The Beaches rock the Green Stage with their energetic alt-rock tunes

The Beaches, a Canadian alt-rock group, brought a vibrant and infectious energy to the Green Stage on Friday. Fresh off the release of their new single “Blame Brett,” a new take on the traditional break-up song, they played an electric set of funky and emotion-fueled songs. On the day of their performance, they released a new remix of the aforementioned song featuring The Aces, who played on the Red Stage the following day. The Beaches are preparing for the release of their third album Blame My Ex, set to be released on September 15th. The band, comprised of Eliza Enman-McDaniel on drums, Leandra Earl on keys and guitar, and sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller on lead vocals plus bass and guitar respectively, all sat down with me on Saturday to talk about their performance the day prior.

Photo credits: Henry Shifrin

Henry: I caught your set yesterday, you absolutely killed it.

The Beaches: Thank you!

Henry: Coming from Toronto and being raised in the Canadian music scene, what would you say the biggest difference is to touring in the US?

The Beaches: So the Canadian music scene is a little different than in the States because we have a lot of we have a lot more funding in Canada. And again, it's a smaller market, right? The population of Canada is as big as the population of California. So you're dealing with the larger market in the States and one that's a little bit more separated, whereas Canada, although it's a big country like it, is very insular and there's a lot more funding. In Canada, radio stations also have to play 50% Canadian music, so it is a lot easier for artists of Canadian descent to achieve success because of all that support.

The Beaches: So yeah, for us personally, it's like we spent so long in Canada and working all the markets, and now and coming down here we're like, “Well, we have to be the same here, we can't expect the same results right away.” But we are excited and willing to work on it, and do fun stuff like this along the way.

Henry: Have you enjoyed touring the festival scene?

The Beaches: Oh my God, this is our first one of the summer? Second one? It has been incredible. We had the absolute best day at the show, it went so much than any of us had kind of expected for us.

Henry: What would you say the biggest difference is for you playing a show as a headliner at a venue versus playing at a festival?

The Beaches: Well, it's a lot of fun because it's kind of a year-in and year-out kind of thing, but you also get to experience all these other bands and connect with all these people. It just feels like a two-day party. And then you get to this place and it's exposure that you wouldn't have at your own headlining show, because everyone is there to see you, whereas at a festival you play for like 20,000 or 30,000 people who had never heard of us. So it's great exposure for sure.

Henry: If you all could carry one message through your music to fans who might see you at a festival for the first time, what would it be?

The Beaches: I mean, we kind of want to be everyone's best friends; we want everyone to feel welcome and like they’re a pal. I think you can hear that through our music; some of it is goofy, and some are playful, organic, earnest, and heartful.

Henry: And it certainly shines through on stage! Thank you so much for meeting with me.

The Beaches: Thank you for your questions!