Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer Last updated October 31, 2025  History Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers met at a jingle recording session in 2006. [ 5]   [ 9]   Hall worked for Citytv  and Rogers was/is a film composer. [ 6]   They discovered they had a mutual affinity for a multitude of musical genres, but mainly folk and blues. The band began as a folk duo and their sound continued to evolve into a bigger, more electric sound. [ 8]  
They have had their songs featured on television shows such as  CSI   ,  NCIS New Orleans   ,  The Good Wife   ,  Blue Bloods   , and the television movie  Lizzie Borden Took an Ax   . [ 10]  
Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer are known for their energetic live shows and commanding stage presence and are popular on the festival circuit. [ 8]   They have played SXSW  2013, [ 11]   the 2013 Winnipeg Folk Festival , [ 12]   the 2013 Ottawa Blues Fest, [ 13]   the Atlin Arts & Music Festival , the Calgary Folk Music Festival , [ 14]   the Vancouver Folk Music Festival , [ 15]   the Festival d'été de Québec , the Copenhagen Jazz Festival , [ 16]   the Queenscliff Music Festival , [ 17]   and the Montreal Jazz Fest . [ 18]   They have shared the stage with Dr. Dog , St. Paul & The Broken Bones , [ 19]   Clap Your Hands Say Yeah , [ 20]   Taj Mahal , XIXA, Tinariwen , Booker T Jones , David Wilcox , Mother Mother , The Sheepdogs , [ 21]   and Serena Ryder .
Awards Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer received a Sirius XM Indie award in 2013 for Blues Artist of the Year. [ 22]   Their third album, Checkered Past  (released on October 27, 2011) [ 23]   was nominated at the Maple Blues Awards  for 'Album of the Year' in 2013. [ 24]   Shawn Hall was also nominated for a Maple Blues Award for Harmonica Player of the Year. [ 25]   In 2014, they were nominated for a Juno  for their album A Real Fine Mess . [ 26]   In 2017, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer won BreakOut Artist of the Year at the West Coast Music Awards [ 27]   and were nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Recording/Producer of the Year & Harmonica Player of the Year for the 2018 Maple Blues Awards . [ 28]  
Discography Albums The Blues Can Kill  (Independent) 2007The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer  (Independent) June 25, 2008Checkered Past  (Independent) Jan 24, 2012 [ 29]   [ 30]  A Real Fine Mess  (Tonic Records) June 17, 2014  [ 31]  Apocalipstick  (Tonic Records) March 24, 2017  [ 32]  Post Apocalipstick  (Tonic Records) April 30, 2021 [ 33]  References  ↑    "A New Brand of Blues with The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer - Vancouver WeeklyA New Brand of Blues with The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer" . Vancouver Weekly. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑   Schneider, Jason (2012-12-13). "Folk and Country 2012: Blues Explosion" . Exclaim.ca . Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "Five can't-miss events in Metro Vancouver this weekend - British Columbia - CBC News" . Cbc.ca . 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑   Brodeur, Jessica (2013-04-10). "Review: Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer at The Biltmore Cabaret |  The Province" . Blogs.theprovince.com . Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  1  2    "HARPOONIST & THE AXE MURDERER |  BeatRoute Magazine" . Beatroute.ca . 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  1  2    "The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer make killer blues music |  Toronto Star" . Thestar.com . 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer take the traditional route on Checkered Past |  Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly" . Straight.com . 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  1  2  3    "Homegrown blues: Chatting with The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer |  CTV Vancouver News" . Bc.ctvnews.ca . 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑   Kendle, John (2013-10-22). "Folk Festival faves return; PTE has a winner in its first show of the season - Canstar" .  Winnipeg Free Press   . Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer Sync Placements" . tunefind.com . TuneFind. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "SXSW 2013 Announces Second Round..."  mxdwn.com . MXDWM.com. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "Past Performers" . winnipegfolkfestival.ca . Winnipeg Folk Festival. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest Ottawa 2013" . concertarchives.org . Concert Archives. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "Marianne (20,000 Acres of Moonlight) — The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer: Folk in the Field" . youtube.com . Calgary Folk Fest, YouTube. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer (British Columbia)" . thefestival.bc.ca . Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "THE HARPOONIST & THE AXE MURDERER ANNOUNCE SUMMER TOUR DATES" . spillmagazine.com . The Spill Magazine. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "...at Queensliff" . setlist.fm . SetList. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑    "The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer Montreal Jazz Festival" . youtube.com . YouTube. Retrieved 6 November  2021 .  ↑   Hayhurst, John. "St. Paul & The Broken Bones + The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer @ The Irish Centre, Leeds – 31st January 2017" . gigjunkies.com . Gig Junkies. Retrieved 7 November  2021 .  ↑    "The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer Share..."  killbeatmusic.com . Killbeat Music. Retrieved 7 November  2021 .  ↑    "TD Kitchener Blues Festival Kick-Off Concert..."  ticketscene.ca . Ticketscene. Retrieved 7 November  2021 .  ↑    "Nominees/Winners |  INDIES" . Indies.ca . 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "Checkered Past: The Harpoonist and The Axe Murder - Album Review - Vancouver WeeklyCheckered Past: The Harpoonist and The Axe Murder – Album Review" . Vancouver Weekly. 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "CBC Music - Free Streaming Radio, Videos, Songs, Concerts & Playlists" . March 29, 2014. Archived from the original  on March 29, 2014.  ↑   Mike Devlin (2015-03-03). "Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers are a perfect musical fit" . Timescolonist.com . Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "Nominees |  The JUNO Awards" . Junoawards.ca . Retrieved 2016-02-10  .  ↑    "Music Awards" . Breakoutwest.ca . Archived from the original  on January 15, 2025. Retrieved January 10,  2020 .  ↑    "Maple Blues Awards" . Mapleblues.ca . Retrieved January 10,  2020 .  ↑    "The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer: Checkered Past Review" . bluesrockreview.com . Blues Rock Review. Retrieved 7 November  2021 .  ↑    "Checkered Past - The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer - New Release review" . bmansbluesreport.com . BMan's Blues Report. Retrieved 7 November  2021 .  ↑   Adams, Gregory (2014-05-08). "The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer Prep 'A Real Fine Mess' . Exclaim.ca . Retrieved 2015-03-10  .  ↑    "Apocalipstick, by The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer" . Harpoonistaxemurderer.bandcamp.com . Retrieved January 10,  2020 .  ↑    "The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer share new LP..."  volatileweekly.com . Volatile Weekly. Retrieved 7 November  2021 . 
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