Apparently in a world of nearly 8 billion people, and the province of BC 6 million people, only 60,000 people are smart. I say that tongue in cheek of course, but 60,000 is the number of monthly listeners to the Zolas. And if you haven’t already given them a listen, you’d understand why I speak so highly of their listeners.
Led by frontman Zachary Gray, the band has found a unique electric indie sound over their 17 years of releasing music. This April, the band wrapped up their “Swooner 10” anniversary tour, a celebration of the 2016 album that propelled them from local favourites to national indie royalty.
The impact of Swooner cannot be overstated. When it dropped, it gave Zola’s fans a shock of just how good the band could get. With four of the ten songs in the album reaching over 1 million streams on Spotify. Tracks like “Swooner” and “Molotov Girls” became instant indie anthems, capturing the specific, frantic energy of being young and broke in a city as expensive as this one. My favourite part of the 10 year anniversary is the slight change to the album colour. Although remaining the same image the set colour changed, much like one of my favourite album/deluxe album covers “House of the Holy” from Led Zeppelin.
What makes The Zolas unique is their commitment to the BC ecosystem. Zachary Gray’s passion for music goes far beyond just song writting. He is also a vocal advocate for the preservation of local venues and has often used the band’s platform to mentor younger artists under the 604 Records umbrella. In 2022 Zachary was outspoken about the return of live acts to music venues during the covid pandemic.
“Vancouver is a place that’s constantly coaxing you to give up music and leave,” Said Zachary.
And you can bet that they don’t worry about involving local Vancouver venues into their own lyrics. In their 2009 Tic Toc Tic (Which was the opener for their first ever album, the lyrics paid an homage to local establishment. “Love don’t live at home, oh no, it slithers in the wild/ I met her at the Biltmore, she was cold and over-styled.”
In their 2026 anniversary shows haven’t just been nostalgia trips, they’ve featured opening sets from rising BC talent, proving the band is more interested in the future of the scene than living in the past.
As they finish this tour, the band is already teasing new material that leans back into the Brit-pop influences found on their 2021 record, Come Ahead. Whether they are headlining a rainy Khatsahlano Street Party or a sold-out Commodore Ballroom, The Zolas remain a constant. They are a reminder that a Vancouver band can stay in BC and remain successful, and not have to sell out to the big corporations in cities like Los Angeles or Toronto.