Canadian alt-folk-pop act The East Pointers will return to New Zealand shores in early 2020 touring their newly released album YOURS TO BREAK.
The award-winning trio first caught the attention of Kiwi music lovers when they performed at WOMAD in New Plymouth in 2018. The band was surprised to find themselves charting just behind Adele in New Zealand after WOMAD, which they still describe as one of their favourite festival appearances.
Now, The East Pointers are heading back to play a nationwide headline tour, kicking off in Auckland on March 23 at the Tuning Fork and winding up in Christchurch at Cassels Blue Smoke on April 3. See a full list of dates and venues for the YOURS TO BREAK NZ TOUR below.
Redefining the ever-evolving genre – modern folk – with Billboard-worthy pop hooks, deep acoustic groove, trance-like trad breakdowns and three-part harmonies, The East Pointers (TimChaisson on vocals/fiddle/percussion; Koady Chaisson on banjo/tenor guitar/moog and Jake Charron on guitar/keyboards) have made sure their new album YOURS TO BREAK will light a path for a new generation of music lovers who don’t care for labels.
The album follows 2017’s WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND, which was nominated for the Traditional Roots Album of the Year at the 2018 JUNO Awards and attracting over four million streams on Spotify. In the short time between their 2015 JUNO Award-winning debut SECRET VICTORYand YOURS TO BREAK, the band has performed over 450 shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, Europe, Mexico, the USA, and Canada.
The East Pointers have always been musically complex and technically brilliant, the core is definitely traditional Celtic, but on the new album, fiddle tunes are grounded in complex rumbling bass lines, a dirty Americana exploration turns on a dime into a lighthearted guitar feature with flamenco reference palmas, playful keyboard tones turn traditional solos into urgent dance-party journeys, and off-the-leash festival jam sessions give rise to vocal numbers that are either perfect pop songs or moving tributes to the home and people they love.
“I feel like this album is the best expression to date of the band’s appreciation for so many different types of music and the fact that we as a band are comfortable enough in our own musical voice to start expressing those influences and loves,” says Koady Chaisson, who plays either banjo or tenor guitar on stage, along with the bass pedals underpinning much of the groove of this album.
The East Pointers have been touring the Antipodes consistently since their debut album in 2015 – they have deep connections there – and they are looking forward to getting back to New Zealand. Don’t miss your chance to catch the award-winning trio at a venue near you in March/April 2020.
