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Chief State Releases Debut Full-Length Album, "Waiting For Your Colours"

Published by New Jersey Stage

originally published: 07/03/2022

Vancouver, BC pop-punks Chief State have released their debut full-length 'Waiting For Your Colours.' The follow-up to the band's 2021 stand-alone single "Metaphors" and 2020 breakthrough EP 'Tough Love,' 'Waiting For Your Colours' is the culmination of 5 years of relentless hustle (not to mention a boatload of blood, sweat, and tears).

The journey to get here began with frontman Fraser Simpson, who at an impasse in his life, decided on a whim to leave his home in the UK for Japan in 2014 and eventually move to North America to form a band via Craigslist, where he connected with Nik Pang, Chloe Kavanagh, Justin Pham and Joseph Soderholm to create Chief State.

Uncertainty, longing, a search for meaning, and assessing life choices make up the themes on the new album, which chronicles closing out your 20s at a crossroads and examining where we belong, our place in the world, and allowing ourselves the time to figure it all out.

Simpson says, "There’s definitely a coming of age theme on the new album. We're asking ourselves: What am I looking to get out of life, out of being in a band? What joys do I want to pursue and where do I want to place my energy moving forward? We've come to the realization that we all need to stress less on the things we can’t control and enjoy more of what we have, what we can control and the journey itself."

Collectively the band members spent their young adult lives struggling mentally, emotionally and financially, in pursuit of their dreams, but the grind appears to have paid off, as Chief State is now on the cusp of something great! With an ever-growing legion of fans in their corner, a reputation for stellar live shows, and a new album's worth of kickass songs in their arsenal, 2022 is shaping up to be a great year for the band.




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FEATURED EVENTS



RAEL - The Music of Genesis and Peter Gabriel​

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ


Oliver!

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees Drive, Manasquan, NJ


Toast - The Ultimate Bread Tribute

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center
46 Washington Ave, Carteret, NJ


A Beat of Our Own

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ


Premiere Stages at Kean presents Effa Loves Baseball

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Kean Stage - Enlow Recital Hall
215 North Avenue, Hillside, NJ


George Street Playhouse presents The Unexpected 3rd

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ


New Jersey Symphony presents Beethoven's "Emperor" & Schubert's "Great"

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Richardson Auditorium
68 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ


American Repertory Ballet presents Swan Lake

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ


Night of the Living Drag

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 8:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ


The Screening Room at Hamilton Stage Student & Independent Film Showcase

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 10:00am
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
360 Hamilton Avenue, Rahway, NJ


Growing Stage presents Roald Dahl’s MATILDA the Musical

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
The Historic Palace Theatre
7 Ledgewood Avenue, Netcong, NJ


MAC Players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Gypsy, a Musical Fable"

Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ


 

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COLUMNS


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "If the World Is Ending" by Renee Maskin

Beloved Asbury Park singer-songwriter Renee Maskin recently dropped "If the World Is Ending," her fifth LP since 2022.




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This Week in Music: Previews for Concerts from October 21-27, 2026




Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Two Moths” by Sean Kiely feat. Jean Rohe






 

MORE NEWS

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) — On Friday, October 16, 2026, Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country returned to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. This performance celebrates their 3rd annual time headlining the Stone Pony all during October. Daniel Donato has also performed as a guest artist at the Stone Pony and the band toured with moe. during the Best.Summer.Eva tour in 2024, appearing on the Stone Pony Summerstage.


"Everything Fab Four" Fest 2026 to feature Ken Burns, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, The Cyrkle & many more




The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents RAEL-The Music of Genesis on Friday




The Stone Pony presents An Evening with Melvin Seals & JGB on Sunday




Reagan Richards presents "Good Morning, Heartache" at Avenel PAC






 

UPCOMING SHOWS


Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena presents Godsmack on Friday

(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- Godsmack bring their The Rise of Rock World Tour 2026 to Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena on Friday, October 23, 2026 at 9:00pm. Known for their explosive live performances and hard-hitting sound, Godsmack actually has more Top 10 Rock Songs than Foo Fighters or their hometown heroes, Aerosmith.


Wellmont Theater presents The Living Tombstone on Friday




The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents RAEL-The Music of Genesis on Friday




Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC Experience returns to The Newton Theatre on October 24th






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