The Strumbellas have had a very good year. When they released their first single “Spirits” from their latest album, Hope, it turned out to be an international hit, and the band enjoyed the most success they’ve had outside of Canada.

“We’ve been all over in the last couple months and it’s been really surreal actually,” says Jon Hembrey, guitarist for the band that began in Toronto in 2008 after lead singer Simon Ward placed an ad on website Craigslist.

“‘Spirits’ kinda took off. We’ve been in Germany, England, France, Brussels, really all over and it’s been fantastic. A highlight for me was definitely Lollapalooza because I kind of grew up with that.”

The band was largely touring in Canada and a bit south of the border for their first two albums, the 2012 debut My Father and the Hunter and 2012’s We Still Move on Dance Floors, which won a Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. But “Spirits” has changed everything.

“It’s a lot easier to tour in the U.S. when you’ve got a single on the radio,” says Hembrey.

“One of the coolest things, when we go to Paris or whatever and people are singing along to all the songs on the record not just ‘Spirits,’” he says. “Sometimes we play songs from the first record and people are even singing along to that.”

Hope was released earlier this spring. And Hembrey says that one thing that he noticed with the single is that it really found a home with a younger audience.

“The thing with ‘Spirits’ is that it really hit with the kids’ market, you know,” says Hembrey. “People are always sending us videos saying here’s my kid singing along with my three-year-old.”

The band is back home and preparing for a series of hometown shows at the Danforth Musical Hall, and unique for the Strumbellas is the addition of a special family matinee show on a Friday afternoon, Dec. 23.

“A lot of our fans are kids. We get tons of videos of kids singing our songs and asking why we can’t do a show for them. We have our own kids,” says singer Simon Ward. 

“We wanted to do something special after the year we’ve had being away from home so much. So here it is. There’s part of me that thinks they might be our toughest crowd yet, but we’re ready for them!”

According to Hembrey, the band is planning a 45-minute set geared to a younger audience.

“We’ll probably do the song ‘Sharks’ that we do occasionally and maybe a Christmas song or two,” he says. “We’ll definitely cater the song choice to the crowd.”

There are no immediate plans to return to the studio to do some more recording, but the band will be back on the road later in the new year. 

For more information on the band’s hometown shows, go see the Danforth Music Hall's site.