While there is little doubt that the Edmundston-area has produced some fine musicians, including Natasha St. Pier, roots band The Lonesome Line is out to prove there is more to the region than pop music. Boasting a distinct sound and a live show that is both passionate and lively, The Lonesome Line take the stage at Moncton’s Plan B Lounge Friday evening. The show starts at 9 p.m.
Formed roughly three years ago, The Lonesome Line released their self-titled debut effort this past September and have already moved more than 1,000 copies. In addition to that impressive achievement, the group was awarded the Galaxie Rising Star Award during the 2011 edition of Fredericton’s Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival amidst healthy competition from the likes of Mike Biggar, Owen Steele, Hungry Hearts, The Jaclyn Reinhart Band and The Arka Teks. In addition to having been awarded a cash prize, The Lonesome Line also received a healthy amount of support from the Galaxie Radio Channels.
Having been awarded the Galaxie Rising Star prize was a nice shot in the arm for the band, Lonesome Line guitarist-vocalist Michael Sullivan tells the Times & Transcript. Along with his band mates Marc Colecchio and Chad Ritchie, Sullivan says that he felt as though the award will ultimately help people take the band a little more seriously.
Although The Lonesome Line is the first band that this trio of musicians has performed as a part of, Sullivan says that he, Colecchio and Ritchie knew one another as children but were all playing in separate bands prior to having come together as The Lonesome Line.
“The three of us grew up in the same neighbourhood,” Sullivan says. “I had put together a project that featured a lot of original songs and needed a band to call my own.”
Having hired Colecchio for bass duties virtually on the spot, Sullivan shares that Ritchie came on board with the group after the band’s first drummer had to bow out due to where he was living at the time, which made it tough for the trio to practice.
Sullivan says that while the Edmundston area may not be known as a hotbed of music, there is a good scene to be found in the northwestern part of the province. He shares that most music fans in the region could truly care less about in what language the group is singing in.
“I would say that 90 per cent of the population in Edmundston in French and in turn a lot of the music that comes from the region is French,” he explains. “There is an English music scene but in all honesty, people don’t care what language you’re singing in. It all comes down to the songs and whether they can hold up.”
Article published in January 20, 2012 edition of the Times & Transcript