Wild Rivers Announce New EP ‘Songs To Break Up To’ Out May 1; Share New Song + Worldwide Tour Dates

February 24, 2020 BY Nettwerk

“The band has certainly found a strong and quietly powerful sound to define themselves by… promising for a future sophomore album that balances the folk and the pop.” — Earmilk

 “A catchy, bittersweet folk-pop journey through a relationship’s rocky aftermath…” — Atwood

Wild Rivers have announced their anticipated new EP, Songs To Break Up To, will be released on May 1st. The folk pop foursome celebrates this news by sharing new song “Kinda Feels Alright,” and announcing that their “Where We Left Off Tour” has expanded internationally, with additional U.S. dates added in June, plus shows in the UK and Europe starting in September. The tour launches just prior to the EP’s release, on April 29th in Boston at The Sinclair (all dates are below).  Tickets for the May shows are on-sale now ($1 of every ticket sold on this run will be donated to Voices of Our City Choir, the San Diego-based non-profit organization created in response to the current housing crisis); the rest of the tour will go on-sale this Friday, February 28th at www.wildriversmusic.com.

On Songs To Break Up To, Wild Rivers transpose personal experiences into relatable anthems woven from strands of folk, indie, rock, pop, country, and beyond. For its recording, they retreated to Nashville in late 2019, where they worked with producer Skylar Wilson (Rayland Baxter; Justin Townes Earle; Joshua Hedley) to expand their sonic palette by further incorporating synths, guitar effects, gang vocals, and choral harmonies.  The theme of the EP was inspired by co-lead vocalist/guitarist Khalid Yassein facing the dissolution of a long-term relationship in 2018.

LISTEN + SHARE “KINDA FEELS ALRIGHT” HERE:


The band previously shared the wistful and soulful track “Thinking ‘Bout Love,” offering both sides of a break-up – the practical thinker vs the hopeless romantic – amidst a heartfelt vocal volley between Khalid and lead vocalist/bassist Devan Glover.

Khalid explains, “When we began writing, the songs that spoke to us all were centered around the breakup. We decided to lean into the theme and make the EP an exploration of the topic, what the different sides of a breakup are, and what the feelings are. These include the good and the bad, the acceptance and the sadness, and the new freedom. We wanted to write a collection of songs covering the spectrum of what you feel going through the end of a relationship.”

Rounded out by guitarist/bassist Andrew Oliver and drummer Julien Laferrière, Wild Rivers first caught attention with their 2016 self-titled debut, followed by their acclaimed 2018 EP Eighty-Eight, which received praise from the likes of Rolling Stone Country, Earmilk and No Depression, and saw the band surpass 100 million combined streams on Spotify alone. Having supported artists like The Paper Kites, Donovan Woods, Jake Bugg and Alvvays, Wild Rivers has built a dedicated live following thanks to their charismatic stage presence as evidenced by sold out headline shows across North America, including major cities like New York, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Toronto and more.

With exquisite harmonies, gorgeous melodies and emotionally charged, tightly crafted lyrics, the Toronto-based band deliver their unique blend of folk-pop songs that are at once inviting and infectious. Their sound is an amalgamation of their various influences, from contemporaries like The Lumineers, Bahamas and Kacey Musgraves to the iconic storytellers of the 70s, like James Taylor, Neil Young and Fleetwood Mac.

Stay tuned for more news from Wild Rivers.

Wild Rivers “Where We Left Off” World Tour:

Fri, Apr 24                 Orillia, ON @ Roots North Music Festival

Sat, Apr 25                Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell’s

Wed, Apr 29              Boston, MA @ Sinclair*

Fri, May 1                  New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge*

Sat, May 2                 Washington, DC @ Union Stage*

Mon, May 4               Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theater*

Tue, May 5                Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5*

Wed, May 6               Nashville, TN @ High Watt*

Fri, May 8                  Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme*

Sat, May 9                 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall*

Sun, May 10             Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry*

Mon, May 11             Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge*

Wed, May 13            Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater^

Thur, May 14            Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room^

Sat, May 16               Seattle, WA @ Barboza^ (sold out)

Sun, May 17             Portland, OR @ Doug Fir^

Mon, May 18             San Francisco @ Café Du Nord^

Wed, May 20            Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge^

Thur, May 21            San Diego, CA @ Voodoo @ House of Blues^

Sun, May 31             Bethel, NY @ Mountain Jam

Sat, June 6                Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit Live

Mon, June 8              Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Indoors

Tue, June 9               Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Upstairs

Thur, June 11           Plano, TX @ Legacy Hall

Fri, June 12               Springdale, AR @ Fairlane Station

Sun, June 14            Memphis, TN @ Levitt Pavillion

Sat, June 20             Detroit, MI @ The Shelter

 

Europe/UK

Sun, Sept 20             Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord

Tue, Sept 22             Cologne, DE @ Blue Shell

Wed, Sept 23            Brussels, BE @ La Machine

Fri, Sept 25               Berlin, DE @ Musik & Frieden

Sun, Sept 27             Copenhagen, DK @ Ideal Bar (Vega)

Mon, Sept 28            Oslo, NO @ Krøsset

Tue, Sept 29             Stockholm, SE @ Bar Brooklyn

Thur, Oct 1                Manchester, UK @ Night & Day

Fri, Oct 2                    London, UK @ The Camden Assembly

Sat, Oct 3                  Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana

Support by
*Allman Brown
^The Harmaleighs