Artist Spotlight - Brehdren

Are you ready to be introduced to some of the amazing local talent we have here? We have such an incredible music scene here in the GVA, and there are so many amazing artists just waiting for you to check them out.

The first peaks of spring are starting to show, from grass turning greener, to flowers blooming, to spiders spinning webs in the open again. The cold of winter has broken way to the warmth and sunshine (and probably a lot of rain too) of spring. Event season is starting, bands are ramping up their tours, and more is happening every weekend! 

Kick back, open your music app of choice, and check out today's spotlighted artist:

Brehdren

Here's what they had to say... 

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        Q: For those who don’t know you, can you please introduce yourself and describe your sound?

Brehdren is a 10-piece theatrical ska rock band, covering a range of ground—from extended jams to two-minute freak outs. We recently celebrated our 15-year anniversary as a band, releasing two albums in two months, including a new five-song album in December called “Terror at Camp Brehdren” and a live album in January recorded at our annual Xmas in Skaville concert.
With 10 members, we obviously have a lot of influences we bring into our music including indie, classic, and prog rock, as well as elements of jazz, reggae, ska, and funk. Regardless of the style, our goal is to get the dance floor going. The more people dancing the better.

        Q: What’s one of the biggest successes you’ve had as a musician?

As a group of musicians, we have decades of experience playing small and large stages all over British Columbia and beyond. Most recently we sold out the Wise Hall with the 21 st annual Xmas in Skaville event, which we organized, filmed and recorded for a live album. As Brehdren we have also opened for NYC ska-legends the Slackers at the Rickshaw, headlined the Fox Cabaret, and played the Victoria, Vancouver, and New West ska festivals. As a DIY-band, we also play lots of small, local shows. A few of our members have been organizing and promoting shows for more than 30 years, so we still find great joy in small venues, making our own posters, and getting into logistics. We also design all our own album artwork and wrote a newspaper/zine to accompany our second album, The Classifieds. Still, I think we are most proud that we are still having fun after 15 years together. We just put out a new album and already have 10 new songs in the works. In many ways, we are just getting going.

        Q: What’s your favourite venue to play?

There have been many great venues in Vancouver over the years. I think our favourites to play right now are The Wise Hall, The Fox Cabaret, LanaLous, and Bullys in New West. We also started playing acoustic sets at The Princeton Pub recently and those have been a ton of fun. Our next Princeton Pub gig will be May 23.

        Q: What do you think was the best Medium for music to be on? (Vinyl, Tape, CD, Digital)?

Whatever gets you excited to listen to music, I guess? Personally, I collected CDs for years—and will not give up the thousands I still have, but digital is so accessible. Right now, I have four music streaming sites I pay for, including two dedicated to just “jam band” improvisational music. I generally have music on 24/7 in my house.

        Q: Who is your favourite local band to see perform around town?

Lots of great bands around town, including Balkan Shmalkan, Brasser, Super Krystal, Brass Camel, Los Furios, and our very good friends Kownterpoint!

        Q: What’s coming up next for your music?



We have a bunch of shows set for this spring around the lower mainland and a small tour scheduled for early June. Stay tuned to our Instagram page for the latest news, including demos for a new album coming in 2026.

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To learn more about Brehdren, listen to some of their music, and to find out about their upcoming shows, head on over to their Website & Bandcamp! 

 

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