Standing in the back of a cramped rehearsal space in Toronto, you can feel the floorboards vibrating under the weight of a Precision Bass. It is a specific kind of rumble that only comes from a band that has spent the last year graduating from club stages to stadium platforms. The Beaches are currently the hottest commodity in Canadian rock, and they have the scars and the sparkles to prove it. 2019 was a blur of high-stakes performances, most notably opening for The Rolling Stones at their solitary Canadian stop and lighting up the 107th Grey Cup.
But the momentum is not slowing down just because the calendar turned. This year, the quartet is embarking on their inaugural cross-country headlining trek. They are bringing a curated pack of talent with them, including HUNNY, Valley, Goodbye Honolulu and Fade Awaays. The tour hits the heart of southwestern Ontario with dates in Guelph on Feb. 22, London on Feb. 23 and Kitchener on Feb. 26.
Vocalist and bassist Jordan Miller looks remarkably relaxed for someone about to pilot a massive tour bus across the Tundra. She takes a breather from the noise to break down the sheer velocity of the last 12 months. When asked to sum up what 2019 meant to the band, she does not reach for the usual industry platitudes.
"It's hard to epitomize the feeling of the year, but I feel if I had to say one word, it was about experimenting and pushing ourselves with new directions for the music and continuing to work hard and have fun," Jordan says. "This year's been so crazy, all of the great opportunities and people we've been able to meet and great shows we've been able to play. It's hard to find the words to describe it."
The "experimenting" she mentions is visible in the band's sonic shift. They are moving away from the straight-ahead garage rock of their debut and into something more textured. But the real story is the scale of the rooms they are playing. Burl's Creek was a massive undertaking, a field filled with Boomers and Gen Z kids waiting for Mick Jagger, yet The Beaches managed to steal a slice of that spotlight.
"Yeah. That was insane, kind of like being in a dream," Jordan says regarding the Stones gig. "Again, it's so crazy. That whole day went by so fast. I think I was nervous as soon as I got up until I got on stage. Then as soon as I was on stage, I just felt this overwhelming sense of calm and reassurance and I had so much fun. I got to go on Mick's catwalk and wear a sparkly dress and then I got to meet them afterwards and the show went amazing. It was crazy."
And then there was the Rogers Centre date with the Foo Fighters. Playing a stadium in your hometown is the ultimate litmus test for a Toronto band. You are either swallowed by the concrete cavern or you own it. Jordan recalls the backstage vibe with Dave Grohl, focusing on the sensory details that most PR-slick interviews miss.
"Dave Grohl's a super nice guy. He smells amazing. He smells kind of like leather and American tobacco and he was really nice and he met my mom, too, afterwards," Jordan says. "Again, it's hard meeting these bigger than life figures and being able to play music with some of your heroes. It's so weird, but it's cool."
There is a technical shift that happens when you move from a 200-capacity bar to a 50,000-seat stadium. Most musicians talk about the terror of the void, but Jordan has a counter-intuitive take on the psychology of the crowd. For her, the intimacy of a small room is actually the more daunting prospect.
"I actually find bigger shows are easier than playing very small, intimate shows. They're much more exciting and fun. They're less scary for me because you'd think that it would be the other way around, but when I have to play in front of one person, I'm much more nervous because it's so much more intimate," she says. "With the bigger shows, I think what I've learned from this year is not to be so nervous and just to enjoy them because it's just this rush of energy that you experience playing for so many people. You have to treat it like any other show, just do your best and have fun."
Despite the stadium runs, the band still deals with the genuine shock of being recognized by their own idols. It is one thing to share a bill; it is another to have a legend hand-pick you for their personal playlist. For Jordan, the pinnacle was not a rock god, but a pop icon who has been the soundtrack to her family's life for decades.
"Like a star struck moment? I guess the closest one for me was Elton John, when we met him," Jordan says. "I've been a fan of his music for so many years and having him not only promote the band on his radio show but want to meet us in Toronto when he was in town was really kind of a big moment for me and for my family. I think my mom's first concert was Elton John, so I've just been listening to him for so many years. So for him to be a fan of ours was really exciting, but we didn't play with him. Maybe one day though. I'll cross my fingers."
Rock and roll has spent the last decade being declared dead by every data-driven suit in the industry. But The Beaches are proving that the genre just needed a change in perspective. The challenge they face is not just about the music; it is about navigating a space that was never designed for them.
There hasn't really been a song that talks about being okay just to have a silly one night stand and to not feel ashamed or embarrassed about it. And then it became the song about accepting all of you, what you contrive in your mind to be your faults... It's about self-empowerment, so it's not saying it's great that I have small boobs or big boobs. It's just owning what you have and being cool with it.
"Good question. I think the fact that we're young and we're girls is helpful, as well as the fact that we're playing rock music cause we're adding a new face and a new sound and a new perspective to a genre that's been dominated by older men for so many years," Jordan says. "So I think the fact that we're a bit more niche and experimental with using keyboards and cool samples, like drum samples, in our music, especially with this new record, rejuvenates rock and roll. I definitely think that being young, you still have to get the respect of older rock bands that might be a little wary of you at the beginning. But we all love rock music and you can tell that we are respectful of the genre and we love it so much when you listen to our music. Sorry, I'm sort of rambling right now."
It is not rambling; it is a sharp observation of the gatekeeping that still exists in the guitar world. The Beaches have been doing this since they were children, which gives them a level of technical proficiency that shuts down the "can they actually play?" skeptics the moment the first chord hits.
"I would say that when we were first started out, we were 12 or 13 and a lot of people that were coming to our shows were saying, 'Wow, what do these guys know about rock music? How are they going to be able to take a genre that we like and actually do it right?' But I think when people came and saw us play live, we didn't really have to worry about that anymore, because you can hear it in our music that we know our stuff. There we go. That's what I was trying to say," Jordan says.
The gender dynamic is often used as a marketing hook, but for the band, it is more about the demographic they attract. They are bringing a younger, more diverse audience back to the theatre circuit, people who might have felt alienated by the stale "dude rock" of the early 2000s.
"I think it's helpful in bringing new people into it because they hear a young female rock band and they're like, 'Oh wow, there hasn't really been a lot of that going on in a while. I wonder what this is going to sound like.' So I think it actually attracts new people to listen to rock music. I think that's where it's helpful," she says.
A massive part of their credibility comes from their association with Canadian indie royalty. Working with Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric on their debut album, *Late Show*, provided them with a blueprint for how to maintain artistic integrity while scaling up.
"I'd love to. I loved working with Emily. She was incredible. Emily and Denis, recording Late Show with them was one of the most amazing experiences ever," Jordan says. "They just really wanted to capture what our sound was live, so they came to see a bunch of our shows and essentially what Late Show is, it’s just a compilation of songs that we've had for about six or seven years that we played live a bunch of times. So when we were recording the album, they just wanted us to do most of it live off the floor so that it really captured that live, raw energy that we have on stage. So they were really just so awesome. And to have someone like her and him who are so important in the Canadian music industry just want to capture who you are in a record, is really awesome."
There is an inevitable comparison to The Runaways, the 1970s pioneers of all-female rock. But while the 2010 movie depicted a world of drug-fueled chaos and manufactured drama, The Beaches operate on a much more grounded, authentic frequency. They are not a project put together by a Svengali; they are a group of friends who actually like each other.
"Right now? Well, I think it'd be pretty goofy. We're actually just kind of goofy nerds, if you really hang out with us," Jordan says. "We have fun and we drink and party every once in a while, but really just hanging out with us is like hanging out with four girls. It looks more like an episode of Girls, like the HBO show, than a drug-infused, crazy rock show. It's probably most often us playing board games on the bus, talking about our relationships and shit, or playing together. I don't really remember a lot about the Runaways. I think that they were kind of put together, but our band, we started a band because we were all friends and wanted to make music. So it'd probably be a little less dramatic and interesting than their crazy times."
The band dynamic is further complicated—or perhaps simplified—by the fact that Jordan and guitarist Kylie Miller are sisters. In an industry that eats families alive, they have managed to maintain a 14-month age gap that feels more like a creative partnership than a sibling rivalry.
"No, I know. It's weird to imagine, because we live together, we share a profession and we also share friends. We're constantly in each other’s lives," Jordan says. "But I think that we've always been that close. So I mean, thinking about it from an outsider's perspective, I totally see how it would be seen, like, 'How do you do this?' But yeah, we've always been super close. I think we're only 14 months apart, so we've always been in each other’s lives and when we started playing music we started together. So I've never actually done a solo project. It'd be hard for me to imagine not doing anything with Kylie."
That honesty carries over into the lyrics. Their hit "T-Shirt" is a masterclass in modern relatability, tackling the awkwardness of casual hookups and the nagging insecurities of body image without being overly precious about it.
"Well, I think the song is about a one-night stand that I had that I wanted to turn into something more and the guy just wanted to keep it a one-night stand and I just was thinking about it afterwards that there hasn't really been a song that talks about being okay just to have a silly one night stand and to not feel ashamed or embarrassed about it," Jordan says. "And then it became the song about accepting all of you, what you contrive in your mind to be your faults. So for me, I've always been insecure about my boobs. So I just thought it would be funny to embrace the fact that I have small boobs in the song. It's about self-empowerment, so it's not saying it's great that I have small boobs or big boobs. It's just owning what you have and being cool with it, if that makes sense."
The Beaches are also playing the industry game with a level of tactical intelligence. While they love the romanticism of a full-length vinyl record, they are savvy enough to know that the streaming era demands a constant drip-feed of content. Their latest strategy involves splitting an album into two EPs to maximize the "Professional" era's lifespan.
"Well, I think the reason why this next album, we've put it out as two EPs, we're releasing a second Professional EP that will turn it into an album," Jordan says. "But I think what we were trying to do is get music out as fast as possible for people, which is the current model in the industry now. Not to say that's good or bad, albums are awesome, but they have a short shelf life. People have such short attention spans now with the way streaming works. And so if you space out an album this way it can be very beneficial just to keep people thinking about you and keep people listening. And it's also great for fans who just want new music right away. That's the advantage of the EP. I personally love albums, I like listening to vinyl and having a complete body of work, but I think you can get away with that with an EP as well, just if it's consistent and punchy enough."
Looking back at their 2013 debut EP, the evolution is stark. They have traded the nervous energy of Los Angeles studio sessions for a more confident, genre-fluid approach that pulls from a wider palette of influences.
"The first EP we did with Brain in Los Angeles when we were really young and it was some of the first songs that we'd written together. Just comparing that experience where we were just very insecure and nervous and trying new things versus this new EP where I think we definitely are more confident as songwriters but wanted to experiment and push ourselves with the sounds that we were using and not necessarily only draw from rock bands, try to draw from R&B and Soul and David Bowie and Disco," Jordan says. "I think having the three EPs and the album behind us, knowing that we were good songwriters and that it was going to work out was integral for this one, where we were definitely trying to experiment a bit more."
As they look toward the rest of 2020, the goal is not necessarily about world domination or chart-topping metrics. It is about maintaining the core reason they started playing in a basement in the first place.
"I don't know. I actually like to set goals unless it sounds dumb, but for me it's always just been about playing with my best friends and whatever comes our way or doesn't come our way, to me what's really important is just about making music and having fun," Jordan says. "I know that sounds corny, but I think it allows for those crazy experiences that come your way just to surprise you and take your breath away, and if you're always chasing that stuff then it takes away the fun in my mind."
The upcoming tour represents a major logistical leap. The days of cramming into a van and driving through the night are over. They are moving into the "big bus" phase of their career, a rite of passage for any band that has finally arrived.
"Yes. It's our first big bus tour as I like to call them when you have a full crew and are traveling on a bus and not driving all night to get to a show," Jordan says. "It's really exciting and I'm so excited to play Canada again, and we haven't really done a headlining tour in a few years. So I'm really looking forward to this, and I hope people really like what they hear."
And for the fans who have already memorized every word of *The Professional*, Jordan promises that the live shows will offer more than just the hits. They are already road-testing the future.
"You absolutely will. Even at the new shows, you will hear some of the new stuff that we've been working on," she says.
The Beaches are no longer just a "band to watch." They are the band that everyone else is watching to see how it is done right. Catch them in the smaller venues while you still can, because the stadiums are calling them back soon enough.
