Rising Folk-Country Band School House releases new single, out now
They live in a century-old schoolhouse, but their sound is the definition of right now. Formed in 2021, School House has quickly become one of Canada’s most exciting young acts, blending harmony-rich folk with the gritty honesty of country music. Today, they’ve dropped their latest anthem, “Live While I’m Alive” — a wry, relatable response to the chaos of modern life and the messy ‘quarter-life crises’ we all face.
Fresh off a tour with The Strumbellas and winning the 2025 Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase, the band is gearing up for their sophomore album, Homeland, arriving February 27th. Joining us today to talk about their new single and their upcoming ‘Freewheelin’ Field Trip’ tour through Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, please welcome School House.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey it’s Mitch here from School House! I’m the guy who plays Banjo 😀 We started our band coincidentally when we moved into a century old School House in Ottawa together. We always loved jamming together but eventually started writing songs and said lets just start a band! Four years later, we had the most amazing year, we’re feeling as excited as ever for what’s to come!
You describe “Live While I’m Alive” as a song about embracing imperfection and “stop keeping score.” Was there a specific “quarter-life crisis” moment that acted as the catalyst for this track?
A: These lyrics came out so quickly for us one day just sitting around in the living room. We didn’t have a specific event in mind, but all of these lines flowed out from somewhere deep down, and we only realized later where the connections came from. It’s rooted in being in our early twenties just trying to figure out life and trying to take all the failures along the way with a grain of salt. Knowing that this is all apart of this beautiful life long journey.
This single is billed as a “folk-country anthem.” How does it bridge the gap between your acoustic folk roots and the bigger, festival-ready country sound that won you the Boots and Heartsshowcase?
I would say our entire sound blends the genre of folk-country, but this song is one of our more country radio, Boots & Hearts type of vibe. That being said, we intentionally kept some of the structure and lyrics true to the way we originally wrote it instead of trying to make it more “accessible” by reworking the structure or lyrics. Ultimately this song came out feeling like a genuine result of us being exactly who we are.
Following the success of your debut and your Album of the Yearwin from Faces Magazine, what was the biggest goal you set for yourselves when you started recording Homeland?
We never really set out any result oriented goals – but we really made an effort to try and hone in on “our sound” on this album. Injecting in as many harmonies, gang vocals, and all the sauce from the banjo & harmonica. We really just wanted to make something that we were super proud of. We would love to receive recognition or awards for this piece of work, but I think the true joy in creating music is listening back and being just so happy that you were able to bring it to life. And that is plenty of a reward for us!
Given the band’s name and origin story, how does the title Homelandreflect where you are as a group now? Does it refer to the physical schoolhouse where you started, or a more internal sense of belonging?
Funnily enough, the album title actually doesn’t have anything to do with the schoolhouse. It’s very convenient (and maybe not a coincidence…) that the theme of House/Home runs through both, but the album title refers more to a sense of belonging. In fact, the title track “Homeland” was written before the band was created. The central question “where’s your homeland?” speaks to the universal need we have for security in both ourselves and those around us. In another way, it also inspired our album cover as well – “home in the land” was the idea we had when we were dreaming up the visuals for this album. In the end, all these pieces have come together to be one singular piece of work that has many different meanings to each of us.
You’ve opened for Alan Doyle and toured with The Strumbellas. What is the most valuable piece of “road wisdom” you’ve picked up from those Canadian legends?
We had so much fun opening up for these legends! Alan Doyle showed us you can have fun during soundcheck haha – play what you want and make the stage feel like yours before you play in front of the crowd! And we realized how professional the Strumbellas were in perfecting their live show. We noticed them honing in each aspect of the show each night. They gave us a glimpse into what it takes to be a professional band.
You’re hitting the road with Braden Lam. How did that partnership come about, and what can fans expect from the “field trip” atmosphere of these shows?
We became fond of Braden from the way he presents himself and his art online – he’s so committed to expressing his art in a unique way and we really admire that! We played once together last spring and instantly hit it off. I think this tour will all be about comradery. We’d love to help each other out on stage for a few songs and jam out, we think this is going to be a great fit fans of some good ol’ folk tunes.
You’ve got dates across Ontario and Quebec. Is there a specific venue or city on this run that feels like a “hometown” show for you?
Ottawa is our home so we’re super pumped for that show at Overflow Brewing. A few other spots would be Kitchener where we played for the first time with the Strumbellas, and the crowd was super receptive to us. It’s almost sold out, so we can’t wait to be back! Kingston and Toronto also feel like Hometown shows as we’ve gotten our reps there over the years driving down the 401!
Upcoming Shows:
March 5, 2026 – Halifax, NS – Seahorse Tavern
March 6, 2026 – Truro, NS – Marigold Cultural Centre
March 7, 2026 – Miramichi, NB – New Maritime Beer
March 8, 2026 – Charlottetown, PEI – The Guild
March 10, 2026 – Moncton, NB – Xeroz Arcade Bar
March 11, 2026 – Fredericton, NB – The Cap
March 13, 2026 – Quebec City, QC – L’Anti
March 14, 2026 – Ottawa, ON – Overflow Brewing
March 15, 2026 – Kingston, ON – Broom Factory
March 18, 2026 – St. Catharines, ON – Warehouse
March 19, 2026 – Toronto, ON – Rivoli
March 20, 2026 – Windsor, ON – Meteor
March 21, 2026 – London, ON – London Brewing Company
March 22, 2026 – Kitchener, ON – Boathouse