SPILL NEW MUSIC: RHEOSTATICS CELEBRATE 45 YEARS WITH GROUNDBREAKING LP FT. ALEX LIFESON ‘THE GREAT LAKES SUITE’ | SINGLE “THE INLAND SEA” OUT NOW

RHEOSTATICS CELEBRATE 45 YEARS WITH GROUNDBREAKING LP FT. ALEX LIFESON THE GREAT LAKES SUITE | SINGLE “THE INLAND SEA” OUT NOW

CORDOVA BAY RECORDS

Beloved Canadian rock ensemble, Rheostatics, announce their anticipated upcoming LP, The Great Lakes Suite, is officially set to arrive November 21. The album celebrates the influential band’s incredible 45 year anniversary, and features eighteen tracks of primarily improvised music and spoken word, performed by longtime members Dave Bidini, Dave Clark, Don Kerr, and Tim Vesely, with newer additions Kevin Hearn and Hugh Marsh, alongside legendary guitarist Alex Lifeson.

The single “Inland Sea” arrives today, a shimmering reflection on the mystery and majesty of the Great Lakes, accompanied by a whimsical video directed and animated by JUNO Award-winning filmmaker and illustrator Sarah Legault. The piece weaves together historic maritime paintings by Robert McGreevy with artwork by Kevin Hearn, Jared Tait, Martin Tielli, and John Sherbourne, creating a dreamlike voyage.

Band co-founder Dave Bidini recalls, “Kevin and I were talking about trying to do something in the spirit of G7, and the idea came to me as I was falling asleep, which is sometimes where the best ideas are born. We had done a retrospective show at the Horseshoe where we played from our repertoire, and everyone felt it was time to do something challenging and new. The first person we called was Alex (Lifeson), and he sounded excited, so the project immediately took shape.”

Recorded over two spontaneous sessions in Toronto, The Great Lakes Suite features an impressive roster of talented and award-winning collaborators: Inuk throat singer, songwriter, and novelist Tanya Tagaq; musician and filmmaker Laurie Anderson; poet and storyteller Chief Stacey LaForme; poet and essayist Anne Carson; poet Liz Howard, fiddler and singer Kendel Carson, singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne (Envy of None) and renowned singer-songwriter and activist, the late Gord Downie.

Together, they help the group create a sonic landscape that mirrors the power, history, and mystery of the five Great Lakes, in the spirit of Rheostatics’ landmark 1995 release Music Inspired by the Group of Seven.

Says Kevin Hearn about the inspiration for the single, “Inland Sea”, “In November 2024, while walking along Lake Superior in Duluth, I discovered a book called Lost Legends of the Lakes. Robert McGreevy’s paintings and stories of the Great Lakes’ 10,000 shipwrecks sparked the idea for this song. It draws not only from those shipwrecks, but also from the mysteries and legends of the lakes, from UFO sightings over Lake Huron to the Sleeping Giant of Thunder Bay, and even Bob Dylan’s early days in Duluth, just steps from Lake Superior.”

Celebrating the release, as well as their 45th anniversary as a band, The Rheostatics are set to perform two shows at Toronto’s TD Music Hall on November 21 and 22. Both dates are sold out and are set to be an incredible visual experience alongside the musical performance which features Rheostatics, Kevin Hearn, Hugh Marsh, Alex Lifeson, Tanya Tagaq, and Chief Stacey Laforme.

Rheostatics
The Great Lakes Suite
(Cordova Bay Records)
Release Date: November 21, 2025

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