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VIDEO: Kelowna bluegrass band ready to perform live after nearly two years

Under the Rocks is premiering a music video from their new album

After nearly two years of not being able to perform, a Kelowna band is ready to debut their new album and a new music video.

Under the Rocks features four Kelowna musicians: Chris Baxter (mandolin, banjo, and vocals), Jordan Klassen (acoustic guitar and vocals), Drew Schulz (standup bass and vocals) and Chloe Davidson (fiddle and vocals). Klassen describes the band as four great friends who make and play music together and live life together.

The quartet released a new album earlier in April 2021, but due to restrictions on performances and indoor gatherings, they weren’t able to perform it live or even showcase it on a tour like they normally would have in the past.

Now six months later, they finally have a chance to play their new music for a live audience.

“At the time (of release), there were many restrictions on and we weren’t able to do a proper show, so we’re very grateful to be able to showcase this now officially and celebrate the release of the album and have a good time and put on a great performance for everyone,” Baxter said.

Schulz said the long period of not being able to perform or tour had been very difficult for the four of them, but they found solace in knowing that they weren’t the only group going through it.

“We live to play live for the most part. That’s where a lot of the passion is,” he said.

“But we really got to spend some time hanging out and creating more music and dialling in with what we do have. So we’re ready to come out and play these shows at full force.”

The band’s new music video titled Ocean Falls will feature the eponymous town, which used to be a thriving town on the central coast of B.C. but is now a ghost town after the local pulp mill closed. The song is based on Baxter’s grandmother’s experience of growing up in the town.

“We shot it in May… we decided to go (to Ocean Falls), to shoot the video in the old town, walk the old streets, go in the old buildings that she grew up in,” he said.

With a new album and a concert after a period of hiatus, the band hopes audiences will feel joy when they play their new music.

“You can expect it to move you,” Davidson said.

“(The album is) a collection of songs that the four of us wrote and I think have a lot of meaning to us and hopefully, are something you all will connect with as well. I also hope that they get you tapping your toe and feeling good.”

More information on the concert is available through the Rotary Centre for the Arts.

“It was quite an adventure and we’re excited to showcase it.”

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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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