A Decade in the Making: The Zolas Celebrate Swooner at Edmonton’s Starlite Room
Written by: Emily Armfelt
Like many teenagers, I feared the days I forgot my headphones at home, because that meant I would be at the mercy of my parents’ music choices on the drive to school.
A frosty morning in 2016 happened to be one of these days, however I was lucky enough that my mom chose to tune into Sonic 102.9, a local alternative radio station. While I was fighting to keep my eyes open, the punchy beat of a particular indie pop song caught my attention, and I made sure to catch the radio host saying, “...and that was Swooner by The Zolas,” as the synths faded out. From that moment on I was hooked, and eagerly awaited the chance to hear my new favourite song live, only to have my heart crushed by the 18+ notice on the venue.
The Zolas, a Vancouver based indie rock band, are no stranger to Edmonton’s Starlite Room, having chosen to play at the iconic underground live music venue while touring their new album Swooner, back in 2017. It was only fitting that on October 14, 2026, a little over a decade after the album’s release, the band returned to The Starlite Room for the Swooner Anniversary Tour, and I, now over the age of 18, finally got to attend.
The night began with Ten02, an alternative rock group from Red Deer, Alberta, who warmed up the room figuratively and literally, as more bodies stepped out of the brisk autumn air and onto the venue’s old hardwood floors. From the upbeat indie rock melodies of songs like “Francais” to the impressive guitar riffs of “Circles (Around the Truth)” Ten02 delivered a set that was sure to get heads bopping. Their performance was so solid that later on in the evening The Zolas frontman Zach Gray joked that, had he known Ten02 was so good, he might not have booked them. After all, as Gray lightheartedly pointed out, in showbiz, you’re supposed to book openers who make you look good, not the other way around.
I believe Gray was simply downplaying his own group’s talent, as there is no shortage of amazing indie bands in Canada, and The Zolas proved that they belong on that list. Following a brief 25 minute changeover, the band members, with the exception of Gray, found their places on stage as the familiar, synth-heavy intro to Molotov Girls, the first single on Swooner, flooded the speakers. After just enough of a delay to build suspense, Gray bounded onto the stage and made his way to the front, grabbing the microphone just in time for the vocals to begin.
The band played through all of the songs on Swooner in their original album order, with the exception of a “CV Dazzle” interlude between “Invisible” and “Frieda on the Mountain.” It was an artistic choice that had seamless transitions between each song, and worked to make the pieces sound like one continuous experience, rather than a collection of tracks. Another change was the addition of their 2012 hit “Ancient Mars” between “This Changes Everything” and “Why do I Wait (When I Know You’ve Got a Lover)”, an intentional choice that utilized the song’s melancholy mood to complement the slower pace of the set at this point in the evening.
After completing Swooner The Zolas then went on to play some crowd favourites including “Too Cool”, a single off of their debut album Tic Toc Tic (2009). Gray prefaced this choice by mentioning that the theatrical cabaret style keys in this song could only be done justice by “Original Tom,” a founding member and beloved pianist who left the group following their original Swooner tour. Keeping with the keys theme the band followed up with another 2012 track “Strange Girl”, whose crunchy guitar tone led beautifully into their recent single “Black Gatorade”, a track that was only released around a week prior to this concert. With the energy high and the floor of The Starlite swaying under the bouncing crowd, it only made sense for The Zolas to follow up with “Energy Czar,” a standout from their 2021 album Come Back To Life.
Rather than ending the show on a high-energy note, Gray slows down the vibe, explaining that he doesn’t care for the usual encore routine, and prefers to end their concerts in his own unique way. Upon grabbing the microphone stand, Gray hopped off stage and made his way through the sea of bodies to set up in the middle of the pit. He then asked the venue to turn off the lights and invited fans to use their phone flashlights instead.
The result was a wonderfully intimate opportunity to sing the band’s final song “Escape Artist,” a nostalgic hit that feels like the closing credits to a movie. The setting made this moment all the more fitting, as The Starlite Room was originally used as a citadel or place of worship in the 1920s. The scene became even more cinematic when Gray accidentally disconnected his microphone, leaving the crowd to fill the silence by singing the first chorus in his place. Rather than interrupting the performance, the mishap became one of the evening’s most memorable moments, transforming the song into a shared experience between the band and its audience.
For me, seeing The Zolas live was about more than just hearing a favourite album performed from beginning to end. It was the culmination of a decade-long wait that began on a frosty morning in the back seat of my mom’s car. From discovering “Swooner” on the radio to finally singing along with the band in the very venue I once was too young to enter, the evening felt like a full-circle moment. The anniversary tour offered longtime fans a chance to revisit a defining album while reminding everyone in the room that, even after a decade, great music has a way of bringing people back together.
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