SOCAN is mourning the loss of Dallas Good, singer-songwriter and guitarist in the beloved Toronto roots-rock band The Sadies, who passed away suddenly at the age of 48, on Feb. 17, 2022. At press time, the cause of death had not yet been made public, but was quickly revealed to be natural causes, while under a doctor’s care for a coronary illness discovered the week of his passing.
The Sadies, formed in 1994, consisted of singer-songwriters and guitarists Dallas Good and his brother Travis Good, bassist Sean Dean, and drummer Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian and Larry Good, who are members of longtime Canadian country/bluegrass group The Good Brothers.
The Sadies first burst onto the North American scene 28 years ago as an “alt-country” band, a term applied to artists playing traditional roots music with punk-rock attitude. Although the group fit into that description, their breadth of their skills and musical knowledge went far beyond it, and found them frequently being compared to legendary Canadian group The Band.
Their list of collaborators was musically rich and sonically adventurous, encompassing projects with country-roots chanteuse Neko Case, lascivious R&B singer Andre Williams, post-punk anarchists The Mekons’ Jon Langford, punky blues-rocker Jon Spencer, absurdist pop-rocker Robyn Hitchcock, former X frontman John Doe, the late Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, and even legends like Buffy Sainte-Marie and Neil Young.
Known for musical eclecticism within their roots genre, for their deftly crafted songs, and for their brilliance as a live act, The Sadies were hand-picked to consistently play New Year’s Eve at Toronto’s famed Horseshoe Tavern, in what became a warmly received annual tradition for many years. Their album Darker Circles was short-listed for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize, and in 2012, the video their song “Rumbleseat” won a JUNO Award for Video of the Year. The band released 19 albums, including collaborations with other artists, between 1998 and 2017. The Sadies had most recently performed at the Hillside Inside Festival in Guelph, in February of 2022.
SOCAN extends its deepest condolences to Dallas Good’s family, bandmates, music collaborators, friends, and fans at this difficult time.