Intimidators, a three-member band local to Peterborough, will be playing the first night of Highly Likely Festival of Music and Literature on February 26, 2026. 

I sat down with drummer and singer Nathan Truax to discuss the band’s origins, their hopes for future endeavours, and what we can expect from their set at Highly Likely. 

Starting two and a half years ago, the Intimidators was, and Truax describes, “born out of frustration”. 

Having originally played Americana music, the need to escape the confines of what they felt was a genre that limited what their music could address, Truax—alongside his fiance and bandmate, Kayla Silver—embraced an angsty shift in their music. 

“We started just playing, just her and I, loud, as loud as we could,” Truax said. “We actually started planning a few shows and we were having a lot of fun, just the two of us playing as loud as we could, making as much noise, very different from what we were doing before.” 

After playing a stint of shows and releasing a couple of singles for about a year and a half, Truax and Silver added bass player Jesse Owens, creating the trio we now know as Intimidators.

Truax describes their original departure from Americana as a move towards their music becoming more political, addressing social issues and feminist themes. 

“It really felt like there wasn’t a place for that type of thing in country or Americana music,” Truax told Arthur. “I don’t think you can say that type of stuff in country music. Or shout or scream.” 

Truax describes being inspired by bands like Green Day, Sleaford Mods and Idles. He describes the current post-punk movement as having a heavy influence on his songwriting and the stylistic sound we hear from Intimidators. 

“They gave me the confidence to be like, ‘Okay, these other people are talking about this same type of stuff.’ So I guess I can talk about it too,” Truax said. 

After working the sound for the Highly Likely Festival in 2025, Truax was drawn in. He states “Just the curation was incredible. It blew me away, and the community was awesome. [...] After it was all done, I was like ‘I want to be part of this as an artist next year.’” 

“When the applications opened for Highly Likely, I was like, ‘I think we should try to make Intimidators happen in a library-style environment where you have to be quiet, just to try to push ourselves as artists.’” Truax said. 

For Highly Likely, Intimidators are shifting their sound and experimenting with a more acoustic reimagining of their existing style. 

“I’m stepping out from behind the drum kit [..] and playing guitar,” Truax said. “We have drum machines and we took the tempos of the songs and slowed them down so they weren’t as fast and instead of screaming words, we try to sing them and maybe involve more harmony and stuff so that it’s just a little more pleasing.” 

“It’s actually been really fun to almost like, reimagine these songs and rewrite them specifically with the mind of, okay, how is this going to fit in Highly Likely? How is this going to fit in a bookstore?” 

Truax describes this pivot Intimidators are taking for their set at Highly Likely as “a good glimpse into the future for both Kayla and I.” The focus of shifting to more melodic sounds has been leading them down new avenues of exploration both within Intimidators and each of their solo projects. 

In addition to his excitement for the upcoming festival, Truax mentioned the importance of venue spaces that cater to a new era of experiencing live music, reminiscing on the energy of the space that Take Cover Books provides being similar to that of a house show. 

“It’s comfortable to be in, you know. You can sit and [...] you’re not packed in like sardines. It’s not based around drinking. [...] And in the end, they’re early. They’re not late. [...] Which is great.” Truax said. 

Intimidators can be found on all streaming services, with Bandcamp as a notable favourite. The band can be found on Instagram @intimidatorsband. 

“We’re always kind of getting up to cool creative things. So yeah, if anyone’s looking, those are the best places to find us,” Truax said. 

Each of their solo projects can be found through their individual Instagram account: 

Kay Silver (guitar/vocals, @itskaysilver) 

Jesse Owen (bass, @jesseowentattooer)

Nathan Truax (drums/vocals, @nathantruax) 

In the next year, we can expect new music being released for their solo projects, and continued experimentation with what Intimidators will become next. 

Disclaimer: Nevan Hinks is also a part-time employee of Take Cover Books, but covered this story as a staff member of Arthur.

This article is a part of Arthur's ongoing coverage of Highly Likely Festival, presented by Miracle Territory and Take Cover Books. The festival runs from February 26 to March 1, 2026 with four nights of music, literature, and art at Take Cover Books on 59 Hunter Street E. For more information about the festival lineup, visit the Highly Likely site or visit Take Cover Books digitally or in-person for tickets or weekend passes. Highly Likely is also offering discounted student tickets for individual nights of the festival via their brick-and-mortar storefront or online.