INDIE FOLK FAVES, GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS RETURN FROM A JUBLIANT EUROPEAN TOUR: PREPARE FOR SUMMER FESTIVAL AND CLUB DATES CONTINUE TO GAIN CRITICAL MASS SUPPORT INCLUDING GOOD MORNING AMERICA AND A PLAYLIST PICK FROM BRIAN WILLIAMS’ ‘BRITUNES’ ITUNES LIVE SESSION EP OUT NOW

INDIE FOLK FAVES, GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS RETURN FROM A JUBLIANT EUROPEAN TOUR: PREPARE FOR SUMMER FESTIVAL AND CLUB DATES CONTINUE TO GAIN CRITICAL MASS SUPPORT INCLUDING GOOD MORNING AMERICA AND A PLAYLIST PICK FROM BRIAN WILLIAMS’ ‘BRITUNES’ ITUNES LIVE SESSION EP OUT NOW

When Great Lake Swimmers’ Tony Dekker wrote the song “Everything is Moving So Fast,” he couldn’t have predicted that it would foreshadow the rapid success of the Toronto band’s fourth album, LOST CHANNELS. For a project that has seen a slow upward trajectory since its humble beginnings in 2001, the Great Lake Swimmers are suddenly getting exponentially more attention across North America and Europe, entrancing newcomers to the band with Dekker’s unforgettable voice and compelling songwriting.

Now fresh from an acclaimed tour of the UK and Europe, the band is set to return to the road once more across North America. To celebrate their return to native soil, iTunes released a brand new Live Session EP on June 2nd

That LOST CHANNELS was a success in Canada is no surprise: Great Lake Swimmers have long been a word-of-mouth favorite for whom critical mass was inevitable, and they are regarded as a national treasure by the country’s public broadcaster, the CBC; LOST CHANNELS recently topped the chart on CBC Radio 3 (which is also broadcast in the U.S. on Sirius Satellite Radio). It also sat at #1 on iTunes’ Singer/Songwriter chart.

But it’s not just the home team cheering on the Swimmers. LOST CHANNELS attained the #2 Most-Added position at the influential radio trade magazine Friday Morning Quarterback. It debuted at #10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart in its first week, re-entering the Top 10 in May, and was #1 on the Amazon MP3 downloads chart. Meanwhile, an older non-album track, “See You On the Moon,” can be heard on prime time television in a Honda ad. And individual bloggers have been massive champions: Great Lake Swimmers reached “Most Blogged Artist” status on premier MP3 site Hype Machine. Their lead track “Pulling On A Line” was even included in a recent weekend episode of Good Morning America.

No doubt much of this has been fueled in part by public endorsements by the likes of Feist, Robert Plant, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and cyclist Lance Armstrong. The latter two have both raved about the band on their personal websites; the former have handpicked the Great Lake Swimmers to open shows and whole tours. They’ve also shared bills with Bela Fleck & The Sparrow Quartet, Hayden, Goldfrapp, and Bill Callahan of Smog.

SUMMER TOUR SCHEDULE AS FOLLOWS:

June 6 TALL SHIP FESTIVAL, Fair Jeane – Brockville, ON
June 13 Boundary Waters Treaty Festival with Tragically Hip – Niagra Falls 100th Anniversary
June 18 Gordon Best Theatre – Peterborough ON
June 19 First Baptist Church – Ottawa, ON
June 20 Theatre Plaza – Montreal (with Timbre Timbre)
July 10-12 Winnipeg Folk Festival – Winnipeg, MB
July 18-19 Vancouver Folk Festival – Vancouver, BC
July 25-26 Hillside Folk Festival – Guelph, ON
August 8-9 Edmonton Folk Festival – Edmonton, AB
August 23 3RD & Lindsey – Nashville, TN

August 26 WFPK Waterfront Wednesday at Harbor Lawn – Louisville, KY

August 28 WYEP Final Friday at Schenley Plaza – Pittsburgh, PA

August 29 The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI
Sept 4 Grafton Folk Festival – Grafton, On