Cobourg, Ontario duo Lo & the High Road has released their sophomore album, “Standing Stones,” a 14-track collection written by Lauren Halász and Colin McMahon. The band describes the record as a darker turn from their 2023 debut, drawing on Greek mythology, the Salem Witch Trials and historical themes, while incorporating instruments including nyckelharpa, uilleann pipes, Irish flute, tin whistle and electric guitar alongside their usual folk arrangements.
The album’s physical pressing was funded through a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, with backers credited in the CD and vinyl insert. Guest contributors include multi-instrumentalist Saskia Tomkins, piper Steáfán Hannigan, backing vocalist Christine Dando and violinist Jordan Baldwin. Tracks include a reworking of a Renaissance lute tune on “Canaries,” a cover of “Wild Mountain Thyme,” and “Salem,” which the band says pushes further into indie rock territory than any of their previous material.
According to the announcement, the duo’s 2023 debut, “Jackalope Tales (& Other Stories),” has surpassed 2.8 million Spotify streams, and the band has built a social media following of more than 200,000. The group toured from Toronto to Halifax in 2026, including stops at Kingston’s Ironwood Fantasy Fair and Port Hope’s Cultivate Festival, backed live by Dave Finneran, Christine Dando and Jordan Baldwin.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.