Young Friend releases new single “Michael Wakes Up”

Young Friend, the project of Drew Tarves, has shared new single “Michael Wakes Up,” the track is off the Vancouver artist’s forthcoming album, New Entertainment, available November 6th via Nettwerk Records (Vacations). The track is accompanied by a video, directed by Zachary Vague.

Tarves elaborates: “Michael Wakes Up follows a number of characters that are all experiencing different realities in their lives. Michael being told by Shelly that she doesn’t love him any longer, John winning the lottery with his daughter’s birthday as his numbers, Damien being let go from his company but continuing to do what he loves. These people are all experiencing their own beautiful stories.”

The album was produced by Tarves’ longtime collaborator David Marinelli (FINNEAS, Wallice, spill tab). The album is about fear and love in equal measure. An exploration of the ways AI and new technology are infiltrating our lives, but also a celebration of friendship and family, and genuine time spent. Of the slow process, the inevitable mistakes. A trained dancer for most of his adolescence, the 27-year-old Vancouver native switched artistic disciplines after spending time jamming with his musician friends. “I found out very quickly that I loved it,” he recalls. “It was my favorite thing to do.” Armed with a guitar and a laptop, Tarves started hashing out early songwriting attempts in GarageBand as he found his own style: “It was all about experimenting while trying to find what worked for me.”

Young Friend
New Entertainment
Nettwerk Records
Tracklisting

01 Hard Rock
02 Miracle
03 The Yard
04 Dad’s Garage
05 Grand Canyon
06 New Entertainment
07 2 Birds
08 Anything Anything
09 Everything The Light Touches
10 What’s Mine Is Yours
11 Michael Wakes Up
12 If You See It On The News

Young Friend 2026 Tour Dates

November 4 – Vancouver, BC @ The Hollywood Theatre
November 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo LA with Marinelli
November 27 – New York, NY @ Nightclub 101 with Hana Eid
November 28 – Toronto, ON @ Baby G with Lia Pappas-Kemps