Canadian

Born Ruffians are an indie rock band, originally from the small town of Midland, Ontario, Canada, located near Georgian Bay. The members are Luke Lalonde (guitar/vocals), Mitch Derosier (bass) and Steven Hamelin (drums). The band released their debut EP in 2006 and currently signed to Warp Records. For more info, visit www.bornruffians.com or www.myspace.com/bornruffians

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock group formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Their sound is influenced by that of such power pop bands as The Cars and Cheap Trick, but they use much more sophisticated rhythms and chord changes. Although it was widely reported that the New Pornographers got their name from a pamphlet put out by televangelist Jimmy Swaggart condemning rock ‘n’ roll as “the new pornography,” Carl Newman has stated that he came up with the name after watching a Japanese film called The Pornographers.

Matthew Barber (born January 10, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of indie pop and pop rock with folk and alternative country influences. Barber was born and grew up in Port Credit, which is part of Mississauga, Ontario, just west of Toronto, before moving to Kingston, Ontario to attend Queen's University, where he volunteered at campus radio station CFRC-FM and performed at campus pubs. After graduating from Queen's, he went to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario for his master's degree in philosophy, and here he began to take his performing more seriously.

The Besnard Lakes are a music band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formed by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek (Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards) and Olga Goreas (Vocals/Bass), and completed by Kevin Laing (Drums) and Richard White (Guitar). According to Songfacts, their name comes from Besnard Lake in North-Central Saskatchewan. The band gained critical attention with their second album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, that was nominated for a Polaris Prize in 2007.