Arden Van Fleet

Girlfriends for a Day is out today 🤍🌈 I was very lucky as a first-timer to be supported by a team of such talented, generous, and patient people. The alpha and omega of the project was @glamseason2 , who not only produced, engineered, and mixed the record AND played beautiful guitar all over it but brought so many other key players into the fold: @katmac.mclevey , @funkydiabetic84 , @steviebaby89 , and @no0o0o0omi , who came up with such sensitive, memorable parts on the spot; @mmmerival , whose harmonies made the record gleam; and @dreamlands_mastering , who glued these ten distinct tracks into a coherent whole. Thanks too to @gayhollywood for being my girlfriend for a day on the cover, @sarah.elise.bauman for capturing this moment of ambivalent tenderness, @swtbbt for saying, actually, THIS is what the cover should look like, and @imogenjlister for the final touches that made it perfect. Many more thanks and detailed credits in the liner notes on Bandcamp ❤️ Link in bio to stream or purchase 💿 This record was written by me Produced, engineered and mixed by Sam Gleason Mastered by Heather Kirby (Dreamlands Mastering) and performed by: Arden Van Fleet - lead vocals, rhythm guitar Anna Horvath - backing vocals Sam Gleason - lead guitar Steven Foster - drums, percussion, backing vocals Kat McLevey - bass guitar, backing vocals Kelsey McNulty - keyboards, backing vocals Naomi McCarroll-Butler - saxophone, clarinet 📸 1 - Sarah, 2, 3, 5 - me, 4 - Sam, 6 - Carmen I can’t tag the cats but their names are Tyga and Bodhi 🐈🐈‍⬛ . . . . . #singersongwriter #songwriter #toronto #torontomusic #newmusic #indiemusic #indieartist #queermusic #queerart #transart #queer #wlw #lesbian #girlfriends

Okay, folks. This is the big one. Girlfriends for a Day came out at the end of November, when we were settling in to hibernate for what turned out to be a tough winter. Now that we’re all coming out of our burrows, I want to invite you to come celebrate the record with me and some of my oldest bestest friends 🤗 I’m delighted to have literal oldest friend and figurative jewel among Toronto songwriters @gayhollywood opening the show. Carmen is the person who first got me interested in playing guitar when we were tiny tots, my gold standard as a writer and performer ever since I can remember, and very likely the person who first introduced me to you (or your friend, or your friend’s friend). It’s a special privilege and pleasure to share this milestone with them. It’s fitting too that the musicians joining me onstage are all among the very first people I met through Carm when I moved back to Toronto ten years ago to get this music thing started. @mmmerival , @steviebaby89 , and @glamseason2 will reprise their fabulous parts from the record; with @bjjharney in the fold as well, I’m going to be living out my wildest Holy Oak fantasies (iykyk). I feel lucky to call these musicians I’ve admired for so long my friends, and I’m looking forward very much to playing with them for you. Right—you! You’ll be there too, right? Here are the details: Tuesday, May 26 at @theburdockmusichall Doors 7:30, music at 8 Tickets $15 adv/$20 door (link in bio) Hope to see you there! Poster design by @katja.debourbon Photo by @sarah.elise.bauman

𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽 ➞ Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out last Friday! A very special thanks to @kayla.hritzuk , @nardosalmaz , @ardenvanfleet , @ayannaseymour (plus @webberlane and @hanmyk ) for performing. All of you have such gorgeous voices and are top tier storytellers. As per always, thank you @jujukell and @thebrocktonhaunt for hosting us, @jeremylegault.music for making sure the equipment did the artists justice and @katja.debourbon for capturing the show. Announcing the next date and line up tomorrow at 12!!! - #torontoevents #torontopride #torontomusicscene #torontocoffee #torontomusic

Happy belated Coming of Spring/TDOV/Passover, early Easter, or whatever you celebrate! It feels good to be coming out of hibernation, dunnit 🌱 I’m starting off the season with a little acoustic set next Friday at a very cool series that @itsamypinkus has been running for the last few months. If you’ve been missing being in a room with a ton of gays (I know I have), this is a good one. You might even get early notice of when my album release show is happening in May 👀 Fri April 10 Doors 7:30 Brockton Haunt Tix $20 in bio Hope to see you there!

IT’S SHOW TIME! I’ll hosting another Unplugged at @thebrocktonhaunt to showcase some of the incredible queer talent we have in Toronto. 𝘜𝘯𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 is an intimate, acoustic concert featuring performances from four local artists. Come listen to the stories behind the lyrics, the experiences of being queer, and celebrate our local music scene. Friday, April 10th $20/ticket Doors at 7:30pm Show at 8:00pm 18+ Featuring: @ardenvanfleet @ayannaseymour @kayla.hritzuk @nardosalmaz Tickets in the bio! - #torontoevents #torontomusic #torontopride #torontocoffee

I never did get around to making a Year in Review post last December, but I’m glad I waited, because some things happened in January that summed up the previous year perfectly for me. As many of you know—hopefully most of you, if I posted here enough—I put out my first full-length album, Girlfriends for a Day, last November. Last month, the lead single was chosen as one of @johnathan_whitford ’s top 30 songs of 2025 out of a pool of over 1600 songs his Coasting program played last year. In the following weeks, songs from the record were played on Canadian radio stations 14 times, including a run from Jan 6th to 15th when at least one song was played every day for ten days in a row, from BC all the way to New Brunswick. For the debut album of an unknown artist with virtually zero promotion, which I was really not sure would reach anyone, all of this is much more than I expected and extremely touching. Thank you to all the programmers at @cfuz92.9 @cilu102.7 @radiowestern @local107.3fm and @smithers_community_radio !! At just around the same time, the orchid I had been nurturing all of last year finally started to flower—about as on-the-nose a metaphor as it gets. Like a lot of us, I think, I often struggle to feel like a Real Artist during the times when I’m not putting something in front of an audience, so it’s helpful to be reminded that the long periods when it looks like nothing’s happening are part of Doing The Thing, too. May all the seeds slumbering this winter bear fruit in due time! P.S.—if you haven’t bought a copy of the album yet and you’d like to, this Friday, Feb 6, is Bandcamp Friday, so if you purchase it during that day, all of your spend will go directly to me rather than to the middleman/site. Link in bio~ P.PS—I *am* planning a release show for this spring, so keep an eye out for that!

Just when you thought the year held no more surprises...here’s one last show before the curtain falls! @gayhollywood put together this sweet lineup of hometown heroes including old pals @steviebaby89 & @anh.t.phung and new pals @itsamypinkus & @turkishfufu + @iamosix . I’ll be playing songs from the new record and maybe some brand new stuff—a new song? new cover? Come see! What’s In The Box? at @drakeunderground Dec 26 (this Friday!) Doors @ 7 I’m on @ 8:15 Tix $5 at the door Full set times at link in bio

I told a colleague this week that I’d put out an album last Friday, and as soon as he pulled it up on his phone, he exclaimed, “Great photo!” So let’s give it up again for the Girlfriends for a Day cover team: @sarah.elise.bauman who shot it @gayhollywood who graced it @swtbbt who cropped it @imogenjlister who tweaked it Today is Bandcamp Friday, so if you choose today to adorn your phone/media player with this beautiful image, your whole purchase will go to the artist rather than to Bandcamp! If you’ve been enjoying the record, I hope you’ll consider it 💿💕 link in bio bien sûr . . . . . #singersongwriter #songwriter #toronto #torontomusic #newmusic #indiemusic #indieartist #queermusic #queerart #transart #queer #wlw #lesbian #girlfriends #ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ

@ardenvanfleet ’s family tree boasts some extraordinary creative talents: her paternal grandmother, Jo Van Fleet, won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for East of Eden (1955). Her paternal grandfather, William Bales, danced with Martha Graham, while her maternal grandfather Lee Rogow wrote reviews of theatrical performances in New York City. Her two parents, both Latin teachers, carried a love of singing in their hearts, playing CBC Radio 2 at home all day, sharing a profound love of history, language and music with their daughter. It’s a surprise to no one, then, that Arden has pursued a lifetime of musical devotion and composition. Early interest in Gilbert & Sullivan’s lyricism led her eventually to a lifelong obsession with the Beatles. The top student in her high school class, Arden remained fascinated by pop and rock music, forming an indie band in high school, eventually pursuing a Latin degree with music courses at Yale, despite wondering if studying music was like “eating dessert for dinner.” After a few years in New York City, Arden returned to Toronto to pour herself into her music, recently completing her first album “Girlfriends for a Day,” an album that includes both upbeat pop and sadder, more reflective songs tinged with wryness and self-awareness. The importance she places on the words of her songs reflects the philosophies of her childhood home. “Art distills experience. Engaging with those distillations allows us to learn about our lives.” ‘Girlfriends for a Day’ will be available for streaming on all major services and purchase on Friday, November 28 .

“Girlfriends for a Day” comes out this Friday 🤍 ps—I have a mailing list form in my Linktree now if you want to skip the algorithm and make sure you see updates 💌 link in bio 📷 @sarah.elise.bauman

I mused last week that I might make a playlist of inspirations for the composition and arrangement of “Someone to Change the Sheets For”, and enough of you expressed an urgent desire for it that I’ve gone ahead and done so 🎶 It’s a somewhat bonkers mix of artists, but I think it flows pretty well, and it’ll certainly give you a good insight into my musical DNA. I tried very hard but could not find a spot in it for this track, so please know that Malcolm Young’s opening 30 seconds of rhythm guitar here will be found branded on my brain stem when I die 👩🏻‍🎤 Links to Spotify and YT versions in bio 🎸

“Someone to Change the Sheets For” has been out for one whole week! this is my face of quietly overwhelmed gratitude 😌 Thank you so much to everyone who’s listened to the song, bought it on Bandcamp, or shared it with their friends/extended family/choir mates/polycule 🫂 the more the merrier before the album drops in *two weeks* (!) link in bio if you haven’t listened yet and you wanna 📷 @sarah.elise.bauman