Walking off the ferry, Squamish’s Danielle Sweeney had to make sure she was hearing correctly.
Inside someone else’s car radio, she and Lovecoast bandmate Jesse McNeill heard their song “Help You” being blasted. It was a moment she’ll treasure for a long time.
“It was a very cool feeling,” she said.
“We ran back into our car and put on CBC and we managed to hear the end of it. I thought it was just so cool for us.”
Lovecoast has been all over CBC recently, after the band advanced to the regional top 10 for the second straight year in the CBC Searchlight contest. Sweeney, the lead singer for the band, said the group has built on the momentum they created in 2014.“I think this year we got so much more out of it,” she said. “CBC played us a ton and we had so many friends tell us they heard our music or that CBC had mentioned us.”
The band underwent a change from last year, with guitarist and Squamish native Scott Verbeek moving on and being replaced by Mike Clement. Sweeney said it’s been a smooth transition. “We all went to Vancouver Island University together so we’ve been friends for years,” she said.
Another new wrinkle to the group is representation from the Jeff Turner Entertainment Group. Sweeney said signing on with them has opened up several new opportunities for the band.
Lovecoast appeared at Surrey’s Party for the Planet Earth Day event in April and will have a big summer of appearances, including half-time at a Vancouver Whitecaps 2 game and at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. They’re also performing at the Wapiti Music Festival in Fernie in August. But Squamish has always been home for Sweeney and Lovecoast has three local stops on its tour, which runs from May 8 to June 5.
The band plays Match Public Eatery at Chances Casino on Friday (May 8) and Saturday (May 9) and then returns to Squamish to perform at the Howe Sound Brew Pub on May 30.
“It’s our first time at Match and I think it’s going to be so much fun,” she said, noting they’re playing outside on the patio. “It’ll be a little more laid back and intimate, and it’ll be so nice to have family and friends in the audience.”
It’s the second time Lovecoast has played at the Brew Pub, and Sweeney said it’s going to be a special show. “We really love it there and we’re bringing in some really special guests to play with us,” she said. Paperboy and the Messengers, which she calls “a dirty blues band,” will also perform.
The tour sees Lovecoast make its debut in Saskatoon, Lethbridge and Lloydminster and return to several others during the 14-date tour throughout Western Canada.
