JUNKHOUSE CHASE THE SUMMER GLOW ON SIZZLING NEW SINGLE “HOT HOT SUN” + HEAD TO OLG STAGE AT FALLSVIEW CASINO NOVEMBER 21
HIGH OR HURTIN’
Crank the amps, roll down the windows and point the car straight toward the horizon. Junkhouse, the Hamilton, Ontario roots rockers whose ferocious blend of blues, folk and rock ‘n’ roll helped shape a golden era of Canadian music, are back with “Hot Hot Sun,” the first new single of their exciting 2026 chapter, released on High Or Hurtin. Gritty, groove-soaked and radiating summer heat, the track finds singer, songwriter and guitarist Tom Wilson in thrilling form, leading one of the country’s most celebrated rock acts into a bold new era of fresh songs and fierce energy. The band will bring that energy to one of their biggest stages yet when they headline the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls on Saturday, November 21 at 8 p.m.
“Hot Hot Sun” is a song about chasing freedom and following the warmth wherever it leads. Wilson sets the scene as a new day dawns over “broken golden slumbers,” then introduces a narrator who was built for the season: “I was born straight under June / With summer on the run.” By the time the chorus arrives, the song has become a joyous anthem for every free spirit who has ever been misunderstood, as Wilson sings, “Don’t call me lazy / I’m chasin’ the hot hot sun.” A shout-along “yey yey yey yey” hook and an open invitation to “come on come on come on with me” make it a song tailor-made for summer festival crowds and long drives with the volume way up.
The single also marks a wonderful homecoming. Gary Furniss, one of the very first people to champion Wilson’s songwriting and a key figure in Junkhouse’s earliest recording and publishing days, co-wrote “Hot Hot Sun” with Wilson and produced, recorded and mixed the track at his Stonehouse studio. Furniss also played an arsenal of instruments on the recording, including electric, acoustic, and baritone guitars, EBow, bass, and keyboards, alongside programming and background vocals. “Champagne” James Robertson adds searing slide and electric guitar, while Thompson Wilson joins his father on background vocals, making “Hot Hot Sun” a true family affair. Noah Mintz handled the mastering.
Junkhouse first came together in Hamilton in 1989, with Wilson joined by guitarist Dan Achen, drummer Ray Farrugia and bassist Russ Wilson. The four sharpened their sound night after night in the city’s bars and clubs, shaping a raw, muscular style that belonged to them alone. A deal with Sony Music Canada led to their 1993 breakthrough ‘Strays,’ produced primarily by Malcolm Burn, which went Gold in Canada and delivered radio favourites “Out of My Head,” “Praying for the Rain” and “Big Brown Turtle.” Wilson has long described ‘Strays’ as a folk album at its heart, with songs strong enough to stand on a voice and an acoustic guitar, which the band’s volume, chemistry and restless energy transformed into something explosive. Their reputation as a ferocious live act carried them across Canada and onto stages in the United States, Europe and Australia, and they followed up with ‘Birthday Boy’ in 1995 and ‘Fuzz’ in 1997.
Those three albums remain cornerstones of the Canadian rock canon, and they carry the spirit of founding members Dan Achen and Russ Wilson, whose artistry is woven into the fabric of every song the band plays. Special anniversary performances of ‘Strays’ and a steady return to the stage throughout the 2020s showed fans that the chemistry and hunger to play these songs burned as bright as ever, setting the stage for the music Junkhouse are making today.
The 2026 edition of Junkhouse unites Wilson and original drummer Ray Farrugia with a remarkable new generation of talent. Thompson Wilson holds down the bass, sharing the stage with his father and linking the band’s history directly to its future. Guitarist Aaron Goldstein brings his own distinctive voice to the six-string, keyboardist Jesse O’Brien widens the sonic palette, and Robertson, a versatile Hamilton guitarist, songwriter and producer known for his work with New Country Rehab, MOONRIIVR, and Dwayne Gretzky, rounds out a lineup bursting with personality and instinct.
Beyond Junkhouse, Wilson’s creative reach extends through Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and his project Lee Harvey Osmond, and Hamilton’s streets, characters and working-class soul continue to fuel everything he writes. With a loud, rugged and thoroughly alive new single leading the charge, Junkhouse are turning the amps up, gathering a whole new generation of fans and heading straight for the sun, with a night to remember waiting for them at Fallsview this November.
Tour Date
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026 Niagara Falls, ON @ OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino (8 p.m.)
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Marta Hewson
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