REUBEN AND THE DARK WITH GUESTS MOONRIIVR – LIVE AT WAREHOUSE CONCERT HALL!
Reuben and the Dark have built a reputation as one of Canada’s most stirring live acts, captivating audiences worldwide with performances that range from intimate club shows to celebrated international festivals. The've shared bills with Vance Joy, Mumford and Sons, Boy & Bear, Leif Vollebekk, and The Paper Kites, as well as festival appearances at Osheaga and Austin City Limits. Beyond the festival circuit, their versatility has taken them to unexpected stages, including performing original music for Ulysses’ The Odyssey at the ancient Greek Theatre of Siracusa in Sicily. Reuben and the Dark’s music resonates just as powerfully on screen as it does on stage. Their cinematic, emotionally charged songs have been featured in film trailers, television series, and major campaigns, including The Highwaymen, Breaking Bad: El Camino, Grey’s Anatomy, and global advertising for Celebrity Cruises. A landmark moment came with their collaboration with the Bullhorn Singers, a Blackfoot Powwow group from Kainai, Alberta. What began as a creative partnership has evolved into a cultural force, with their voices featured in Martin Scorsese’s trailer for the 2024 Best Picture nominee Killers of the Flower Moon. In April 2025, the project released a powerful EP on Red Music Rising/Warner Canada, followed by a cross-Canada tour that brought their music to theatres, clubs, and Indigenous communities alike, further cementing their role as artists who bridge worlds through song.
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Seated at one of five tables inside their beloved lunch spot in Toronto’s west end, Champagne James Robertson and Gavin Gardiner are beaming. Everyone here shares the look, it’s an “if you know you know” kind of spot, and everyone here knows. It’s this feeling, this culture, this heart-and-soul-of-our-city energy that MOONRIIVR has embraced since their formation in 2023. The universe did not have to reach far to pull together the orbits of Champagne James Robertson and Gavin Gardiner, the core of what would become MOONRIIVR. Each has played an integral and vibrant role in the Toronto music scene for the past two decades, and their range of styles, community and skills have come together in an easy and tape-echo filled fit. Gardiner’s background in vintage and analog recording paired with Champagne James Robertson’s passion for composition and instruments of the same era come together to define MOONRIIVR’s sound. Gavin Gardiner, of Juno and Polaris nominated indie-folk outfit The Wooden Sky and established audio engineer at All Day Coconut (Georgia Harmer, Fiver, Dan Mangan, Jason Collet), was a quick match for Robertson, whose musical collaborations with Dwayne Gretzky, Tom Wilson and Lindi Ortega earned him the title of “guitar master” by Rolling Stone. The 2023 release of their debut album, MOONRIIVR - Volume 1 quickly garnered critical acclaim and put the band on stages across Canada, the UK and Europe. Rolling Stone saying it’s “as if Buddy Holly and Chris Isaak made a record with Damien Jurado” Their sound and impassioned performances came of age in front of an audience, and the duo have channeled that energy back into the studio shaping their newest singles "You Get Me By" and “Force of Habit” (Victory Pool Records). Joined by the percussive genius of Lyle Molzan, Mike Ardagh and Julian Psihogios as well as Jenni Roberts and Ben Whiteley on bass, the accomplished rhythm sections set the stage for Gardiner’s deft lyricism and haunting baritone while Robertson’s masterful guitar playing expands the mind with its trance-like searching. There’s a sense of restraint that congers the raw feelings of Richie Valens and Nancy Sinatra echoing off the hallowed walls of Capitol Studio B, while continuing to propel it into a new and bold era. Unable to contain the vision found in their collaboration, MOONRIIVR has expanded their work as a production duo. Digging in and exploring new sonic territory with artists like Peter Dreams (July Talk), Reuben Bullock (Rebun and the Dark), Brandon Wolfe Scott (Yukon Blonde) and Tom Wilson (Junkhouse, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings). MOONRIIVR creates a sound that is both familiar and cosmic. Drawing on their connection to the past in the search for a new vibration. Their much anticipated follow up to Volume 1 arrives early 2027.
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