Rah Rah was an indie rock musical group formed in 2006 in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. They toured extensively across North America and Europe. The band released four full-length albums, including 2015's ''Vessels''. After a three-year hiatus, the band played three final live shows in December of 2019 and disbanded.

History

The group formed as a three piece in 2006 made up of Erin Passmore (drums/vocals), Kyrie Kristmanson (trumpet/guitar/vocals) and Marshall Burns (guitar/vocals). In 2006 they released the ''Songs for Pasquala EP'' independently. That same year the band performed at the Regina Folk Festival as well as

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual List of music festivals, music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 ve ...

. By 2007 Joel Passmore (formerly of Despistado and Sylvie) had joined the band on bass along with Samra Sahlu on keyboards and Kristina Hedlund on violin. The five-piece recorded their debut full length ''Going Steady'' which was released in November 2008 on Young Soul Records. Shortly thereafter Leif Thorseth, also formerly of Despistado, joined the band on guitar. In 2009 the band toured Canada extensively in support of the album. The group also began work on their next record with producer Kees Dekker ( Plants and Animals) in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. This second full-length album, ''Breaking Hearts'', was eventually nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award, for Rock Recording of the Year. In late May 2009 Rah Rah's song "Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel" was available for free download on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

for a week. Also, the song "Tentacles" was available in

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

stores as the free download card of the week. The band underwent another line-up change in the fall of 2009 when Vanessa Benson (keyboards/vocals/bass) joined the group. Rah Rah was named "Best Alternative New Artist" and "Best New Canadiana Artist" on iTunes Canada's Best of 2009 list. Rah Rah headlined the Whistler Live! stage during the 2010 Paralympic Games and also performed at the Saskatchewan Pavilion. In 2012 the group signed with Montreal's Hidden Pony Records. That year the band released their third LP, ''The Poet's Dead'', which marked the debut of Jeffrey Romanyk on drums. The album was produced by Gus Van Go and Werner F. at the Boiler Room Studio. In 2013 the album was longlisted for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

as well as nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Best Alternative Album. It also won the WCMA for Independent Album of the Year. Also in 2013, the band, now a five piece, signed with German label Devil Duck Records and subsequently toured Europe. In 2015 the band released their fourth LP, ''Vessels'', again produced by the production team of Gus Van Go and Werner F. In 2016, the band toured Japan with The Elwins. In 2019, after a three-year hiatus from recording and touring, the group announced they were disbanding and the members were all moving on to other projects. The band released one final song, "Art Holds No Truth" from the 2015 ''Vessels'' sessions, and played three final shows in their home province before the New Year, in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and Regina. The band had toured with such notable acts as Wintersleep,

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

, Land of Talk,

Yukon Blonde Yukon Blonde is a Canadian indie rock band originally from Kelowna, British Columbia.Derdeyn, Stuart (April 22, 2010).Yukon Blonde feels the love: Indie band adding plenty of fans on cross-country tour", ''Ottawa Citizen''. Retrieved May 5, 2010. ...

Dear Rouge Dear Rouge are a Juno award-winning Vancouver-based alternative rock band formed in 2012 by Drew and Danielle McTaggart. History Formation and early years Drew and Danielle McTaggart were both touring musicians under separate projects. They met ...

, Plants and Animals,

Said the Whale Said the Whale is a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia. The band was founded in 2007 by the group's primary songwriters, guitarists and lead vocalists, Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. Their current lineup consists of Worc ...

Two Hours Traffic Two Hours Traffic is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are named after a line in the prologue to Shakespeare’s ''Romeo and Juliet''. Critics have drawn comparisons to 1970s power pop band Big Star (b ...

Minus the Bear Minus the Bear are an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound has been described as " Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophi ...

and The Elwins. They had also performed at a number of festivals such as

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

in New York City,

NXNE North by Northeast (or NXNE) is an annual music and arts festival held each June in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival's main focus is live music, particularly emerging talent. Acts that have had break out appearances at NXNE at small venues ...

and CMW in Toronto,

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

in Austin, Texas, Reperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany, Great Escape in Brighton, England,

Halifax Pop Explosion The Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the n ...

, Supercrawl in Hamilton, Ontario, BreakoutWest, JunoFest and Sled Island in Calgary, Alberta. The group was noted for their energetic live shows which often featured some combination of giant balloons, piñatas, robot cats,

Pop Rocks Pop Rocks, also known as popping candy, is a type of candy owned by Zeta Espacial S.A. Pop Rocks ingredients include sugar, lactose (milk sugar), and flavoring. It differs from typical hard candy in that pressurized carbon dioxide gas bubbles ...

candy, and

confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar or metallic material, usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''confetto'', ...

Members

*Marshall Burns – guitar, vocals *Kristina Hedlund – violin, vocals, keyboard *Erin Passmore – vocals, keyboard, guitar, drums *Joel Passmore – bass, vocals *Jeffrey Romanyk – drums, guitar *Leif Thorseth – guitar

Discography

Albums

*''Going Steady'' (November 18, 2008) *''Breaking Hearts'' (June 1, 2010) *''The Poet's Dead'' (October 2, 2012) *''Vessels'' (September 11, 2015)

EPs

*''Songs for Pasquala'' (2006) *''The Sailors'' (March 22, 2011)

Remix albums

*''Rahmixes'' (2011)

Singles

References

External links

*
Rah Rah
at

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rah, Rah Canadian indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups from Regina, Saskatchewan 2005 establishments in Saskatchewan