Great Lake Swimmers

Biography

Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto.
The current touring line-up is Tony Dekker on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Erik Arnesen on banjo, electric guitar and harmonium, Ryan Granville-Martin on drums and backing vocals, Bret Higgins on upright bass and Kelsey McNulty on keyboards and backing vocals. Past members included Julie Fader on backing vocals, Sandro Perri on guitar, and Greg Millson and Colin Huebert on drums.
The band's style has been compared to Red House Painters, Nick Drake, Iron & Wine and Neil Young, as well as Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy) and Sufjan Stevens. Dekker has cited influences including Gordon Lightfoot, Gram Parsons and Hank Williams.

History

The band released two albums, Great Lake Swimmers in 2003 and Bodies and Minds×Bodies and Minds2 April 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Song for the Angels5:202Let's Trade Skins5:243When It Flows3:354Various Stages4:125Bodies and Minds3:496To Leave It Behind4:057Falling Into the Sky3:058Imaginary Bars2:239I Saw You in the Wild3:4810I Could Be Nothing5:1711Long Into the Evening5:44 in 2005, on the independent label (weewerk) before signing to the larger Nettwerk in 2007.
The band released its third full-length album, Ongiara×Ongiara16 April 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Your Rocky Spine3:362Backstage with the Modern Dancers4:293Catcher Song4:114Changing Colours4:445There Is a Light5:076Put There by the Land2:447I Am Part of a Large Family4:248Where in the World Are You3:499Passenger Song4:2910I Became Awake5:53, on March 27, 2007, in Canada and in May for the rest of the world. Although signing to Nettwerk early in 2007, Great Lake Swimmers continue to be managed by (weewerk). In September 2007, (weewerk) released a limited edition vinyl version of Ongiara. It was available in Australia through native indie label Speak N Spell.
Their fourth album, Lost Channels×Lost Channels31 March 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Palmistry2:352Everything Is Moving So Fast4:193Pulling on a Line3:194Concrete Heart3:325She Comes to Me in Dreams4:046The Chorus in the Underground3:227Singer Castle Bells0:488Stealing Tomorrow3:479Still2:5110New Light3:2011River’s Edge4:2112Unison Falling Into Harmony3:25, was released on March 31, 2009. It was shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, and was nominated for a Juno Award, in the category of Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group, and a Canadian Folk Music Award.
In 2009, Great Lake Swimmers took part in an interactive documentary series called City Sonic. The series, which featured 20 Toronto artists, had Tony Dekker talk about his daily underground commute along Toronto’s subway system. In 2011, Dekker participated in the documentary series National Parks Project, visiting Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia with filmmaker Keith Behrman and musicians Daniela Gesundheit and Old Man Luedecke.
The band's fifth studio album, New Wild Everywhere×New Wild Everywhere2 April 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Think That You Might Be Wrong4:152New Wild Everywhere3:473The Great Exhale4:394The Knife4:235Changes With the Wind4:256Cornflower Blue4:077Easy Come Easy Go4:248Fields of Progeny2:579Ballad of a Fisherman's Wife3:1810Quiet Your Mind4:5111Parkdale Blues3:5512On the Water5:3313Les Champs de Progéniture3:08, was released on April 3, 2012. The band also composed an instrumental soundtrack for photographer Ian Coristine's One in a Thousand, an e-book of photography from the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, also released in April 2012.
Dekker released a solo album, Prayer of the Woods, in October 2013. The album includes eight original songs as well as covers of Gordon Lightfoot's "Carefree Highway" and Human Sexual Response's "Land of the Glass Pinecones". In 2014, he followed up with Sings 10 Years of Zunior, an album of covers of other Canadian artists — including Old Man Luedecke, Chad VanGaalen, Christine Fellows, Ohbijou, Rae Spoon, Matt Mays, Martin Tielli, Jennifer Castle and Cadence Weapon — released to mark the 10th anniversary of Canadian web music store Zunior.
The sixth studio album by the full band, A Forest of Arms×A Forest of Arms21 April 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Something Like a Storm3:142Zero in the City3:053Shaking All Over3:504Don’t Leave Me Hanging3:125One More Charge at the Red Cape3:106I Was a Wayward Pastel Bay3:157A Bird Flew Inside the House2:478A Jukebox in a Desert of Snow3:399I Must Have Someone Else’s Blues3:1210The Great Bear4:1711With Every Departure3:1412Expecting You3:52, was released on April 21, 2015. In 2017, they followed up with the Christmas-themed EP They Don't Make Them Like That Anymore.
In February 2018, the band released the single "Falling Apart"/"The Talking Wind", as an advance preview of the forthcoming album The Waves, the Wake×The Waves, The Wake16 August 2018 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1The Talking Wind4:232In a Certain Light3:243Alone but Not Alone3:184Falling Apart4:365Side Effects3:376The Real Work4:517Root Systems3:218Unmaking the Bed3:579Visions of a Different World2:3210Holding Nothing Back3:5111Mouth of Flames4:0912The Open Sea6:23.
Their eighth album, Uncertain Country×Uncertain Country28 April 2023 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Uncertain Country4:122When the Storm Has Passed4:393I Tried to Reach You4:284Since January0:205Swimming Like Flying3:246On a Ship0:157Moonlight, Stay Above4:148Riverine4:099Quiet Before the Storm4:3610Into It0:1311Promise of Spring2:5412Think, Think0:2513Respect for All Living Things4:5314Flight Paths3:2715Am I Floating in the Air3:37, was released on April 28, 2023. In 2024, they appeared on several tracks from Abigail Lapell's album Anniversary. The 5th track on the album, "Swimming Like Flying", was written in memory of Bonnie O'Donnell, a passionate swimmer and close friend of Tony Dekker and Serena Ryder. O'Donnell managed Ryder from 2004 until her sudden death in January 2008 at age 32. Ryder sang the guest vocals on the track.
Their ninth album, Caught Light×Caught Light10 October 2025 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1One More Dance Around the Sun4:462Wrong, Wrong, Wrong3:303For You to Come Around3:514Youth Not Wasted4:125Endless Detours4:106Running Out of Time3:027Caught Light5:328A Distant Star4:119The Fledgling Jay3:3010All the Best3:45, was released in October 2025.

Studio albums

Great Lake Swimmers (weewerk, 2003)
Bodies and Minds (weewerk, 2005)
Ongiara (Nettwerk, 2007)
Lost Channels (Nettwerk, 2009)
New Wild Everywhere (Nettwerk, 2012)
A Forest of Arms (Nettwerk, 2015)
The Waves, the Wake (Nettwerk, 2018)
Uncertain Country (2023)
Caught Light (2025)

Acoustic albums

The Waves, the Wake (Acoustic) (Nettwerk, 2019)
In Pieces: An Acoustic Retrospective (2024)

Cover albums

When Last We Shook Hands: Cover Songs, Vol. 1 (2020)

EPs

Hands in Dirty Ground (weewerk, 2006)
Swimming Away (2016)
They Don't Make Them Like That Anymore (2017)
Side Effects (2018)

Live albums

Live at the Church of the Redeemer (Nettwerk, 2007)
The Legion Sessions (Nettwerk, 2009)
Live in Ottawa at the 27 Club, October 3, 2019 (2020)
Live at the Redeemer 2007 (Weewerk, 2021)

Compilations

See You on the Moon! (2005): "See You on the Moon!"
The Sound the Hare Heard (2006): "Where in the World Are You"
Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to Neil Young (2007): "Don't Cry No Tears"
Peace on Earth (2007): "Gonna Make It Thru This Year"
Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest (2008): "Your Rocky Spine×Your Rocky Spine2007 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Your Rocky Spine3:362Put There by the Land (live)3:003There Is a Light (live)5:124Backstage with the Modern Dancers"
(weewerk) is 6! (2008): "Song for the Angels (Miracle Version)", "Gonna Make It Thru This Year". (Dekker also appears as a guest musician on tracks by Audiotransparent, Julie Fader and United Steel Workers of Montreal.)
Friends in Bellwoods II (2009): "Send Me a Letter"
Introducing Townes Van Zandt via the Great Unknown (2009): "Our Mother the Mountain"
A Country Blues Christmas: The 2010 Zunior Holiday Album (2010): "When the Snow Starts to Fall"
Paint it Black: An Alt-Country Tribute to the Rolling Stones (2011): "Before They Make Me Run"
Have Not Been the Same - Vol. 1: Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die (2011): "What Was Going Through My Head" (The Grapes of Wrath cover)
My Name Is Mathias (2014): "The Things That People Make (Part 3)"

Soundtrack

This is not like home (Silver Road, 2007)
Your Rocky Spine (Weeds, 3x06 Grasshopper, 2007)
Passenger Song (Numb3rs, 5x08 Thirty-Six Hours, 2008)
Song Sung Blue (original film score, weewerk, 2008)
There Is a Light (The Light of Family Burnam, 2008)
I Could Be Nothing (Personal Effects), 2010)
Leave It Behind (Personal Effects), 2010)
Imaginary Bars (Out of Place: a Portrait of Surfing in Cleveland, Ohio, 2010)

Other

In 2006, the band released a "digital box set" on Zunior, consisting of their first two albums, the limited edition Hands in Dirty Ground×Hands in Dirty Ground2006 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Hands in Dirty Ground3:392To Leave It Behind (Band version)4:073Song for the Angels (Miracle version)4:244I Saw You in the Wild (live)4:065Innocent W.Y.D. (live)4:456This Is Not Like Home (live)3:38 EP, several digital tour photos and the video for their song "To Leave It Behind" on a 512 MB USB flash drive.
In 2008, Dekker appeared on Jenny Omnichord's album Charlotte or Otis: Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too, performing a duet vocal on the song "Do You Know Karate".
In 2009, the band released a limited double 7" vinyl split single with the Dutch band Audiotransparent. This release includes a cover of the Elvis Presley classic "Don't Be Cruel" and the original song "Send Me a Letter". Dekker and Arnesen also appear on the Audiotransparent song "You Are a Movie".
In 2010, the band contributed four tracks to the online music community Swim Drink Fish Music, including live versions of their songs "Your Rocky Spine×Your Rocky Spine2007 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Your Rocky Spine3:362Put There by the Land (live)3:003There Is a Light (live)5:124Backstage with the Modern Dancers", "I Could Be Nothing" and "Everything Is Moving So Fast" and a previously unreleased track, "Ballad of a Fisherman's Wife".
The songs “I Became Awake” and “Various Stages” are heard in the 2010 independent Canadian horror film The Corridor.
The song "Moving Pictures Silent Films" was featured in the August 8, 2011 episode of Warehouse 13, entitled "3...2...1..."
In 2012, the band contributed the Christmas song "Hang a String of Lights" to Paste magazine's annual online Holiday Sampler music collection.