The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of Rolling Stone and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Juno Awards. Frontman Ewan Currie, the band's primary songwriter, has described the band's guitar-driven blues-rock style as "pure, simple, good-time music"; he's said that the band aims to land in the sweet spot in between Led Zeppelin and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Currie has further credited Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, and The Allman Brothers Band as influences on the band's style. One critic has praised the band's "infectiously catchy, soulful, retro sound with beautiful harmonies and a pinch of southern rock." The Sheepdogs are on the road frequently between recordings. They have headlined tours across Canada and the United States, the United Kingdom, Eastern and Western Europe, and Australia, and have performed at a number of large festivals including South by Southwest, Coachella, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. History Early history and formation: The Breaks EP, Trying to Grow, The Big Stand, Learn & Burn (2004 – 2010) The band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the summer of 2004, while Ewan Currie, Ryan Gullen, and Sam Corbett were all studying at the University of Saskatchewan. Corbett had an old bass guitar and a gift certificate to a local music store, so they rented a drum kit and started playing in Corbett's parents' basement with Corbett on drums, Gullen playing the bass, and Currie playing a recently purchased electric guitar. The band began with a repertoire of 1970s blues-rock songs as well as newer material, including covers of the early Black Keys and Kings of Leon, while also writing their own music. Currie, Gullen, and Corbett called their trio The Breaks and released an EP in 2006. In the summer of 2006, Currie, Gullen, and Corbett met Leot Hanson, who was playing acoustic guitar at a party. Hanson was playing a Kings of Leon song from Youth & Young Manhood, and the trio joined in. The next day, Hanson joined the band and they changed their name to The Sheepdogs. In 2006, The Sheepdogs independently released their first album Trying to Grow, which they recorded at Cosmic Pad Studios in Saskatoon. Two years later, after almost constant touring, The Sheepdogs returned to Cosmic Pad Studios to record their second