What Surf Hat calls “cold-water surf rock” is a specific flavor of music — guitar shimmer from the Allah-Las end of the dial, loose swagger borrowed from The Growlers, and enough Talking Heads quirkiness to keep you slightly off-balance. The Squamish, BC band plays Asbury Hall at Babeville on Sunday, October 4, stopping in Buffalo midway through a 28-date fall tour stretching from Ottawa to the US East Coast and back to their hometown in British Columbia.
About the Show
Surf Hat came together in 2022 from what the band calls “a joke between friends on a beach in Tofino,” a pact between singer/guitarist Jon Allan and drummer Evan Camm to start something new without overthinking it. Both brought outside geography to the project: Allan is from Newfoundland, Camm from Ottawa, and that East Coast sensibility threads through the Pacific coast sound the band has built in Squamish. In four years they’ve released three albums and reached 30 million combined streams and views (the track “Bowling Alley Thug” alone has cleared 7 million Spotify streams). Earlier this year they completed a supporting run with The Sheepdogs that introduced them to the largest crowds of their career.
Their third record, Modern World Blues, arrived in November 2025. The band describes it as expanding their palette while keeping “the loose, unhurried spirit the band started with.” Jon Allan has said the band is “constantly making things that sound a little bit different than what we did before, because it’s exciting.” That restlessness is audible across the discography. Before this tour launched, Surf Hat recorded a session for Audiotree Live, worth tracking down for a preview of what Sunday will sound like. The Buffalo date falls before the heavier US stretch: Columbus, DC’s 9:30 Club, Raleigh, Philly, Asbury Park, and Boston are still ahead of them. This is a band with momentum and a lot of road left to run.
Venue & Logistics
Asbury Hall at Babeville is at 341 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, part of the western New York concert circuit. The historic music hall has doors at 7 p.m. and show time at 8 p.m. The show is general admission standing. If you want to be near the front when Surf Hat takes the stage, plan to arrive closer to doors.
Tickets
Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 day of show, general admission standing. Presented by DSP Shows. Buy tickets