biographical info
Jake and the Leprechauns is a six-piece band with an unlikely trajectory. The band hails from the Eastern Townships of Québec, and has released three records to much international fanfare. These feature guest appearances by the cream of Canada’s musical royalty, members of Blue Rodeo, The Barenaked Ladies, The Tragically Hip and of Patrick Watson.
From the outset, the band has strived to reconcile the immediacy and rawness of their favourite records from the 1970s with the depth and urgency of contemporary songwriting, to make poetry accessible by dressing it up in folk and country clothes, to make modern pop palatable by injecting it with a healthy dose of self-awareness.
Their third offering, At Midnight the Birdsong, a lush, “swooning saga with larger-than-life crescendos”* was recorded by Mark Lawson (of Arcade Fire fame). The album charted in the top 20 of university stations across the country and peaked at 1 in BC shortly after its release.
The band has received international critical acclaim for their three albums, and opened for some of this country’s best known acts.
lineup
Philippe Custeau Songwriter
C-Antoine Gosselin Composer
influences
Lullaby for the Working Class
Neil Young & CSN
The Band
Tom Waits
Sufjan Stevens
Wilco
My Morning Jacket
Flying Burrito Brothers
Leonard Cohen
Daniel Lanois