HOT GIG ALERT (01.16): Ontario’s Jeremie Albino hits Boston, Interview in Post

As of last Saturday, shows have slowly started to shake back to life regarding the touring community. Honestly, I’m not shocked that the first two shows I wrote about this year have been Canadian artists because Canadiens, including myself, are built differently. The numbing cold and a bit of snowfall it’s just old hat, but New England residents are sure to be able to relate. We’ll be at the show tonight, seeing Ontario-born Jeremie Albino as he brings his latest album, Our Time in The Sun, to life tonight at Brighton Music Hall, and we think you should be there too!
The album is a beauty and a little bit cheeky, if we’re being honest but we’re all for it. Be it moments like “Let Me Lay My Head” or “So Many Ways To Say I Love You,” the album is stellar throughout. And while you might not hear every song on the album tonight, considering this is Albino’s third studio full-length, and there are some serious hits from his previous catalog, it’s sure to be a perfect warm-up to his show tonight at one of my favorite personal venues, Brighton Music Hall!
Limited tickets can still be grabbed here! Direct support will come from Benjamin Dakota Rogers, and doors open at 7 pm! I spoke with Albino yesterday while he was in transit to our fine city about the album, his hopes for this run, and much more! You can find that below!
We’ll also be posting coverage and photos from the show in the next few days, so keep an eye out on that!
—
New England Sounds: You’re currently en route to play your first show in Boston tomorrow. Are you making any final preparations as you come up on this show (the first show of Jeremie’s new North American run)?
Jeremie Albino: Uh, not really. We just prepare before we leave; once we get there, we’ll try it out and see how it goes.
NES: I’m sure you don’t want to share much or can’t share much, but do you have a list of songs you’re considering? I know it is the album tour.
Jeremie: Oh yeah, we’re playing a bunch of songs off the album. I think we’re starting with the song, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” for the set. And then “Struggling with The Bottle” and “Our Time In the Sun”. Yeah, we’re playing a lot of the album, basically, and I’m really excited. Because I haven’t played almost any of these songs live before. So, that’s kind of like what I was saying: you kind of practice, get them as ready as you can, and you have to go try them out. See how people react and how they connect with the songs.
NES: Then tomorrow will be the first time you can road-test it and see what goes well. Are there songs you think that you see people kind of connecting to a lot or hanging onto?
Jeremie: Yeah, it’s kind of hard to tell, you know. I mean, just from what people say on social media, how songs are streaming. “Rolling Down the 405” is one of the main singles off the record, and that’s gotten some traction. And people seem to like that one, but I don’t know, I’m just excited to try some of these songs. There are some deeper cuts on the album, like “Dinner Bell”. It was one that I saw as kind of an outlier on the record. It’s just a bit more psychedelic, sort of rocky song that I find people have just been messaging me about. Being like, “Oh my god, I love “Dinner Bell” so much.” I didn’t think people would be reacting as much as they are. So I’m excited just to try that one out. Because from what people tell me online and how people have been reacting to the record, it’s one of their favorite songs on the album. So, I’m excited to try that one out.
NES: That’s fantastic! Then the album is about two months old, but I know it’s something you’re really excited about and obviously something important to you from what I’ve read. When did you start sitting down with Dan (Auerbach of The Black Keys and co-producer of the new album, “Our Time In the Sun”) and writing these songs? When did that process kind of start? How long does this album date back for you?
Jeremie: Honestly, I first got together with Dan about two years ago. So, I recorded it last year, in 2024. So we got together in 2023, in the fall of 2023, and then also, like Spring of 2023, is when we got together and just got in a writing room. We only wrote this album in four days altogether. I went down to Nashville and spent two days writing with him the first time around, with a couple of other great writers. And then, went home, and a couple of months went by, and then I went back down. We did the same thing. We were there for two days and wrote a bunch of songs. And all those songs altogether kind of just became the album. So that was in the Fall of 2023; that was the last writing session. Then, in January 2024, we went and recorded the album.
NES: Then I know from reading about it that it didn’t always come easy for you when it comes to writing. Writing in the past had been kind of a struggle for you. So, the fact that you wrote all of these songs in four days is wild. He (Dan) obviously has a lifelong career in music, being a musician and a producer. Maybe how did that feel, coming so naturally in the writing process?
Jeremie: Yeah, it was amazing! I think it was kind of a build-up of all I’ve learned over the years. Early on in my career, it was always kind of a struggle. Songs took a long time when I first started writing; I’d just write songs while I was driving. It was like a magical thing. It felt like what happened, and then when I started writing more, and even before I made this album, I would just kind of get together with different songwriters and try to do that Nashville thing. You get in a room and try to write a hit, and just had that experience. I had kind of written with some other people, but just learning from people who do it every day helped me grow in my songwriting and prepared me to get in a room with Dan and those songwriters. I feel like the moment I even got in the room with Dan, we had some other guys come in, like Pat McLaughlin, who also wrote some songs with me on the record. Just right out the gate, these guys have been writing for a long time, and some of these guys way before I was born. And just looking at what they do, that’s in their blood, that’s their job. So, I have been approaching songwriting more, where I used to approach it as a nefarious thing. Eventually, a song would come to me. It was more of a proactive approach with them, like, alright, we’re writing songs today. I also learned a lot from them about their process and how they do it. Just kept the lesson going; it was just a really great experience. I learned so much from them.
And that’s probably why I’m so proud of this record. I feel like I’ve just grown a lot over the years. This (Our Time in The Sun) is my third studio album, my third full-length album. Just over the years of making records, I’ve grown into what I am now. I think I wouldn’t have been able to make this album on my first record because I remember walking into the studio and being so green the first time I ever went in to make my album. And was just nervous, and this time, I just kind of locked in. There’s always a bit of nerves, but I felt really at home. Just getting out there and starting to write.
NES: This is your third studio album, but it’s your fourth solo record, right?
Jeremie: Oh yeah, well, I put out a little EP. So it wasn’t a full-length; it’s like a six-song album. Then I did another collab album that I made with a friend of mine, Cat Clyde. It’s a full-length album, but it’s more like traditional blues songs, with some covers of folk songs that we did.
NES: Awesome! Then to wrap it up, this is not a small feat of a tour you’re about to take on. I think it’s just under two months, then a few weeks off, then going to Montreal and Ottawa. But are there maybe places you’re looking forward to returning to here in the States? Maybe hopes or goals for this run?
Jeremie: Yeah! The last tour we did was similar. We had a long winter tour, and it was the first time I had headlined in a lot of these places. So I’m looking forward to just getting back to some of these places that were fun shows. We played Denver for the first time last year. And we’re going back this year; that one just felt like a hometown show. There were just a lot of people bringing a lot of energy and a lot of love. I’m looking forward to some places where last time was such a fun show. So like Denver’s a fun one, San Francisco was a great show all along the West Coast, Seattle, and Portland. Through Canada almost every city in Canada is always a fun show. And then, on the East Coast, this Boston show should be fun. I always love going to New York and Nashville, because I’ve got friends there. A lot of places I like either because I like going because I have some friends out there or there’s some good food usually.
NES: Food is important. What’s the main food item that you have to have when you come down here? Like the big ones for you?
Jeremie: Honestly, Mexican food is a big thing when I’m in the States because there’s not a lot of good Mexican food up in Canada. So, I love to hit a couple of taco spots when I’m in Nashville or LA. But I’m always kind of looking out, you know!
—
1/16: Jeremie Albino/Benjamin Dakota Rogers/DJ Carbo
Brighton Music Hall/158 Brighton Ave, Allston, MA, 02134