The veteran Canadian rock band performed a free concert at Shipyards Park earlier this year, as part of the celebrations
Back in August, Canadian rock band 54-40 was just a day away from flying up north for their hotly-anticipated Whitehorse concert.
The veteran Canadian rockers performed a free concert in Whitehorse at Shipyards Park, giving Yukoners a sneak peak of material from their upcoming album.
That album, titled Porto, is now available for pre-order and is slated for release in early 2026.
It’s been some time since the B.C.-originated group took to the stage up north, having last visited Whitehorse for the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2011, during which they received the Hall of Fame Award.
“That was one of the times we went up there, which was absolutely a riot … so much fun,” bassist and co-founder Brad Merritt says. “We went out to bars afterwards and saw bands play, and it was just great.”
With the Yukon Arts Centre (YAC)’s acquisition of a mobile stage earlier this year, its concert series (in partnership with Lotteries Yukon), has been a string of successful shows. The 54-40 performance was third in a slew of free outdoor shows, followed by Our Lady Peace, and Shad, earlier this summer.
“I would say I feel pretty good about it,” Merritt says when asked how he was looking forward to getting back to the territory. “I have an affection for Whitehorse and the Yukon.”
It’s a big year for music-loving Yukoners, and a big year for 54-40 as well.
Merritt and vocalist-guitarist Neil Osborne started rehearsing for what would become 54-40 in November of 1980, according to Merritt, meaning that this year marks 45 years of the iconic Canadian band. It’s been a whirlwind career, and while Merritt is grateful for all the support his band has received over the decades, to keep them in business, he doesn’t dwell too much on the past. “I don’t give it much thought anymore.
“We’ve been to Nunavut. We’ve been to Prince Edward Island several times. I think it’s pretty cool; I don’t take it for granted, that’s for sure.”
Though Merritt was born in Canada, he spent 11 years growing up in the USA before moving back to B.C. at age 13. At the time, he thought of himself as British Columbian and didn’t feel connected to Canada as a whole, though that has been changed by the multigenerational embrace of his band across the entire country.
“Just by virtue of travelling with the band, we’ve criss-crossed the country literally hundreds of times and played almost everywhere—almost every university and college campus, big stages, small stages, big communities, small communities, remote, Toronto—it’s out of that I’ve become Canadian,” he says. “I feel a sense of being part of this big community that is our country, more so than just being from a small, specific area.”
The question Merritt and his bandmates are always asking is “What’s next?” He admits that the band spent a little bit of time during the Covid lockdowns reflecting on their past career, but says they don’t do so often as they’re always ready to move to the next album, tour or whatever else the future may have in store.
“We would have these weekly Zoom meetings, and it was a little business but a lot of social,” Merritt says. “It was a lot of storytelling and talking about where we came from, and that was kind of a moment for us to look back; but generally, we just walk away.”
The band’s new album, which is the follow-up to 2023’s West Coast Band, was recorded through the spring, between Portugal and Vancouver.
Merritt credits 54-40’s forward-thinking tendencies to Neil Osborne, saying the frontman has been on a creative heater lately, constantly bringing new ideas to the rest of the group.
“Like any artist, there are ebbs and flows to creativity, and when the muse strikes and when you’re motivated to create and get out there and do things,” he explained. “We learned a long time ago, probably twenty years ago, that the person in the band, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be him, but if you’ve got energy, an idea, passion … whatever it is, you’ve got to let that rule the day, and everyone falls into line and tries to make it work. It’s one of the keys to being around and being as successful as we have been.”
Being able to still do what they’ve been doing for the past 45 years is the only indicator of success Merritt and his bandmates need. They’ve learned not to give themselves imaginary milestones and, instead, take the support they receive from corners of the country and places beyond Canada, which they may otherwise have never had the chance to visit, as the proof of their success.
“There’s no arbitrary things like when we get a number one in Japan or whatever, that’s when we’re successful,” Merritt says. “We consider it an honour and a privilege to be able to do what it is that we do, and it is its own reward.”
With the upcoming record being the 16th full-length studio album, 54-40 has nailed down a studio routine, which Merritt says is very easy for them to get back into when it comes time to cut new music.
“I think what it is with us, one of the things we’ve always done creatively, is that we’ve reacted to whatever it is we’ve just done,” he explains. “Literally, before a record is even released, we start talking about the next one, and there might be a few common threads but we’re going to make a different one.”
Yukoners who came out to 54-40’s shows got to hear a sneak-peak of the band’s unreleased material, and Merritt promises the rest of the album will be blocky, simple and inspired by the early work of the Kinks.
“They’re going to get exactly what they expect,” Merritt says to fans who are looking forward to seeing the band this year. “We’re gonna play twelve hits, one deep track and two new songs, give or take.
“I think we kind of put ourselves and the audience through the paces, and at the end, it’s just a big, cathartic experience that we go through together.”
Visit 5440.com to keep up with this veteran Canadian rock band.
