Biography: City and Colour

A simple man with a simple approach — Juno Award-winning Dallas Green, more commonly known as City and Colour, balances his Gibson Casino alter ego with the paired down resonance of his 1989 vintage Martin 0017 acoustic.

Since 2005, Green has been stretching wheels of his solo career from St. Catharines, Ontario Canada to cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, Berlin, Paris and every stop in between. With three full length studio albums, three studio EP’s, and roughly six live albums, City and Colour’s lush melodies have infected radio stations, elevators and grocery store intercoms internationally, providing an honest success story of a humble tattooed post-hardcore rocker with nothing more than his guitar, a few close friends and, of course, his Warby Parker glasses.

Dallas Green was born on September 29, 1980, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. He began writing songs at age 14 with a small portion of the City and Colour collection written by age 18. Though introduced as a singer-songwriter for the band Helicon Blue, Green recorded his first recognized demo Simple Songs in 2000. In 2001 he joined post-hardcore group Alexisonfire with whom he gained his soulful reputation, using his bluesy vocals to cut through the band’s grating and aggressive nature.

By 2005, City and Colour’s debut full-length Sometimes (Dine Alone Records) was released, unveiling the unique rawness of Green’s style that hadn’t been previously captured in Alexisonfire. The tender austerity of the album bypasses the front of Green’s appearance and tenacious individuality. Green’s hit “Comin’ Home” is a popular tune among devout C&C fans with its twangy sincerity. Sometimes embodies the sadness which Green seeks out in music he tends to escape to. In 2009, the album was re-released to the U.S. for the first time in physical form.

Bring Me Your Love (Dine Alone Records/Vagrant), released in February 2008, introduced an abundance of instruments as well as a series of collaborations that hadn’t been used in his previous tracks. A more rounded and definitive album for Green, Bring Me Your Love has been compared to Neil Young’s Harvest. The increased momentum after the release of the album earned Green a spot on his first solo national tour, supporting Tegan and Sara as well as Girl in a Coma, followed by a headlining tour in January 2009. Singles from Bring Me Your Love include “Waiting…”, “Sleeping Sickness,” and “The Girl.”

2010 was an active year for City and Colour—a U.S. headlining tour promoting Bring Me Your Love, a UK tour in June 2010 accompanying Pink and Butch Walker, and a handful of singles including “Live Forever” featuring Shad and “At the Bird’s Foot”, a song found on the Gasoline Rainbows benefit compilation for the Gulf oil spill. Green’s velocity led to the writing of several songs to be demoed and soon released on his 2011 album Little Hell (Dine Alone Records). The versatility of the now collective City and Colour (ft. Daniel Romano and Spencer Burton of Attack in Black) showcases the versatility of Green’s writing techniques in songs such as “Fragile Bird” (#1 on the Canadian rock/alternative chart) and the ever so Nashville “Natural Disaster.” After repeated success of C&C’s studio endeavors and crowd reaction out on tour, it was announced on August 5, 2011 that Alexisonfire members had parted ways due to Green’s decision to focus on his solo career.

With numerous awards and nominations, City and Colour will continue to grow and share the intimate side of a rugged rocker. It was recently announced on the Official City and Colour Website that a UK tour is scheduled for October followed by a headlining U.S. tour in support of Little Hell in November.