By Sheldon Spackman

Westerner Days a homecoming for Dear Rouge

Jul 22, 2018 | 2:43 PM

A live performance by Dear Rouge on the TD Main Stage at Westerner Days Saturday night was a homecoming of sorts for at least one half of the Vancouver-based duo.

The group which was nominated for Pop Artist of the Year, Recording of the Year for their second album ‘Phases’ and Songwriter(s) of the Year for ‘Chains’ in 2018 at the Western Canadian Music Awards, is made of Drew and Danielle McTaggart, with Danielle originally hailing from Red Deer.

Speaking with the BIG Breakfast Show’s Jody Evans on Friday, Danielle says being back at Westerner Park brings back lots of memories, including her high school graduation from École Secondaire Notre Dame High School.

However, husband Drew says spending time in new surroundings like New York City recently has also been good for them.  

“Vancouver is great, we spend a lot of time there but we actually spend a bit of time here, visiting Dani’s family and her brothers,” says McTaggart. “New York, we had an opportunity to be there for a year and it just kind of helped get us out of our comfort zone, experience new music, be in a place where it feels tougher and nobody knows your history, nobody knows us as Dear Rouge.”

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“It’s a very growing and stretching experience to be uncomfortable in a city that you’re not used to,” admits Danielle. “We wanted that, we wanted to be inspired and wanted to take from our new experiences and write new music with it and just constantly be growing. To me, New York was like the Rome of the world and if we could get there, maybe we could just make something better.”

“Our album, a lot of it came out of those experiences as well, so you definitely need to check out our album Phases that we just released,” she adds.

Drew points out the success their new song ‘Live through the Night’ is also garnering on the charts as of late.

“We’re number three with our new song on the charts,” states Drew. “It feels nice, it’s not what it’s all about, it’s about people listening to the music and experiencing the music but when you get those positions, it feels nice, it feels like an award. Music is not tangible but these are the moments where you get the recognition and it’s kind of fun.”

He says being back in Red Deer though is also a lot of fun.

“We feel a part of it even though we’re not living here,” explains Drew. “But it is the hometown of Dear Rouge.”

Dear Rouge will be returning to Red Deer for a concert at Bo’s Bar and Stage on October 30. Tickets for the show, presented by 106.7 The Drive, go on sale Friday, July 27 at livenation.com.