When discussing musical acts from Canada, perhaps the most notable are solo artists such as Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, or Drake. But to discredit the multitude of great Canadian bands that are out there on the basis of this idea would be to miss out on some truly legendary and revolutionary musicians that hail from our very own country.
From experimental music to iconic alternative and more, here are 5 great Canadian bands that you can jam out to on Canada day – as a way for us as music lovers to appreciate the abundance of culture that Canada has provided us.
There are too many honourable mentions to name, but outside of the very most legendary bands, I tried not to bore this list with the 5 most known Canadian bands, but rather a diverse list of the most impressive acts to come out of Canada.
Rush
What’s a better way to start this list than with one of the most legendary prog-rock acts of all time, regardless of country? Spearheaded by Neil Peart, who provided some of the greatest drumming ever for the band (on top of giving much of the creative fuel over the years), Rush still remains a beloved band to millions of fans from all over the world.
All in all, Rush (and Neil Peart specifically) remind us that Canadians in any field can become just about the greatest you can possibly be in said field.
PUP
Though they aren’t as widely known as many of the bands on this list, PUP are up there with Jeff Rosenstock in the category of the very best pop-punk in the world right now. Still young and just off their newest studio album “Who Will Look After the Dogs,” PUP is poised to continue growing and cementing themselves as legends of Canada’s blooming pop punk scene (which includes bands like Sum 41 and Billy Talent, which I’ve sadly excluded here).
side note: the band’s 2019 album “Morbid Stuff” is seriously maybe the best Pop Punk album I’ve ever heard.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
While we’re on the topic of Canadian bands that receive a ton of critical praise but not so much mainstream success, perhaps no group is a better example of this than Montreal collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor (or GYBE for short).
This band has released some albums that have the honour of being considered among the very greatest LPs ever made by music nerds online, such as their second album “Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven,” which is currently rated 93/100 and the 7th greatest album of all time on AOTY, a Letterboxd-esque site for music. And because of all this, I have no problem including GYBE on this list as the resident music nerd pick.
Our Lady Peace
They may not be as legendary as some other Canadian bands (whatever that means), but Our Lady Peace may be the very best band in the wonderful genre of ’90s alternative rock to come out of Canada. With classic albums like “Clumsy” and “Happiness… Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch” coming out of the band’s late ’90s run, I cannot recommend this band enough to fans of bands like Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, and any of these other alternative bands from the era.
The Tragically Hip
Any list of Canadian bands could not possibly be complete without The Tragically Hip, a band that has, at this point, become almost this larger than life brainchild of the late, great Gord Downie.
For anyone who has lived in Canada for all their lives and is old enough to remember, I’m sure I don’t need to explain who The Tragically Hip are or what the Man Machine Poem Tour meant for Canadians from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island. In an article specifically about embracing Canadian culture for Canada day, I couldn’t possibly leave out the band that is so deeply embedded in Canadian culture.
