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George's wake-up call

Pemberton-based musician releases debut EP before moving back to Australia
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Pemberton musician George is releasing her debut EP before heading home to Australia. Photo by Rachelle Love

For Georgina Dacheff (better known by her stage and nickname, George), it was the perfect way to end her two years in Canada.

Two weeks before she returns to her home city of Perth, Australia, the local musician will release a four-song EP called Wake Up Call, followed by a concert to celebrate.

"It's a really cool way to end my time here," she says. "It sums up my time in Canada; it was a wake-up call."

Dacheff wrote many songs during her time in Pemberton (she bypassed Whistler entirely and moved straight to the Village), often packing up her guitar and heading down to the Lillooet River.

"Honestly, in Pemberton, it's been a different experience than friends I know that have been in Whistler," she says. "It's quite a different life I've been living out here. I feel like the energy of the mountains have helped me connect, and I feel like it really shows you this in-your-face beauty."

A curious thing also started to happen in her temporary hometown. "The music comes out now [and] I'm allowing it to flow without judgement," she says. "I used to have issues where I'd sit down to write a song and I'd try to direct it. Now, it flows ... and it's helped me see the truth. I hope, through my music, I can help connect people—and help everyone else to get the wake-up call."

Dacheff quickly began playing her music around Whistler when she first arrived in Pemberton in 2017. She also made it into the Whistler Music Search finals in 2018 as a wildcard pick.

Overall, her biggest takeaway from her time in the Sea to Sky corridor is "meeting people and learning from other people and experiencing different kinds of music," she says. "That would be the best experience out of it."

To that end, she recently met the Whistler- and Pemberton-based bluegrass band The Courageous Mountain Rangers, and they wound up agreeing to play on her EP.

"I was jamming with Larry [Cosulich], their bassist," she says. "The rest of the band came over and we jammed on one of my songs. It was everything I was looking for, without knowing it. Last night, we all hung out and played through the songs I'm putting on the EP for the first time and this Sunday we're going to record it all."

The band will also join her at her EP release party at Town Square Restaurant on Friday, Sept. 6. Hallowed Bones will also play.

"I'm going to play a few other originals as well—and my fun, classic covers," she says.

Just 10 days later, with her work visa expired, she will head back to Perth. "I'm going to chill there for a bit, see everybody, settle for a bit," she says. "Then I think I'm going to go to Japan and do a work visa there—it depends on what happens. I plan on travelling and seeing more of the world."

Music wise, Dacheff hopes to build on the progress she's made in Pemberton. "There's no real hopes and dreams to become famous or anything," she says. "I love sharing it so much; the connection that music has [and the power to] bring people together."

Tickets for the EP release show are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Get them at eventbrite.com by searching "GEORGE presents her debut EP Wake Up Call at Town Square Pemberton."