Band Details

From the Promoter

Makerspace North
tickets also available at Vertigo Records and both Compact Music locations
lineup, date, venue, times and ticket price subject to change without notice.

DAVID BECKINGHAM

As a child David Beckingham spent a few years in Kenya, living with no electricity and no phone line – just an acoustic guitar and a knack for writing soulful, melodic folk-pop songs. He never dreamed of stages, tours or stardom — but 20 years later those things found him, as his Vancouver band Hey Ocean! hit the radio waves and started climbing the alternative charts.

Beckingham and bandmates Ashleigh Ball and David Vertesi formed their singer-songwriter power-trio in 2005, penning hits like Big Blue Wave and picking up a nomination for a 2013 Juno award. Hey Ocean! released three albums, signed to Universal Music in 2011, and toured North America extensively.

But living the dream of being a lead guitarist/vocalist on tour doesn’t necessarily translate into happiness, as Beckingham found out. He struggled for several years through an addiction, a vocal chord injury that left him temporarily mute, and the slow breakdown of an eight-year relationship. He always spent time on the side working on his own songs, and in May 2016 released his first solo album, Just When The Light.

From its first dreamy, piano and drum-infused track, Forest, the album is loaded with contrast between the songwriter’s profound existential gratitude, and deep, personal unrest. It’s about light and shadow, and the human predisposition toward always yearning for something other than what you have.

Upbeat tracks like Explosion, and Places paint vivid, poetic imagery inspired by the highs and lows of lost love, and nostalgia for Vancouver’s vanishing music venues, such as Richards on Richards, where Hey Ocean! got its first break. Catchy folk-pop songs like Montreal and Sleepless City are about Beckingham’s restlessness living in Vancouver, and ruminations on addiction. The powerful single Soldier is a heartbreaking metaphor – a caricature of a man trying to save his relationship even though he knows he won’t be able to. And Adi’s Song may be the most sophisticated on the album, inspired by a pivotal moment in the breakdown of his relationship and revealing Beckingham’s eclectic singwriting influences such as Ray LaMontagne, Rufus Wainwright and Van Morrison. The album is entirely self-produced and released, with all original songs except one cover, In Spite of All the Damage, written by the Be Good Tanyas.

A six-year project in the making, Just When The Light was recorded at The Space, Monarch, and Vertical studios in Vancouver, and at Beckingham’s home. Various friends make guest appearances, including his childhood songwriting partner Ashleigh Ball, and Vancouver’s Twin Bandit. The rich musical landscape is created using guitar, bass, drums, piano, organ, synthesizers, cello, violin, accordion, and trumpet.

Ultimately, Beckingham hopes it speaks to people going through similar challenges in life and makes them feel less alone. This year he launches his first ever solo tour, with select summer shows in Vancouver and Victoria — proving that once the dust settles from a tough year, or hell, even a tough decade, we can always find happiness by taking stock of hard lessons and moving on to the next thing.

TWIN BANDIT

Life and art both move in cycles.

While working on their second full-length album, the aptly titled Full Circle [NETTWERK], Twin Bandit grew personally and creatively amidst life’s unpredictable ebb and flow. Throughout that experience, the Vancouver-based duo—Hannah Walker and Jamie Elliot—progressed as songwriters and musicians, delicately expanding their sonic palette of folk, alternative, and country and opening up lyrically like never before.

“The concept of a full circle spoke to us,” admits Hannah. “When we started writing, Jamie and I were in not in very good places. Jamie was dealing with mental health issues. I was struggling with depression and the loss of family members and friends. There were a lot of funerals at the time. We sat down and made a decision to write music that’s positive and encouraging. When you focus on practicing positivity and gratitude, it can really change your outlook. Even though we began in a tough place, it was an exciting and beautiful experience. Everything came back around. We acknowledge that it will be difficult again down the road, but there’s always another day to keep trying.”

In order to assemble what would become the follow-up to 2015’s For You, the girls made a series of writing trips and, for the first time, invited other writers into their creative ecosystem. In Nashville, they co-wrote with Neil Mason [Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert]. Meanwhile, they decamped to Salt Springs Island and Jamaica where more songs were born. Simultaneously, the subject matter reflected the moment.

“We wrote every song on our first album in the same house together,” explains Hannah. “This was quite a different process, but it was really inspiring.”

“It was very different,” agrees Jamie. “On the first record, I was writing a lot of love songs. Not to discredit love songs, but we were in another headspace altogether. The lyrics on Full Circle address subjects like dealing with your own issues, growing, and maturing.”

That growth becomes evidenced on the first single “Everything Under The Sun.” A collaboration with Mason, the song begins with bright acoustic guitars punctuated by a subtle twang and gospel flare before building into an empowering and encouraging refrain, “You give me love, everything under the sun.”

“It’s a hopeful anthem,” Jamie continues.

“I was thinking, ‘What does it feel like to be at peace spiritually?’,” asks Hannah. “It feels great to be present, look around, and express gratitude for this world and your freedom. That was the vision.”

The second single “Gotta Make Sure” sees their voices entwine in a heavenly harmony over folk guitars. Hannah goes on, “It’s a song about making sure to give thanks for everything you have and reaching out to your loved ones to let them know you care. It’s a reminder that other people are going through hard times as well, and we all need to pull together and support one another.”

Elsewhere on the record, “Hard To Know” culminates on an unshakable hook following dreamy verses. “Little Big Lies” addresses the suicide of a friend with heartbreaking and poetic lyrics, while “To Stay” explores Jamie’s personal battles over hushed finger-picking.

“It was written in a pretty emotional time for me,” Jamie sighs. “It’s about committing to things that are really hard to stay committed to. It’s a bit of a love song, but it also deals with your everyday struggle of trying to get up in the morning, stay positive through the day, and commit yourself to living a good life.”

Full Circle represents the next chapter of a journey these two musicians began four years ago. Along the way, they racked up over 10 million Spotify streams and impacted popular platform playlists, including Acoustic Covers, Acoustic Spring, The Pulse of Americana, Happy Folk, and more. The world got to meet the girls on the critically acclaimed For You, which garnered praise from The Bluegrass Situation, Folk Alley, Exclaim! and many others. Between standout festival appearances and tours with The Paper Kites and Joshua Hyslop, they’ve performed to passionate crowds across Europe and North America.

As much as Full Circle lives up to its name, it also represents something of a new beginning for Twin Bandit.

“I like to think of music as a map of the soul,” Hannah leaves off. “When you’re lost, it can help to sort through the most painful and joyful experiences by creating. In rough times, music helps of course, but having Jamie in my life made the biggest difference. I’m thankful I have not only a creative counterpart, but a best friend who has become family to me.”

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