Reggae from the Rock

Idlers take much of their inspiration from mid-70’s roots reggae. Staying true to the conscious voice of roots reggae, Idlers music speaks of the human condition, discussing issues of war, capitalism, and social and personal struggle.

Since their first show poster, Jacob Rolfe has created all original artwork for Idlers. Album, and website artwork and all show posters are uniquely created by artist Jacob Rolfe, whose art embodies the image of the band... always fun, colorful, eye catching, and immediately recognized, visualizing the same theme of consciousness found in Idlers music.

Idlers first performed in April 2006. Drawing their inspiration from artists like Burning Spear, The Congos, Desmond Dekker, The Gladiators, Culture, Steel Pulse, The Clash, The English Beat, The Skatalites, Bob Marley, and Peter Tosh, Idlers made the creation of original music a priority. With enough hits-to-be under their belts they spent the summer recording their debut album, Corner. Released in December 2007, fans across Eastern Canada loved the band and Corner. It has been picked up and/or reviewed by CBC Radio, XM Satellite Radio, 102.1 The Edge in Toronto, Ontario, and numerous other stations located throughout Québec and Eastern Canada. Support from fans and industry alike drove Idlers to take home Music NL Alternative Artists of the year and Galaxie Rising Star for the CBC Awards. In February, 2009, they were nominated for the East Coast Music Associations’ World Music Artist of the Year.

Idlers have developed an audience throughout Eastern Canada with regular tours, and just recently expanded their fan base into Western Canada. Idlers have been invited to perform at many major venues and festivals. In 2008 they played the Montreal Reggae Festival, Wreckhouse Jazz & Blues Festival, The St. John’s Folk Festival and The Horseshow Nu Music Nite and showcased at the MusicNL Conference and awards show. This year they have showcased at the ECMA, and COCA National Conferences, and performed the Wreckhouse Jazz & Festival, the Atlantic Jazz Festival, the Calgary International Reggae Festival, and the Winnipeg Ska Festival. Upcoming appearances include a showcase at the Atlantic Film Festival, the Montreal Ska Festival and their debut appearance at The Black Sheep Inn. With the release of their second album, Idlers will expand their touring circuit to include the Northeastern US.

In March 2009, Idlers travelled to Dreamland Studio in West Hurley, New York, to record their second album, Keep Out,. Darryl Jenifer, Bad Brains bassist and Bedouin Soundclash producer, is producing the album. At the engineering helm will be Grammy-award winner Phil Burnett. The album is currently in post-production and expected for release in the fall of 2009.