The Breakmen
2010
PM
MEL LEHAN HALL AT ST. JAMES i
3214 West 10th Ave, Kitsilano
Accessible 
All ages
This event has already taken place.
The Breakmen are winning over audiences across Canada and the American Northwest with contagious stage energy, original melodies, and innovative vocal harmonies. Featuring the singing and songwriting of multi-instrumentalists Archie Pateman, Lee Watson, and Ben Rogalsky, and the driving bass of Matt Lawson, The Breakmen blend elements of bluegrass, old-time, blues, and folk music. The band was formed in 2005 and quickly found an enthusiastic audience, performing to sold out houses in the amazing Whiskey Hollow Bound series in 2007, and playing a leading role in the flourishing West Coast roots music scene ever since. Wonderful harmonies, fine songs, and good-time old-time music are their trademarks, and have drawn comparisons to The Old Crow Medicine Show and The Band. But The Breakmen are very much their own men, with two excellent CDs under their belt and on their current tour, which takes them right across Canada and culminates this weekend, they celebrate the launch of their 3rd CD, Heartwood. Heartwood was recorded in Whitehorse in April, and produced by Bob Hamilton, revered old time musician and record producer, who will accompany the band at this show.
Pharis Patenaude was one of the lead singers with Outlaw Social, one of our favourite acoustic bands of the past decade. A couple of years ago she married California musician and banjo maker Jason Romero, and the couple teamed up with BC fiddler Erynn Marshall to form The Haints Old Time Stringband. Erynn has since moved to Galax, Virginia, to run the Old Fiddlers Convention - the largest fiddle camp in the world. So The Haints rarely perform as a trio these days. Pharis & Jason will perform the opening set for The Breakmen - and will probably join the boys for a few songs later in the evening as well.