Stomp Records Announce 30th Anniversary Celebrations

Thirty years ago, Stomp Records kicked off in Montreal with a simple mission: to give Canada’s independent Punk and Ska bands a home, a voice, and a way to reach beyond their own city limits. It was an ambitious idea for a couple of musicians with no business plan and even less money, a plan that should’ve crashed harder than a tour van on bald tires in a prairie blizzard. Instead, it helped ignite a national movement and built one of Canada’s longest-running and most influential independent labels.

From day one, Stomp Records wasn’t just releasing records, it was building culture. In the pre-internet era, Canadian Punk and Ska scenes were thriving in isolation, each city a bubble. Stomp Records burst those bubbles, uniting bands from coast to coast, creating touring circuits, and turning hometown heroes into cross-country road warriors. Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, Stomp Records helped define the next wave of Canadian Punk and Ska, not by chasing trends but by championing artists with grit, conviction, and personality.

They supported small scenes through compilation series and got in the van with bands, literally and figuratively, helping develop careers from the bar circuit to international festival stages. As trends shifted and the music industry free-fell into the Napster era, most indie labels folded. Stomp Records didn’t. They embraced digital early, built a full-service ecosystem of booking, management, and publicity, and widened their sonic scope to reflect the beautifully messy realities of underground music. If it had guts and a pulse of rebellion, Stomp Records gave it a home.

That fearless curation brought countless Canadian subcultural staples into the world who continue to fill rooms and make noise worldwide. It has never been a smooth ride. Along the way there have been industry collapses, floods, robberies, broken bones, car jackings, even literal Nazi attacks. Somehow, through all of that, a few Juno nominations, a win, and accidental gold and platinum plaques still ended up on their walls and Stomp Records marches onwards into their fourth decade.

Three decades in, the mission hasn’t changed: artists first, community always, and a stubborn refusal to water anything down. To celebrate surviving 30 wild years, and because they love any excuse for a loud night out, Stomp Records are celebrating with a nationwide run of absolute blowout shows. A toast to every late night drive, every curb side gear load, every sweaty pit, and every fan who ever found belonging in the chaos.

“This label is built on community, creativity, and helping each other get our shot. We’re still here because the fans show up, the bands work their asses off, and we love every minute of doing this. The odds were stacked against us from day one. Luckily Stomp Records didn’t, and still doesn’t, give one single flying fuck about the odds.”

You can purchase tickets for the Stomp Records 30th Anniversary Shows here and the label’s website can be found here