A Calgary band called Ready Set Bro got a rare chance to hit the stage to play music together on Tuesday.
The teen band was showcasing its new single “Stardust” at the Ironwood, a music venue in the city’s Inglewood neighbourhood.
The “Bro” part of their name is particularly appropriate as they’re truly a band of brothers: 18-year-old Tavyn Doell and his siblings, Auslen, 16, and Kaplan, 13.
“(The song is) about how over the pandemic we kind of were contemplating a lot of things about life and meaning and the fragility of life,” Tavyn said.
“I think this song can apply to everybody, about coming together and that we are all one, and we can get through anything, even in isolation.”
Unable to perform live over most of the past year of COVID-19 restrictions, the brothers say connecting with their fans has been difficult.
“We’ve just been kind of putting out our music on the internet so people can still listen,” Kaplan said.
Growing up in a house full of instruments, the brothers have enjoyed getting coaching and encouragement from their father, himself a professional musician.
“When other kids should’ve been in bed, these guys were up practising,” Al Doell said.
The brothers say the consistent support has been important to them.
“We’ve always been able to play our instruments at all times,” Auslen said. “They don’t say, ‘No, you can’t play.’ It’s, ‘Turn it up!'”
Their parents are proud to see the boys’ hard work paying off.
“It’s really a thrill to see how they’ve come into their own and taken it seriously,” Al said.
The brothers have been getting a boost after recently signing with a talent agency in the U.S. music hotbed of Nashville.
“We are super grateful that they took an interest in them,” the boys’ mother Cherlalyn Doell said.
“It’s all been through the pandemic, so they’ve got this wonderful network of mentors now they’ve literally been working with on Zoom. We haven’t even had an opportunity to meet them in person.”
The members of Ready Set Bro are keeping their fingers crossed that they’ll soon be able to play for their fans in person again.
“We are just hoping to get our music out there, try and inspire the younger generation to play more music,” Tavyn said, “and just help everybody out there we can.”