Emerging from the sleepy river town of Peterborough, Ontario, The Avenues make real country music; not country music that requires the pre-fix “alt” or “new,” but the pure, honest, and unadorned kind. Forming in the winter of 2009, The Avenues sound the way Nashville might have without the glitz and glamour, as their banjo pickin’ and guitar strummin’ - augmented by the addition of bass and drums - echo the honkytonks and the heartaches of country music made famous by one of its first heroes - Hank Williams.
On their self-titled first album, Chris Culgin (guitar and vocals) Benj Rowland (banjo, bass pedals and vocals) and Josh Fewings (drums), tell stories from the frontiers of country music, wandering that liminal space just past what musicologists call tradition. Listening to songs such as “Car Crash” or “Troubles” is strikingly familiar yet undoubtedly new, like hearing a new story from an old friend.
Under their former name the County Boys, Chris and Benj, toured Canada multiple times and developed two albums of songs, which can still be heard at Avenues performances. As well as being a performer at The Peterborough Folk Festival, and Shelter Valley Folk Festival , they’ve just completed a fall tour of the Maritimes.
With stunningly vocal harmonies and a high-spirited live show, The Avenues are one of Canada’s best-kept secrets.
