Toronto Loves Greta Van Fleet
• Here’s a little story — in April of 2017, Dale Robertson of Universal Music Canada dropped by the office of Doug Elliott, PD of Durham Radio Mainstream Rock CKGE (94.9 The Rock)/Toronto for their weekly music meeting. During their discussion, Robertson brought up this video of these four kids jamming out on the front steps of City Hall in their hometown of Frankenmuth, MI. Stunned by the performance, Elliott wanted the mastered music right away and Robertson convinced his U.S. counterparts at Republic Records to send off a copy of “Highway Tune” right away.
The song was an instant add on 94.9 The Rock, and received genuine old school response as the phones lit up, and the emails and social media went thru the roof. This quickly turned into a national frenzy on both sides of the border as Greta Van Fleet charted two No. 1 songs in their first run with “Highway Tune” and “Safari Song” off their debut EP, Black Smoke Rising. The band also committed to Elliott and The Rock that they would play a private show for the station.
That was back in May 2017 — flash forward to Thursday, July 5, 2018 — with two No. 1 hits and the longest running No. 1 song on the rock radio charts in Canada, Greta Van Fleet made good on their promise to 94.9 The Rock and brought the entourage to Toronto to play a private club show for 300 listeners at the Velvet Underground. Greta Van Fleet’s invasion of Toronto continued with two more sold-out shows over the weekend. As Elliott told RAMP, “It’s always a special treat to be a small part of the success of something so special.”
Pictured, after the Rock’s private show, (l-r): Josh Kiszka (lead vocals), Danny Wagner (drums), Doug Elliott, Jake Kiszka (lead guitar) and Sam Kiszka (bass, keyboards).
