Great Lake Swimmers with Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter

Great Lake Swimmers play The Sunset Tavern on Sunday, November 1, with Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter appearing as a duo. The Swimmers are an indie-folk group from Southern Ontario, led by songwriter and vocalist Tony Dekker. They've been around since the early 2000s, and their sound has always leaned on acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals. The band has a history of recording in old silos and rural country churches, and that rural, open-air quality has stayed with them. They've been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, nominated twice for Canada's Juno Awards, and the CBC has called them "a national treasure."

They'll be touring their ninth album, Caught Light, which came out October 10, 2025. It was recorded in just five days in Ganaraska Forest with producer Darcy Yates of Bahamas and engineer Jimmy Bowskill of Blue Rodeo. The record draws on early 1970s folk-pop and produced the singles "One More Dance Around the Sun" and "Wrong, Wrong, Wrong," alongside the explicitly political "Running Out of Time."

Dekker, who lived in Toronto his entire adult life, has since moved back to the Niagara area with his partner and two young children. That shift back to the countryside fits with the band's long-standing connection to rural settings. On the bill with them is Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, performing as a duo.

The show is Sunday, November 1, with doors opening at 7:30 PM and the music starting at 8 PM. Tickets are $25 in advance, which comes to $33.48 after fees, and $28 on the day of the show, or $36.57 after fees.