If you’re looking for some musical family fun, the Parksville Beach Festival’s next band aims to offer just that.
In part because they are a family.
The Springmans are a travelling band from Aldergrove with dad Perry Springman leading the group that includes 13-year-old Emma, 10-year-old Ryan, eight-year-old Sarah and six-year-old Jacob.
The family band grew organically as Perry began performing solo after a 15-year career as lead singer for indie band Perry and the Poorboys, said Perry.
Though starting a family band wasn’t the plan, Emma was first to join in on stage, singing since she was two years old, and playing ukelele at about eight years old, Perry said.
Ryan began drumming at age two, banging on plastic drums until Perry and his wife, Julia, realized their son’s talent and got him a full drum kit. He’s performed on the djembe since age four, and recently began adding sounds with a sample pad.
Sarah began singing and dancing with the band at eight years old and is now learning the ukelele, while Jacob is the official “dancer and clapper.” He also does a great Mexican hat dance (kid style) which he often breaks out during performances, said Perry.
Asked about the trials and tribulations of a family band, Perry said, “If you’re a performer, they say you don’t want to follow a kids act.” Turns out bringing the kids up on stage with you alleviates all that.
They do a great job of getting the audience involved, he said, from children to teenagers to adults, with Emma and Sarah often bringing audience members on stage to teach them a few dance moves to perform along with the band.
Emma said she enjoys how well she and her family work together to put on the show. “It’s just fun working together as a team… everyone knows their jobs… and performing is super fun.”
The band has been performing songs from their album, Happy Beach, in the United States, B.C. and Alberta, visiting schools and performing at festivals while Julia homeschools the four kids. They perform at more than 100 venues a year.
With silly dance moves, catchy lyrics and upbeat songs, the band is set to perform Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Parksville community beach at 11 a.m. as buskers and then from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the main stage as part of the Parksville Beach Festival’s free summer concert series. They’ll be busking down at the beach again on Monday as part of the festival, said Perry.
For more information, go to www.parksvillebeachfest.ca/free-outdoor-summer-concerts.
