The Montreal, QC-based country group, Merle Marlow Band is made up of Merle Marlow (singer), Fred Danthez (guitar), Jean Sebastien (bass), Javier, Sabastien Lavoie (drums), and Richard Perron (rhythm guitar/ backup vocals). The group has unveiled their new single, “Tiki Bar Memories”.
Check out the single below and find out more about the band via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
We are the Merle Marlow Band, a country band from Montreal, Quebec, created in 2019.
The band is gathered around France-born singer-songwriter Merle Marlow, who moved to Canada 5 years ago.
The rest of the band are Frédéric DANTHEZ (also born in France), Jean-Sébastien JANVIER, Sébastien LAVOIE and Richard PERRON.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
Our music is very guitar-driven, we were equally influenced by country artists like Kenny Chesney, Montgomery Gentry or Brooks & Dunn and rock artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, or Aerosmith.
We always tend to write songs that reflect who we are and what we experienced as persons, but we also like to write and perform fun and upbeat songs that are just made to make people dance or drink.
We also have a little Western and rodeo influence as our bass player, JS, was a rodeo champion before embracing a musical career, and that we are used to playing in rodeos around the Quebec province.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
Before the whole COVID-19 situation, we were supposed to play this summer in 3 of the biggest country festivals in the Quebec province, including the famous Western Festival of St-Tite (second largest rodeo and western festival in Canada after the Calgary Stampede), and the Ayer’s Cliff Rodeo.
Our 2020 tour is currently suspended because of the health restrictions currently in place across Canada, but we are hoping to resume touring in 2021, with already all our 2020 festival appearances rescheduled for summer 2021.
We like having fans participating in our shows, either by singing with us or dancing.
We try to always give everything we have at every show that we are doing, from small venues to rodeo arenas. We also really enjoy meeting the fans after our shows, hear their stories, and their passion for country music.
Some of these fans have been with us since the beginning.
I think we are really proud to be part of the country music community, this is the only music genre where artists and fans come together in such a friendly and fun way!
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
“Tiki Bar Memories” is our current single and has been our most successful song to date. This song has a lot of Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan influences and is an ode to summer nostalgia.
The song was produced by John Johnson (Brantley Gilbert, Corey Smith), and mastered by Luc Tellier.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
Hard to choose, we are so lucky to have so many talented Canadian artists right now!
We would probably say Tim Hicks for his rocking music and energic live shows, our fellow Quebecer Matt Lang who paved the road for the new generation of country artists in Quebec.
Also from Quebec, we really like Britanny Kennell
In the new artists, we really like the voice and style of Jade Eagleson.
Finally, we were supposed to open for The Reklaws this summer at the Ayer’s Cliff Rodeo, which was postponed, but we really like their music and their energy!
Connect with Merle Marlow Band:
Website
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