In late October, all-female Canadian rock band The Beaches graced the stage of the Grey Eagle Event Centre for the first of two Calgary performances of their No Hard Feelings tour. This isn’t their first time performing in the city, but it is their first time back since landing themselves on Billboard’s Top 40 Radio.
The concert was full of energetic alternative-rock tracks, including songs from their most recent album No Hard Feelings, some older songs including T-Shirt and Money and, of course, their viral single Blame Brett.
The Toronto band has recently found major success outside of Canada, entertaining thousands of fans in major international festivals like Coachella this summer. They’ve also been named Billboard Canada’s Women of the Year. But don’t let their international success fool you—The Beaches are firm in their Canadian patriotism.
“We’ll never forget about the Canadian fans who put us where we are today,” said lead singer Jordan Miller before the band unveiled a Canadian-exclusive set for their Calgary audience. The crowd erupted in appreciation for the band’s commitment to their Canadian heritage.
The show’s intimate and emotional moments
Guitarist Leandra Earl joined Miller in a piano arrangement of Lesbian of the Year, a song about Earl’s coming-out journey.
As she introduced the song, Earl said fans have reached out to her to let her know the song has helped people come out to their parents and their friends.
“It’s been really special,” she said.
Many fans in the audience appreciated the band’s commitment to platforming queer voices and are happy to have the opportunity for queer spaces, including Cameryn Dimion, who was there to see the show.
“We were just at a different concert here a couple weeks ago and it was a country concert,” Dimion said. “Very different demographic. So it’s really cool to be in a queer space.”
Another concertgoer and long-time fan of The Beaches, Jordan Symes, says the band’s commitment to Canada is important.
“I work in film, so having any sort of Canadian representation in the media is always great, especially when they blow up this big,” Symes said.
The Beaches made a point of including the audience in different ways throughout the performance. After their first few songs, they called up two young girls who run a fan account for the band and had them share an embarrassing story as they segued into Did I Say Too Much.
Despite the concert being a seated event, nearly everyone in the audience was on their feet by the time the band played Blame Brett, their super hit from 2023.
Canadian pride was a recurring motif throughout the event, especially when Earl announced the Toronto Blue Jays’ winning score in the baseball game that finished just moments before the concert.
“This one’s for the Dodgers,” Earl said as the band began to play their empowering rock-anthem Sorry for Your Loss.
The Beaches played a second show on Thursday, and they have upcoming stops in Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto before wrapping up in London, Ont.