Psych surf rock band from Squamish, BC bring ‘Modern World Blues’ to stages from Ottawa to Asbury Park
Surf Hat are heading back out on the road, and they are bringing the salt air with them. The Squamish, British Columbia band have confirmed a sweeping fall run that threads together headline shows and festival sets across Canada before crossing into the United States, then loops home through the mountain towns of British Columbia and Alberta. It is the latest chapter for a group whose rise has unfolded the unhurried way, one room and one road trip at a time.
The cornerstone of the band’s live story is the sound itself, a self-described cold-water surf rock that they make somewhere between the Pacific and the peaks. The geography is the point. Surf Hat write beach music in a coastal mountain town, channelling the breezy shimmer of Allah-Las, the loose swagger of The Growlers, and the off-kilter quirk of Talking Heads into something that feels both sun-warmed and snow-dusted. The result is a catalogue that floats easily from surfy guitar rock to funky synth twinkle, a restlessness the band leans into on purpose.
The roots of all this reach back further than Squamish. Founding members Jon Allan and Evan Camm built the project around a friendship and a simple beach-side pact made in Tofino in 2022, start something new, do not overthink it, and write songs that feel genuine. That ethos has carried through three full-length albums, including ‘Modern World Blues’, released in November 2025, a record that widens the band’s palette while holding onto the loose, easygoing spirit they began with.
The fall routing leans on relationships the band have built across the touring circuit. Fresh off a winter 2026 run supporting fellow Canadian band The Sheepdogs, where they played to some of the largest crowds of their career, Surf Hat open this run with Canadian headline dates, including Lee’s Palace in Toronto and a festival appearance at Cicada Music & Arts Fest in St. Catharines, before joining Mo Lowda & The Humble across a string of marquee American rooms on that band’s ‘Tailing the Ghost’ tour. Stops include the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and Le Poisson Rouge in New York, with additional headline dates alongside Twin Fin and Echo Plum rounding out the eastern leg.
There is a particular kind of momentum that comes from doing the work in person, and Surf Hat have it. The band’s growth has come without a single viral moment, built instead through constant writing and relentless touring that has steadily turned curious listeners into devoted fans. That organic climb has caught the ear of tastemakers, with the band drawing attention through sessions including a 2026 Audiotree Live appearance.
After the American run, the band swing home for a string of intimate British Columbia and Alberta dates that read like a love letter to the mountain west, from Finley’s in Nelson to the Starlite Room in Edmonton, Modern Love in Calgary, and Après Après in Whistler. The run closes where it all makes the most sense, a hometown show at BAG in Squamish on November 28.
For a band named, more or less, after a hat, Surf Hat have turned a low-stakes idea into a genuine touring outfit with a sound all their own. The fall dates are an invitation to hear it the way it was meant to be heard, loud, loose, and live.
Hi, Jon! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
Hi there! We are two friends that live and make music in the mountains in Squamish, British Columbia. We are both big fans of life and love to play in the outdoors – the music is an art project where we try not to take things too seriously and express some of our life experiences through music. We’ve released 3 albums since 2022 and are currently working on our fourth. Something happened in 2025 and the algorithm picked our music up – we’ve been touring a lot over the past year (CAN, USA, AUS) to try and reach some of our listeners.
Surf Hat started with a promise between friends on a beach in Tofino: don’t overthink it, just make honest music. Four years later, with millions of streams and an international tour, how do you keep that original promise alive?
Lately we’ve been trying to write outside by the lake or river and just go with the first idea that comes to mind after we go for a swim. This helps keep things in the moment and not think too much about whether the idea is good enough or not.
The new tour takes you from iconic venues like Lee’s Palace and the 9:30 Club to smaller mountain-town rooms before ending back home in Squamish. Does the size of the room change the way you perform, or is the goal always the same?
The goal is always the same! We try our best to make our shows inclusive and fun for anyone who spends their money to see us – the least we can do is ensure they (and we) have a good time. We have two friends who tour with us to fill out the sound, and we just have the best time playing together on stage. We try not to let the size of the room impact what we do.
Your influences range from surf rock to post-punk to indie psychedelia, but the songs still sound unmistakably like Surf Hat. When you’re writing, how do you balance inspiration with finding your own voice?
We try to keep it simple and just write songs we like at the given time & try not to think too much about staying true to a specific sound or style. This is tough sometimes because we both listen to such a broad mix of music styles/genres. I don’t foresee a metal album coming down the pipes but everything else is on the table. Wait maybe a metal album would be fun…..
When people leave a Surf Hat show this fall, what do you hope they’re talking about on the drive home? Is it a particular song, the energy of the performance, or simply how the music made them feel?
How much fun they had, how much fun the band had playing, and how connected they felt with everyone else in the room. Feeling connected in this modern world is challenging but live music is one of the best facilitators!
Upcoming Shows:
Sep 30 · The 27 Club · Ottawa, ON
Oct 1 · Foufounes Électriques · Montreal, QC
Oct 2 · Lee’s Palace · Toronto, ON
Oct 3 · Cicada Music & Arts Fest · St. Catharines, ON
Oct 4 · 9th Ward · Buffalo, NY
Oct 7 · Ace of Cups · Columbus, OH (with Twin Fin)
Oct 8 · Mr Smalls Theatre · Millvale, PA (with Mo Lowda & The Humble)
Oct 9 · Jefferson Theater · Charlottesville, VA (with Mo Lowda & The Humble)
Oct 10 · 9:30 Club · Washington, DC (with Mo Lowda & The Humble)
Oct 11 · Pour House · Raleigh, NC (with Twin Fin)
Oct 13 · Kung Fu Necktie · Philadelphia, PA (with Echo Plum)
Oct 14 · Wonder Bar · Asbury Park, NJ (with Twin Fin)
Oct 15 · Le Poisson Rouge · New York, NY (with Mo Lowda & The Humble)
Oct 16 · Infinity Music Hall · Hartford, CT (with Mo Lowda & The Humble)
Oct 17 · Royale · Boston, MA (with Mo Lowda & The Humble)
Nov 3 · Finley’s · Nelson, BC
Nov 4 · Encore Brewing · Cranbrook, BC
Nov 5 · Melissa’s Missteak · Banff, AB
Nov 6 · Starlite Room · Edmonton, AB
Nov 7 · Modern Love · Calgary, AB
Nov 10 · Owl Acoustic Lounge · Lethbridge, AB
Nov 11 · The Rockwater · Golden, BC
Nov 13 · Revelry · Kelowna, BC
Nov 14 · Après Après · Whistler, BC
Nov 19 · Old City Station · Nanaimo, BC
Nov 20 · Upstairs · Victoria, BC
Nov 28 · BAG · Squamish, BC