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If you like to move it, check out Bombargo

Saskatoon band performs at Tapley's
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Running here from Saskatoon Bombardo is on their first road trip and will be driving up to Tapley's for a show this weekend. PHOTO submitted

Saskatoon alternative rock band Bombargo is still new enough that there is a relentless positivity in their approach.

Singer Nathan Thoen says their Whistler show is part of many firsts.

"This is the first official tour where we've gotten in a van and been on the road for three weeks. We're really excited to be coming to Whistler," he says.

"I've been there and snowboarded in Whistler before but I've never played music there. A totally different experience for sure!"

Bombargo formed in late 2014, the band's first EP Back on Main came out last year.

"We're excited with the sound that we've been making and the response that we've been getting across Canada. Our EP was the first time that the four of us worked together. We had been practicing a bunch and getting good responses and we decided we had to give it a go," Thoen says.

They worked with producer Jordan Cook, who performs under the name Rainwolf on the EP.

"We had a bunch of originals and laid them down. It was my first time in a recording studio," Thoen says.

Asked their age, the Prince Albert native laughs: "I'm not crazy young. I'm 24. Young enough, I guess."

Talking about the Saskatoon scene, Thoen says they are lucky with the amount of music being made there currently, from The Sheepdogs on down.

"When I moved there I was blown away by the music, for a city of our size," he says.

"So many bars here are dedicated to good live music and it creates a perfect simmer pot for musicians who want to play. They have the opportunity for so many different venues to perform at.

"And there are a lot of little music festivals... nonstop throughout the summer."

He says that Bombargo has been lucky to have access to this, with enough clubs for 250 people to really give them a chance to shape their sound in front of a good-sized crowd.

"We had such a rad response that we realized we had to keep going and keep on doing this," Thoen says.

"It snowballed into a really passionate project with a lot of good buddies."

In terms of what Whistler is going to get from the band, Thoen says they want people to come out and "move it and grove it."

He adds: "For us, and myself in particular, making music is about creating passion and pouring everything I have into that moment I am on stage and just giving it my all, connecting with the crowd and the songs that I wrote."

Bombargo performs at Tapley's on Saturday, March 12.