Cupid’s Heart, a queer indie-rock duo that as been described as a mix between Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders with a pinch of Nirvana, is embarking on their first tour with their final stop in Prince George.
Hailing form the another Prince city – Prince Albert, Saskatchewan – the duo is aptly dubbing it the Prince II Prince Tour.
“The two Prince cities – Prince Albert and Prince George – they both kind of have a little bit of a blue collar feel to them and in some ways I think they have a similar spirit in their town and it’s cool to have that connection,” said Emma Jean, who plays the electric guitar and sings.
“I think it’s a fun play on words and I think it was a fun goal to set when we were designing this as a tour.”
The other half of the duo is her partner Stacey Dunn on cello, and the pair are also accompanied by a drum machine.
Previously Jean was in a band called Rymestone, whose 2020 tour unfortunately was cancelled mid-run while in Prince George due to the rise of Covid 19, and the show never manifested.
“In one way it’s kind of sweet to come back to Prince George. It’s not quite the same because it’s not the same band, but it’s nice to be able to come back to fulfill that musical purpose that never really got to be laid out,” said Jean.
However, during her time in Rymstone, Jean was able to connect with Danny Bell from Mad Loon Entertainment as well as local musician Britt A.M. who Cupid's Heart will now be sharing the stage with at Omineca Arts Centre on Feb. 25.
“This is the first time that I've been involved in touring and playing live music has been a very new experience for me,” added Dunn.
“It's just nice to see the crowds coming back, after COVID, and people coming out and enjoying live music. This is just like collective sigh of relief, almost like, we didn't realize how much we missed it.”
Dunn said she feels lie the two of them, who are now a couple, were brought together to share their music.
“When we met, I was taking cello lessons, learning cello as an adult, and Emma was previously in Rymstone and she saw the cello and said ‘Hey you want to try jamming?’ and we tried and it was all just very unexpected and really exciting.”
Jean added that their relationship has paralleled their musical journey, and which has been an interesting and creative expression.
She also noted that being in a two-person band makes touring more doable in terms of profits and expenses because they are able to be relatively compact in terms of travelling.
“Canada in general, in comparison to the United States, all the different cities and venues are spread a lot further apart so I think touring has been a topic for a lot of bands recently, just because of the rising cost of everything,” said Jean.
“As a duo, like maybe it's a little more, a little bit more possible for us to be able to accomplish it.”
The pair have also been supported by a micro grant from SK Arts and you can check out their debut single Juliet through various streaming platforms.
Cupid’s Heart will be performing alongside Britt A.M. at Omineca (369 Victoria Street) on Feb 25 with doors opening at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15 in advance at madloon.ca or $20 at the door.
