Erik Bleich

Liminal Americana for kind-hearted folks weathering strange seasons.

May
21
8:00 PM20:00

ERIK BLEICH TRIO AT THE BLUEBIRD

Bluebird is a neighbourhood bar just off Roncesvalles. They’re focused on bringing you local & organic wines, Ontario beer, craft cocktails, & locally sourced products, always for a fair price.

They host a wonderful, Thursday evening concert series throughout the year, featuring some of the city’s finest musicians.

Erik Bleich writes songs that live in-between, a kind of Liminal Americana that never settles in one place for long.

A Toronto-based singer-songwriter raised in the isolated mill town of Dryden, Ontario, his work is grounded in a plainspoken, conversational voice. Cinematic indie folk meets blue-collar poetry. His songs often circle what goes unnoticed, the quiet patterns beneath ordinary life, the feeling of something just out of frame. A songwriter’s songwriter, with an ear for sneaky pop hooks.

This special evening features a stripped-down set with longtime collaborators Lea Kirstein (cello, viola) and Kathryn Merriam (piano, vocal).

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Jun
18
9:00 PM21:00

TORONTO ALBUM RELEASE: SUMAC

Erik Bleich celebrates the Toronto release of his new album Sumac with an intimate performance in the back room of the Cameron House.

This special evening features a stripped-down set with longtime collaborators Lea Kirstein (cello, viola) and Kathryn Merriam (piano, vocal), along with special guests.

Erik Bleich writes songs that live in-between, a kind of Liminal Americana that never settles in one place for long.

A Toronto-based singer-songwriter raised in the isolated mill town of Dryden, Ontario, his work is grounded in a plainspoken, conversational voice. Cinematic indie folk meets blue-collar poetry. His songs often circle what goes unnoticed, the quiet patterns beneath ordinary life, the feeling of something just out of frame.

His latest album, Sumac, traces the moment when those patterns come into focus. Written through years of chronic pain and an uneven recovery following a life-altering car accident, alongside a late diagnosis of neurodivergence, the record holds both the grief and relief of finally naming what was always there. It opens at a crossroads and moves toward something harder to name, not quite resolution, but recognition

Sonically, Sumac moves between hushed intimacy and more expansive arrangements built on lush, reverberant guitars, cinematic strings, and a rhythm section that leaves room to breathe. Songs begin in a conversational tone and open outward, sitting somewhere near Sufjan Stevens, John K. Samson, and Big Thief. Expansive in arrangement but intimate in writing, the music holds to a simple principle, three chords and the honest truth, carried through shifting textures and changing light.

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Jun
20
7:30 PM19:30

PETERBOROUGH ALBUM RELEASE: SUMAC

Erik Bleich celebrates the release of his new album Sumac with an intimate performance at Peterborough’s Sadleir House.

Sadleir House (also known as P. R. Community and Student Association)
is a charitable community centre fostering arts, culture, and heritage
in the Nogojiwanong (Peterborough) community.

This special evening features a stripped-down set with longtime collaborators Lea Kirstein (cello, viola) and Kathryn Merriam (piano, vocal), along with special guests, //NEWBERRY//

Tickets available at Bluestreak Records.
394 George St N, Peterborough, ON K9H 3R3

Erik Bleich writes songs that live in-between, a kind of Liminal Americana that never settles in one place for long.

A Toronto-based singer-songwriter raised in the isolated mill town of Dryden, Ontario, his work is grounded in a plainspoken, conversational voice. Cinematic indie folk meets blue-collar poetry. His songs often circle what goes unnoticed, the quiet patterns beneath ordinary life, the feeling of something just out of frame.

His latest album, Sumac, traces the moment when those patterns come into focus. Written through years of chronic pain and an uneven recovery following a life-altering car accident, alongside a late diagnosis of neurodivergence, the record holds both the grief and relief of finally naming what was always there. It opens at a crossroads and moves toward something harder to name, not quite resolution, but recognition

Sonically, Sumac moves between hushed intimacy and more expansive arrangements built on lush, reverberant guitars, cinematic strings, and a rhythm section that leaves room to breathe. Songs begin in a conversational tone and open outward, sitting somewhere near Sufjan Stevens, John K. Samson, and Big Thief. Expansive in arrangement but intimate in writing, the music holds to a simple principle, three chords and the honest truth, carried through shifting textures and changing light.

//NEWBERRY// is a Peterborough based grief-rock quartet that stopped worrying if there were enough happy or fast songs on their setlist, and leaned into ambient-adjascent, drone-inspired sad, sad music. 

Sue Newberry - Vocals / Synths
David Newberry - Vocals / Guitar / Bass / Sonics
David Tough - Guitar / Bass
Marcus Browne - Percussion / Experiments 

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