Arkells, Campfire Chords Preview

Festival season aside, one of the biggest live music experiences of the summer that we missed was seeing Arkells. And while little snippets of the band playing before hockey games are nice, there’s no replicating the real thing. However, Max, Mike, Nick, Tim, and Tony have put together a little something for the fans as we come through these hot August days near the end of our summer.

Campfire Chords comes as a collection of 19 tracks, including the band’s new single Quitting You, 17 acoustic renditions of previous releases, and the Take Me Home outro. If you haven’t heard Quitting You yet, or if you haven’t seen the video, hit play now and then we’ll get into the album some more.

Arkells – Quitting You

On social media, the band has been teasing the acoustic versions of their songs that will appear on Campfire Chords. So far we’ve heard snippets of Knocking At The Door, Michigan Left, Come To Light, A Little Rain (A Song For Pete), and Eyes On The Prize. As fans, we can say that these posts have done an excellent job of making us excited to hear the full versions of these songs, and all of the tracks on the album.

Click the play buttons to hear the teases.

Knocking At The Door

Michigan Left

Come To Light

A Little Rain (A Song For Pete)

Eyes On The Prize

Book Club

And Then Some

I’m not sure which of these songs I’m most excited to hear the full version of, but I think it might be Knocking At The Door with the addition of Aaron Goldstein on the pedal steel guitar.

But really, I’m looking forward to hitting play on the entire album and letting it play. Closing my eyes and imagining a backyard bonfire or a cloudless night sky full of stars. If Arkells are looking to break into the cottage-vibe soundtrack landscape like Blue Rodeo, The Hip, and more – this is a strong move.


While we’re here, there are a couple other videos/songs that we want to share because it all goes together. First it’s the double shot of Years In The Making and Quitting You, as seen on Sportsnet. They are lovely and it was great to see them as part of the #OneTeam and to give love to frontline workers in these unprecedented times.

Years In The Making (tribute to frontline workers)

Quitting You (live debut)

And I don’t want to miss out on sharing this stripped-down performance of And Then Some from Budweiser Stage in Toronto. We were there that night, and having the band gathered together at the front of the stage, with the entire crowd singing along was something special. And remembering Max saying “This is some Canadian campfire music right now” in the middle of the song made me think of this song as soon as I started thinking about what the Campfire Chords album could be.

Hit play and enjoy.

And Then Some (Sold Out in Toronto)

I still get chills and love moments like these in any and all live shows. The choir of thousands of voices and the love that just kind of flows between strangers and to and from the stage is *chef’s kiss*.

Here’s hoping we all get to experience that again sooner rather than later.

Check out the full tracklist for Campfire Chords and be ready for the album to drop on August 20, 2020.

Arkells, Campfire Chords Tracklist

1. Knocking At The Door (Acoustic)
2. Quitting You
3. Years In The Making (Acoustic)
4. Whistleblower (Acoustic)
5. Michigan Left (Acoustic)
6. I’m Not The Sun (Acoustic)
7. Don’t Be A Stranger (Acoustic)
8. Come To Light (Acoustic)
9. A Little Rain (Acoustic)
10. Eyes On The Prize (Acoustic)
11. Book Club (Acoustic)
12. And Then Some (Acoustic)
13. Kiss Cam (Acoustic)
14. My Heart’s Always Yours (Acoustic)
15. Hand Me Downs (Acoustic)
16. 11:11 (Acoustic)
17. Relentless (Acoustic)
18. Leather Jacket (Acoustic)
19. Take Me Home (Outro)

ps. Almost two years ago I had a dream that Arkells recorded a live acoustic album at The Dakota Tavern in Toronto. This isn’t quite that – but I’ll take it.

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creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.

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Joshua Murray
creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.

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Arkells, Campfire Chords Preview

Festival season aside, one of the biggest live music experiences of the summer that we missed was seeing Arkells. And while little snippets of the band playing before hockey games are nice, there’s no replicating the real thing. However, Max, Mike, Nick, Tim, and Tony have put together a little something for the fans as we come through these hot August days near the end of our summer.

Campfire Chords comes as a collection of 19 tracks, including the band’s new single Quitting You, 17 acoustic renditions of previous releases, and the Take Me Home outro. If you haven’t heard Quitting You yet, or if you haven’t seen the video, hit play now and then we’ll get into the album some more.

Arkells – Quitting You

On social media, the band has been teasing the acoustic versions of their songs that will appear on Campfire Chords. So far we’ve heard snippets of Knocking At The Door, Michigan Left, Come To Light, A Little Rain (A Song For Pete), and Eyes On The Prize. As fans, we can say that these posts have done an excellent job of making us excited to hear the full versions of these songs, and all of the tracks on the album.

Click the play buttons to hear the teases.

Knocking At The Door

Michigan Left

Come To Light

A Little Rain (A Song For Pete)

Eyes On The Prize

Book Club

And Then Some

I’m not sure which of these songs I’m most excited to hear the full version of, but I think it might be Knocking At The Door with the addition of Aaron Goldstein on the pedal steel guitar.

But really, I’m looking forward to hitting play on the entire album and letting it play. Closing my eyes and imagining a backyard bonfire or a cloudless night sky full of stars. If Arkells are looking to break into the cottage-vibe soundtrack landscape like Blue Rodeo, The Hip, and more – this is a strong move.


While we’re here, there are a couple other videos/songs that we want to share because it all goes together. First it’s the double shot of Years In The Making and Quitting You, as seen on Sportsnet. They are lovely and it was great to see them as part of the #OneTeam and to give love to frontline workers in these unprecedented times.

Years In The Making (tribute to frontline workers)

Quitting You (live debut)

And I don’t want to miss out on sharing this stripped-down performance of And Then Some from Budweiser Stage in Toronto. We were there that night, and having the band gathered together at the front of the stage, with the entire crowd singing along was something special. And remembering Max saying “This is some Canadian campfire music right now” in the middle of the song made me think of this song as soon as I started thinking about what the Campfire Chords album could be.

Hit play and enjoy.

And Then Some (Sold Out in Toronto)

I still get chills and love moments like these in any and all live shows. The choir of thousands of voices and the love that just kind of flows between strangers and to and from the stage is *chef’s kiss*.

Here’s hoping we all get to experience that again sooner rather than later.

Check out the full tracklist for Campfire Chords and be ready for the album to drop on August 20, 2020.

Arkells, Campfire Chords Tracklist

1. Knocking At The Door (Acoustic)
2. Quitting You
3. Years In The Making (Acoustic)
4. Whistleblower (Acoustic)
5. Michigan Left (Acoustic)
6. I’m Not The Sun (Acoustic)
7. Don’t Be A Stranger (Acoustic)
8. Come To Light (Acoustic)
9. A Little Rain (Acoustic)
10. Eyes On The Prize (Acoustic)
11. Book Club (Acoustic)
12. And Then Some (Acoustic)
13. Kiss Cam (Acoustic)
14. My Heart’s Always Yours (Acoustic)
15. Hand Me Downs (Acoustic)
16. 11:11 (Acoustic)
17. Relentless (Acoustic)
18. Leather Jacket (Acoustic)
19. Take Me Home (Outro)

ps. Almost two years ago I had a dream that Arkells recorded a live acoustic album at The Dakota Tavern in Toronto. This isn’t quite that – but I’ll take it.

Author profile

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.

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