People often ask Jess Rae Ayre, Amber Rose and Michelle Anderson — who together front the Winnipeg, Manitoba folk-pop group Sweet Alibi — if they're sisters.
That's something that Ayre finds amusing, although the women have spent enough time touring together over the past seven years that they do pretty much consider each other family.
“That's pretty funny,” said Ayre, who went to high school with Michelle and became friends with Amber through another musician. “Amber and Michelle look alike, but I don't really look like them.”
The band heads out on the second half of their gruelling two-month-long tour of Canada this week to promote their third album, "Walking in the Dark", which was released last November.
Part of their latest road trip includes a May 5 stop in Sudbury at Fromagerie Elgin. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
“We're going to be with this five-piece band, so we'll have a pretty full sound,” Ayre said.
“Three-part harmonies are a big part of what we do. People really seem to enjoy that part of our show.
“We'll be playing quite a bit from our newest record, but we'll still play a bit of stuff from our first and second. There's a few favourites we just can't seem to get rid of.”
Walking in the Dark — specifically its title track, “Showing You” — has been receiving a lot of radio air play, being featured on CBC, MTV Canada, CMT and on satellite and college radio.
It's even been featured on CBC Radio 2's Top 20 countdown.
Ayre said it's important for an up-and-coming band such as Sweet Alibi to tour extensively because it creates a connection with fans.
“Music nowadays is so just quick to grab off the internet,” she said. “There's streaming, there's downloads. Anybody can get your music that way. But a lot of people want to see that live show. They want to connect with you that way.”
Learn more about Sweet Alibi at sweetalibi.com.
