A couple who won the hearts of music fans during the 2014 Langley Has Talent – then jetted off to Scotland – are back home in Langley for Christmas and a special concert next Tuesday.
Jess Mailhot (known as Jet), 25, and her 28-year-old fiance Hugh Barbour are back from Glasgow.
And during the visit, their new group – now known as Jet & The Art Engine – will be performing at NY Grill & Bistro on Dec. 29, 7 to 10 p.m.
“It has been over a year since we have been able to perform for our Canada family and we can’t wait to share our new material with them,” Mailhot said.
“We are so glad we were able to squeeze a show into our short visit! Special thanks to Charlene McMorris for making it happen!”
Tickets are limited. While they last, they are $10 by calling or texting 778-838-8133.
Album due in spring
In the meantime, this couple is expecting to release its first album in early 2016 and the pair are proud to say that it has no specific genre.
“It is probably the only album where you will hear a folky-stomp tune like Oh My Days followed by an electronic pop song like Take Me To Tokyo,” Mailhot said.
The folk, meets country, meets rock duo have been performing together since 2013 – a musical partnership that blossomed into a romance.
They originally met in Langley in April of that year.
“I was looking for a guitarist and I had an ad out online. Hugh was in Canada looking for work as a geologist but he came across my ad and decided to meet me at my upcoming gig at the Barons Manor Pub,” Mailhot said.
“We started performing together immediately (I mean we even played a few songs together that night!) and the rest is history.”
While Mailhot grew up in Langley and most of her family is here, the couple spent last Christmas in Scotland with Barbour’s family.
On Mailhot’s 25th birthday (Aug. 23), Barbour proposed. The couple are planning to have the wedding here in Canada in the fall of 2017.
“We still have lots of planning to do. For now, we are enjoying being fiances and looking forward to our lives together,” she said.
Technical difficulties
During the second to last Langley Has Talent in 2014, this was one of several couples who made it through to the semifinals.
Technical difficulties during the finals knocked them out of the running, but not before they won over many new fans.
So, remembering back on Langley Has Talent, the couple have some fond and not so fond memories of that experience.
“Just so it’s clear, Langley Has Talent has gone down in our history books as our most embarrassing performance ever,” Mailhot recounted. “We try not to think about it haha!”
Since what they refer to as “that little disaster,” they have been living in Scotland and doing very well performing at various pubs, clubs, and events, Mailhot said.
Under the brand new title Jet+The Art Engine, their performance consists of the two of them swapping around instruments and singing in harmony.
“We have travelled through England, Scotland and Northern Ireland completely funded by our music and have learned that touring is our favourite part of being musicians. We plan to do a lot more of it,” she explained.
Will there be other opportunities to see Jet + The Art Engine perform locally – probably not any time to soon, but…
“This year, it’s my turn,” for Christmas at home, Mailhot said, noting last yer was with Barbour’s family in Scotland.
“We absolutely love it here and plan to spend some time living her again, when our time in the U.K. is up,” she concluded.
To follow the group and the release of their new album, people can follow them on Facebook: Facebook.com/jetandtheartengine.
