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Whitehorse touring with full band, and that's a big change for the normally husband-and-wife duo

Hamilton-based folk rock group headlines Northern Lights festival Sunday, July 9
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Husband-and-wife duo Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet form the folk rock band Whitehorse. For the first time, they're performing with a full band. (Supplied)

Hamilton-based folk rock band Whitehorse, which consists of husband-and-wife duo Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, are known for their extensive use of live looping to round out their sound while playing live.

But when Whitehorse headlines at Northern Lights Festival Boréal on Sunday, July 9, they'll be doing something that's unusual for them, but not for most other groups — performing with a full band.

“When we started Whitehorse, it was really important to present ourselves as just the two of us,” McClelland told Sudbury.com in a recent phone interview.

“It's a true collaboration. Then we got into the looping. That was a fun music adventure for us. We pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones …

“We did it for many years, and we got to the point where we felt like we had kind of conquered it in a way … 

“We didn't want to risk getting bored. We felt like it'd be fun to actually just play the songs out there on the record, and have other people on stage with us, and let it be a little more loose and fun and playful.”

Whitehorse releases its latest album, Panther in the Dollhouse, on July 7, right before its appearance at Northern Lights festival. McLelland said the new album also features a full band.

Not only are McLelland and Doucet musicians, they're also parents. 

Together they have a three-year-old son, Jimmy, who's been touring with them since he was five months old — and from the looks of the schedule on Whitehorse's website, they tour extensively.

Doucet also has a 21-year-old daughter, Chloe, who's following in her family's footsteps, and has become a musician.

Bringing a toddler on the road can be tiring, but then being a parent of a young child is just tiring in general, McLelland said. But the situation has its advantages.

“He reminds us to constantly see the road through rose-coloured glasses,” she said. “We're always trying to find the fun and the good in being on the road and touring and being in different places every day. We're trying to view it as an adventure rather than a burden.”

Northern Lights Festival Boréal runs in Bell Park July 6-9. Visit the festival's website for tickets and more information.
 


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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