The Festival: Dear Rouge

For over 10 years now, Dear Rouge, the alternative rock duo of Drew and Danielle McTaggart, have been winning over fans consistently and hitting new career heights. Following their major label debut record, 2015’s Black To Gold, the couple picked up multiple Top 10 radio hits, the 2015 SOCAN Songwriting Prize and the 2016 Juno for Breakthrough Group of the Year. Dear Rouge continued their upward trajectory with their 2018 sophomore album PHASES which included the lead single “Boys and Blondes” and the #1 Alternative Rock hit, “Live Through The Night.” Along the way, they opened for artists like Phantogram, Arkells, Our Lady Peace, and Lights, and also wowed crowds on major festival stages from coast to coast with their energetic and dynamic live performances.

The band has continued to solidify their presence in the Canadian music landscape with their third full-length record, Spirit, released April 8, 2022. The record spawned the #1 Alternative Rock hit “Fake Fame”, and the album’s title track “Gimme Spirit” which broke the Top 10 on Alternative Rock over summer 2022. The band picked up an Indie Award for Group of the Year at Canadian Music Week, before a packed summer of festivals that included two high-profile shows opening for Vance Joy and a tour supporting Canadian legends, Metric. Dear Rouge’s most recent single “Meet Me At The Rio” broke the Top 10 ahead of their headlining Spirit Tour over winter 2022. The Spirit Tour saw sold out shows in St. Catharines, Toronto, Red Deer, and Victoria before the band capped off the year with a packed headlining show at the historic Vogue Theatre in their hometown of Vancouver. All the tracks from Spirit, along with the band’s previous singles, have seen heavy recurrent radio airplay, leading to Dear Rouge being the most played Canadian band on alternative radio in 2022.

Opening Act – Schuyler Witman and Alexandria Matthews

Buy tickets here. Or at the entrance to the festival if there is still space.