Surf Hat at The Owl With Skinny Dyck

The Owl proudly presents… Surf Hat with very special guest Skinny Dyck!

What started as a joke between friends on a beach in Tofino has gradually snowballed into something real. In 2022, a loose pact was made: start something new, don’t overthink it, and write catchy songs that feel relatable and genuine.  

Based in the mountain town of Squamish, British Columbia, Surf Hat have been crafting their own version of cold-water surf rock — beach music written somewhere between the ocean and the mountains. Their sound floats somewhere between breezy shimmer of Allah-Las, the loose swagger of The Growlers, and the off-kilter quirkiness of Talking Heads.

The band has quickly built momentum the old-fashioned way: writing constantly and taking their music on the road. Surf Hat have released three full-length albums, including Modern World Blues released in November 2025, a record that expands their sound without losing the loose, unhurried spirit the band started with.

Following their most recent release, Surf Hat have spent the year circling the globe on sold out headline tours across Canada, the United States, and Australia, convincingly turning casual listeners into lifelong fans.

Resist the urge to laugh at Skinny Dyck – the alias of western Canadian artist Ryan Dyck (or don’t, that’s kind of the idea).  Marinating in the success of his off-brand twang is a new batch of Easygoing material that sees the celebrated songwriter stepping further away from a genre defined by its traditions.  A sort of Mac Demarco meets Merle Haggard mishmash, like a second mezcal negroni before dinner.  Dyck has steadily “carved out a space that resists easy categorization” (Tinnitist) with a project where traditional signifiers stand with left-field production choices and a restless sense of curiosity.  Following steady Canadian and European touring – with recent stops at Calgary Folk Festival, Reeperbahn, the Great Escape to name a few – Easygoing sees Dyck moving a few steps further away from the country music environs he once wholly inhabited, but fear not, twang fans: rather than replacing that sound wholesale, he and his studio collaborators have instead created their own hybrid approaches, “distilling the spirit of wide-cut country” (Exclaim!) with a willingness to stand as a singular artist in a style that often rewards similarity.