Dear Rouge | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Genres | Alternative rock, rock |
Years active | 2012–present |
Labels | Universal Music Canada, Cadence Music Group |
Members | Danielle McTaggart Drew McTaggart |
Website | www |
Dear Rouge are a Juno award-winning Vancouver-based alternative rock band formed in 2012 by Drew and Danielle McTaggart.
Drew and Danielle McTaggart were both touring musicians under separate projects. They met while in their early touring days and began dating before getting married and starting Dear Rouge. The name of the duo is derived from the name of Danielle's home town, Red Deer, Alberta, "dear" being a homophone of deer and "rouge" meaning red in French. [1] Danielle had previously been in a duo called Gaetz Ave, named after a street in Red Deer, [2] and then a solo venture called Elle. Drew was a member of Vancouver indie circuit band Maclean. [3]
In April 2012, Dear Rouge independently released their debut EP Heads Up! Watch Out!, a four-song EP on their Bandcamp page, [4] and followed up six months later with their second EP Kids Wanna Know. [5]
In November 2012, Dear Rouge won $102,700 [6] as the grand prize winners of the Peak Performance Project put on by the Music BC Industry Organization and CKPK-FM radio station in Vancouver. [7]
In June 2013, Exposure Contest and Dear Rouge partnered up to present a video editing contest in support of their single, "Thinking About You", from their Kids Wanna Know EP. [8] The contest drew a wide social media spread, accumulating hundreds of entrants from around the world. [9]
Dear Rouge released their single "I Heard I Had" on October 14, 2013.
In March 2014, "I Heard I Had" charted at #3 in Alternative Rock (Mediabase), [10] #3 in Modern Rock (Mediabase), and at #13 in Canadian Rock (BDS radio). [11] The song also won the 2015 SOCAN Songwriting Prize, an annual competition that honours the best song written and released by 'emerging' songwriters over the past year, as voted by the public. [12] The band released their second single "Best Look Lately" on April 22, 2014. [13] As of September 2014, it had also cracked the Top 20 of the Canadian Alternative Rock and Modern Rock charts.
The band then signed to the Canadian branch of Universal Music Group in October 2014, and announced that their debut album Black To Gold will be released through them in early 2015. The band's next single, title track "Black To Gold", was sent to radio on January 13, 2015. [14] The single was made available digitally on February 10 along with a pre-order for the album.
On February 2, the band announced March 30th as the release date for the album and a tour with Arkells. [15] As of May 2015, "Black To Gold" had hit #2 on the Canadian Alt-Rock charts. Their final single from Black To Gold, "Tongues", was sent to radio on June 23, 2015, and charted on Canadian Alternative Rock throughout summer 2015.
Dear Rouge recorded the title song for the Canadian TV series Private Eyes a cover of the Hall and Oates song of the same name. [16]
On April 2, 2016, Dear Rouge won the Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year, and also performed "I Heard I Had" on the live broadcast on April 3, 2016. [17]
That year, Danielle McTaggart also contributed vocals to David Vertesi's song "Solid Ground", on his album "Sad Dad Cruise Ship". [18]
Dear Rouge spent most of 2017 touring while writing and recording their second album. They worked with several notable producers and writers, including Tawgs Salter, Sterling Fox, and Steve Bays. [19]
The first single from the duo's second record, "Boys & Blondes", was released on October 27, 2017. It debuted on the Canadian Alternative Rock Charts at #20 on November 7, 2017. [20] As of February 2018, it had peaked at #6.
On February 2, 2018, the duo announced their second record PHASES would be released on March 9, 2018. It was released to positive reviews from music publications including Exclaim! [21] and The Spill Magazine. [22] The album peaked on the NACC 200 at #32, and on the NACC Electronic at #9.
The second single from PHASES, "Live Through The Night", was sent to radio in May 2018. Dear Rouge announced a string of festival tour dates for the summer which was followed by their fall 2018 headlining tour with Modern Space as support. [23] "Live Through The Night" became the band's first single to hit #1 on the Canadian Alternative Rock Charts on August 13, 2018.
Dear Rouge won Pop Artist of the Year and Songwriters of the Year for the PHASES track "Chains" at the 2018 Western Canadian Music Awards. [24]
On March 9, 2019, the band released a deluxe version of PHASES to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the record. The deluxe version featured the same 10 track listing plus 5 additional previously unreleased tracks; "Please Don’t Ever Settle Down", "MINE", "Basic", "Never Satisfied", and "Wanna Love". Dear Rouge then supported Arkells on the western USA dates of the Rally Cry Tour. [25]
Dear Rouge appeared on a virtual "Canada Day House Party" festival alongside Sam Roberts Band, Dean Brody and more on July 1, 2020. [26] The band also hosted online shows playing their records front-to-back, and mentioned they were working on new music. Over the spring of 2021 the band shared across their social media they were in the studio working on their third full-length record.
On September 1, 2021, the band shared a teaser clip across their social media and announced their new single "Fake Fame" will be released September 10, 2021. The single debuted on the Canadian Alternative Rock Charts at #26. As of January 24, 2022, it had hit #1 on the Canadian Alternative Rock Charts, the band's second single to do so. [27]
Another new single, "Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up" was released on October 27, 2021, along with a music video. [28]
On January 28, 2022, the band announced their new album Spirit will be released April 8, 2022, and will contain 12 tracks. [29] They also released the song "Small Talk" from the record along with the announcement. [30]
Alongside the release of Spirit, the single "Gimme Spirit" was serviced to radio. Dear Rouge then supported Metric across Western Canada in August 2022. [31]
The band announced they will be touring across Canada in the winter of 2022 with Hotel Mira as support. [32]
Dear Rouge appeared at various festivals throughout Canada over 2023, including Sommo Festival, [33] and Area506. [34] The band appeared on CBC's Canada Day nationwide broadcast, playing their track "Gimme Spirit" from Calgary, AB. [35] The band also shared on their socials that they were working on a new record at Giant Studios in Toronto, ON with Gus van Go. [36]
The band released their new single "Goon" on March 8, 2024, the first single from their upcoming new record. [37] The band then released the track "Too Close To The Heat" on April 26, 2024, and announced their new record Lonesome High would be out September 13, 2024. Another new track "Not Afraid To Dance" was released June 7, 2024 ahead of the band's summer tour dates. "Goon" hit #1 on the Canadian Alternative Rock charts on July 8, 2024; the band's third single to do so.
Following the release of Lonesome High, the track "Cutting Teeth" was sent to radio. Dear Rouge announced they would be touring Canada in support of the record in early 2025. "Cutting Teeth" hit #5 on the Canadian Alternative Rock charts at the end of 2024. [38]
The band toured across Canada in the spring of 2013, [39] and again in the winter of 2013, also covering Western Canada with a number of shows supporting Lights. [40] In March 2014 the band announced another cross Canada tour supporting Fast Romantics. Throughout the summer of 2014, Dear Rouge played a number of festivals across Canada including Edgefest in Toronto, Otalith in Ucluelet, Shorefest in Vancouver, X-Fest in Calgary, Sonic Boom in Edmonton, and Rifflandia in Victoria. [41]
The band toured Canada supporting Phantogram and Mounties throughout December 2014. The band supported Arkells on their Winter Canadian tour dates throughout Canada over February and March 2015. Summer 2015 saw them play festivals across Canada again, including the inaugural Wayhome Festival. Throughout the fall and winter of 2015, Dear Rouge headlined venues across Canada with Rah Rah and sold out many notable venues including Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver and Mod Club in Toronto. [42] They then toured Europe in December 2015. They spent 2016 mostly writing and recording, but appeared at summer festivals like Field Trip in Toronto, and Osheaga Festival in Montreal. Dear Rouge played select dates and festivals through summer 2017.
Dear Rouge played at SXSW 2018 and then supported Lights throughout Canada in the spring of 2018. Throughout the summer of 2018, Dear Rouge played notable slots at major festivals such as Rock The Shores in Colwood, BC, Ottawa Bluesfest, Riverfest Elora, and the inaugural SKOOKUM Festival in Vancouver, BC. Their headlining PHASES release tour began in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, in September 2018 and ended in Seattle, WA in mid-November 2018. [43]
The band supported Arkells on the US West Coast dates of their Rally Cry Tour through March 2019. Over the summer months, Dear Rouge played several festivals across Canada, including the inaugural Squamish Constellation Festival, [44] and Osheaga in Montreal. [45] The band then supported Our Lady Peace, Bush, and Live on the revival of the Summersault Festival. Dear Rouge capped off 2019 performing at the Grey Cup Festival in Calgary, Alberta.
Dear Rouge returned to playing live shows in 2021 with a performance at the Calgary Stampede. [46] Over the summer of 2022, Dear Rouge supported Vance Joy in Vancouver and Toronto, played festivals across BC and Ontario, and then toured across Western Canada supporting Metric. The band then headlined a tour across Canada with sold out shows in St.Catharines, Toronto, and Victoria.
Year | Organization | Award | Work or author awarded | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Peak Performance Project | Grand Prize Summit Award | Dear Rouge | Winner |
2013 | Shore 104 | Best of BC | Dear Rouge | Winner |
CBC Bucky Awards | Most Dynamic Duo | Dear Rouge | Nominated | |
2014 | CASBY Awards | Favourite New Artist | Dear Rouge | Nominated |
2015 | Canadian Radio Music Awards | Best New Group or Solo Artist: Rock | Dear Rouge | Nominated |
2015 | SOCAN | SOCAN Songwriting Prize | "I Heard I Had" | Winner |
2016 | Juno Awards | Breakthrough Group of the Year | Dear Rouge | Winner |
2017 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Pop Artist of the Year | Dear Rouge | Nominated |
Recording of the Year | Black to Gold | Nominated | ||
2018 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Pop Artist of the Year | Dear Rouge | Winner |
Recording of the Year | PHASES | Nominated | ||
Songwriter(s) of the Year | "Chains" | Winner | ||
2022 | Indies | Group or Duo of the Year | Dear Rouge | Winner |
Song of the Year | "Fake Fame" | Nominated | ||
Western Canadian Music Awards | Rock Artist of the Year | Dear Rouge | Nominated | |
2023 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Recording of the Year | Spirit | Nominated |
Year | Song | Chart Peak | Albums | |
---|---|---|---|---|
CAN Alt [47] | CAN Active [47] | |||
2013 | "I Heard I Had" | 3 | 13 | Black to Gold |
2014 | "Best Look Lately" | 12 | 25 | |
2015 | "Black to Gold" | 2 | 12 | |
"Tongues" | 11 | 20 | ||
2017 | "Boys & Blondes" | 6 | 15 | PHASES |
2018 | "Live Through The Night" | 1 | 5 | |
2019 | "Modern Shakedown" | 6 | 22 | |
2021 | "Fake Fame" | 1 | 9 | Spirit |
2022 | "Gimme Spirit" | 9 | 15 | |
"Meet Me At The Rio" | 8 | 35 | ||
2024 | "Goon" | 1 | 14 | Lonesome High |
"Cutting Teeth" | 5 | - |
Sloan is a Canadian rock band formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1991. Sloan has released thirteen full-length albums and has received nine Juno Award nominations, winning one. Between 1996 and 2016, Sloan was among the top 75 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada. The band is known for their sharing of songwriting and lead vocals from each member of the group and their unaltered line-up throughout their career. Although formed in Halifax, the band is now based out of Toronto.
Our Lady Peace is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and Jason Pierce on drums. The band has sold several million albums worldwide, won four Juno Awards, and won ten MuchMusic Video Awards—the most MMVAs ever awarded to a band. Nineteen of their singles have reached the Top Ten on one of Canada's singles charts. Between 1996 and 2016, Our Lady Peace was the third best-selling Canadian band and the ninth best-selling Canadian artist overall in Canada.
Metric is a Canadian indie rock band founded in 1998 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Emily Haines, James Shaw, Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key. The band started in 1998 as a duo formed by Haines and Shaw with the name "Mainstream". After releasing an EP titled Mainstream EP, they changed the band's name to Metric.
Moist is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1992. It consists of David Usher as lead vocalist, Mark Makoway on lead guitars, Jonathan Gallivan on guitars, Kevin Young on keyboards, Francis Fillion on drums, and Jeff Pearce on bass. Drummer Paul Wilcox left the band just before its hiatus in 2000.
Big Wreck are a Canadian-American rock band formed by Ian Thornley and Brian Doherty in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1992. The band was rounded out with David Henning and Forrest Williams. They disbanded in 2002 and Ian Thornley pursued a solo career with his own band Thornley. In 2010, Ian Thornley and Brian Doherty reunited for a cross-Canada tour, playing both Big Wreck and Thornley songs. In 2012, under the name Big Wreck, the band released their third studio album, Albatross. The band has since released the albums Ghosts in 2014, Grace Street in 2017, ...But For the Sun in 2019, and 7 in 2023.
Daniel Mangan is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for feature film, as well as television for Netflix and AMC. He is also a co-founder of Side Door, a marketplace platform connecting artists with alternative venue spaces for in-person & online shows.
Fake Shark is a Canadian alternative rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Originally formed in 2005, while their early musical style mainly combined elements of dance punk, post-hardcore and IDM, the group gradually evolved to a more commercially streamlined sound in 2015, within the realm of indie rock, electro pop, new wave and slacker rock. They are best known for their 2021 hit single, "Loser", which charted to #3 on the Canadian alternative radio and are currently signed to Canadian independent label, Light Organ Records.
The Pack A.D. is a Canadian garage rock group from Vancouver, British Columbia. Known for their explosive live performances and the ability to generate a massive sound with only two members, the Pack A.D. plays garage rock with an eclectic variety of genre influences including pop, punk, psychedelic, polka new wave, and blues.
Said the Whale is a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band was founded in 2007 by the group's primary songwriters, guitarists and lead vocalists, Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. Their current lineup consists of Worcester, Bancroft, keyboardist and vocalist Jaycelyn Brown, bassist Lincoln Hotche and drummer Spencer Schoening.
Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Music Canada. They have released nine albums: Jackson Square (2008), Michigan Left (2011), High Noon (2014), Morning Report (2016), Rally Cry (2018), Blink Once (2021), Blink Twice (2022), Laundry Pile (2023) and Disco Loadout, Volume 1 (2024). The band has been nominated for over 15 Juno Awards; winning Rock Album of the Year for High Noon and Rally Cry, and six times for Group of the Year.
Fast Romantics is a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto, Ontario and originally formed in Calgary, Alberta.
Yukon Blonde is a Canadian indie rock band originally from Kelowna, British Columbia. The band has been based in Vancouver since 2009.
The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of Rolling Stone and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Juno Awards.
Stuck On Planet Earth is a Canadian three piece alternative rock band from Vaughan, Ontario, consisting of Adam Bianchi, Al Capo and Andrew Testa (drums).
Black to Gold is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic rock band Dear Rouge. It was released digitally on March 30, 2015, and physically on March 31, 2015. The singles from the album have all cracked the Top 15 on the Canadian Alternative Rock charts. The band released a sample of "Nostalgia" on March 4, 2015.
Hotel Mira is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Vancouver in 2010. It consists of Charlie Kerr on vocals, Mike Noble on bass, Clark Grieve on guitar and keyboards, and Cole George on drums.
The Tourist Company is a Canadian, Vancouver-based alternative rock band formed in 2013 by Taylor Swindells.
The Glorious Sons are a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario. Formed in 2011, the band signed with Black Box in 2013. Since then, The Glorious Sons have released two EPs and four full-length albums.
Monowhales were a Canadian alternative rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Their lineup consisted of lead vocalist Sally Shaar, drummer Jordan Circosta and guitarist Zach Zanardo.
Jordan Klassen is a singer-songwriter and producer from Vancouver, British Columbia.