Indie Folk Trio Plays Thunder Bay This Month
Story by Kris Ketonen, Photo by Phil Walker
It’ll be an evening of storytelling and harmony when Leverage for Mountains takes the stage in Thunder Bay this month.
The Gatineau-based folk trio—made up of Nick Loyer, Jay Trépanier, and Jay Flynn—has been together for about six years. Their first release, an EP titled The Essence Project, came in 2016, followed up by Love Out of the Dark in 2022. The band’s beginnings, however, stretch back a bit farther, to the moment that Loyer and Trépanier met through a mutual friend about nine years ago. “He was full of talent, and I was really interested in writing songs,” Loyer says. “’I was like, ‘You know what? I should write a song for you.’ We went off from that point. We started writing songs together instead, and throughout the years, we started performing.” They then brought in Flynn on percussion, and things took off from there.
Loyer says the energy and storytelling folk music offers is what drew him to the genre. “I’m the main songwriter in the band, and what pushed me in that direction was my influences,” he says, adding that he really enjoys groups like Passenger and Mumford and Sons. “I just love that energy,” Loyer continues. “I love singing stories, telling stories, and connecting with people. Plus the community, the folk community, is amazing.”
Anyone who checks out the band’s Thunder Bay show will be in for a harmonic treat. “When you listen to the album, it’s more pop-oriented, but there’s more harmonies when you come and see us live,” Loyer says. “When we do a live show, we want to showcase even more the harmonies and the voices, the individual voices.”
And, Loyer adds, fans will have more original Leverage for Mountains music to look forward to, with a new album in the works. A release date hasn’t yet been decided, but Loyer says it can be expected in the next year or so.
Leverage for Mountains plays McGillivray’s Landing at Fort William Historical Park on February 10, part of the Sleeping Giant Folk Music Society’s season.
For more information, visit leverageformountains.com.
