nightshades

nightshades is a high-output Canadian indie rock collective known for a dynamic live show

All four members swap instruments and lead vocals as they blend diverse textures with melodic hooks. Since 2023, they’ve released three LPs and three EPs.

Having nightshades and Sammy Volkov perform at The Owl was an absolute pleasure. Both acts delivered outstanding performances and were fantastic to work with from start to finish. nightshades are genuinely one of our favourite bands to have ever graced The Owl stage — their energy, musicianship, and connection with the audience made for an unforgettable night.

Braeden NickelThe Owl Acoustic Lounge

nightshades is a high-output indie rock collective built on a foundation of collaborative songwriting. Comprising four Canadian artists—Andrew Judah, Common Fires, DL Ranney, and N. Sherman—the group operates as a genre-defying “timeshare” of melodic hooks and rhythmic energy.

A rare, constant movement defines their live performance: all four members rotate between lead vocals and instrumental duties throughout the set. This multi-frontman approach makes for a show that is both visually and sonically dynamic, as the band assembles a complex jigsaw puzzle of styles and timbres in real-time.

Since forming in early 2023, nightshades has maintained an impressive creative pace, producing a deep catalogue that includes three full-length records (2025’s Inside Joke and Open Secret, and 2024’s Reducer) alongside three EPs. For club and festival buyers, nightshades delivers a polished, versatile, and high-energy set backed by a massive body of work.

RELEASES

Open Secret | Fall 2025

‘Open Secret’, the third full-length album from nightshades, arrives as the spacious counterpart to 2025’s earlier release, ‘Inside Joke’. While ‘Inside Joke’, with its tightly packed and dark arrangements, saw the BC collaborative art rock band maintain a frenetic pace, ‘Open Secret’ takes time to exhale: expansive, atmospheric, and effortlessly melodic. The same four minds – Andrew Judah, Common Fires, DL Ranney, and N. Sherman – return to trade instruments, voices, and instincts in constant rotation, blurring authorship and showcasing the band at ease with their genre-fluidity.

Inside Joke | Summer 2025

Nightshades’ second full-length album, ‘Inside Joke’ represents a natural and dramatic evolution for British Columbia’s genre-defying “super-group”. Following last year’s shimmering debut album ‘Reducer’, the four-piece (Andrew Judah, Common Fires, DL Ranney, N. Sherman) pivot into multi-pronged musical exploration: pairing patented instrumental intricacy and harmony with an increased sense of urgency and deeply expressive groove. From the post-punk, barn-burning intensity of ‘Kill the Gods’, ‘Echosound’, and ‘Animal’, to the needle-drop snappiness of ‘Orpheus’, ‘Apology’, and ‘See That Bear’, ‘Inside Joke’ contorts itself into diverse shapes with impossible fluidity and confidence.

Responsible Agent

KEVIN ROSE