The Pandemic Interviews -Conversations in a changing Time - Ep26 - John-Angus MacDonald of The Trews

The Trews, formed in Antigonish, Nova Scotia by brothers Colin and John-Angus with good friend, bassist Jack Syperek, are now based in Hamilton, Ontario and are the cusp of celebrating 25 years together. I was joined in the studio by John-Angus, who drove into Toronto from Hamilton to chat about the pandemic and future of music, how he and the band have coped, lessons learned and looking forward to their new album to be released in the fall of 2022.

The band perform their own distinctive, hard driving rock with a whisper here and there of their Celtic roots and on occasion, the hint of reggae or the plaintive cry of the bagpipes, all reflecting their time growing up in  Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Jamaica and Barbados. The Trews have released six full length albums, one compilation, five EPs, three live albums and one video album. Also during that time they’ve have been nominated for six Juno awards, and seventeen nominations with seven wins at the East Coast Music Awards. They’ve also won twice at the U.S. Independent Music awards. It’s been a busy and very fruitful almost 25 years. Happy (almost) 25th Birthday!