Silverstein & Tonight Alive

It takes numbers to craft a movement out of sound. It takes numbers, and it takes throat, calloused fingers, worn out joints, and a sea of voices singing along. It takes numbers, and it takes work. It takes playing basements and community centres as much as it takes stages, and festivals. It takes years of dedication, sincerity, and community. And yet, only a few artists are so honoured as to become synonymous with their era. Since 2000, Silverstein has kept its roots firmly planted in the terrain of post- hardcore. Sixteen years later, the genre is impossible to talk about without mentioning this seminal group.
Well over a decade of performances, of writing, and recording has afforded the group time to evolve and push forward, and Silverstein have taken the whole scene on this ride with them. To speak about the differences— whether musical, lyrical, or tonal— between When Broken Is Easily Fixed and their latest effort, I Am Alive In Everything I Touch, speaks about the differences in post-hardcore at large then and now. Since the release of When Broken, Silverstein have continued to reimagine their sound, and the genre with it. 2016’s I Am Alive is a monument to their career. The record takes its listener on a tour bus driven odyssey that is all too familiar to a group used to packing its life in suitcase and hitting the road. Distant milestones, and the homeward reach help to carve out a concept that could have only been pulled off by a band with such a cultivated relationship with the terrain of North American alternative music. And though the record ends back home in Toronto, ON, you can be sure that the group doesn’t intend to let the dust settle on their suitcases just yet.
As they’ve done so many times in the past, Silverstein are hard at work in the studio and on the road this year. Their shows continue to fill rooms with energy and life, and their records continue to reach eager ears. Their music continues to marry aggression and melody in a way that only Silverstein seems able to. And their dedication to their craft is more evident than ever before. Sixteen years and their outlook hasn’t changed: more days on the road, more songs, more work, more fans, more music, more friends. The numbers grow with everything they touch.


Tonight Alive is a rock band from Sydney, Australia, formed in 2008.

The band is composed of vocalist Jenna McDougall, lead guitarist Whakaio Taahi, rhythm guitarist Jake Hardy, bassist Cameron Adler and drummer Matt Best.