06/09/2026
Woodstock, please join us in welcoming the LEGENDARY JOEL PLASKETT EMERGENCY to the Dooryard stage!
Dooryard Arts Festival 2026
Friday, July 17, at the main stage.
Tickets 🎫 dooryardfestival.com
✨ In 2026, the Joel Plaskett Emergency celebrates 20 years of rollin’ and rockin’ in their current incarnation—Plaskett himself on the guitars, Dave Marsh on drums, and Chris Pennell on bass. They’ve marked the occasion with “Fill In the Blanks,” a strutting ‘70s-style riff-rocker with playful lyrics subtly inspired by the theory of “hot” and “cool” media established by influential Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan.
“I was imagining April Wine jamming with Steve Miller but then Dave and Chris took it to Portland Street like they always do”, says Joel.
The raucous tune looks back fondly on life before the proliferation of attention-hijacking and encourages listeners to embrace the mystery and participate in the moment as Plaskett winkingly withholds words from its punchy chorus. It’s a fitting new track for a songwriter and band who continue to deliver their message through analog mediums and spontaneous performances.
Throughout their 20+ years, the Emergency has remained committed to the unvarnished push-and-pull that makes their trio so compelling. When they take the stage this summer for a score of dates they’ll prove this commitment once again. The story of the band begins in fall of 1998 when Joel asked Tracy Stevens, Andrew Glencross and former members of Superfriendz, Charles Austin and Dave Marsh, to join “The Emergency Band” to play shows featuring the songs from his upcoming solo debut, In Need of Medical Attention. When the introspective album eventually dropped in fall of ‘99 the band embarked on a memorable drive through a torrential hurricane to New York City in Joel’s enormous 69’ Pontiac Parisienne to perform at CMJ, marking the first of many miles to be clocked by the band.
As Joel worked up new songs at the millenniums end and his former band Thrush Hermit played their final shows, his musical connection with Dave, an experienced and mercurial drummer, grew stronger. In early 2000, the Emergency scaled down to a lean three-piece and Dave’s former Blackpool bandmate, Tim Brennan joined on the bass guitar. Working up the new material on the third floor of the historic Khyber building in Halifax, “The J.P.E.” soon recorded their reverberant and rollicking debut, Down at the Khyber. The album brought them press accolades and tours in the U.K. and they dug in, crossing Canada multiple times in Plaskett’s 1995 Chevy Suburban to cut the teeth on stage and build an audience. In 2003, they followed up with the more polished and punchy, Truthfully, Truthfully, featuring songs like “Work Out Fine” and “Extraordinary” which remain fan favourites to this day.
Shortly after the album's release, Tim Brennan bowed out to teach photography at art school. By 2004, Khyber and Truthfully co-producer (and Joel’s former Thrush Hermit bandmate), Ian McGettigan had taken up the band’s bass duties and the Emergency set out for a tour with The Tragically Hip in arenas across Canada, firmly solidifying their reputation as a hard swinging, dynamic live band. The band recorded the Make A Little Noise EP in 2005 with Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson in the producer’s chair and the effort yielded the Top 40 hit “Nowhere With You.” After an epic New Year’s Eve show at Halifax’s Marquee Club, Ian moved on to pursue his work with Camouflage Nights and Joel and Dave were once again in search of a bass player who could ground their unique guitar and drum entanglement.
One evening in early 2006, Joel found himself in a cab with their future bass player at the wheel. Chris Pennell, who had been gigging locally for years with the band Slight Return, expressed interest and scored an audition. Once Dave found him a suitable nickname, Chris “The Elk” Pennell settled in to hold down the centre and the band went on to make their most successful record to date—2007’s teenage love triangle rock opera, Ashtray Rock. Amidst the album’s hectic tour cycle, Joel and Dave carved out time to work up Marsh’s excellent solo debut, The True Love Rules.
The Emergency wrapped 2008 with a six show run at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern and over the next few years traveled the US in support of The Hip, toured Australia, opened for Paul McCartney in Halifax, and headlined the legendary Massey Hall. In 2012, the Emergency embarked on Scrappy Happiness, their most ambitious and
in-the-moment album project - recording and releasing a song a week for 10 weeks. While the approach harkened back to the quick turnaround singles of the 50s and 60s, it also foreshadowed the speed and immediacy at which the digital world now moves. The album’s fierce and lyrical opening track, “Lightning Bolt,” quickly became a live show staple and a testament to the band’s electric alchemy.
While Joel’s solo and collaborative musical endeavors have run the gamut over the years, his performances and recordings with the Emergency remain a uniquely recognizable group effort that has garnered a diehard audience and many awards and nominations—including recognition from the Junos, Polaris, CBC, ECMA, Music Nova Scotia and more. With nearly three decades of odometers rolling, the Joel Plaskett Emergency remains a Nova Scotia band whose joyful energy has rocked the corners of Canada, from Newfoundland and Labrador to Iqaluit and Dawson City.
“Fill in the Blanks” released on May 1st and the band returns to select festival stages this summer.
https://joelplaskett.com/
Tickets: dooryardfestival.com
