The Glorious Sons: A Journey of Creativity, Passion, and Redemption

From the very moment The Glorious Sons burst onto the music scene, they embodied the essence of rock ‘n’ roll—embracing creativity, adventure, passion, energy, expression, individuality, and the spirit of community. Hailing from Kingston, Ontario, this band has traversed a tumultuous four-year journey marked by numerous stops and starts. Their latest offering, Glory, is an album co-produced by the band’s own Brett Emmons and Frederik Thaae, a work that encapsulates the profound artistic vision they’ve nurtured over the years. This album ignites with a vivid sonic approach and raw, heartfelt lyricism, bearing emotional truths that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.

Brett Emmons, the band’s lead singer-songwriter, reflects on their evolution:

“I think that all this time has allowed us to very slowly hone in on something that just feels a little bit bigger, something a bit more anthemic and celebratory.”

Founded in 2011, The Glorious Sons’ ambition and passionate songcraft immediately drew attention, leading to the release of three studio albums that garnered them two #1 Rock airplay hits in the US and an impressive streak of thirteen consecutive top 10 Rock radio hits in Canada. Their 2014 debut album, The Union, solidified their breakthrough, earning them a prestigious JUNO Award nomination for “Rock Album of the Year” and spawning hits like “Heavy,” “Lightning,” and “The Contender,” the latter of which marked their first-ever #1 on Canadian Rock radio.

In 2017, Young Beauties and Fools continued The Glorious Sons’ ascent, winning them the JUNO Award for “Rock Album of the Year” and achieving global airplay success. The album boasted #1 singles such as “Everything Is Alright” and “S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun),” with the latter topping Billboard’s “Mainstream Rock” chart in the US. Their third studio album, A War On Everything, released in 2019, showcased the band’s maturation, infusing a contemporary sheen into their naturalistic sound. The album secured a second consecutive JUNO Award for “Rock Album of the Year” and yielded another US #1 “Mainstream Rock” hit with “Panic Attack.”

Like any true rock ‘n’ roll band, The Glorious Sons spent a significant portion of their journey on the road, from headlining tours to festival performances and even three unforgettable stadium shows supporting legends like The Rolling Stones. More recently, they headlined alongside Pearl Jam at London, England’s Hyde Park. The global pandemic brought their touring to a halt, offering the band a rare chance to reflect on their accomplishments. During this period, they composed nearly 40 new songs fueled by the intense emotions and anxieties that arose during the global shutdown.

In the spring of 2022, The Glorious Sons embarked on a journey to Nashville with the intention of carefully crafting the nearly 40 songs and recording their next album over six weeks. However, things took an unexpected turn, leading to what Brett Emmons describes as “a failure, like watching a car crash in slow motion.” The experience was incredibly demoralizing, leaving Emmons unable to even look at an instrument for a month.

The Glorious Sons ‘Glor’ album artwork

Nevertheless, The Glorious Sons turned adversity into an opportunity for growth. It encouraged them to recalibrate their goals and overarching vision, pushing them to become better producers and embrace their own sensitivities and sentimentality. They realized that they needed assistance and found it in the form of Danish producer and musician Frederik Thaae, with whom they had previously collaborated on their studio albums.

This experience was humbling, prompting Emmons to acknowledge his vulnerability and sentimentality as essential elements of his creativity. The result of their renewed collaboration is Glory, an album brimming with larger-than-life melodies, heartfelt songcraft, and universal yet intimate lyrics. Their music weaves organic songwriting with intricately crafted electronic textures, resulting in a sound that is both introspective and epic, radiating uncommon emotional depth.

For Brett Emmons, the best songs are those that delve into his own experiences, and he believes that this personal touch is what resonates with their audience. He acknowledges the power of storytelling, knowing that their stories often mirror those of their listeners.

From their inception, The Glorious Sons have achieved the remarkable feat of sounding both familiar and groundbreaking. They have redefined what it means to be a rock ‘n’ roll band in the modern era. With Glory, The Glorious Sons have pushed themselves to the brink, creating something meaningful, authentic, and uniquely their own.

Brett Emmons was a recent guest on the Midwest Mixtape Podcast.

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