The Grapes Of Wrath will be returning to their hometown of Kelowna for a concert at Waterfront Park on Aug. 28 to mark the band’s 30th anniversary.
The show begins at 8 p.m. and is free admission.
“We’re thrilled that the gig happens to fall almost exactly 30 years to the day after the first time we ever performed publicly as The Grapes Of Wrath in the basement of the French Cultural Centre at the corner of Bernard and Richter,” said band member Kevin Kane. “Talk about coincidence!”
“Growing up in Kelowna made us who we are,” added fellow bandmate Tom Hooper. “Because it was a small town and isolated from the big city music scene of Vancouver we developed our own sound and had to work harder to be heard.”
The Kelowna concert will also celebrate the recent release of brand new critically acclaimed album High Road via Toronto-based imprint Aporia Records. High Road is the first album in 22 years to feature all three of the band’s original members—Kevin Kane, Tom Hooper and Chris Hooper.
In the spring of 2012 the trio gathered at co-producer Darryl Neudorf’s private studio to begin work on the album—the first time all three had been in a studio together since completing their final album, These Days, at London’s Abbey Road Studios in 1991.
The resulting 12 tracks, written by both Kane and Tom Hooper, feature the signature harmonies, vivid melodies and heartfelt lyrics The Grapes Of Wrath are known for.
“This record is a continuation of where we last left off. This isn’t a nostalgia trip. It’s like our other records—the next step in our growth as songwriters and musicians. The only difference is it took us a little longer to make the step,” Hooper said.
The Grapes of Wrath formed in Kelowna in 1983 and released their first album in 1985, September Bowl Of Green.
In 1987, band broke through to Canadian mainstream radio with their sophomore effort, Treehouse. That was followed in 1989 by the platinum selling Now And Again, which spawned three hit singles including “What Was Going Through My Head.”
Following the release of 1991’s These Days—their second platinum album that spawned two Top 10 hits “You May Be Right” and “I Am Here” —the band decided to call it a day.
