By Lisa Gillan
Deer Tick has been spotted in Toronto for the first time in three years.
No, not the bug, but the much more beloved American folk-rock band out of Providence, R.I., U.S.
On Sunday, June 21, 2026, the group returned to the Opera House in downtown Toronto, ON, to perform for a bunch of Tickheads, as their loyal fanbase is often called.
They brought with them a collection of new songs, all thematically centred around their home city of Providence, from their new album Coin-O-Matic, released June 5, and of course played some old favourites for the crowd as well.
Opening the set for the Sunday evening show was Nashville-based country/folk artist Jobi Riccio, and her band.
Riccio has a captivating, sweet yet powerful voice, sounding like a well-trained and practiced performer. This isn’t surprising given that she’s a professional musician living in one of the biggest music-making cities of the world, but I still found it impressive, particularly given her plainclothes appearance and down-to-Earth vibes. The quality of her performance spoke for itself.
This was reminiscent, for me, of other female folk artists I’ve been introduced to thanks to Deer Tick, in particular, including The Wild Reeds, and Brandi Carlile.
In fact, I’ve been introduced to many incredibly talented acts as a result of Deer Tick’s efforts, and though her style of music was a little more country-based than my usual taste, I would still say, without hesitation, Riccio was no exception – but more on that later.
Deer Tick themselves opened their set with the first two songs off their new album, being the slower-paced Dog Years, and the somewhat more upbeat (music-wise, though not so much lyrically) Mary Singletary.
The two songs do seem to feed into each other, as Dog Years references a woman named Mary, and both songs seem to imply Mary was a religious woman. And although on first listen they may seem like relaxing soft rock songs, with Dog Years especially evoking images of sitting by a river on a relaxing day, as with many Deer Tick songs, once you look a little deeper, there is a certain dark sadness woven in.
I’d never heard of a Mary Singletary before, but according to this obituary, a woman by that name was very involved in civil rights efforts in the United States and abroad, throughout her life. Since I’m not from New England, and not completely up to speed on my American folk heroes, I can’t say for sure if she would be the namesake of the song, but I’d wager a guess that she is.
The song’s writer, lead singer and guitarist, John McCauley, said in an interview with Ocean State Media, that it’s about “…this teenage love story with a little bit of Looney Tunes-style violence in it, just imagining a very vengeful god cutting you down for having premarital sex and having an interfaith relationship.” If the Mary Singletary mentioned above is who the song got its name from, my guess would be that it’s a reflection of her non-denominational contributions to society, including perhaps her involvement with Planned Parenthood, in particular, that connects her to the interfaith love story theme.
From there the band went into a couple classics from their older records, being Baltimore Blues No. 1, and the dance-inducing Miss K, before getting back to their new releases with one of co-guitarist and singer Ian O’Neil’s songs, Endless Loop. Later in the night O’Neil played one of my favourites of his songs, being The Dream’s in the Ditch.
Deer Tick is no doubt best known for lead singer John McCauley’s distinctive growl, and he put it to great use that night performing some of my other favourites by the band, including Easy, Dirty Dishes, and my top track off the new album (so far), Candy Cigarettes.
One of the great things about the band, however, is that song-writing and singing duties are shared amongst not only both guitarists, but also drummer, Dennis Ryan.
Songs written and led by Ryan performed that night included Running from Love from the band’s 2023 album Emotional Contracts, and 507 Smith from the new release.
Although the songs fluctuate in tempo from slow to some more rocking hits, the band members kept it interesting, with McCauley, especially, physically performing theatrics including back bends while playing guitar, that made my quads hurt just watching, and at one point placing his guitar on the ground and using an empty beer can as a slide.
Bassist Christopher Ryan (who is the half-brother of drummer Dennis,) mixed things up as he always does, switching from a regular bass guitar to a standing bass (my favourite instrument that I don’t know how to play) for different songs.
This time around they also brought a friend (whose name I didn’t catch) who contributed both keyboard and saxophone at different points in the show, adding a bit of jazz to their live sound.
After the main set was done, the band switched things up a bit more, with an intimate, un-amplified set, with McCauley and O’Neil on acoustic guitars, C. Ryan playing his upright bass, and D. Ryan switching to maracas.
They began the acoustic portion with Let’s All Go to the Bar. As they started into their next song, McCauley jokingly began singing the lyrics to You’re the One That I Want from the Grease soundtrack, and as the crowd joined in he stuck with it for a few lines, before getting into their own classic crowd favourite, These Old Shoes.
Included in their acoustic set was another of my favourites of O’Neil’s songs, being Hope is Big, and the much-loved McCauley song, Ashamed, which the whole crowd helped belt out (as always) before finally closing things out with D. Ryan’s creepy but catchy Clownin’ Around, which I’m just not going to discuss, due to the gruesome subject matter.
I think because the band had changed the vibe up from electric to acoustic for the end of their act, people weren’t quite sure whether or not to try to get them to play an encore after it ended. Things seemed too mellow to me after the acoustic act, and I think many others felt the same, because although a few people stood around and tried to get the crowd to rally a little, most had already begun to make their way to the door – no doubt, in part, due to the fact that it was a Sunday night, and the work week was only hours away from beginning.
I personally had to make the drive back up to the northern edge of Muskoka, so was a bit eager to hit the road, but also glad to have seen the band so close to home, since most of the Deer Tick shows I’ve seen were much longer drives than that!
I discovered Deer Tick through a former colleague of mine, when we were both working as reporters for a newspaper. I wouldn’t listen to them, however, for the longest time, because the band name grossed me out. I finally caved when I was working in a new job, and after I did, I sent my friend and former colleague a message saying I’d finally checked them out, and I actually really liked some of their stuff.
There was something about the sadness I was experiencing in my own life at the time, that McCauley had captured in so many of his songs, that helped me lean into and process my own feelings around loss and dissapointment in life. I was also kind of just getting into some softer music than my usual taste at the time, as my nervous system needed soothing, as opposed to amping up, so the mix of softer-rock/folk and McCauley’s gritty voice drew me in even more.
Once I told my friend I’d been converted to a fan, he invited me to join his wife and another friend on a bit of an annual road-trip they made to the band’s neck of the woods, for the Newport Folk Festival, and in particular, three nights of after-parties hosted by Deer Tick, where they would bring a number of performers from the festival to play at a more intimate venue in the later hours of the days, and then close out each set themselves.
I was invited, in part, because one of the usual attendees couldn’t go, and they needed someone to fill the spot. The first year I did it, I didn’t even have a ticket for anything, but was told the bar held a few for release at the door, the day of the show, and if I sat in line early enough, would likely get in.
I was at a point in my life where I needed an adventure, so I accepted, and rode along for the 11(-ish) hour road trip to Newport R.I. without a single ticket to anything. There was also a pre-party at the same bar the night before the festival, which was a bit easier to get into without purchasing a ticket in advance, but I atually ended up getting into every after-party show and seeing four stellar, intimate concerts over the course of the August long weekend at the Newport Blues Café.
And in fact I had so much fun that I did it all over again the next year.
We saw many incredible acts, including Father John Misty, Tyler Childers, Caamp, Big Thief, Brandi Carlile, and even Billy Bragg, in a bar with a little stage, because of these after parties organized by Deer Tick. I have so many great memories from those trips, that every time I hear the band I’m instantly transported back to Newport and all the little adventures we had in our times there. I’ve even written a movie script based on those adventures that I basically just want to re-write the ending for, before I put any effort into potentially getting made into a movie one day. So seeing the band again, especially with my friends who brought me along for their trip, was a night I couldn’t miss.
Unfortunately, none of us are up for making the trip down south under the current administration, and I don’t think Deer Tick hosts those afterparties every night of the Folk Fest anymore, but I do think we all hope to return, one day.
Either way I cherish the memories made with those friends and that band, and was so happy to make a few more on that lovely summer Sunday evening in Toronto.
Lisa goes to shows 