Trans-Canada Highwaymen - From K-Tel to MuchMusic

The Trans-Canada Highwaymen is a supergroup made up of members of Barenaked Ladies (Steven Page), The Odds (Craig Northey), Sloan (Chris Murphy) and The Pursuit of Happiness (Moe Berg), singing classic Canadian songs by the likes of Pagliaro, Lighthouse, Andy Kim, April Wine and The Guess Who. They’ve already released Explosive Hits Vol. 1, their recordings of 14 of those chart-toppers.

But the beauty of the TCH concept when performed live is that it adds a whole other dimension of Canadiana with the biggest hits by the members’ own bands. 

So, last night at Toronto’s venerable Horseshoe Tavern, the four horsemen of the K-Tel generation, treated the sold-out crowd to note-perfect covers of chart-toppers like “Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy,” “Pretty Woman,” “Rock Me Gently,” “Tonite is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love” and “Undun.” 

And they didn’t disappoint their fans by leaving out beloved tunes from their own respective catalogues. Thus, Page led the audience in singalongs of BNL’s ""It's All Been Done," "The Old Apartment," "Brian Wilson" and “Jane." Northey pumped it up with The Odds’ "It Falls Apart," "Someone Who's Cool" and "Make You Mad." Murphy careened through Sloan’s “Underwhelmed, ""The Other Man" and "The Rest of My Life." And Berg bristled with TPOH’s "I’m An Adult Now," "Hard to Laugh" and "She's So Young."

It's a dream band. And the concept is, frankly, genius: a deep dive into Great White North nuggets from CanCon’s golden age and the MuchMusic era, all lovingly presented in a celebratory showcase of Canadian pop at its finest.

Fans at the Horseshoe last night rapidly gobbled up t-shirts and audio (vinyl and cassettes, but no 8-tracks) at the merch table, eager to take home souvenirs of this new supergroup, which even has its own theme song!

The Highwaymen hit the road next year, travelling through Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, with another Toronto stop added for March 30 at the Opera House. For those who love homegrown pop at its best, these shows are not to be missed.