Whitehorse based Indie rock band The Vanstones are excited to be making their Lethbridge debut on Friday with two shows at Ribfest and the Slice, where they plan to share a new line up and new songs plus music from their debut album “Cascadia.”
“Much like lots of folks from Whitehorse, not many people are actually from the Yukon. but we’re based in Whitehorse. I’m from Newfoundland originally and so ’s Rob, actually, the drummer. I ended up here because my partner always wanted to live up north and I had an aunt that lived in Whitehorse, so we decided to go there for a year. It’s been seven years now. It’s a really lovely place to live and once I landed here it was hard to imagine living,” said Vanstones lead singer Sarah Murphy along with drummer Rob Jones and bassist Hannah Mazurek will be playing two shows on Friday, June 28 including opening Western Canada Ribfest at 5 p.m. at Exhibition Park and later on at the Slice with fellow northerners Paris Pick and the Pricks and B.C. indie folk musician Damian Albas.
The band released their debut album Cascadia in 2023, but since then, two members left due to musical differences over the past month.
“There’s been big changes in the band over the past month,” Murphy said.
“ Cascadia was actually recorded with the two original members that recently left. So it was me and two other people. Then following the recording of the album, Rob and Hannah joined the band. So if you draw the Venn diagram then I’m in the person in the middle of the transition of the band, ” she said, wishing her former bandmates well their future musical endeavours.
“ I think being in a band is a complex thing. Anyone who ’s played in a band will say that. So what it came down to is we started to go in a bit of a different creative direction and tried it for a while, but it just didn’t end up working out. I think we’re a heading in a different a direction and I hope they’ll pursue the more folky thing or whatever it is they want to do moving forward,” she said, adding the album sounds a lot different when played as a trio.
It’s definitely pretty different. And I’ll say that. And to be honest even before the two folks left, it was already sounding different because we had gone from more of a folk oriented trio with lots of rock influences but very much folk instrumentation to being like more of a whole band sound. So a lot of the tunes with a drummer and a bass player already sounded rockier. The translation-wise we’ll still be playing a lot of the same tuners, but they’ll have am different flavour to them. The harmonies are still there a lot of the elements that brought a lot of energy to album are still there. If you like the album, it’s worth checking out tom se if you like the live show,” she continued.
They have a busy ay, ahead of them.
“ It’s super busy day, but when you’re so far away from home it’s great to get as many opportunities as you can. So we’re super grateful that both Ribfest and the Slice were cool with us doing both shows. Given how far away from home. We’re super exciting to be playing Ribfest. It’s an awesome, awesome gig and hope to see a lot of people out there. And at the Slice were’ playing with a friend from the Yukon as well, Paris Pick and the Picks and Damian Albas from Grand Forks, B.C. So really these folk are super high energy performers. So we’re excited to be playing with them,” she said.
She said there is a thriving music and arts scene in Whitehorse, largely due to government support.
“There’s an awesome scene in Whitehorse. Some really , really good music in Whitehorse and there’s infrastructure supporting as well supporting music. There’s a new musicians fund that was put in place by the government a couple years ago and I’ve really noticed a lot of great music coming out of the Yukon because the resources are there to allow people to actually record it and get it out there in the world. The scene is small but everyone is great. It’s such a tight knit scene. People are amazing here and the talent is unreal,” she said.
“Cascadia” is laid back but also has some upbeat energy that is reminiscent of Shred Kelly.
“Cascadia was very much, to me, it’s like the culmination of what the original trio was doing together. I mean, what originally brought us together was our love for vocal harmonies. It’s still one of the things I’m most passionate about in music. An it’s still part of the current band. That was such a big focus of what bought the three of us together originally. The way Cascadia ended up developing . I felt like producer Jim Holland of Green Needle Studios really pulled the best out of those songs and really blended three very different musicians together into a really cohesive sound that is quite laid back, but also has a lot of energy. It’s really uplifting music. I’m honestly really quite proud of the album and how it turned out and it’s kind of bittersweet to think of it these days because of how much things have changed. But looking back on it. We did something really special. I’m very proud of it,” she said.
adding the band is excited to make their Lethbridge debut for two shows.
“ This will be our time at least as this band in Alberta and actually now that I say it I don”t think I’ve ever played in Alberta, but I believe my band maters have,” she said, adding people can expect to hear two very different sets at both shows.
“ We’re going to play around with it a little bit and do some different stuff. We really focus on originals— the songs on Cascadia but also we’ve got a whole bunch of new originals that we’ve been working on since the album came out and even in the last few weeks since the lineup changed. We’ve got a whole bunch of new tunes. So we’re really going to be hoping to showcasing those as much as possible as well as sharing different takes on the sings on the album. So you can expect very high energy performances lots of excitement and presence from us. I think the Rib Festival set we’ll be showcasing our more bluesier numbers and maybe a little heavier at the Slice, but there will definitely be some crossover but enough that it will be worth seeing both sets if you find yourself liking one,” she said.
They are already planning the next album.
“ That’s definitely the hope for the next year and Its interesting. I feel like as a musician I like so much different music. theres not much I don’t like and so as much as I really love the album we put together and the sounds that we created I’m also really excited about the direction of the band and the tunes we’ve put together. They’re really cool. So that’s already on the horizon. We’re really hoping within the next year or so to get those tracked and start to look at releasing a new album with the tune we’re heading towards now,” she said.
“I hope to see folks out in Lethbridge to check us out us and check out all the other artists performing at both Ribfest and our friends at the Slice. I can’t wait. I’ve been to Lethbridge before so I’m really excited. And if you do come to see us, come and chat because I’m always excited to meet new people,” She said.
Vanstones play Ribfest at 5 p.m. in Exhibition park, Friday, June 28. Admission is free.
They will be playing after 9 p.m. at the Slice as well. There is a $15 cover for that show.
—By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
