Premiere: Shirehead - PROUD TO BE

Written By Jeff MacCallum

A few years ago, English ex-pat Joni Butler left his home country and landed in Montreal where he formed Shirehead with pals from the local skate community. He fronts the band on guitar and vocals with Erik Kennedy on keys, Jeremy Tremblay on drums, Dylan Paiement on bass, and Diego González on guitar. Their first EP, entitled 97 PERCENT OF PEOPLE QUIT BEFORE THE JACKPOT, was released at the end of 2024 and it started getting them noticed by music pundits in Canada. Fast forward to present day and the band are preparing to release their debut album, PROUD TO BE, tomorrow.

The band channels Butler’s musical heritage with sly nods to Britpop and enthusiastic high-fives to the post-punk revival in the UK that is currently taking the world by storm. The songs channel grimy post-punk with dance-punk moments and feature Butler delivering emotionally direct lyrics in a sing-speak style that hits in all the right ways for this genre of music. Those lyrics see Butler confronting nationalism through the lens of someone who grew up in its shadow, discovering how one is shaped by their environment, and ultimately finding the resolve required to change your narrative.

Today we are incredibly excited to premiere Shirehead’s debut album in its entirety. It arrives everywhere tomorrow and for those in Montreal, you can check out the release show March 6th at Casa del Popolo. Get your first listen today and hit the pre-order button in the player to support the band by purchasing PROUD TO BE.

(*Editors Note* - We highly encourage you to buy your music but would maybe suggest waiting until Friday March 6th to buy this one as Friday is Bandcamp Friday and the band will get more proceeds from the sale on that day over any other.)

Jeff MacCallum

Jeff MacCallum is our founder. He created Cups N Cakes simply because he had a love of local music. Soon the platform grew beyond the confines of his scene in Edmonton to include all of Canada.

"I did it all very DIY. Everything you see was me learning on the fly. I'm a carpenter not a musician, or a journalist, or a publicist... I'm a carpenter and a weird crazy music fan that thought he could do something fun that might benefit something I care about"

Over the years, MacCallum's commitment to elevating Canadian music earned him a spot as a Polaris Prize Juror, a WCMA Juror, a consultant for music festival curation, and a dear friend to independent music in Canada.

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Premiere: Trevor Sloan - “Cup of Sunlight”