The first time Gab De La Vega‘s name showed up on IDIOTEQ was in 2014, in an interview covering his band The Smashrooms, his solo work, and Epidemic Records, the label he runs out of Brescia. Twelve years later, his solo and label projects are still going, and we’ve kept covering them as they evolve. It’s a long arc to watch from the outside, and a satisfying one. Now he’s heading back to Canada with the acoustic Life Burns tour, a 26-date run starting at Pouzza Fest in Montreal and finishing in Medicine Hat, Alberta in mid-June.
The Brescia songwriter, rooted in punk rock and hardcore, has built his solo work around quiet rooms in countries his teenage self probably couldn’t point to on a map. He’s played over 20 of them by now, across Europe, the UK, North America and South America, sharing stages with Frank Turner, Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace, PUP, Chuck Ragan, Joey Cape, Tim Vantol, and Kevin Seconds of 7 Seconds. Canada has become its own thread in that history.
“I’m extremely happy to be coming back to Canada and bringing the acoustic Life Burns tour to a country that means a lot to me,” Gab says. “It all starts at Pouzza Fest and then I’ll be playing across Quebec and Ontario, including Toronto, which has become a second home over time. Going back to the Horseshoe Tavern, one of the small temples of Canadian music history, is always something special.”
The Toronto stop lands on May 20th. From there, the route winds through small Ontario towns most international tours skip entirely (London, Windsor, Cambridge, Niagara Falls, St Catharines, Guelph, Millbrook, Hamilton, Deseronto, Belleville, Vankleek Hill, Cornwall), then a Quebec swing through Quebec City, Trois Rivières, Thetford Mines and Sherbrooke, before an Ottawa show and the cross-country jump to Alberta. That last leg is new ground.
“Getting the chance to finally make it to Alberta means a lot to me,” he says. “There are people there who believed in what I do and gave me the opportunity to bring these songs to places I’ve never been before. That’s something I don’t take for granted.”
Like everything else he’s done, this run is self-booked. “This is a fully DIY tour, like pretty much everything I’ve done since I started,” Gab says.
“It’s about connecting with people, musicians, promoters and venues who genuinely care about bringing music to their cities. When I think about it, it still feels surreal that songs written in Brescia can travel this far and take on a life of their own.”
“Life Burns,” his latest album, came out in March 2024 via SBÄM Records, with co-releases on Sell The Heart Records (USA), Epidemic Records, Motorcity Produzioni and Overdrive Records.
He’s spent most of the time since then on the road across Europe and the United States behind it, alternating between acoustic runs and full-band sets with his other project The Open Cages. The Canadian dates lean acoustic, with alternative versions of songs from the record forming the backbone of the set.
The most recent single is a stripped-back take on Millencolin’s “No Cigar.”
He won’t be alone on the road. Fast Eddie joins for the stretch from May 21st through 24th, and James Renton handles the Alberta dates from June 9th to 11th, with the rest of the tour built around longtime friends and new connections along the way.
May 17, Montreal, QC at Pouzza Fest
May 18, Montreal, QC at City Sessions MTL
May 20, Toronto, ON at The Horseshoe Tavern
May 21, London, ON at Supply and Demand
May 22, Windsor, ON at Meteor
May 23, Cambridge, ON at The Odd Farm Festival
May 24, Niagara Falls, ON at No Tell Cocktail
May 25, St Catharines, ON at Dive Pub
May 26, Guelph, ON at Royal Cat Records
May 27, Millbrook, ON (venue TBD)
May 28, Hamilton, ON at Doors Pub
May 29, Deseronto, ON at Upper Canada Opera House
May 30, Belleville, ON at The Belle Pub
May 31, Vankleek Hill at Beau’s Brewery
June 2, Cornwall, ON at Buds Records
June 3, Quebec City, QC at Le Knock-Out
June 4, Trois Rivières, QC at Cafe Bar Zenob
June 5, Thetford Mines, QC at Des Haldes
June 6, Sherbrooke, QC at Le Murdoch
June 7, Ottawa, ON at Avant-Garde
June 9, Edmonton, AB at The Buckingham
June 10, Red Deer, AB at Vin L Den
June 11, Drumheller, AB (venue TBD)
June 12, High River, AB at The Vinyl Cafè
June 13, Medicine Hat, AB at Alternative Waves Music Fest
June 14, Medicine Hat, AB at The Yard
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