Vancouver-based Five Alarm Funk will be performing in downtown Squamish in mid-March.
The “horn-powered” and “percussion-fuelled” band will be performing at One And Half Ave on March 19 with music starting around 9 p.m. Opening for Five Alarm Funk will be a set from local DJ, Peter Wright, also known as CrippledWheel.
“They’re such a great band,” said Wright about Five Alarm Funk. “They're so lively and energetic.”
The music will take place at One And Half Ave — formerly The Knotty Burl, which closed at the end of July 2020 due to pandemic restrictions and continued high costs for upkeep. New owners from Cleveland Hospitality Group have recently purchased the building and this will be the first musical show to take place since the venue shut its doors almost two years ago.
“It just feels great to be able to bring music back and to be able to dance again,” said Wright. “The pandemic was really hard to take it away. You know, we weren't allowed to socialize. We weren't allowed to dance.”
Five Alarm Funk released its seventh studio album “Big Smoke” in mid-2020. The band has been nominated for two Juno Awards, according to a news release.
“Big Smoke is the tightest, funkiest and most energized album we've ever created,” said band leader, Tayo Branston, in a news release. “It's the culmination of 17 years of creating, recording and performing together. We call it Punk Funk – it’s got the punch of heavy-hitting dance music with the energy of a ruckus live concert.”
Including Branston, the band consists of seven members: Gabe Boothroyd, Oliver Gibson, Tim Parent, Tom Towers, Brent Mah and Kent Wallace with each playing guitar, bass, percussion, saxophone and trumpet. Branston leads the vocals.
This will be the band’s first show of the spring and the first before they take off on tour around Canada for April, July and August.
Wright said that One And Half Ave will be getting more performers in the next few weeks as well.
“Because there's so much talent in British Columbia that I wanted to get people that like groups that are local to support them first before going for bigger international groups which will come later on,” he said.
Just in the next few weeks, Wright said Skiitour, Neon Steve, Slynk, Fort Knox Five and BC/DC will all be coming to perform in Squamish.
Tickets for Five Alarm Funk are available for $20 in advance or $25 at the door. For advanced tickets, please visit the Eventbrite page for the event.
**Please note, this story has been corrected to say the event will be happening at 9 p.m. and not 7 p.m. as first stated. We also removed an incorrect mention of The Goat as the venue.
