As they join forces with Canadian band The Trews for new single ‘Ishmael & Maggie’
New album Hi Generation available for pre-order now
Hermitage Green and Canadian band The Trews have together released ‘Ishmael & Maggie’, a single that will be included on Hermitage Green’s forthcoming album Hi Generation out this autumn. Pre-orders for Hi Generation begin today on iTunes. Hermitage Green is also excited to announce the ‘Hi Generation Tour’ will run from 9th October to 30th December. Dates included below, tickets go on sale on Monday 21st June and can be found at www.hermitagegreen.com.
The song, originally written by The Trews, was one that brought the two bands even closer while touring together in Ireland and Canada. In 2019, while performing multiple sold-out dates at St. Luke’s church in Cork, the two bands found time to get into the studio to record the track together. It is a perfect amalgamation between Irish and Canadian music and is sure to be a celebratory track of the summer as countries begin to reopen.
“When I first heard ‘Ishmael & Maggie’ the words and the story grabbed me straight away and performing it in 2019 at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto is still one of my favourite moments I’ve had on stage,” said Hermitage Green vocalist Barry Murphy. “The connection we made with The Trews grew further when they toured Ireland with us later that year and we again performed it every night at a packed St. Luke’s Church in Cork. Thankfully that week we managed to get into the studio to record a Trews/Hermitage Green version of the song and captured what was one of the best days we’ve had in the studio in the music video. ‘Ishmael & Maggie’ is a song that brings people together. It’s beautifully written and for me connects people with one another in a way that only music from the heart can. I’ll only drink with friends and total strangers. We’re proud to have it on the new record.”
“‘Ishmael and Maggie’ is from The Trews 2005 album ‘Den of Thieves’. I wrote the chorus in 2001 and we finished it with producer/co-writer/Canadian rock star Gordie Johnson in Austin Texas in 2004,” explained The Trews singer Colin MacDonald. “We are from the east coast of Canada, where Irish and Scottish music figures prominently into the culture. We wanted to write a classic east coast drinking song. When we ended up making our way over to Ireland to open for Hermitage Green in 2017 and 2018, Barry and the guys took a shine to the tune. When I heard Barry sing ‘these final words her majesty had to say’ I felt like he was born to sing the song.”
“We had a great camaraderie and musical chemistry with the Hermitage lads and it felt like the perfect song for our bands to sing together,” added Colin. “During an amazing, sold out, four-night stint opening for Hermitage Green in an old church in Cork in December of 2019, in the ‘before times’, we took a day to head into the studio and lay down a big ol’ Canadian/Irish mash up of ‘Ishmael & Maggie’. It was an amazing day and we captured all the magic and fun on video as well. Beautiful memories and some great music, who could ask for anything more?”
Hermitage Green has been filling concert halls around the globe including a sold-out tour of Doha, Qatar, Dubai, United Arab Emirates as well as Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Australia. Closer to home highlights include two back-to-back sold-out King John’s Castle performances, six consecutive sold-out Cork at St. Luke’s, entertaining thousands of fans at Electric Picnic and a sold-out winter tour across Ireland. Known for their exciting performances, Hermitage Green can certainly command a crowd with their enthusiasm but also their talent itself is mesmerizing.
With multiple radio hits drawn from six scorching studio albums plus several EPs, a pair of live records, and a retrospective, The Trews are among the most prolific, electrifying, and innovative rock bands on the planet, a fact corroborated by onetime stage-mates the Rolling Stones, Weezer, and Bruce Springsteen. The Nova Scotia-bred, Hamilton, ON-based combo of singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley — songwriters all — has won universal acclaim for both their dazzling live performances and wildly accessible songs. The band’s current 2018 release , the towering and multifaceted Civilianaires, earned critical acclaim and featured marquee assists from Arkells main man Max Kerman, super-producer Bob Rock, and celebrated singer/songwriter Serena Ryder. Earlier this year, the band returned with new music sharing their anthemic single ‘I Wanna Play’, an ode to getting things back to normal!
HERMITAGE GREEN – HI GENERATION TOUR
On Sale Monday 21st June
Oct 09: Glor, Clare
Oct 10: Vicar Street, Dublin
Oct 21: Opera House, Cork
Oct 22: The INEC, Kerry
Oct 23: Langtons Ballroom, Kilkenny
Oct 28: Source Arts Centre, Tipperary
Oct 29: Blackbox, Galway
Nov 18: Limelight, Belfast
Nov 19: Duke Street, Warrenpoint
Nov 20: Sean Ogs, Donegal
Dec 27: Andersons Live, Sligo
Dec 30: Dolans, Limerick
Stream ‘Ishmael & Maggie’: https://orcd.co/hg_ishmaelmaggie
Watch the video for ‘Ishmael & Maggie’: https://bit.ly/HG-Trews-Ishmael-VideoI
Pre-Order ‘Hi Generation’: https://orcd.co/hg_hi-generation
Tickets for ‘Hi Generation’ Tour: www.hermitagegreen.com