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COBOURG, ON, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Celtic folk duo Lo & the High Road have released their sophomore album, ‘Standing Stones,’ a 14-track record that trades some of the whimsy of their debut for something noticeably darker, both musically and lyrically.
Written by Lauren Halász and Colin McMahon, the album reaches into Greek mythology and real historical darkness, with “The Weaver” reimagining Arachne’s myth as a sea shanty, “God of the River” drawing on Book 21 of the Iliad to explore humanity’s relationship with nature, and lead single “Salem” pulling directly from the Salem Witch Trials, pushing further into indie rock territory than anything else in the duo’s catalogue. Still, pockets of light remain: “Canaries” reworks a bright Renaissance lute tune, and the duo’s take on “Wild Mountain Thyme” honours one of the best loved folk melodies from Scotland and Ireland.
The title track began as Colin’s idea for a song about community and platonic love, inspired by the Bronze Age monuments themselves, ancient structures whose original purpose remain unknown even to historians. “I have this idea that the earth remembers, even if people do not,” Halász says, a thought that shapes the song’s bridge and its bonfire gathering, built to feel flung back in time with help from guest musicians Saskia Tomkins on nyckelharpa, a Swedish keyed violin dating back over 600 years, and Steáfán Hannigan on uilleann pipes, Irish flute and whistle.
Based in Cobourg, Ontario, Lo & the High Road has built one of Canadian folk’s most devoted followings, drawing coverage from Cashbox Canada, Tinnitist, Celtic Life International and Record World International across the singles leading up to this release.
Their 2023 debut, ‘Jackalope Tales (& other stories),’ has surpassed 2.8 million Spotify streams, and the band has amassed more than 200,000 social media followers worldwide, many of whom turn to their music for tabletop role playing soundtracks, woodland weddings and Renaissance faires.
A successful 2026 tour carried the duo, joined live by Dave Finneran, Christine Dando and Jordan Baldwin, from Toronto to Halifax, including stops at Port Hope’s Cultivate Festival and Kingston’s Ironwood Fantasy Fair, and ‘Standing Stones’ arrives ready to carry that momentum even further into the far ranging, myth-soaked world they’ve spent two albums building.
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SOURCE Lo & the High Road
