Next Stop Otago!
A Musical Collective • Art-Rock • Edmonton, Alberta
Welcome
Ryan Podlubny has been evoking emotional and physical landscapes as Next Stop Otago! since 2016. This Edmonton-based art-rock collective (originally from Christchurch, New Zealand) is rooted in storytelling and lush, cinematic arrangements – exploring both personal vulnerability and wider political issues through an emotionally captivating sound that will make your heart ache, even while you’re humming the hooks days afterward.
Podlubny’s honest approach to vocals has been compared to Tom Petty and is forever complemented by the voices of the horn section singing their wordless, expressive backups. With as many as eight people on stage at any given time, Next Stop Otago!’s sound is often orchestral and expansive with the anthemic choruses of a three-guitar combo joined by synths and organs; soaring brass; and the driving rhythms of Motown. But while their number opens up a range of variety and textures, performances leave plenty of space for quiet, intimate moments that touch the heart.
Together, NSO!’s signature sound blends indie-rock, folk-country, and 90s saxophone dreamsounds into a sonically expansive, transformative experience.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Shows
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Airtight Festival Wrap Party — 8:00 PM
The Starlite Room – Temple • Edmonton, AB
Tickets / event details ↗ -
Winterruption YEG — 8:30 PM
Rocky Mountain Icehouse • Edmonton, AB
Tickets ↗ | Event details ↗
Music
★ FEATURED TRACK ★
Untitled
Next Stop Otago!
♫ SHOW LYRICS
A pink blanket on the river valley… the city’s barely alive and begging for coffee. Roll over, touch your eyes to start the day. It’s time to get outta here; a shift too goddamned long, then maybe a cheap beer. We’ll sit by the fire light outside.
River’s winding with downtown traffic; banks lined with ties and no-knives signs. Air is heavy with the scent of renoviction. These boots carry rain all day; sun is shining, just the same. One-way holes reflecting my conviction.
Times are tough and they just keep on getting tougher, the Elm that cover me expect rougher. Every leaf, falling hard for me. Days grow shorter and geese fly south, and teeth learn to chatter with morning, while the road, staring blankly, is heaving.
Split by glass, and sick from the burning gas. Days feel harder still when things get colder. These boots carry pain all day; the road’s frozen, just the same. I miss my wife – the things I should have told her.
Footsteps line up by the side of the road, and snake through the snow to try and dull the cold. Twelve steps to nothing but feelin’ more alone. Each step heavy by the side of the road, dragging through the snow toward the city’s glow. Dying each day in the tent that we called home…
Listen / stream / watch:
Spotify and Apple Music links coming soon.
Merch
Merch store link coming soon.
Bandcamp merch works great if you want music + merch in one place.
Contact / Links
General / Booking / Press: nextstopotago@gmail.com
Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
More links (Spotify / Apple Music / merch) will be added here as they’re ready.