Vancouver's 54-40 keep exploring new permutations of their durable alt-rock sound 40 years on. In 2018, they released their first new album in seven years, the aptly titled Keep on Walking, which saw them effortlessly shift from nervy new wave ("Sublime Like Me") to clap-along folk hootenannies (the title track) to swaggering, soulful modern rock ("Sucker for Your Love"). They sound just as energized and adventurous as they did back in the 1980s. After recovering much of the rare gear stolen during their 2018 tour, 54-40 brave the road once again with a winter jaunt across Ontario, kicking off with a three-night residency at Toronto's legendary Horseshoe Tavern before moving to more off-the-beaten-path markets.

54-40 in Concert

Their very first gig may have been opening for hardcore heroes D.O.A. at legendary Vancouver dive Smilin' Buddha Cabaret, but 54-40 swiftly acquired a more chameleonic aesthetic that pushed them far beyond punk. On the string of college-radio-courting records they released in the mid '80s, the quartet (named for 19th-century president James K. Polk's call to expand into Canada, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!") resembled a northern answer to R.E.M., exhibiting a similar fusion of brooding British post-punk and shimmering American folk-rock jangle. But frontman Neil Osborne's cool attitude gave way to winsome melody on breakthrough singles like "Baby Ran" and "I Go Blind" (which reached an even wider audience when Hootie & the Blowfish covered it in the ‘90s). As alternative rock skewed toward heavier sounds, 54-40 toughened up accordingly on 1992's Dear Dear, whose snarling singles "She La" and "Nice to Luv You" would give the band their first platinum record in Canada. They'd repeat the feat with 1994's Vancouver punk-scene tribute Smilin' Buddha Cabaret, which yielded the irresistible, grungy groove of "Ocean Pearl." With former Matthew Good Band guitarist Dave Genn replacing longtime member Phil Comparelli, the band have soldiered on into the 21st century, earning an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2017.