Fiver is the musical alias of songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Simone Schmidt. For the past 18 years, Schmidt has been innovating in the Country and Folk music traditions, with humour and gravity Their lyrics are politically engaged, but refuse sloganeering, using wit and poetry to detangle the knot of our human condition under late-stage capitalism. Their collaborators range a wide musical spectrum, from Old Time musicians Lonesome Ace String Band (Audible Songs From Rockwood, 2017) to free music improvisers in Fiver with the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition (named best music of 2021 by the Guardian UK), to punks Fucked Up, and electronic music producer ADO (Splitter). Despite evading the logic of the commercial music industry, their presence is felt. Their songs are covered widely, most notably by U.S. Girls and Stripmall Ballads. Most recently, their collaboration with Destroyer, the song Bologna, was named one of the Top 100 songs of 2025 by Pitchfork.

Owing to their versatility, Schmidt’s been called “a Canadian PJ Harvey” by the Canadian Rolling Stone (Exclaim!) Their recordings are critically acclaimed for their warmth and rigour, and have garnered four Polaris Prize nominations. Previously, Schmidt fronted country act One Hundred Dollars and psych unit The Highest Order. As a producer, they’ve worked with Ansley Simpson and Louie Sanchez. They’ve contributed to soundtracks on many feature-length films. In 2022, You’ve Changed Records released The Joe Wallace Mixtape, the soundtrack to A Radiant Sphere by filmmaker Sara Wiley. 

Born and raised in Toronto, Schmidt currently lives in Sackville, New Brunswick, Mi’kma’ki. Over the past two decades, they have toured widely across North America and Europe, on DIY circuits and festival stages alike. Lately, Schmidt performs live with the Fiver Trois, featuring Jeremy Costello (bass) and Nathan Doucet (drums), and Dani Crowther (pedal steel). The Fiver Trois rearrange the music around the strength of the songs with dynamic energy and palpable affection. Fiver’s upcoming full-length will be released on You’ve Changed Records in June 2026.

“Schmidt's voice is omnipotent, hearty and analeptic.” - Globe & Mail

“Schmidt predominates with a soft, eccentric voice. A rough husky alto, with a warm, eccentric phrasing like Karen Dalton and a bit of a Dolly Parton-ish trill, they expand the contours of the melodies with trills and slides and embellishments, shifting emphases and deconstructing phrases.” - Dusted Magazine