THE BANKES BROTHERS w/Guests - 2 Nights LIVE @ Upstairs

The Zone 91-3 & Top Shelf Productions proudly present:

Two Nights with The BANKES BROTHERS, Featuring: Fionn // Wet Future (Jan 31), Uncle Strut // OK Charlie (Feb 1)

Victoria indie rock darlings, The Bankes Brothers, are home after an incredibly busy year, and pleased to be back with 2 highly anticipated hometown shows, featuring 5 must-see British Columbia acts. It’s been nearly a year since the last sellout at Upstairs and since, these local favourites have been cooking up a new show, and have curated two nights of spectacular West Coast talent to mark their island return.

Much has happened since the last Victoria gig - a sold out UK support tour, festival dates and showcases across Canada, and new music en route, curated by indie legend, Gus Van Go (The Beaches, Metric, Arkells, Sam Roberts, Lowell). Aided by this mentorship, The Bankes sound has developed - while staying true to their youthful ethos, the songwriting has matured in tandem with the road and studio experience, and the band is eager to showcase this growth. It’s one hell of a show - don’t miss it.

Friday will feature Vancouver twin sister alt-Pop duo Fionn (604 Records), fresh off of a nationwide tour with JJ Wilde, and quickly rising local and former BOTM Wet Future will open up the weekend. The second show brings Uncle Strut and their delightful brand of surf and psych to the island, with Victoria pop-rock staple OK Charlie in to start the night.Get your tickets and get down early! We promise, there’s no one worth missing - can’t decide which night? Advance tickets are $20 (one show), $30 (both shows), and will be $25 at the door (subject to availability).

*Advance Tickets available through Eventbrite exclusively*

THE BANKES BROTHERS: https://linktr.ee/thebankesbrothers

The Victoria, BC five-piece—brothers Nelson and Morgan Bankes on vocals and guitar, lead guitarist Carson Cleaver, and drummer Gray Oxley—formed in a pool hall one Friday night in 2017. Less than a week later, they played their first gig. Delivering a dynamic set list ranging from Otis Redding to Talking Heads, the former high school classmates were overwhelmed by an undeniable musical chemistry. Within three days of the first show, they had written a handful of original songs, including an early version of "See Me Run", the EP’s soulful, swelling closing track. The result is In Waves, a six-track shot of dopamine spilling over with irresistibly catchy melodies, exhilarating vocals, and joyous indie-rock instrumentation.Produced and recorded by indie legend Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat, The Zolas, Mounties), the EP is the culmination of the band's wide-ranging influences—from Elvis to The Strokes, Paul Simon to The Pixies—coming together in a way that defies sonic parallels, yet remains welcomingly familiar. The first release has the pretty grittiness of The Lumineers, the free-wheeling energy of the late-aughts indie bands, and the powerhouse belting of blues-rock contemporaries like Marcus King. Yet the sum of these parts is something fresh, exciting, and uniquely vibrant within the current sea of sleepy vocals and sedated guitar tones. The Bankes Brothers sound like the youthful high of a late-night romance and the blissful stagger home the next morning.

Having spent the last year developing their sound on the road in Canada and the UK, the boys returned home to work on their next release, spending some time over the following months in Toronto writing and recording with JUNO and Polaris nominated producer GusVanGo (Metric, The Beaches, Arkells, Sam Roberts, The Stills), as well as performing at Music BC’s Come Together showcase. With new music and a new show coming down the pipe, the Bankes brothers are firing on all cylinders - keep an eye out, they’re here to stay!

FIONN: https://www.fionnband.com/

Call it the full-circle record for folk-pop duo Fionn, revisiting the sound and spirit of their heralded first releases, though their path to this point has been anything but predictable.After all, twin sisters Alanna and Brianne Finn-Morris only dropped their self-titled debut in 2018, though they’ve been quite prolific since, developing a songwriting palette and penchant in a few short years that even career artists would kill for.“We definitely went in a more organic direction with these songs,” Brianne muses, noting Fionn’s preceding two LPs – 2020’s Everyone’s a Critic and especially 2021’s Candid Constellations – found them building on their Celtic-inspired folk foundation with increasingly pop-centric sensibilities. “We wanted to return to that very raw, very real place where we started.”

Put simply, their new album finds the sisters intentionally limiting their palette but painting with the deft strokes and dynamism typically adopted from decades of experience. It’s still catchy as hell, relying on musicianship, authenticity, and songwriting acumen for hooks instead of transient high-tech tools. Revisiting the pure, undiluted creative prowess that propelled them to fame in the first place.

UNCLE STRUT: https://linktr.ee/unclestrut

From their dive bar beginnings to packed concert theatres, Uncle Strut isn’t just playing music – they’re providing an all around experience you won’t soon forget. Picture the raw energy of the Red Hot Chili Peppers colliding with Beatles-esque melodies, then add in a 70s vibe. The result? A sonic cocktail that’ll have your vinyl collection nodding in approval while making your Spotify playlists feel alive again.Uncle Strut's debut album will be out this May!

WET FUTURE: https://linktr.ee/wetfuture

Wet Future hails from the Canadian west-coast, yet their music compares to the excitement from Brooklyn blues bands or LA punk-rock scenes. This high octane alt-rock group consistently delivers the goods with a wildly captivating live-stage presence and an emphasis on creating a massive, raw sound that fans of many genres can get behind. Combining brutally honest lyrics with driving melodies, the group recently released their debut full length album titled "Under The Weather".

Their tasty new single "Eggs In The Morning" is out now on all major steaming platforms, marking the third single of the band's next ambitious chapter of releases. Could a new full-length album be in the works?

OK CHARLIE: https://bio.site/OKCharlie

OK Charlie is finally releasing original music! And it’s top-tier indie-rock!While playing over 400 cover shows in Victoria, the band was secretly writing hundreds of songs (current count = 973 songs) and is now bursting into the modern rock scene.The band then reached out to BC’s award-winning producer Howard Redekopp (Mother Mother, Tegan and Sara, Dear Rouge, Said The Whale, etc.) who liked what he heard and began putting together a plan for the record.

Recorded at Risque Disque Studio during April of 2023, the album grew into an indie-rock dream full of whimsical highs, dramatic lows, villainous archetypes, and introspective insights.OK Charlie captures the mythic spirit of Arcade Fire, the drama of Muse, and the mischievousness of Arctic Monkeys.