The Heels is an all-female band composed of members Bobbi Smith, Brittni Dominelli and Kyla Rawlins. The trio’s mutual love of singing led them to join forces at a North Vancouver café co-owned by Kyla, where Brittni worked behind the counter and Bobbi was a regular. One thing led to another, and The Heels released their 2017 debut album, Love, Heels, and lead single, “Come Around,” which propelled the band to prominence in Western Canada, garnering them six nominations at the 2018 B.C. Country Music Awards and two BCCMA Awards.
Continuing to build momentum, The Heels released their 2021 album, I Am, including the singles “Catch & Release,” featuring Canadian country superstar Aaron Pritchett and “Hush Money,” which racked up over 1 million views on TikTok and reached #1 in France, #6 in Ireland, #10 in Belgium and #13 in the UK on the iTunes Charts.
In 2022, the band won the Josie Music Award for Best Country Trio, a show during which The Heels took the stage at the Grand Ole Opry House, and continued to tour widely in Canada and the United States.
The Heels continue to expand on their sound and enhance their message of hope and healing as they prepare to release more new music later this year, produced by BCCMA Award Winner Anthony Fiddler.
Name:
Bobbi Smith, Brittni Fiddler & Kyla Rawlins of The Heels
Genre:
Country/Pop/Spirituality
Founded:
2016
# of Albums:
3 – Two full albums available now and the third is in the process of release
Latest Album:
“I AM” 2021 & “Work of Heart” is our third album with multiple singles releasing this year leading up to the full album release.
Latest Single:
“Work of Heart”
Latest Video:
This is a performance of a song from our last album Hush Money that blew up on Tiktok and ended up charting all over the world on iTunes. #1 in France, #6 in Ireland, #10 in Belgium & #13 in the UK! It was an unexpected success that led to many opportunities including our first American music award at the Josie Music Awards and playing our dream stage at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville TN.
Favourite musician growing up:
Growing up an artist we all looked up to and still look up to is Shania Twain
Favourite musician now:
We all feel very inspired by Little Big Town
Guilty pleasure song:
“Tell My Ma” by The Rankin family is a song we play or sing when Brittni’s baby is upset, it’s like a magic power that instantly stops fussing and tears. And wow, does that song even get implanted in the brain! Days will go by after being together on the road and we will still be singing it. It’s a fun Celtic jig with harmonies and you can’t help but love it even more when Baby Paige smiles and claps her hands. We all grew up loving The Rankin Family and their harmonies.
Live show ritual:
Before the stage, we always get together with our band to say a prayer for the show and give our thanks and gratitude for the opportunity we have been given to be together and play our music and share our passion for the stage. It’s a good feeling. We end it with a big cheer that hypes us all up and then we walk on stage.
Favourite local musician:
Sarah Mclauchlan
EP or LP?
LP – We love full records and you’ll notice all of our albums we have released have 10 or more tracks on them, our last album “I Am” has 16 songs on it.
Early bird or night owl?
Night Owl – not that we ever stay up very late either but we would all choose staying up late over getting up early. After shows we have so much energy it’s hard to go to bed.
Road or studio?
We love both! So hard to choose but often we bring a small studio setup on the road. We love seeing new places and meeting people to write and collaborate with and it’s often a time that’s so full of inspiration we end up writing songs and having a mobile studio setup to demo new ideas when they are fresh and exciting is very helpful. We are grateful our producer Anthony Fiddler of Fiddler Productions is also our band leader and travels with us.
Any shows or albums coming up?
Our latest single and upcoming singles from the Work Of Heart album are what we are currently focusing our promotional efforts on. We are creating complimentary content to these upcoming tracks. We have some exciting shows coming up in Texas, we just don’t have the dates solidified yet but we will post about them when we do, we are excited to get back to Texas.
Where can we follow you?
Website | Spotify | Youtube | TikTok | Facebook | Instagram| Apple Music
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Rapid Fire Vancouver Qs
What is your favourite local restaurant?
Nuba – we have spent many meals at Nuba together celebrating different events and planning upcoming adventures. We love the atmosphere, the rose water coffee and the food.
What is your favourite street in Vancouver and why?
Granville Street – This street has many memories for us. The Roxy was a venue we played a lot in our first years together and supported industry friends at their shows there and we’ve also played The Commodore Ballroom twice. Our last BC Country Music Award Show was at the Vogue Theatre, and all of those memories are on Granville Street so it’s a special place for us.
What is your favourite park in Vancouver and why?
Stanley Park, there’s so much to do there with parks and beaches and shops.
What is your favourite music venue in Vancouver?
The Commodore Ballroom
What is your favourite music store in Vancouver?
Long & McQuade
