Trent Freeman, fiddle and viola player, is returning to the Comox Valley with his band, The Fretless, for a show at the Merville Hall on Oct. 4.

Freeman always enjoys playing with his hometown audience. 

鈥淲e try to play the Merville Hall every year or two. It鈥檚 always so fun. The audience is a big, warm and receptive crowd in a community-oriented hall,鈥� he said.

Throughout the last ten years of being a band, The Fretless has honed its sound and evolved out of an experiment of arranging tunes for a string quartet. 

鈥淚t's really like it has become its own style and its own genre. This last album has successfully become the genre that it has been trying to be,鈥� said Freeman.

The new album, Glasswing (released Sept. 13), is part of the evolution of The Fretless with Freeman stating that it is experimental and exciting with a calm subtly. This follows the band honing their sound and figuring out just what they want to sound like. 

On the new album, Freeman has a few favourite things.

鈥淚t feels like we鈥檙e playing together the most out of any album we鈥檝e made.鈥�

On Glasswing, the band got to do something they had not done before - collaborate with another musician throughout the writing process. They have collaborated before with other musicians playing parts in their songs but they had never invited anyone into the actual writing of their music. 

鈥淲e got to write some songs with Madeleine Roger, who is featured on the album. It was the first time inviting anyone else into our writing process which has been circular, insular and a bit of a cooking pot for the last decade. To open it up and bring someone else in was quite inspiring,鈥� said Freeman. 

The upcoming tour is not just about the music of The Fretless; it is also about an immersive experience with set designer Gillian Gallow and lighting designer Emerson Kafarowski adding to the show.

鈥淭he enhanced lighting moments combine with what you hear to expand what you鈥檙e hearing and influence your hearing in another way. When the lighting director knows there is a nice swell coming up they can just match it with the lighting.鈥�

The show at the Merville Hall will be the first to incorporate both the lighting and new sets. 

Tickets are available here: .