Profile
If you aren’t already familiar, Dear Rouge is a pop-rock, Juno award-winning husband and wife duo based in Vancouver, BC. Think of catchy rock tones backed up by synth waves and powerful vocals. Formed in 2012, Dear Rouge released 2 EP’s, “Heads up! Watch out!” & “Kids Wanna Know”. Within the same year, they began to gain traction after winning the $102,700 first place spot in the “Peak Performance Project” that was put on by Vancouver’s 102.7 The PEAK, administered by the Music BC Industry Association. In a 2018 interview with q on CBC, they credited this cash prize as being a huge help in funding their band and recording process due to the expensive nature of Vancouver. Following this win, Dear Rouge released the single “I Heard I Had”, on October 14th, 2013, which rose to #3 on the Alternative Rock charts by March 2014. They were then signed to Universal Music Group Canada in October of 2014, and announced the release of their Debut album “Black To Gold”. The success of the band was recognized in 2016 when they received a Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year, notable alumni including The Dirty Nil, The Beaches, Magic!, A Tribe Called Red, and Monster Truck.
This is Dear Rouge’s headlining tour for their second album “PHASES”, which was released on March 9th, 2018. The tour is backed by the band Modern Space for their Canadian and US dates.
Concert
I have to admit that it was about 2 am Brisbane, Australia time when I was unable to fall asleep because my body refused to adjust to the time difference; despite the fact that I was well into my exchange. I decided to open up my laptop and see what was going on back home. I was immediately greeted by a tweet advertising Dear Rouge tickets on presale from my favourite Toronto-based radio station. I had only ever heard one or two of their songs that were played on the radio, but I thought why not and grabbed a pair. It has been 5 months since then and I am very happy that I was unable to sleep that night and kicking myself for not getting into this band earlier.
I walked in expecting a high energy night and was not disappointed. The show was held at the Danforth Music Hall, which is a favourite venue of mine; easy access to Broadview Subway Station and bars make it an excellent place for a complete concert experience. Both Ellevator and Modern Space opened the show, getting the crowd riled up for the main event. I brought a friend who was not familiar with Dear Rouge and initially tagged along because of pure curiosity. It is safe to say that he is now a huge fan because he would not stop yelling “this is amazing!” during the concert.
Dear Rouge started the show with “Wicked Thing”, and set a strong tone that rippled through the concert until they exited the stage. The combination of talent and song writing skills in this band is immense, as they were able to even make songs about emotional events such as struggling in life, and the death of Drew’s cousin, into a captivating and upbeat track. They even played a short cover of “Edge of Seventeen” with heavy bass lines and synth backing that lead the crowd to clap along until they segued into the next song in their set. They finished the show but were almost immediately pulled back out for a much-demanded encore. They rewarded the crowd with their song ‘I Heard I Had,” closing off the night with the catchy track. Overall, Dear Rouge put on an outstanding performance that energized the diversely-aged crowd in attendance.
If you happen to be in one of the cities they visit next, I highly recommend checking out their show, you will not be disappointed. Upcoming Dates can be found at http://www.dearrouge.com/#tour.
Photos were provided courtesy of Lisa Vuyk, be sure to check out her instagram @lisavphoto for more amazing pictures. Lisa is a part time photographer from Hamilton, who uses photography as a way to explore, connect, and share a point of view. If you like what you see on her instagram page, she shoots portraits, events, and landscapes.
Articles used for reference
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/dear_rouge-phases\
https://theprovince.com/entertainment/music/vancouvers-dear-rouge-signs-to-universal-music-canada