Formed in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and based in Ontario, Canadian rock band The Trews has been together for over two decades.
John-Angus MacDonald, the group’s lead guitarist, quipped, “Now we’re going into ancient history, we’ve been around for a long time.” He added, “My brother Colin [MacDonald], who’s the lead singer, and our good friend Jack [Syperek], who’s the bass player, we got together playing cover tunes in our parents’ basement back in the late 1990s. We were still in high school at that point. That was […] the musical bond that forged what became The Trews.”
After high school, the band left Antigonish and relocated to southern Ontario. While they do not purposely draw from their Nova Scotian roots in writing their music, MacDonald stated that East Coast culture has influenced their mentality.
“The thing I like most about East Coast music is that there isn’t a huge star culture down there, and it’s more about all for one and one for all […] And I feel like that sensibility toward performing has sort of informed who we are,” he stated.
The band’s new album, The Bloody Light, was released on Oct. 24 with some of its songs periodically released since February.
The album’s title shares the same name as the first song they recorded for the project. The title track was coined by the song’s co-writer, Brett Emmons.
“We thought it was just evocative of many things, so it made for a great title,” MacDonald explained. “And after we finished the record, of course comes the naming of the record […] Of all the titles of the songs, that one just meant the most things to us.”
The fact that this is the group’s eighth album, a marker of endurance, is not lost on MacDonald or his bandmates, and he expressed pride in how the album turned out.
“It means a lot to us in the sense that we’re proud of the longevity we’ve managed to eke out of this business, which is not known for longevity,” he reflected. “To really hunker down and dig deep and come up with your best stuff 20-plus years into a career is no easy feat.”
When asked about personal favourite songs on The Bloody Light, MacDonald highlighted the “moody” track “One Fine Night” and “Get a Handle on It,” which he described as a “high-octane shot in the arm.” Neither song had been released as singles prior to the album’s full release.
The group will soon start touring across Canada in support of the album with a stop at Winnipeg’s Burton Cummings Theatre in February 2026 — a stop that MacDonald looks forward to.
“Winnipeg is one of the great rock and roll cities in Canada […] It’s just something about the blue-collar sort of vibe,” he raved. “It breeds a lot of great rockers, a lot of great musicians and writers, I find. We always love coming to Winnipeg.”
While the Trews will be performing some of their old hits on tour, MacDonald expressed that the new songs will add something special to the show.
“To me, playing new material gives old material new context. It makes everything feel fresher,” he explained. “So, if you’re coming to hear the old hits, they’re still going to be there. But for me, those new songs just give the show a much-needed shot in the arm.”
The Trews’ latest album, The Bloody Light, is available now on streaming platforms with its supporting tour, The Bloody Light Tour, playing in Winnipeg on Feb. 21, 2026 at the Burton Cummings Theatre. For information on upcoming events and tickets, visit thetrewsmusic.com.
