Great Lake Swimmers play tonight at The Slowdown.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Wainfleet is a town with a population of around 6,400 located in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada, on the upper lip of Lake Erie. Nearby cities include Buffalo, NY, just 41 minutes east, and romantic Niagara Falls, slightly north of there. It’s a quiet, rural community, not known for anything much except as being the hometown of Tony Dekker, singer/songwriter and frontman for indie band Great Lake Swimmers, who just happens to be playing at The Slowdown tonight. 

One assumes that frosty northern clime was the primary influence to the band’s ethereal style of folk rock that’s been compared to Nick Drake, Iron & Wine, Will Oldham and Neil Young. The band’s latest, Uncertain Country (2023, Harbour Songs/Fontana), was the product of field recordings made in the Niagara region, according to the one-sheet. It’s a lonely sounding, winter-lit record that should be fun to see reimagined on Slowdown Jr.’s small stage. 

Opening tonight’s show at 8 p.m. is the always entertaining Sean Pratt & the Sweats. Steady Wells holds down the center spot. $20. 

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.