Jason Stockfish | [email protected]
Hot on the heels of dynamite performances at the Folk Fest and the Legion, local sensations Sons & Daughter are hitting the road for their very first tour.
After almost two years honing their skills and finding their groove as a band, the five-piece are embarking on a 鈥淗ometown Tour,鈥� aptly named as three of the bandmates are from Ontario and eight of their gigs are in the province.
Lead singer Connor Cunningham is from Owen Sound, guitarist Adam Ambroziak grew up in Woodstock and bassist T.J. Brown hails from Wallaceburg.
Keyboardist Leah Sieg is from Edmonton, and the band鈥檚 drummer is Jasper鈥檚 own Koh Brian.
鈥淚t has been a pretty big learning curve getting (organized for the tour),鈥� Ambroziak said.
鈥淐onnor has definitely taken the helm on getting everything in order, but it has been a lot more than we anticipated.鈥�
Hitting the road on tour is going to be a new experience for everyone in the band.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty road-worn, having travelled a lot, so the road shouldn鈥檛 be too hard; it鈥檚 the co-ordinating of shows and getting shows (organized),鈥� Ambroziak said.
Reaching out to venues and people unfamiliar with the band and their music is difficult, often leading to stonewalling by promoters, he added.
鈥淏ut, we鈥檙e super stoked, and it鈥檚 going to be a test, because here in Jasper people are so friendly and they really support us, and it鈥檚 amazing that they do, but they鈥檝e really become like our own little family,鈥� he said.
鈥淕oing outside of Jasper and playing for people who鈥檝e never heard us before is a whole new challenge that we鈥檙e pretty excited for.鈥�
Cunningham said it鈥檚 better to have no expectations for what lies ahead on their first tour.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not really expecting anything. Everyone is committed to just trying it out and exploring broadening our fan base and seeing if people like our music and seeing if we can take that next step of being successful and maybe potentially doing this as a full-time job,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the dream, right?鈥�
Recently the band played a gig in Edmonton where they opened up for Travis Matthews, and they performed in Valemount a couple times this year for a crowd of around 400 people at Valemount Days and 鈥淭he Dance,鈥� but that is the extent of their travels until now.
鈥淵ou can have a local market, but if you want to expand your music and expand your sound and expand where you want to play, then you gotta get out (on tour),鈥� Cunningham said.
The band members realize it won鈥檛 be all autographs for adoring new fans as they trek across the country and their mettle as friends and a group is tested.
鈥淲e鈥檙e basically moving in with the rest of the band for a month,鈥� Ambroziak said.
The guitarist half-joked that it鈥檚 one thing to share a house but it鈥檚 another thing to be packed in a car for days on end together.
鈥淭he honeymoon phase is over,鈥� Cunningham laughed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have our ups and downs. We鈥檙e going to be mad at each other (and) we鈥檙e going to be laughing and having great times.鈥�
Cunningham is also expecting to find inspiration on the journey.
鈥淗onestly, I think I鈥檒l write some good material on the road, so I鈥檓 excited for that.鈥�
Ambroziak is looking forward to leaving their lives in Jasper behind for a few weeks and focusing on jamming.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be so freeing to just sit down and play music together.鈥�
The band is playing two shows in Woodstock, one of which will be a good old fashioned field party at the Ambroziak farm, and there will be stops in both Cunningham鈥檚 and Brown鈥檚 hometowns, in addition to two nights in Thunder Bay, one in Pembroke and a stop in Barrie.
Going on tour and road testing their material and relationships is but another step along the way for the band to longer-term accomplishments.
鈥淚t has been a really fantastic experience and Jasper has been so welcoming and allowed us to achieve all of the goals we have set out for ourselves (so far),鈥� Ambroziak said.
Follow the band on social media where they will be sharing pictures and updates during their tour.
