AVENUES

Emerging from the sleepy river town of Peterborough, Ontario, The Avenues make real country music; not country music that requires the pre-fix "alt" or "new," but the pure, honest, and unadorned kind. Forming in the winter of 2009, The Avenues sound the way Nashville might have without the glitz and glamour, as their banjo pickin' and guitar strummin' - augmented by the addition of bass and drums - echo the honky tonks and the heartaches of old country music. On their self-titled first album, Chris Culgin (guitar and vocals) Benj Rowland (banjo, bass pedals and vocals), Sean Conway (electric guitar), and Josh Fewings (drums), tell stories from the frontiers of country music, wandering that liminal space just past what musicologists call tradition. Listening to songs such as "Car Crash" or "Troubles" is strikingly familiar yet undoubtedly new, like hearing a new story from an old friend. In the last year the Avenues have travelled all the way to St. John's NFL, Dawson City YK and even to Haida Gwaii BC where they headlined The Edge of the World Festival. With stunning vocal harmonies and a high-spirited live show, The Avenues are one of Canada's best-kept secrets.