For the second time in as many weeks, a Juno Award-winning musical act is coming to Whistler.
Vancouver-based Dear Rouge will take the stage at Whistler Olympic Plaza on July 7 as part of the municipality’s continuing Summer Concert Series. Established by husband-and-wife duo Drew and Danielle McTaggart, the band is known for hits like “Fake Fame,” “Live Through the Night,” “Black to Gold,” and “I Heard I Had.”
The couple describes their musical style with two words: grit and gloss.
“There’s this edge, and there’s this feistiness, this energy in our music,” explains Drew. “And then on the other side, there’s this gloss—we really like the music to sound good. Even though it’s edgy, it’s still accessible. [Danielle’s] really eccentric in her dress and her vibe and how she sings, and so that combo brings you this high-energy, synth-rock band.”
Dear Rouge has been to Whistler a handful of times before, having played in both the village proper and Olympic Plaza. They love the scenery—much like anyone else that passes through—and appreciate how diverse the crowds often are. They say they’ve also enjoyed staying in town overnight with their crew in the past.
“You have people who are visiting, you have the locals, and it’s fun for us because sometimes shows can be more one-dimensional,” says Drew. “But I always feel like there’s a diverse crowd [in Whistler] and it brings a diverse response, which is really cool.”
“It’s just a beautiful [place]—how could you not love those mountains as a backdrop?” Danielle adds.
‘Organic growth’
About 10 years ago, the McTaggarts started Dear Rouge for fun, and as an outlet to move forward from a previous unsuccessful venture of Danielle’s. Quickly, it became a project that brought and kept them together. In 2012, they pumped out two independently-released EPs: Heads Up! Watch Out! followed by Kids Wanna Know, laying a foundation for things to come.
Black and Gold came out on March 30, 2015. It was the band’s first studio album, containing four songs that received considerable play on Canadian rock music charts (the titular single, “Black and Gold,” charted as high as No. 2). Shortly thereafter, in 2016, Dear Rouge was named Breakthrough Group of the Year at the Juno Awards.
Looking back on her shared journey with her spouse, Danielle is glad they forged on even when the going got tough.
“All people have these dreams kind of tucked away in their hearts and often put them to the wayside, and I think with Dear Rouge, the biggest thing was just that we didn’t stop doing what we liked,” she says. “I think, to encourage other people: just keep doing what you love and see what comes of it. Don’t stop just because it’s not a full-time thing, or because you hit roadblocks.
“We had a lot of things against us in certain phases of our careers, but we just [played music] because we liked it, and that organic growth came about because of it. I’m so thankful for that.”
Spirit of community
Drew compares live performance to going to the edge of a dock or the top of a mountain: it’s always fun, it’s always beautiful, and it’s not something you necessarily experience every day.
“You get to be together with a big group of people, listening to music created right there, and there’s this human element,” he elaborates. “It’s so valuable because you get to emotionally experience something with a bunch of your peers. It’s the same as if you’re doing a team sport: it’s a part of life that needs to be there, and if it’s missing, you definitely notice it.”
With COVID-19 in our collective rearview mirror (hopefully for good), the McTaggarts are excited to join people in a lively, old-fashioned sort of celebration. They look forward to seeing families out in nature, sharing in a sense of having overcome a great hurdle together. It certainly took grit to come through a pandemic—now, Dear Rouge is bringing some well-earned gloss to the Sea to Sky.
In the meantime, fans can check out the band’s latest album, Spirit, described on its website as a “different avenue of sound” for Dear Rouge with more acoustic instrumentation. Drew and Danielle have been busy writing a bevy of new music, and teased that 2024 will be “a good year” for their supporters.
Catch their free show at Whistler Olympic Plaza at 7:30 p.m. on July 7, with opening act DJ LAZY FNGZ kicking things off at 6:30 p.m.
