Hawk Nelson

Blending the drive of pop-punk with the polish of adult-oriented pop and rock, Hawk Nelson have long channeled their Christian convictions through both their recordings and the platform those recordings provided. The quartet came together in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, during 2002. Jason Dunn on vocals, Davin Clark on guitar, and Matt Paige on drums had previously performed as SWISH, whose 2000 release was titled Riding Around the Park. At the same time, Daniel Biro fronted the Barrie, Ontario, outfit Cheese Monkeys from Planet Nine. Biro’s move to Peterborough coincided with Dunn, Clark, and Paige’s desire to revamp their lineup and direction; he joined on bass, and after a short spell under the name Reason Being the group settled on Hawk Nelson.

Their debut album, Saturday Rock Action, appeared in 2003. While touring Ontario behind the record, the band caught the ear of Thousand Foot Krutch’s Trevor McNevan, who urged Tooth and Nail Records to sign them. The Christian label heeded the suggestion, and Letters to the President reached stores in 2004, with McNevan sharing songwriting duties. Clark departed that same year; Jonathan Steingard stepped in as guitarist. Growing visibility in Christian circles soon extended to mainstream outlets: the band portrayed the Who on American Dreams, placed two songs on the Yours, Mine, and Ours soundtrack, and made a brief on-screen appearance in the film. Paige exited in 2005; Gideon Courtney filled the drum chair temporarily before Aaron “Skwid” Tosti took over late in the year and performed on the third album, Smile, It’s the End of the World, released in 2006. The set climbed to number 75 on the Billboard Top 200, earned a Gospel Music Association Dove Award nomination for Best Rock Album, and received the Canadian GMA Covenant Award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year. Festival dates across North America followed, along with contributions to the Charlotte’s Web soundtrack.

Tosti left in 2007 to explore other projects, and Justin Benner became the new drummer. Hawk Nelson Is My Friend arrived in 2008; seeking a more mature sound, the band switched to BEC Recordings, the sibling imprint of Tooth and Nail. The album won a Grammy for Best Recording Package. An EP of covers issued the same year featured a version of the Simple Minds hit “Don't You (Forget About Me)” later used in a JC Penney television campaign. Live Life Loud followed in 2009, incorporating writing input from TobyMac, Chris Stevens, Trevor McNevan, and Matthew Gerrard. Crazy Love, issued in 2011, returned to the high-energy style of Letters to the President and marked Dunn’s final recording with the group before he departed for solo work. Steingard moved to lead vocals, and in 2013 guitarist Micah Kuiper joined, restoring the lineup to a quartet. The band also signed with Fair Trade Services; their first project for the label, Made, included the track “Words,” which featured guest vocals from Bart Millard of MercyMe and became a substantial Christian-radio success. Diamonds appeared in 2015, introducing drummer David Niacaris and containing the song “Just Getting Started,” which aired in promotional spots for that season of American Idol. The eighth studio album, Miracles, surfaced in April 2018, led by the single “He Still Does (Miracles).”