On Friday, February 9th the Canadian rock group The Sam Roberts Band would bring their ‘The Adventures of Ben Blank Tour’ to Toronto. The event took place at the History concert venue which is a place I personally have been at many times and this was the most people I have ever seen in attendance at the venue. The band announced the sell out earlier in the day on Instagram and would also make note they were releasing some extra tickets for the show. Sam Roberts, the rock singer who calls Montreal, Quebec home is currently on tour with his band to promote their latest album release titled ‘The Adventures of Ben Blank‘ which came out last year in 2023. The new project’s theme and aesthetic went on display when the band first took to the stage as the HD screen which serves as the performance’s backdrop would display a special intro video featuring the album’s artwork which shows a beam of light coming down from the clouds into the mountains. 
Seeing how this concert took place on a Friday night, I really don’t have to say that there was a joyful and festive feeling in the air inside of History. The night’s music would be kicked off by the opening indie band known as Jay Wood. For the show’s main event The Sam Roberts Band would serenade the packed house with a variety of songs spanning more then two decades. The group would play classic hits like “Where Have All The Good People Gone?” and “Bridge To Nowhere” which are from the Sam Roberts solo act years before the formation of the group in the 2010’s. Some other songs performed on this night were tracks like “Metal Skin”, “Spellbound” and would conclude the set with “Don’t Walk Away Eileen”. The band would return to the stage for a final four song encore featuring “We’re All In This Together” and “Brother Down”. Sam Roberts made it clear he was enjoying himself while playing on this stage as the lead singer would stop between songs to say that “after playing five songs, History had became one of his favourites venues to play at.” 
The Adventures of Ben Blank Tour will continue over the next few months with live dates scheduled in the US through the rest of February as well as more Canadian concerts in March. Be sure to check out the latest album from The Sam Roberts band ‘The Adventures of Ben Blank‘ which Sam has stated publically that this project was celebrated as a 20th anniversary project of sorts since the first album release “We Were Born in a Flame” in 2003. Sam Roberts also considers Ben Blank as his alter alias for this new work but it is not clear what it all means possibly left ambiguously for a reason. Please njoy the below photo gallery of the concert from February 9th, 2024 at History. Additionally, for more updates and photos of The Sam Roberts band you can follow them on Instagram @samrobertsband.
Article & Photos By Kyle McNeil (@trueaspectmedia)
