Rebelle to play Day 2 of Tim Horton’s Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival
On June 24 & 25th, Tim Horton’s Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival takes place in Ottawa, ON. We teamed up with the event to conduct interviews with some of the Canadian talent leading up to the big day. First off, we spoke with The Strumbellas. Now we’re getting to know Quebec’s Rebelle.
The alt-rock band, Rebelle will be playing on June 25 before the headliner, Serena Ryder. They are sure to get the crowd pumped up, and I bet they’ll gain a ton of new fans in the process, because boy, do they rock!
Get more information about the festival here.
Check out the video for their newest single, “Kicks,” below, and find out more about the band and their upcoming performance via our mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Based out of the small town of Wakefield, Quebec, up-and-coming alt-rockers Rebelle are busy coming out of the pandemic in a big way.
Once described as “filthy with a beat” this four-piece draws inspiration from bands like Muse, Demob Happy, The Vines, Band of Skulls, Blur, Oasis, Black Sabbath, and Dinosaur Pile-Up.
Rebelle was formed in 2016 but its members have been honing their skills together since high school days.
Frontman David Taggart and sister Rylee Taggart (keyboards, vocals) have been playing music together for nearly a decade — first as The Strain, which won the LiVE 88.5 Big Money Shot and was a Top 10 finalist in the CBC Searchlight contest — while fellow bandmates Ryan Wiles (bass) and Joey Kane (drums) were just around the corner.
Tell us a bit about your newest release.
“Kicks” Was recorded in Toronto in March 2020, just as the pandemic hit the city. This was nerve-racking because there were a lot of unknowns. Were we going to be able to stay and finish the sessions? Will we be able to get across the border back into Quebec?
We decided to stick it out and basically quarantine in a small air BnB basement apartment just minutes down the road from the studio. We didn’t see much daylight those couple of weeks. We were going a little stir crazy. The news didn’t make us feel any better, and our family was pretty worried.
“Kicks” is about how we combat the struggle and maintain our strength to go back out into a world that appears to be against us all the time.
Working as a bartender at the sole bar in my small town, I witnessed many people coping with life’s ups and downs. Two people I saw meet, one much older than another, had a one-night stand that led to their lives spiraling out of control. They were having a child yet wanted nothing to do with each other. They vented about their situation at the bar, and I remember hearing one of them saying they felt like they were being cloned, which felt so clinical.
That line stuck with me and led to the writing of “Kicks,” an energetic and raw piece of alt-rock. This song asks what your personal definition of sanity, loneliness, and happiness are in our current climate.
The video for “Kicks” is a contemporary take on an old theme: the downward spiral of a heroine’s struggle in life. It’s human nature to want to get your rocks off – gotta get your “Kicks” while you still can.
You’ll be playing Ottawa’s Dragon Boat Festival later this month, is this your first performance at the festival?
We have played Dragon Boat once before in 2018. Great experience, excited to be back!
What can attendees expect from your performance?
Lots of energy, and excitement on our end. It’s been a minute since we’ve played a festival in front of actual human beings. We will be playing new songs including “Kicks” and a handful of new material from our upcoming EP that will be released this year.
Besides performing, what are you most excited to check out at the festival?
Looking forward to seeing the performances, Serena Ryder of course, and Steve Neville is also a good friend from the area. We grew up watching him play in the Balconies around Ottawa when we were just starting out.
Do you have any other upcoming shows or festivals to tell us about?
We will be playing Byward Bops in the market Thursday, July 14th with our buds from River Jensen out of Peterborough. New releases are on the way as well!