A trio of West Kootenay teens has been having a great time this summer playing the local summer concert circuit.
Blackout Summer is made up of 15-year-old vocalist and bass guitarist Rhyan Johnstone, 19-year-old lead guitarist Dakota Pearce and 14-year-old drummer Reid Erickson.
The trio has performed at Castlegar’s Spring Fling, Sunfest and Kootenay Festival and at Nelson’s Thursday Socials.
But their biggest show so far has been at the CannaFest pre-party in Grand Forks last week.
The band chose their name because they liked how the words with contrary meanings sounded together, but it also has a deeper meaning.
“It is kind of a play on last year when it was super smokey and the smoke was wrapped around the sun,” explained Johnstone.
The band loves the feeling of playing their rock and punk tunes on a stage before an audience. They feature songs from the ‘80s to the early 2000s.
“With our set list, we try to span so far so we reach people from every age group,” said Johnstone.
“I love playing covers, because you connect with people when they recognize the songs you are playing,” she added.
For Pearce, he just loves the music so the whole experience is fun.
Erickson really enjoys being on stage.
“It’s fun when we get to play and it’s fun for the audience to listen to us play so it’s overall a good time,” he said.
Check out the Blackout Summer Band Facebook page for videos of the group performing.
