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Gentleman Reg settles in for a residency at the Drake – Metro US

Gentleman Reg settles in for a residency at the Drake

Gentleman Reg thought it was nice to get away, but even nicer to come home.

After a year abroad of touring Jet Black, a melodramatic, twang-filled work released this time last year, and his more recent six-song Heavy Head EP, the Toronto folk singer-songwriter will park his weary feet at the Drake Underground for a month-long residency going every Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. through February.

It will mark the first time in a while Gentleman Reg (né Reg Vermue) has headlined a show, spending the past year opening for The Stills and The Hidden Cameras, among others. But the tranquility and relaxed lifestyle of life at home brought Reg back from the road and put the power back into his pen.

“I’m writing and working new music and it’s going really well. That’s something I can’t do on the road,” he said. “It’s something I have to do alone, at least the initial stuff, and I never got a moment with this past tour.”

Ever the collaborator (Reg most recently appeared on track Flare Gun from Owen Pallet’s Heartland), the stint will also include Reg’s hand-picked special guests, By Divine Right, The Balconies and all-girl Weezer cover group, Sheezer.

“I wanted to choose bands from very different musical scenes from Toronto to bring out more people,” he said. “Some are old friends, some I haven’t even seen but I’ve heard a lot about them and I wanted to experience them.”

In all then, a perfect situation for the singer-songwriter: A chance to reconnect with old friends, an opportunity to keep a healthy work-life balance and a steady local gig where he can try out new material.

“Usually you can’t play your own city too often, so we’re getting around that rule,” he laughs. “And besides that, it gives us something to do.”