open Mic happening over at Baltimore House, it was a raging night on King William. Our party was the place to be, if I do say so myself.
I’m excited to see what’s next for Greg, Jon, and Caleb. If you haven’t yet experienced the raw energy of their live show, you need to, pronto!
Heavy Hearts closed the show. They had recently played with The Box Tiger in St. Catharines and this was their first-ever show in Hamilton. I was glad to be part of their debut – I hope we showed them a good time! They blasted the space with a hard-hitting set with lots of headbanging and rocking out.
Thanks to all the bands for joining me for the night and collaborating on this event! Check out my video below of The Box Tiger performing their newest single, “Taller Than Trees.”
– Kristin
