By Will McGuirk
Canada’s boyfriends, Arkells, recently announced a Feb 27 surprise gig at the TwoTwoTwo in Oshawa, formerly the Dungeon, where the band played a quite infamous show that locals still talk about. Seems Arkells still talk about it too and that factored into their decision to include the club in a couple of preview shows they are doing ahead of a jaunt across the pond in March 2026.
“I remember being blown away that we got to share the bill with Attack in Black,” says frontman Max Kerman in a short email exchange. “That was a highlight. Over the years we've had incredible shows at the arena. There's kinship between Oshawa and Hamilton. We refer to the place as Hamilton East.”
There is a kinship of course between the two blue collar towns and Arkells have played at the Tribute Communities Centre, so yes great to see the band come back to town in a manner that respectfully shouts outs its beginnings. Oshawa has also been referenced by Arkells in the song ‘Don’t Be a Stranger’.
The choice of venue came from the band’s desire to connect with fans on a more personal level before a big arena style tour. The other location is the Broom Factory in Kingston Feb 26.
“We are about to be doing a ton of travelling with our upcoming tour, so we wanted to do something local and familiar to start off the tour. We are calling these "preview" shows, because it's a whole new show. A new era,” he says
Interestingly when asked about the inspiration for the new work Kerman points to other artists he sees as adventurous in their careers.
“There are artists that will always light me up,” he says. “Springsteen, Joel Plaskett, and David Byrne. Artists that are unafraid to try new things, and push the limits of their own talent.”
Sooooo. . . what should we expect from this new era, these new things, what do Arkells have up their collective rolled up sleeves, all very intriguing, and yes how cool Oshawa fans will be there at the start of a new era just like they were at the actual start.
The TwoTwoTwo show sold out in minutes unfortunately but Arkells will be at the Junos March 29 for a hometown show at the TD Colisuem in what we like to refer to as Oshawa West but most folks call Hamilton (tickets here) and we are pretty sure the band will be back in town, after all we’re practically family.
