RIVAL TOWN
Rival Town is a heavy pop punk formed in the Spring of 2015 in Thunder Bay, Ontario when founding members Bryce Smith (guitar) and Devon Forbes (drums) met through a mutual friend while playing a Sum41 cover show. Over the following month the two decided to start a band, and recruited Bryce’s younger brother Jared Smith (keyboard), Chris Peterson (guitar), Jordan Krawczuk (bass), and Cary Hansen (vocals). Their debut EP, Deadlines & Milestones, consisting of material previously written by Bryce Smith, was released within weeks of the band’s formation. In November 2015 the band signed with a small New York record label, Manik at Records. They released their first full-length album, Call It Like It Is” in April 2016. They continued to play and tour out of Thunder Bay for the next six months before moving south to St. Catharine’s, Ontario to be closer to the Toronto and New York music scenes. They released their next EP, Make it Work, in October 2017. In February 2018, the band left Manik Kat Records and continued to play and perform independently. In winter of 2019, vocalist Cary Hansen left the band to return to Thunder Bay, and Mike Julian, former vocalist of Midland, Ontario-based metal band Falset, joined as the new lead vocalist.