As the song (and the scripture) once said, to everything there is a season and the natural order of things is to turn from one to another.
Well, performing live country music is like that too.
For The Washboard Union, the change of seasons from summer to fall and winter means there is an opportunity to switch from the outdoor shows with everybody singing along to the big summer anthems to the sit-down concert to listen to some more mid-tempo material and unloading a few road stories in between.
"Of course, the summer show is one thing where it's live, loud, people up at the stage screaming with their hands in the air, and everyone wanting to sing along," Aaron Grain says, "the weather's nice, and, you know, everyone feels great to be outdoors, maybe a couple drinks."
But there's another side to the band, Grain says.
"You know, we love those songs ... Washboard Union is known for those big summer anthems," Grain says, "so the challenge is to bring those summer anthems into a soft-seat theatre where you have an opportunity that you can actually tell some stories and show different sides of the Washboard Union."
And that's what they'll be bringing to Vancouver Island in November as part of their Grab the Wheel and Go tour which will bring them to Campbell River's Tidemark Theatre Nov. 6, Courtenay's Sid Williams Theatre Nov. 7, Duncan's Cowichan Performing Arts Centre Nov. 8, Victoria's Upstairs Nov. 9 and Nanaimo's Port Theatre Nov.10. The tour will also include Ontario, Alberta and other B.C. dates. The band will be joined on the tour by SIRIUSXM Top of The Country finalist on all B.C. dates.
The tour follows the release of the band鈥檚 10-song album, Westerly in July. The collection of songs, distributed via , features the band鈥檚 hit singles and which recently reached the #1 most added spot at Canadian Country radio.
The Washboard Union, composed of stepbrothers Aaron Grain, Chris Duncombe and their best friend David Roberts, have carved their place as one of Canada鈥檚 top country bands. Some of their many successes include reaching over 85 million career streams, 380,000 radio spins, one Platinum and four Gold-certified singles and 35+ total award wins. They are three-time consecutive CCMA Group of the Year winners, and remain the only country group to ever win a JUNO Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year. Most recently, The Washboard Union was nominated for two 2024 CCMA Awards for Group of the Year and Special of the Year for 鈥淎 Washboard Union Christmas.鈥�
Grain says the Grab the Wheels and Go Tour show may be more diverse than an outdoor summer venue.
"So we get an opportunity to play songs that people wouldn't otherwise see on a summer tour. And the other thing we get to do is tell some road stories and tell some stories of touring, and enter a little bit of our history as a band," he says.
The group is also known for its three-part harmony driven by Grain, Duncombe and Roberts.
"We each have three different, distinct voices, but when they come together, they make one voice that is rather unique," Grain says.
When asked what does the music of Washboard Union say, what is their message, Grain replies, "we are very hopeful people. We know we see the joy in life. We get to travel this country and talk to thousands of people across the country and see different parts and corners of this country, and really appreciate our surroundings and where we live. We bring that to our music. We bring the fact that we appreciate life, we are very, very happy and lucky to be living the lives we're doing, and we're not lost on that."
